2 New Accurate Molds

[Idaholewis]

I ordered these 2 Molds the 17th or 18th, They arrived this morning, Talk about FAST!!

As I mentioned in a Previous thread These are “Revised” Versions of 2 Molds I have. I swear by Steel Bullet Molds. NO MORE Aluminum Bullet Molds for me!! Aluminum Molds were the Worst Decision i made in Casting. Luckily I Only have a Few to live with

Here is the .45 Cal, It is Accurate Molds #46-380M, Typical AWESOME Mold From Accurate I Did AWAY with the Bevel Base, and Taper, The Bullet Drops at .454

Weight is 385.5-386 Grains PURE LEAD

A quick, and EFFORTLESS trip through my .451 Sizer, These are Ready for testing

 

[Idaholewis]

And my Revised “Bullshop” Bullet, Accurate Molds #51-450M, I did AWAY with the Bevel Base, and Taper, All bands are the Same Diameter, Just makes better sense beings i Size “Per Bore”

Weight is 457 Grains PURE LEAD

These Drop from my Mold at .504.5, How ironic is that Harleysboss?

 

[Jackalope]

What handles do these molds take?

I’ll have to look into getting the .45 mold to use in my 1:20 MK and LRH.

 

[Harleysboss]

That 50 mold is prefect for my white Bison...is it forsale?

 

[flounder]

Love your new molds and I am in complete agreement about iron molds. I have a .504+ Accurate mold in iron that casts at about 448 grains. It's quite a bit different design than yours but shoots well at the 100 yards I shoot at. https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/threads/art-448-grain-boolit.27274/\
They shoot well out of both my 1 in 28 mk-85s as well as my 1in 24 whites, which was kind of my intention in getting a bullet that is under an inch long.

 

[Offshore]

I do like your 50 cal. mold. . .I'm about ready to pull the trigger on a #55-430M mold from Tom for my .54 cal Renegade. Tom is a good guy and doesnt let any grass grow under his feet. I have several mold from him and whatever the lead time is quoted, you can bet it will be there before hand! Tom at Accurate Molds is a for sure two thumbs up!!!

I'm interested to know why you guys dislike the aluminum molds? I own both, but only three of mine are steel. . .two Lyman and one RCBS. Just curious to your PROS/CONS between the two.

 

[Idaholewis]

I do like your 50 cal. mold. . .I'm about ready to pull the trigger on a #55-430M mold from Tom for my .54 cal Renegade. Tom is a good guy and doesnt let any grass grow under his feet. I have several mold from him and whatever the lead time is quoted, you can bet it will be there before hand! Tom at Accurate Molds is a for sure two thumbs up!!!

I'm interested to know why you guys dislike the aluminum molds? I own both, but only three of mine are steel. . .two Lyman and one RCBS. Just curious to your PROS/CONS between the two.

My problem with Aluminum Molds is Galling. I run my Molds BONE DRY, with “Flick of my Wrist” Loose Sprue Plates. ANY form of lube used, and you get Poor Fill out, Rolled Base edges, Etc. Etc. An Aluminum Mold can be Destroyed in 1 Single Casting Session, They require Sprue Plate Lube to keep from Galling. My Aluminum Molds look like CRAP, I refuse to use ANY FORM of Lube, I will continue to Run them this way til they DIE, and Replace with STEEL, Which are Lifetime Molds. Aluminum with a Steel Plate Sliding Back n Forth Across it at SUPER HIGH Heat Levels such as Bullet Casting is a RECIPE For Disaster. If you are ok with using Lube on your Molds they work fine as long as you continually Lube the Plate. Synthetic 2 stroke Oil is favored by many, I tried it, HATED the Results, Moved on to Quality Steel molds that need NOTHING

Steel Molds are DURABLE, ALL of My Steel Molds look as Good Today as they did the Day i bought them. Other than Normal Discoloring From Heat, My Steel Molds would Pass for Brand new. ZERO Signs of Wear from Running the Mold BONE DRY such as i do. A steel Mold is like a MOEN Faucet, “Buy it for looks, Buy it for Life”

 

