New Custom BACO GG Mold

This is a Custom Bullet i have wanted to have done for awhile now, I geared this one Around the 1:20 Twist, Was gonna be my Knight Mountaineer Bullet, But Since i sold that Rifle This Bullet will end up being for my Rice 1:20 Twist Sidelock, and i will try it in my 1:18 Twist Sidelock as well. I have always REALLY Liked my Big 540 Grain Elliptical Bullet, Which is Also from a BACO Mold, But after shooting these .45 Cal 1:20 Twist, and 1:18 to 600, and even 825 Yards with my 400, and 428 Grain Paper Patch Bullets with Excellent results, i have come to the Conclusion that I don’t need to take the extra Recoil of the BIG 540 Grain Bullet. My BIG 540 BACO Elliptical Bullet would be a Better Choice for 800-1,000 Yards. But FACT is I don’t have places here that i can Shoot any farther than i have been doing, 600-700 yards is About Max, To get 800 and Beyond I have to Travel some Distance for that, those places are HARD to Find in this Thick, Brushy Mountain Country. Out to these 600-700 Yard Distances my Smaller 428 Grain Paper Patch Bullet SHINES! Even the little BACO .444-400 does AWESOME for me.

It is AMAZING how much more Recoil the Big 540 Grain Bullet Generates VS a 400-450 Grain Bullet, I MUCH MUCH Prefer the Lighter Bullets and Less Recoil, I am not Afraid of Recoil in the least, But I am also NOT a Big fan of it, Especially When I don’t feel there is a Need for it

Here is my new Bullet, and Mold, Typical AWESOME work from Jim of Buffalo Arms, Jim knows how to Cut a HIGH QUALITY Bullet Mold!

Basically put my BIG BACO 540 Grain Elliptical on a Diet and Shed about 100 Grains of weight , Can’t get any closer than this, Here is my BIG Elliptical.

New Bullet from my Rice 1:20 Twist Sidelock, Open/Peep sights, Short Range Bullet Test


Why not shoot 1 Backwards? Punched a Nice Clean hole

Video of the Procedure above

Nice looking bullet, kind of surprised about the backward one. Did ya do it on purpose?

flounder said:

Nice looking bullet, kind of surprised about the backward one. Did ya do it on purpose?

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It was on purpose That was my Last Bullet, otherwise i would have Shot a Group Backwards

Lew, do they make custom molds too?

edmehlig said:

Lew, do they make custom molds too?

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No, They have been talked in to it a time or 2 though

I really like my BACO Molds for the Quality Bullets they pour, you get EXACTLY what you ask for, If you order a .453 Mold, That Mold will Pour a .453 Bullet ON THE DOT! And will come with a Bullet Cast of 1-20 Alloy to Prove what the Mold Throws. The Down side for me personally is I am not a Fan of Saeco Molds (BACO uses Saeco Mold Blocks) It’s actually the Sprue Plate Screw Location that I don’t like. I wish their Mold Blocks and Sprue Plates were Like Accurate’s, I MUCH MUCH Prefer my Accurate Mold Sprue Plates, and operation of them.

Accurate has a sort of target oriented 45 that looks cool. Just a bit heavier than i really want to shoot though. Its a 475gr

I wonder how much weight could be reduced by reshaping the nose and slightly shorter ogive? Smaller metplat is fine just for target/fun shooting.
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=45-475R-D.png

You got any molds similar but lighter?

Idaholewis said:

This is a Custom Bullet i have wanted to have done for awhile now, I geared this one Around the 1:20 Twist, Was gonna be my Knight Mountaineer Bullet, But Since i sold that Rifle This Bullet will end up being for my Rice 1:20 Twist Sidelock, and i will try it in my 1:18 Twist Sidelock as well. I have always REALLY Liked my Big 540 Grain Elliptical Bullet, Which is Also from a BACO Mold, But after shooting these .45 Cal 1:20 Twist, and 1:18 to 600, and even 825 Yards with my 400, and 428 Grain Paper Patch Bullets with Excellent results, i have come to the Conclusion that I don’t need to take the extra Recoil of the BIG 540 Grain Bullet. My BIG 540 BACO Elliptical Bullet would be a Better Choice for 800-1,000 Yards. But FACT is I don’t have places here that i can Shoot any farther than i have been doing, 600-700 yards is About Max, To get 800 and Beyond I have to Travel some Distance for that, those places are HARD to Find in this Thick, Brushy Mountain Country. Out to these 600-700 Yard Distances my Smaller 428 Grain Paper Patch Bullet SHINES! Even the little BACO .444-400 does AWESOME for me.

