I want a new 10MM mould.
Looking at NOE moulds, good, bad, OK?
I like by bullet in the 180gr range.
I need at least .402, but prefer .403.
More than 2 cavities.
The RN design, gunna work in my 1911's or should I stay with the RF?
If I stay with RF, I'm thinking about the 200gr WFN RG4, any good?
Any advice on a new Mould would be appreciated.
Thanks
Steve, the reason for the flat nose was to allow for the shorter protrusion of the bullet. The 1911's will feed the rounded nose at the longer seating but other 10mm guns may not like the length sticking out that far.
I work to keep all my bullets to 1.2550" or even shorter for the best function and feeding in all of my different guns.
Seating the round nose bullets deeper to get to this 1.2500" lengths, will show higher pressures, therefore you will want to keep this in mind with you mold selection.
Then there are the Wide Flat Nose styles, if the wide meplat can also snag as they try to feed at longer seated lengths. I have seen that DT and some other were loading those to 1.242" COAL.
NOE is good, i like Accurate as well, can't go wrong with either...
You might also look at the MP. He has a really pretty brass 180-190 or 190-200 mold with pins for HP, semi-HP and flat nose. There was a group buy recently and he may have some left over.
I have/had 10MM moulds from Mountainmolds, Lee ,Accurate and NOE (not 10MM ).
L--R
Lee 170gr TCPB
Accurate 190 gr LFNGC
Accurate 200 gr LFNPB
Mountainmolds 215gr WFNGC (78% meplat) and a MM 230 gr LFNGC (not pictured- 73% meplat).
I have to load the Acc, 200gr and MM moulds to 1.245" and they run perfectly in my 10's
Sean
(http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x150/475480/10MMboolits003.jpg) (http://s184.photobucket.com/user/475480/media/10MMboolits003.jpg.html)
I have a Mountain mold that drops bullets almost identical to an Accurate 40-200C. I like that mold very much. It feeds great in all my guns.
I have a Lee 175 SWC TL. My Glock and Witness' guns both feed the design great. My 1911 feeds it great as long as COAL is under 1.250".
I recently acquired an NOE RG4 200 grain WFN with HP pins. I have cast some HP's with it but have not had time to shoot them yet. They are very purty boolits though. Comparing them to the MM 200 grain, the profile is similar. I expect it will feed great in all my guns at any COAL that fits the magazine.
I just today received my Mihec 4 cavity mold with pins for FP HP this is one very nice mold I will pose pics of bullets next week after casting some.
That sounds good. I would like to see some pics.
Sean
Quote from: Ramjet on July 25 2013 07:35:56 PM MDT
I just today received my Mihec 4 cavity mold with pins for FP HP this is one very nice mold I will pose pics of bullets next week after casting some.
Quote from: cmemiss on July 22 2013 09:28:59 PM MDT
You might also look at the MP. He has a really pretty brass 180-190 or 190-200 mold with pins for HP, semi-HP and flat nose. There was a group buy recently and he may have some left over.
Last I heard, there were some left of both styles. There's also another group buy running for a lighter version of the same boolit, 170 solid/ 155 hp, and 150 solid/ 135 hp. Just a guess but I expect that one to go to production before the end of summer. It's got 80 molds ordered and that seems to be a number that gets Miha's attention.
MiHec Mold 10MM 200 grain solid or 2 different HP pins
[attachment deleted by admin]
Beautiful! Post a few photos of your new bullets and maybe a target or two if you would, please.
Thanks
Steve
Yep! that's a very nice mold...lets see some finish bullets! ;D 8)
This is one of nicest I have seen. I will get some pics when I cast some I will certainly post . My plan is to load over Longshot and AA#7. I will change out pins and post all three options for you guys as well.
Mihec 10mm - 200gr WFN / .40s&w - 180gr HP, 4-cavity, Brass (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=171093)
That's the results thread over on Cast boolit forums. Lots of pics, load data, some dead critters, etc.