[Idaholewis]

Here is 1 of my 2 Cavity Aluminum Molds, I have Cast a Fair amount of bullets with this Mold, It looks like CRAP. It looks worse than it is, Those Scratches look DEEP, They actually aren’t, I can just Barely feel them with my finger nail. But fact is, they are destined to be Ruined. The Few Aluminum Molds I Purchased was the Worst Decision i made in My Casting equipment. The Allure to Save a Few Bucks, ended up costing me MUCH more in the End. An Aluminum mold is like 80 Bucks, a Steel Mold is 127.50

Here is 1 of my MANY Steel molds, NO this is NOT one of my New Molds Today, This is my Accurate #50-488M, This Mold has Cast HUNDREDS of Bullets, and it has Ran BONE DRY from Day 1, and it Will Continue to do so til I’m Dead n Gone! ALL of my Steel Molds look EXACTLY like this, They stil look NEW A Steel Bullet Mold is the ONLY way to go in My opinion, There is NO COMPARISON in Durability. The Steel Plate Slides back n Forth leaving no Sign that it Has. My Oldest Steel Mold would be a Little more “Shiny” Across the Top, These Steel Molds actually get BETTER N BETTER with Use

 

[Idaholewis]

The 2 down sides to these Steel Molds are Weight, and Time to Get up to Temp. These Steel Molds are HEAVY, and They take MUCH MUCH Longer to get up to Running Temp. An Aluminum Mold is light, and they Heat up FAST, REALLY FAST

I recently bought a Little Timer that i keep at my Casting Station, When i Corner the Mold in the Lead/Alloy i push the Button on my Timer, These BIG Heavy Steel Molds Take 6 Minutes to Just Slightly Over Heat, I like to get them Just Barely over heated, I cast a Bullet and Watch the Sprue Puddle “Dance” It will do so for 30-45 Seconds, Then Slowly start to Solidify, When the puddle FULLY Solidifies i cound to 15, Then Cull Dump that Bullet, I Pour another one, Cull Dump it as Well, and maybe 1 More. This Slowly brings the Temp down and gets the Mold “in the zone!” Then Start Casting/Keeping You will be impressed with your Keep Rate. I weigh ALL of my Bullets, With the Above Procedure, and my STRICT Quality Control of PLUS/MINUS 1 Grain, My keep Rate is in the High 90% Range

 

[michiganmuzzy]

My problem with Aluminum Molds is Galling. I run my Molds BONE DRY, with “Flick of my Wrist” Loose Sprue Plates. ANY form of lube used, and you get Poor Fill out, Rolled Base edges, Etc. Etc. An Aluminum Mold can be Destroyed in 1 Single Casting Session, They require Sprue Plate Lube to keep from Galling. My Aluminum Molds look like CRAP, I refuse to use ANY FORM of Lube, I will continue to Run them this way til they DIE, and Replace with STEEL, Which are Lifetime Molds. Aluminum with a Steel Plate Sliding Back n Forth Across it at SUPER HIGH Heat Levels such as Bullet Casting is a RECIPE For Disaster. If you are ok with using Lube on your Molds they work fine as long as you continually Lube the Plate. Synthetic 2 stroke Oil is favored by many, I tried it, HATED the Results, Moved on to Quality Steel molds that need NOTHING

Steel Molds are DURABLE, ALL of My Steel Molds look as Good Today as they did the Day i bought them. Other than Normal Discoloring From Heat, My Steel Molds would Pass for Brand new. ZERO Signs of Wear from Running the Mold BONE DRY such as i do. A steel Mold is like a MOEN Faucet, “Buy it for looks, Buy it for Life”

I agree. Since i took your advice and thoroughly cleaned my molds my bullets turn out much better. Virtually all contamination disappeared. I have several Lee molds and they are working fine w/o lube(for now). They are so inexpensive that when they are junk i will take the handles off and use them on a steel mold, And maybe buy another. I don't hate the aluminum molds. I started with them and just got used to the way they work. But definitely no more lube on my molds. I still smoke the Lee molds tho.

