What kind of bullet molds to you like best?

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I like to cast with a single or double cavity mold and I do well with aluminum molds some of which I made myself.
I own an ancient Ideal 6 cavity mold that is a bear to use mainly because of it's weight and the fact that the sprue/runner is so large that the meltig pot empties TOO fast.
 
I have a motley collection of molds with 1, 2, 4 & 8 cavities in iron and alum from Lee, Lyman, RCBS, Thompson/Center and Hensley & Gibbs; they all work quite well. It ain't the arrow that matters, it's the Indian. I think.

The number of cavities for a new mold is best chosen for the volumes you expect to shoot rather than 'pick a number'. Or just pick up whatever you run across used but cheep.
 
I think that if you are casting bullets for match shooting in rifle a single cavity Iron or brass would be the way to go.

But if you are making hand gun bullets or plinker bullets then I would go with a multiple cavity mold.

I like my Lee two cavity molds OK, they work. If I run two of them at a time they do just fine.

However I have really come to love my brass molds from Tom at Accurate molds. It seems that like my self, every one that I run into on a forum cannot say enough good about Tom, his customer service and the quality of molds re produces.

The only thing that I would caution is if you do take the plunge and buy a brass mold from some one like Tom be careful of the big bullet multiple cavity molds, they are heavy when full. I have a 4 cavity 400 grain .460 mold for my 45/70. The only reason I can use it is because of how fast it will empty a pot.

My pot is the 20# Lee production bottom pour pot and I like it a lot. I have to twist the stem for the seat once in a while to keep it from dripping. I don't have any complaints about it at all. The pot and their sizer dies are just a few of the things I think Lee got spot on and pretty much set the industry standard for ease of use and simplicity.

If you look at the price of a steel Lyman,RCBS or other mold, then look at the price of a custom mold from Tom, then read the feed back from each. The price difference will not seem that much. And in reality they are not that much more than a Lyman or RCBS mold.

Another great source of info is the castboolits forum. There are tons of friendly folks over there. And the bank of knowledge and experience is amazing.
 
If Lee offers a design you like in their six cavity then that's what I would go with. I assume we're talking pistol bullets here? The aluminum six cavity is comparable to the weight of a two cavity iron mold but cranks out bullets 3X faster.

IMO bullet design trumps mold material. I have brass, iron, steel and aluminum and have made good bullets from all of them. If your gun doesn't like a particular design then the mold material it came from is irrelevant.
 
Elkins45,
...Yes,. the scope of my original question was for pistol bullets & casual shooting in general,.. but ANY & ALL opinions are welcome and am really injoying reading them.
keep them comming!
 
Ones that work.

LAtely I'm stuck on Saeco.

I like lee. No problems there- but the tolerances on lee "drop as cast" tend to interfere with my saeco lube sizer.

Saeco makes a dang fine mould. I've used more than a few lee, NOE, lyman, RCBS and Saeco moulds.

A saeco feels like a racing beast- and performs like it. You also pay for it- this is not lost on me.


A lee feels like a festiva- and costs like it. It'll get ya there..... but man, there is a difference.

I like my lee moulds just fine.

I'd much rather drive a Benz if I could.
 
TMT,

With the Lee 4-20, I don't know how the newer versions are, nut on the older ones there are two things that REALLY cut the drip factor down to a non issue. One is to replace the knob with a brass or similar type heavier metal one, or add a light spring to the bar to hold it down. The other is to use some fine lapping compound on the stem and seat to polish it up for a good matched fit.

I simply went with the latter and it works great for many sessions, and then will start to drip once in a while. Once it does, it is usually time to clean the pot good anyway, and once I do it usually goes away.

From what I have seen Lee has also really upgraded their smaller molds as well with a MUCH better alignment system. The older design was usually their downfall. But like what has been mentioned, choose a design you REALLY want and go with that. Once you get the hang of it however, be prepared, others will follow I promise.
 
so I can feel good about scoring a .225 six banger
Click to expand...
Quite a good investment, if it works for your rifle. My Bator 6 banger paid for itself practically overnight.

But my favorite molds are Lee 2 cavity aluminum molds for the value. You can't even buy a box of bullets for $20.00. I have one for all my pistol calibers. It's not time/money efficient for me to cast all my pistol bullets, yet. But it's nice to have them, just in case I run out of projectiles!
 
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