It is AMAZING how much more Recoil the Big 540 Grain Bullet Generates VS a 400-450 Grain Bullet, I MUCH MUCH Prefer the Lighter Bullets and Less Recoil, I am not Afraid of Recoil in the least, But I am also NOT a Big fan of it, Especially When I don’t feel there is a Need for it

Here is my new Bullet, and Mold, Typical AWESOME work from Jim of Buffalo Arms, Jim knows how to Cut a HIGH QUALITY Bullet Mold!

Click to expand...

Idaholewis said:

This is a Custom Bullet i have wanted to have done for awhile now, I geared this one Around the 1:20 Twist, Was gonna be my Knight Mountaineer Bullet, But Since i sold that Rifle This Bullet will end up being for my Rice 1:20 Twist Sidelock, and i will try it in my 1:18 Twist Sidelock as well. I have always REALLY Liked my Big 540 Grain Elliptical Bullet, Which is Also from a BACO Mold, But after shooting these .45 Cal 1:20 Twist, and 1:18 to 600, and even 825 Yards with my 400, and 428 Grain Paper Patch Bullets with Excellent results, i have come to the Conclusion that I don’t need to take the extra Recoil of the BIG 540 Grain Bullet. My BIG 540 BACO Elliptical Bullet would be a Better Choice for 800-1,000 Yards. But FACT is I don’t have places here that i can Shoot any farther than i have been doing, 600-700 yards is About Max, To get 800 and Beyond I have to Travel some Distance for that, those places are HARD to Find in this Thick, Brushy Mountain Country. Out to these 600-700 Yard Distances my Smaller 428 Grain Paper Patch Bullet SHINES! Even the little BACO .444-400 does AWESOME for me.

It is AMAZING how much more Recoil the Big 540 Grain Bullet Generates VS a 400-450 Grain Bullet, I MUCH MUCH Prefer the Lighter Bullets and Less Recoil, I am not Afraid of Recoil in the least, But I am also NOT a Big fan of it, Especially When I don’t feel there is a Need for it

Here is my new Bullet, and Mold, Typical AWESOME work from Jim of Buffalo Arms, Jim knows how to Cut a HIGH QUALITY Bullet Mold!

Click to expand...

You took the image from my mind and created it. I was gonna do that (fairly close anyway) same design for my S91 .451 just a little sharper on the ogive with about a .160 meplat. Just started the blocks last night. I use old cast iron plumbing valves for bullet molds. I get them at work (hospital) cut the flanges off and start carving away. This was the bullet I did for my Whitetail in .504 it weighs just under 500 and shoots fairly well. I haven’t tried it with 1 grain increments yet to find a real sweet spot if it has one.... only loaded 80 and 90 volume loads of Pyro Select. Was gonna copy the front of the bullet in .453 and size to .4505 and shoot for around 450’grains weight. I’m thinking set it up for nose pour so I can adjust the length and maybe add a hollow base for better length/weight ratio for the 1:20 twist. The target was 100 yards and it was 2% 95/5 solder to lead ratio. Next purchase is a bullet hardness test kit cause I got no idea where they’re at with the .01% antimony or whatever it is....

GM54-120 said:

Accurate has a sort of target oriented 45 that looks cool. Just a bit heavier than i really want to shoot though. Its a 475gr

I wonder how much weight could be reduced by reshaping the nose and slightly shorter ogive? Smaller metplat is fine just for target/fun shooting.
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=45-475R-D.png

You got any molds similar but lighter?

Click to expand...

The BACO Bullet Above was actually suppose to be lighter, I was hoping for NO MORE than 425 Grains (Pure Lead) My Bullet Weighs 450 Grains with Pure Lead (My Bullet Photo above on the Scale is 1-20 Alloy, Poured by BACO and Supplied with my Mold, “Proof Bullet”) I got a call that my Mold was done, and that it came in heavier than i had anticipated, Jim offered to Cut me another Mold but i liked the looks of this one and Went with it. My original design was gonna look IDENTICAL to the BIG 540 in Nose Shape, and length, But just have 3-4 Lube Grooves instead of 6. But mine ended up with a Shorter Nose, and 5 Lube Grooves

This was suppose to be my Bullet
https://www.buffaloarms.com/453-420-grain-1-cavity-muzzle-loading-bullet-mould-jim453420e1

GM54-120 said:

You got any molds similar but lighter?