 

[Idaholewis]

It’s all in what we get use to, if Aluminum Molds are What Floats your Boat? That’s what matters Just because I don’t like something, doesn’t mean I expect ANYONE else Not to!! I give my HONEST Opinion on things that i have HANDS ON experience with, And like my Ole Buddy Bubba.50 Says, “It’s my opinion, and yer welcome to it”

Casting is something that took me quite awhile to get down, and efficient as i am with it, it did NOT Come easy to me, LOTS of Trial n Error! I have tried about EVERYTHING Imaginable. Through Advice from a Source I RESPECT, I finally ran a Steel Mold with a “Flick of Wrist” adjusted Sprue Plate, I was 100% Sold!! And BUMMED that i had EVER Purchased an Aluminum Mold, The Good part is I only have like 4 of Aluminum Molds, ALL of my others are Steel

 

[Harleysboss]

Well Lewis I did it... I just ordered an iron 51-450m from Accurate. Squared up bottom band and all bands to .504. Ordered it on the positive tolerance..here's hoping mine drop at .5045 like yours, if not I have a .504 sizer that I can give your treatment to open it up just a pinch.

 

[Matthew323]

Lewis,
Do you feel the same way about aluminum round ball moulds, as you do about aluminum bullet moulds?

As I get back into muzzleloading, it is only natural to think of econimizing by purchasing Lee 2-cavity round ball moulds with handles at $18.84 each; as opposed to Lyman ductile iron moulds, without handles at $71.91 each. Lee 6-cavity handles are $13.09 pair. That's $85.00 for start-up costs on a Lyman iron mould, versus $18.94 for the Lee, a difference if $66.06.

The above are Midsouth Shooters Supply prices.

Thanks,
Bruce

 

[Idaholewis]

Lewis,
Do you feel the same way about aluminum round ball moulds, as you do about aluminum bullet moulds?

As I get back into muzzleloading, it is only natural to think of econimizing by purchasing Lee 2-cavity round ball moulds with handles at $18.84 each; as opposed to Lyman ductile iron moulds, without handles at $71.91 each. Lee 6-cavity handles are $13.09 pair. That's $85.00 for start-up costs on a Lyman iron mould, versus $18.94 for the Lee, a difference if $66.06.

The above are Midsouth Shooters Supply prices.

Thanks,
Bruce

I am simply being a SNOB About Aluminum Molds, If you learn how to Run them Properly they will Treat you well for many Years, They just aren’t NEAR as Forgiving to Mistakes by the Caster. Fact is, Steel Bullet Molds are FAR Superior, Durability Wise.

 

[Idaholewis]

I just Cast some of these #46-380Ms Last night to Try in my New “Silver Elite” 1:30 Twist Hawken. I Cast these of an Alloy, They read 9 BHN, 1-30 Alloy Equivalent. These Weigh 382.5 Grains, They weigh 385-386 Grains when cast of Pure Lead

 

[Harleysboss]

Accurate Mold 51-450M came today. 4 day turn around. Looks just like the one Lewis posted pictures of. No bullets until the weekend...if I get a free hour that is.

 

[bulletbusiness]

Why do away with the bevel base? Pros and cons?

 

[eekjellander]

Why do away with the bevel base? Pros and cons?

Notice the plain base is stable where as the bevel base would appear to be more sensitive to unequal (push) ,casting for long range is easier with greater surface area (flat)crisp edge. No doubt casting plain base I can spot the rejects faster with certainty than a beveled less defined base . Or maybe it"s just my eyes making excuses/Ed

 

[user 25226]

Folks,
Would like to slug my White Whitetail barrel, but cannot find slugs large enough to do the job. Any suggestions? Was thinking might find some tubing with a .505 or so ID, cut it in about an inch long section, pour some lead in it and try that. Thanks for your thoughts

 

[CatamountRob]

Folks,
Would like to slug my White Whitetail barrel, but cannot find slugs large enough to do the job. Any suggestions? Was thinking might find some tubing with a .505 or so ID, cut it in about an inch long section, pour some lead in it and try that. Thanks for your thoughts

Big lead egg sinker maybe?