I sure would like to get my hands on one of those!
You can also check with Erik of Hollow point Mold Service http://www.hollowpointmold.com/ (http://www.hollowpointmold.com/)
He has some of the new style LEE 2 cavity molds converted to HP's $99
Steve the transaction went smooth and I think I had the mold in hand within two weeks from order date now that was on an in stock mold. He sent me pay pal invoice wella.
I will also say this Lee molds are Ok for the money and seeing they from my neck of the woods I support them however there is ZERO comparison between the Mihec and Lee molds the MiHec are that good. I own a bunch of molds from different makers these are some of the best.
Quote from: Steve4102 on July 27 2013 06:44:50 AM MDT
I sure would like to get my hands on one of those!
Steve, I'm pretty sure Mihec (the mold maker) still has some extras available. If you want one you need to register over on Cast Boolits forums and send a PM to Mihec telling him what you want and providing him with your PayPal email address. Mihec will send you an invoice for payment (about $160 iirc). Once you make payment it will take a few weeks for the package to make it from Europe and through customs. The time to buy is now though. When they're gone there's no telling when or if there will ever be another production run.
Quote from: Oreo on July 27 2013 10:07:41 AM MDT
Quote from: Steve4102 on July 27 2013 06:44:50 AM MDT
I sure would like to get my hands on one of those!
Steve, I'm pretty sure Mihec (the mold maker) still has some extras available. If you want one you need to register over on Cast Boolits forums and send a PM to Mihec telling him what you want and providing him with your PayPal email address. Mihec will send you an invoice for payment (about $160 iirc). Once you make payment it will take a few weeks for the package to make it from Europe and through customs. The time to buy is now though. When they're gone there's no telling when or if there will ever be another production run.
Thanks, I sent him a PM this morning asking if there were any of these moulds left, anxiously awaiting a reply.
Quote from: The_Shadow on July 27 2013 09:28:50 AM MDT
You can also check with Erik of Hollow point Mold Service http://www.hollowpointmold.com/ (http://www.hollowpointmold.com/)
He has some of the new style LEE 2 cavity molds converted to HP's $99
Thanks, I have one of Erik's moulds, nice.
http://10mm-firearms.com/reloading-10mm-ammo/my-new-mold/
Cool but the picture you show is of the older LEE mold design here is the "NEW" style...
(http://www.hollowpointmold.com/forsale/sale-pictures/207.jpg)
Yup, mine is of the old design.
I have a New design Lee 6 cavity 175gr TC mould that is now on my desk as a paper weight.
It makes beautiful bullets and is very fast, problem is that all my bullets drop at .400. Occasionally I will encounter an odd ball that measures .401, but even that is to small for my needs.
I have tried to increase the size with various methods, temps and alloys to no avail, it just drops them too small.
I wonder if Erik's new design HP moulds are running small as well?
Quote from: Steve4102 on July 27 2013 07:17:51 PM MDT
Yup, mine is of the old design.
I have a New design Lee 6 cavity 175gr TC mould that is now on my desk as a paper weight.
It makes beautiful bullets and is very fast, problem is that all my bullets drop at .400. Occasionally I will encounter an odd ball that measures .401, but even that is to small for my needs.
I have tried to increase the size with various methods, temps and alloys to no avail, it just drops them too small.
I wonder if Erik's new design HP moulds are running small as well?
Wanna sell your "paperweight"?
Steve, a lead like linotype would drop larger in diameter probably .401-.402
Yea but who wants to cast pistol boolits out of linotype? That dog won't hunt.
The mold can be salvaged a couple ways. I'm no expert on how so I won't try to give details but one way is using something to keep the mold halves separated a bit during casting. This produces an oval boolit which is made round again in a sizer. The other way is to cast a boolit and then apply a polishing compound to it and spin it in the mold cavity with a drill. This polishing hones out the cavity a thousandth or so and can be done repeatedly to enlarge the cavity as desired.
