Just wondering what kind of bullet molds you casters prefer.
Single, double, four or six cavity, and why?
ie; Are six's really much faster than say doubles?
Brands;
Lee, Lyman, etc Any special reasons why?
Aluminum molds vs Steel ?
How about Lee's /Alox Micro lube groove molds?
Your question is a broad one. What are you casting for? If it's limited shooting as in plinking or the such, the cheap 2-cavity Lee moulds will probably do. If you want a mould that will last your lifetime and cast good bullets, I'd go with a steel one; Lyman is my favorite. If you want high production, but aren't concerned about super high quality bullets, a 6-cavity Lee will work. If you want an extremely high quality mould that will cast the best possible bullets, order a custom mould from NEI, LBT, Accurate or NOE.
I have moulds in all six brands I mentioned. I use a 4-cavity Accurate mould and a 6-cavity Lee mould for large volume casting for Cowboy Action. I know I'll wear the Lee out eventually, but it didn't cost much. The Accurate mould though is a really well made mould and will likely cast many tens of thousands of bullets before it's done for.
For casting for general shooting I love the two cavity Lyman moulds. They're tough as nails and just don't wear out.
Six cavity moulds are quite a bit faster than two cavity, but not all that much faster than four cavity. It's been my experience that keeping lead in the pot is the issue when using four or six cavity moulds.
Steel vs. aluminum- Obviously steel is tougher than aluminum, but there are different grades of aluminum. My Accurate, NOE, NEI and LBT moulds are all aluminum, but the aluminum in these moulds is MUCH tougher than that used in Lee moulds.
I don't do Alox/tumblr lube bullets as I prefer to size my bullets to the groove diameter of each rifle/pistol.
35W