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I am actually waiting on 2 Accurate molds now, I just ordered 3-4 Days ago, a .45 and .50 Cal, Nothing new for say, Just Slight Changes to 2 Proven molds i already have, and instead of Aluminum, these will be STEEL Mold Blocks

The New Version .45 Should be in the 380 Grain Range My Original Shot STELLAR in Both of my 1:20 Twist .45s

The new Bullet will look Just like this, MINUS the Bevel Base, and Tapered band Design, all bands will be a Gauranteed .453 (Tom’s + Tolerance Window) Since i started Sizing my Bullets “per bore” There is simply no need for a Taper Design Bullet. My Bullshop COPY/CLONE Bullet is getting a Makeover as well, for these EXACT Same Reasons

Can’t wait to see how they cast and range reports.

edmehlig said:

Can’t wait to see how they cast and range reports.

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Ed, It’s kind of a neat story how it all came to be, With you being part of the Reason, You were a BAD influence Ed!

It all started with the Bullshop .504, A lot of folks that Buy Dan’s Bullshop .504 Bullet Sized to their Choice, Don’t realize that Bullet is Actually a Tapered Design Bullet (not that it matters, just fun fact ) And it’s a Fairly Heavy Taper design at that. Bullshop Dan is the Originator of the Bullet, He drew it up and had Mountain Molds here in Cottonwood Idaho Cut the Mold for him.

Forum Member Harleysboss came here and Shot Muzzleloaders with me a Few years back, he left me 4 Original .504 Bullshop Bullets that he had Ordered from Dan, They were lubed with Dan’s NASA Lube, I planned to try them in my Old Stainless GM LRH Barrel. The 4 Bullets that Harleysboss left me Would have Been “Straight From Dan’s Mold” He Bought them Unsized. I finally got around to Shooting a Group with them, they Shot AWESOME!! Since i only had 4 Bullets to work with, After my 3 Shot Group i Wanted a Mold Made! I saved back the 4th Bullet so I could send it to Tom at Accurate Molds and have him Copy it. I took measurements of the 4th Bullet as Well, Just so I would know what the Original was? The 2 Bottom Bands Measured .504, the 3rd Band was .506, and the Top band was .507

This is the 4 Original .504 Bullshop Bullets, If you notice there is a very Slight Taper at the Bottom of the Base band for easier Starting






Tom hit it PERFECTLY This is a CLONE of Dan’s .504 Bullshop Bullet. Notice the Bottom of the Base Band


I had such good luck with the .504 Bullshop “Clone” Bullet above that I decided to have a .45 and .54 Cal Version of it Made. For the .54 Cal Version i Used Accurate Molds Existing #54-510M, I went .544 on the 2 Bottom Bands, .546 on the 3rd, and .547 Top Band (i Copied Bullshop Dan’s .504, i Just Swapped the numbers to .54 Cal

And i did the same thing for .45 Cal, Look at the Band Diameters The difference here is 1 Extra Band due to it’s length, and i decided to go .458 Top Band instead of .457 in Hopes of it “Holding the bore tighter”

Here’s where Ed Comes in

You gotta Remember i was a DIEHARD Paper Patch Bullet Guy, Grease Groove Bullets were new to me. I didn’t know anything about Sizing them? I sent Ed a Few of my .45 Cal Bullets to try from the above, #46-380M Mold. I had poured these of 1-40 Alloy, Pure lead was HORRIBLE about Loosening up on the Way Down the Bore? YEP, EVEN with those BIG OVERSIZE Band Diameters, they Would Start nice n Tight, But about half way Down the Bore you could feel them “Giving Up” And By the time they got to the Powder they would be Loose, I didn’t Trust them to Stay put on the Powder Charge? Since i was Brand new to Grease Groove Bullets I asked the Question on HERE, What was Causing this problem? Not one single person had an Answer to what was causing this? (That Thread can be found back in my beginning here, It’s kinda funny looking back at some of the Answers i got from Folks here that I thought would know? But No one had a CLUE? ) I set out to figure it out on my Own It was actually a SIMPLE Fix, I Hardened up the Lead, Went to 1-40 Alloy. They held the Bore a Little to Good then But i knew i had it Figured out

Anyway, after sending Ed some of my .45s above, poured of 1-40 Alloy, i WARNED him SEVERAL times that they loaded TIGHT, REALLY TIGHT! I was worried that he was gonna have a Rough time getting them Down? I asked him a Few weeks later how they loaded? He said “GREAT, I actually Sized your Bullets” I thought to myself, WHAT??? I didn’t know anything about Sizing a Grease Groove Bullet? Ed had sized them Down to .451, Now go back up and Look at the Band Diameters of my .45 Bullet, Ed took that Bullet Down a LONG Ways, and being 1-40 Alloy They stil Held his Bore SOLID After hearing Ed do this, I had to try Sizing? I now own about 15 Lee Sizer Dies A Swing Lock Sizer would have been MUCH Cheaper, But at the Time i knew Nothing about them? When i did inquire, I was told that they have a Limit of How big The Bullet can be. In other Words, my .457-.458 Bullets were TO BIG. The Cool Part is, He offered to Make a Larger Bushing that Would Allow it, But i have about all bases covered now with Lee Sizers. If i were to do it over again, the Swing Lock would UNDOUBTEDLY be the Way to Go

