Buffalo Arms Molds VS Accurate Bullet Molds

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Idaholewis

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I thought i would start a thread of its own here. As i say in the Video, 1st off, this is in NO WAY, SHAPE, NOR FORM intended To Bash Accurate Bullet Molds, i own MANY of them, and VERY MUCH Like them (I consider them more of a Hunting Bullet)

This is to Show the Difference in Bullets ”AS CAST, The Way they Drop from the Mold” From My BACO Molds (Buffalo Arms Co.) and my Accurate Bullet Molds.

ALL of my Accurate Bullet Molds Drop ”Out of Round” Bullets, From slightly to Fairly Wildly (.001 to .003) I have to Rely on my Bullet Sizers to Correct this. My Buffalo Arms Molds on the Other hand Drop Bullets EXACTLY The way i ordered the Mold, If i order a .443 Diameter Bullet from BACO? I can FULLY Expect the Bullets to be .443 Diameter ALL the way around it, as should be FROM THE MOLD. I can NOT say that about ANY of my Accurate Bullet Molds, That Said, Tom @ Accurate Molds has a Tolerance Window of .002, So you can expect his Bullets to ”Possibly” be out that Far (.002) Again, I depend on my Bullet Sizers to Correct this

I get asked this Question fairly Often, “What is a GOOD Long Range Bullet that you would Recommend?” Or maybe it’s a Hunting Bullet? Etc. I answer with LOTS of Hands on Experience with Accurate & BACO Molds.

When it comes to a Long Range Target Bullet i want a PERFECT Bullet from the Mold, And this is PRECISELY what i get with my Buffalo Arms Molds. Have you EVER seen me Use 1 of my Accurate Mold Bullets when i am Shooting LOOOOONG Range, Serious Target Stuff? NO you haven’t, That is my Buffalo Arms Molds/Bullets Territory. I am NOT saying that you can’t get an Accurate Bullet Mold to Shoot Well Long Range (I personally have not tried it as I don’t like the idea that i have to Rely on a Bullet Sizer to Correct “out of round“ Problems) Again, i want a PERFECT Bullet for those Applications, and that is PRECISELY what i have with my BACO Bullet Molds.

 
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Wonder why the accurate molds are that out of round? Maybe they are cut to exact measurement not accounting for the kerf of the mold being split?
Never seen a mold made, I am assuming the bullet cavity is cut then the mold is cut in half.:think:
 
Wonder why the accurate molds are that out of round? Maybe they are cut to exact measurement not accounting for the kerf of the mold being split?
Never seen a mold made, I am assuming the bullet cavity is cut then the mold is cut in half.:think:

I am not a machine guy? I have never seen a Bullet Mold made in a CNC Machine? I did watch a Video of Forum member @sdporter making a Bullet mold in his Lathe, The Mold Blocks were ALREADY Halved, Pinned, and Mated up when the Cavity was Cut

I‘m gonna say it has something to do with Tooling, and accuracy of the Machine used? Accurate Molds says CNC Lathe Bored, He has a Tolerance window of .002

Buffalo Arms is CNC Machine, Jim shoots for .00005 (Half of 1 thousandth) All –6 of my Buffalo Arms Molds are DEAD ON what i asked them to be. And are PERFECTLY Round
 
I am not a machine guy? I have never seen a Bullet Mold made in a CNC Machine? I did watch a Video of Forum member @sdporter making a Bullet mold in his Lathe, The Mold Blocks were ALREADY Halved, Pinned, and Mated up when the Cavity was Cut

I‘m gonna say it has something to do with Tooling, and accuracy of the Machine used? Accurate Molds says CNC Lathe Bored, He has a Tolerance window of .002

Buffalo Arms is CNC Machine, Jim shoots for .00005 (Half of 1 thousandth) All –6 of my Buffalo Arms Molds are DEAD ON what i asked them to be. And are PERFECTLY Round
When the blocks are made there are small alignment pins installed in one half and they are supposed to have a snug fit in the holes on the mating half. Afterwards the two blocks are clamped in the chuck of the lathe and the bullet cavity is machined to the configuration required. The lathe will turn the diameters round providing the two halves stay tightly clamped, all other factors being good. Where you will run into a roundness issue is in the number and fit of the alignment pins on the halves. In other words if you take a .250 diameter bolt and put it into a .251 diameter hole you can have up to .001 of play side to side however if you take that same bolt and put it in a .500 diameter hole you will notice a significant difference in the side play. Having said this it could be just a question of Accurate Moulds pins being too short and not engaging deep enough in the matching hole.
My two cents worth.
Smoke
 
When the blocks are made there are small alignment pins installed in one half and they are supposed to have a snug fit in the holes on the mating half. Afterwards the two blocks are clamped in the chuck of the lathe and the bullet cavity is machined to the configuration required. The lathe will turn the diameters round providing the two halves stay tightly clamped, all other factors being good. Where you will run into a roundness issue is in the number and fit of the alignment pins on the halves. In other words if you take a .250 diameter bolt and put it into a .251 diameter hole you can have up to .001 of play side to side however if you take that same bolt and put it in a .500 diameter hole you will notice a significant difference in the side play. Having said this it could be just a question of Accurate Moulds pins being too short and not engaging deep enough in the matching hole.
My two cents worth.
Smoke
Or a touch long and holding the halves apart slightly. I press my alignment pins in with the other half of the mould, and occasionally I get them to not press in as far as I would like, due to material spring back. A little valve grinding compound corrects that. Not sure how Accurate does their moulds. Some of mine turn out really nice, some go into the garbage, or bored out to a larger bullet. Figuring alloy shrinkage is the biggest issue I fight.
 