My favorite way is to just buy MP molds. They come cut to glorious perfection the first time. ;)
Quote from: Oreo on July 29 2013 07:47:43 AM MDT
Yea but who wants to cast pistol boolits out of linotype? That dog won't hunt.
The mold can be salvaged a couple ways. I'm no expert on how so I won't try to give details but one way is using something to keep the mold halves separated a bit during casting. This produces an oval boolit which is made round again in a sizer. The other way is to cast a boolit and then apply a polishing compound to it and spin it in the mold cavity with a drill. This polishing hones out the cavity a thousandth or so and can be done repeatedly to enlarge the cavity as desired.
My favorite way is to just buy MP molds. They come cut to glorious perfection the first time. ;)
This is the route I am on. He got back to me and said he has the 190 and 200 available.
Your design, is the 190 a .403 as well? The diagram is cut off and does not show that dimension. The 190 is 4 cavity as well, yes?
If it is, that is what I will get.
Linotype is fine for low-power target bullets. They cast very hard, but are also light weight.
Casting with an "open mold" is bad ju-ju. Not only will the bullets cast "oval", they won't be concentric (just as bad or worse than undersize). Add to that, any outflow will cause mold flashing, which makes the bullets essentially useless, and can permanently damage the mold.
I like the Lee aluminum molds, and tend to "customize" them in various ways to get the exact bullet for my needs. I use the bullet-drill-compound method as well, but with a 6 cavity mold, it's very meticulous work to get the cavities all the same. Aluminum takes very little working to enlarge them, and you can't make them smaller once that line is crossed.
I have used aluminum ac tape (the kind they use on ac ducts-- thin aluminum tape) on Lee moulds to increase the diameter of the boolits.
Just put a small strip on the bottom portion of the mould and it will increase the diameter .001-.002 and stays put after many hours of casting. It will be out of round but sizing will correct MOST of that problem.
Sean
Quote from: Steve4102 on July 29 2013 08:20:28 AM MDT
Quote from: Oreo on July 29 2013 07:47:43 AM MDT
Yea but who wants to cast pistol boolits out of linotype? That dog won't hunt.
The mold can be salvaged a couple ways. I'm no expert on how so I won't try to give details but one way is using something to keep the mold halves separated a bit during casting. This produces an oval boolit which is made round again in a sizer. The other way is to cast a boolit and then apply a polishing compound to it and spin it in the mold cavity with a drill. This polishing hones out the cavity a thousandth or so and can be done repeatedly to enlarge the cavity as desired.
My favorite way is to just buy MP molds. They come cut to glorious perfection the first time. ;)
This is the route I am on. He got back to me and said he has the 190 and 200 available.
Your design, is the 190 a .403 as well? The diagram is cut off and does not show that dimension. The 190 is 4 cavity as well, yes?
If it is, that is what I will get.
These were only made in 4-cavity. The only difference between the 190gr and the 200gr is that the 200gr cavity is cut a little deeper so as to drop a longer heavier boolit. They all seem to drop about 5gr heavier then spec regardless of alloy. The 190gr molds are quite a bit more popular. And yes they actually drop .4035". That should be large enough for most 40cal pistols.
Quote from: Oreo on July 29 2013 03:15:54 PM MDT
Quote from: Steve4102 on July 29 2013 08:20:28 AM MDT
Quote from: Oreo on July 29 2013 07:47:43 AM MDT
Yea but who wants to cast pistol boolits out of linotype? That dog won't hunt.
The mold can be salvaged a couple ways. I'm no expert on how so I won't try to give details but one way is using something to keep the mold halves separated a bit during casting. This produces an oval boolit which is made round again in a sizer. The other way is to cast a boolit and then apply a polishing compound to it and spin it in the mold cavity with a drill. This polishing hones out the cavity a thousandth or so and can be done repeatedly to enlarge the cavity as desired.
My favorite way is to just buy MP molds. They come cut to glorious perfection the first time. ;)
This is the route I am on. He got back to me and said he has the 190 and 200 available.