Since i Started Sizing my Grease Groove Bullets, Why do i need a Taper Design Bullet? I DON’T! Hence why i am Having the .45 and .50 Molds Re-Done. The .45 will have ALL Bands .453, and NO BEVEL to the Base, Just a Straight Flat Base. Same Goes for my Bullshop .504, All Bands will be .503, and NO BEVEL/Taper to the Base Band. Even though i have had REALLY REALLY Good luck with the Bullets above, i am not a Fan of a Bevel Base bullet. Look at the SERIOUS Competition Bullets that are Shot to 1,000 Yards, How many of them do you See with a Bevel Base? If a Bevel base had ANY benefit, Them Guy’s would be using them

After looking further Accurate has one like that in the 390gr range and another in the 425gr range.
46-390S
46-405C...sorta
46-425P

As far as sizing 458s. Get a Lee .454 and I THINK that will get them small enough to run through a Swinglock or you can get a bare Hankins die for $125 shipped. The NEO die would be another option but by the time you get 3-4 bushings you are around $100 too.

GM54-120 said:

After looking further Accurate has one like that in the 390gr range and another in the 425gr range.
46-390S
46-405C...sorta
46-425P

As far as sizing 458s. Get a Lee .454 and I THINK that will get them small enough to run through a Swinglock or you can get a bare Hankins die for $125 shipped. The NEO die would be another option but by the time you get 3-4 bushings you are around $100 too.

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I REALLY like the looks of both that 46-390S (1:20 Twist Targety ), and 46-425P, I like that they have “Inset” Lube Grooves instead of Exterior Bands. Of the 2, If i had to narrow those 2 Down? I would go 46-390S, and Run it around 1350ish fps, Unless a Guy plans to Shoot Numerous Football fields on a Regular Basis there’s just no reason to Take the Recoil of the BIGGER Heavier Bullets. Look how GOOD this little 400 Grain Paper Patch Bullet shot in my 1:20 Twist Mountaineer, It would shoot a Tiny Ragged Hole Group EVERY time out, as long as i did my Part. And that Load was Truly a Pleasure to Shoot, Recoil was NOT an issue, That is Why i chose it for the 600 Yard Gong. A 380-400 Grain Bullet in these 1:20 Twists is ideal in my opinion at most any Reasonable Ranges, And on out to Some pretty Darn extreme Stuff, As you could Clearly see on the Little Gong at 600 Yards Those Bullets punched Perfect Little Holes in Cardboard at 600 Yards getting me on Target, they were VERY Stable. Why take the Punishment from the REALLY BIG Lead? It’s just not Necessary!! No doubt BIG Long Lead Takes over at a Point, I believe it to be 800 Yards, I Know things get MUCH more Critical at 800, But how Realistic is it that you will be Swinging at those Distances?

For ANYTHING out to say 300 Yards, Shoot a Lighter, FUN Bullet, At least give it a Try i have NO DOUBT you will be THOROUGHLY impressed.

Yeah the 390s is the one that looks the most promising. In purer lead they should be around 400gr.....Good weight for recreational shooting.

GM54-120 said:

After looking further Accurate has one like that in the 390gr range and another in the 425gr range.
46-390S
46-405C...sorta
46-425P

As far as sizing 458s. Get a Lee .454 and I THINK that will get them small enough to run through a Swinglock or you can get a bare Hankins die for $125 shipped. The NEO die would be another option but by the time you get 3-4 bushings you are around $100 too.

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When i get this new mold, i will make you up a SFRB of Everything i have that i KNOW Shot good in my Mountaineer. Even my little Gould Solids, Which is an AWESOME 360ish Grain Bullet. And Lyman 457193, That Bullet is 1.055 and Weighs 422-23 Grains When Cast of Certified PURE Lead, That Would be another Good one to Try, and about as heavy as i would Mess with. I will send you a little Array of Stuff to Play with Even try this 300 Grain (292) Just Slow it down a Bit, Will be a HOOT to Shoot

GM54-120 said:

Yeah the 390s is the one that looks the most promising. In purer lead they should be around 400gr.....Good weight for recreational shooting.

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I will BANK on this one, the soon to be “New Version” of it A friend in Tennessee (Guy I Bought my Rice Barrel From) is Currently Shooting this one in his 1:20 Twist Mountaineer