When the blocks are made there are small alignment pins installed in one half and they are supposed to have a snug fit in the holes on the mating half. Afterwards the two blocks are clamped in the chuck of the lathe and the bullet cavity is machined to the configuration required. The lathe will turn the diameters round providing the two halves stay tightly clamped, all other factors being good. Where you will run into a roundness issue is in the number and fit of the alignment pins on the halves. In other words if you take a .250 diameter bolt and put it into a .251 diameter hole you can have up to .001 of play side to side however if you take that same bolt and put it in a .500 diameter hole you will notice a significant difference in the side play. Having said this it could be just a question of Accurate Moulds pins being too short and not engaging deep enough in the matching hole.
My two cents worth.
Smoke
Or a touch long and holding the halves apart slightly. I press my alignment pins in with the other half of the mould, and occasionally I get them to not press in as far as I would like, due to material spring back. A little valve grinding compound corrects that. Not sure how Accurate does their moulds. Some of mine turn out really nice, some go into the garbage, or bored out to a larger bullet. Figuring alloy shrinkage is the biggest issue I fight.

Could there be an issue from overtightening the block when its clamped into the chuck on the lathe, causing the block to be compressed a little more on one side?
 
I am not a long range shooter and the bullets I cast with my Accurate molds work great for me. Some long range shooters I know would prefer to shoot a bullet as cast rather than sizing it. Sizing might make a conical measure as round but the weight distribution will still be off if it wasn't cast round. It all depends on what level of perfection you demand and how much you're willing to pay for it.
 
I am not a long range shooter and the bullets I cast with my Accurate molds work great for me. Some long range shooters I know would prefer to shoot a bullet as cast rather than sizing it. Sizing might make a conical measure as round but the weight distribution will still be off if it wasn't cast round. It all depends on what level of perfection you demand and how much you're willing to pay for it.

This was simply to show the difference, as there is a BIG BIG Difference in the Quality of Bullets from my Buffalo Arms Molds to my Accurate Molds, There is simply NO Comparison.

I have a BUNCH Of Accurate Bullet Molds (Probably 20 of them? Over 2,000 Dollars Worth) They work great for me, But I consider them ”Hunting” Type Bullets, and NOT Something that I would use for Serious Target, Long Range Stuff, That is where my Buffalo Arms Molds come in. I want a PERFECT Bullet for those Kinds of Shoots, And My BACO Molds Cast PERFECT Bullets :lewis: I can’t say that for my Accurate Molds.
 
@Idaho Lewis, I have many molds, none of them is perfect, and this is NORMAL. If you find a mold within a .001" tolerance you are a lucky man. I don't think that the BACO molds are better than the Accurate molds simply because you can't reach the perfection, and your "perfect" molds are showing just your right but casual (and lucky) approach to them.
 
@Idaho Lewis, I have many molds, none of them is perfect, and this is NORMAL. If you find a mold within a .001" tolerance you are a lucky man. I don't think that the BACO molds are better than the Accurate molds simply because you can't reach the perfection, and your "perfect" molds are showing just your right but casual (and lucky) approach to them.
I"m thinking you have not owned a BACO mold /just sayin Ed
 
@Idaho Lewis, I have many molds, none of them is perfect, and this is NORMAL. If you find a mold within a .001" tolerance you are a lucky man. I don't think that the BACO molds are better than the Accurate molds simply because you can't reach the perfection, and your "perfect" molds are showing just your right but casual (and lucky) approach to them.

:roll:

How many Buffalo Arms Co. (BACO) Molds do you own? List their numbers please
 
@Idaho Lewis, I have many molds, none of them is perfect, and this is NORMAL. If you find a mold within a .001" tolerance you are a lucky man. I don't think that the BACO molds are better than the Accurate molds simply because you can't reach the perfection, and your "perfect" molds are showing just your right but casual (and lucky) approach to them.

I also own LOTS of Molds. You say ”If you find a Mold within .001 Tolerance you are a Lucky Man” I can tell you now that ALL of my BACO Molds (7 of them) and Every Bullet i have seen come from them are under .001, There is NOTHING Lucky about it, The Man that Cuts the Molds for BACO will NOT Accept more (He shoots for a 1/2 a Thousandth)

I know the Man that Cuts the Molds for BACO quite well, he is a personal friend of mine. He and i were visiting one day, I was explaining my Accurate Molds to him (i own at least 20 Accurate Molds) I told him about Accurate Molds Tolerance window of .002, He looked at me in SHOCK :oops: And said “REALLY??? That would be TOTALLY unacceptable to me, i shoot for .00005 (Half a Thou)

As i said above in the VERY BEGINNING of this thread, this is in NO WAY, SHAPE, NOR FORM intended To Bash Accurate Bullet Molds, i own MANY of them, and really like them for what they are. I am simply stating the FACTS about the differences in them vs a Buffalo Arms Co. Mold

In short, There is NO COMPARISON in a Buffalo Arms Co. Mold VS an Accurate Mold, They are NOT EVEN CLOSE
 
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The Quality of BACO Molds are 2nd to none, Jim cuts an AWESOME Mold, VERY TIGHT Tolerance. BACO & BROOKS are more expensive, But you get what you pay for :lewis:
They are good molds , Baco , Used it a long time, just meant I went to different style bullet
 
I have NEVER had a problem with a BACO mold, but I have sent one of Steve Brooks molds back to be re-worked. No offense against Steve but his mold is one of the most finicky that I have to cast with.
 
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