Your design, is the 190 a .403 as well? The diagram is cut off and does not show that dimension. The 190 is 4 cavity as well, yes?
If it is, that is what I will get.
These were only made in 4-cavity. The only difference between the 190gr and the 200gr is that the 200gr cavity is cut a little deeper so as to drop a longer heavier boolit. They all seem to drop about 5gr heavier then spec regardless of alloy. The 190gr molds are quite a bit more popular. And yes they actually drop .4035". That should be large enough for most 40cal pistols.
It's not lookin good for me to get one of these. :(
I sent him a PM and he replied with 190 or 200. I replied 190 along with my PayPal email address. Bin about a week with no reply. Darn, I was so looking forward to one of these.
I do not want to make you feel bad but I cast my first bunch of bullet with it yesterday and by far of all the molds I have owned and worked with this is the best the bullets dropped so nice and cast so well with such little effort it was actually fun. Get on the group buy it is worth the wait.
Loaded some up and ran them across the chronograph 1345 FPS.
8.0 grains of Longshot
Longslide LW with flash suppressor.
CCI large pistol primers.
Bullet finished weight was 197 grains. Deep HP version.
The lead was 2 lbs of Lino for every 10 lbs of plumbers lead. Probably alittle soft.
Standard deviation was only 14FPS
Accuracy was really good when I test the DRT in wet Pak I will test these as well.
Quote from: Steve4102 on August 05 2013 10:13:04 AM MDT
Quote from: Oreo on July 29 2013 03:15:54 PM MDT
Quote from: Steve4102 on July 29 2013 08:20:28 AM MDT
Quote from: Oreo on July 29 2013 07:47:43 AM MDT
Yea but who wants to cast pistol boolits out of linotype? That dog won't hunt.
The mold can be salvaged a couple ways. I'm no expert on how so I won't try to give details but one way is using something to keep the mold halves separated a bit during casting. This produces an oval boolit which is made round again in a sizer. The other way is to cast a boolit and then apply a polishing compound to it and spin it in the mold cavity with a drill. This polishing hones out the cavity a thousandth or so and can be done repeatedly to enlarge the cavity as desired.
My favorite way is to just buy MP molds. They come cut to glorious perfection the first time. ;)
This is the route I am on. He got back to me and said he has the 190 and 200 available.
Your design, is the 190 a .403 as well? The diagram is cut off and does not show that dimension. The 190 is 4 cavity as well, yes?
If it is, that is what I will get.
These were only made in 4-cavity. The only difference between the 190gr and the 200gr is that the 200gr cavity is cut a little deeper so as to drop a longer heavier boolit. They all seem to drop about 5gr heavier then spec regardless of alloy. The 190gr molds are quite a bit more popular. And yes they actually drop .4035". That should be large enough for most 40cal pistols.
It's not lookin good for me to get one of these. :(
I sent him a PM and he replied with 190 or 200. I replied 190 along with my PayPal email address. Bin about a week with no reply. Darn, I was so looking forward to one of these.
Steve,
Try sending him another PM. He'll get back to you. He's just difficult to get a response from sometimes. Send him a new PM once a week till you get a response. And keep checking your junk mail folder for a paypal invoice from MP Kalupi.
Did some tests I will post a pic of the recovered button tomorrow but wet-pack penetration was 18" the cavity and disruption was stellar and classic tapered channel. The bullet shed its nose after expansion the button traveled like a wad cutter. I am very impressed with this mold.
Steve if you want few of these bullets to test or load PM me. I will be luring them with the HiTek bonded lube but I will fix you up.
Here is the pic of the recovered bullet. The lead mix was 16 lbs plumbers lead to 4 lbs linotype with one roll of 50-50 solder. I was driving this bullet at 1325 FPS. I shot 4 bullets in the same wetpak the results were consistent between all four of them. The distance from the wetpak was 30 Feet. The weight was 197 Grains as cast The recover wadcutter was 97.1 grains it was found 18" into the wetpak.
[attachment deleted by admin]
Ramjet, please also share your experience in the results thread over on CastBoolits.
18" of penetration is fantastic, perfect actually. That's the FBI ideal standard for a duty bullet and exactly what I wanted from the design.
I have been contemplating doing some actual ballistics gel testing according to the FBI protocol, including 4 layer denim tests, drywall tests, and 20ga steel tests just for fun. That all requires time of course and I have none at the moment. (Hard to believe, but I have yet to actually fire a single one of these boolits.)
Quote from: Ramjet on August 14 2013 08:45:04 PM MDT
Did some tests I will post a pic of the recovered button tomorrow but wet-pack penetration was 18" the cavity and disruption was stellar and classic tapered channel. The bullet shed its nose after expansion the button traveled like a wad cutter. I am very impressed with this mold.
Steve if you want few of these bullets to test or load PM me. I will be luring them with the HiTek bonded lube but I will fix you up.
Thanks for the offer, but I think I may have a mold coming.
I did as Oreo suggested and sent him a few more PMs.
Wouldn't ya know I got a Paypal request for all of them. I informed him of the mixup and payed for one. Hopefully he it gets sorted out.
Thanks
Pics posted above
Great news Steve!
Thanks for the pics Ramjet. Any of the wet pack?
Yea but when I noticed what the magazine that was showing I deemed them inappropriate. Bill Ruger would be mad at me...........LOL you will have to take my word it looked really good.
Ha! Fair enough.
Well, my 190gr Mold came in the mail today. Beautiful, a work of art!
Now, so I don't screw this thing up, what should I do to set it up?
So far I scrubbed everything with a tooth brush and Dawn dish soap. Dried everything and laid it out on a dry paper towel.
Tomorrow I am going to lightly lube what needs to be lubed and install the handles. Anything else I need to do to this mould before I preheat it and start casting?
Thanks
Well, its not absolutely necessary but I recommend heat cycling the mold block a few times to get a bit of oxidation on the brass prior to contact with molten lead. I strip the mold halves down and place them cavity side up in a stainless frying pan then place the pan on an electric hot-plate set on high. After an hour turn off the burner and allow to air cool for 20min or so. Repeat twice more. Each time you'll see the color of the brass get a little darker.
Check the bottom of the sprue plate for burrs. I usually run a ceramic sharpening rod over the bottom a few times to remove them. This way you don't scratch the top of the blocks opening the sprue plate.
Other then that, there's a few tricks with adjusting the mold parts. For instance, the Cramer hp pins each have two locating pins. The locating pins slide in the mold block better when they're left just a little loose in the cramer pin.
Thanks, I'm going to give that a try and cast some bullets tomorrow.
Isn't mould a fungus? ;D
Well, I tried out the mould today.
Sadly I was struggling right from the get go.
Cavity #1(closest to the handle) will not fill out.
I had the mould hot, I had the mould really hot, I had the melt 650, 675, 700, 725, 750 and even 800. I had bullets that were super frosty, I had bullet that were shiny.
I added tin, I added Mono-Type, I started from scratch with a fresh melt of pure WW ingots, no help, then I added tin and Mono again, again no help
I poured slow, I poured fast, I poured with the mould at an angle and I poured with the ladle 2-3 inches high.
Nothing I did got all four cavities to fill. #1 was always less then a complete pour. I even tried filling #1 alone several dozen times and the results were always the same, less than a full pour.
At this point, I'm at a loss as to what to try next.
:(
I had poor bullets for the first hour or so but after I dumped them back into pot and kept on pouring they got better. When you say they do not fill can you be more specific?
Describe the bullet......
I'll try again tomorrow and take pictures.
I pour the melt in until it fills up the cavity and overflows the sprue plate. When I open the sprue plate there is an air gap of about 1/16 inch where the lead did not come to the top of the mould. Basically the base of the bullet is missing.
Are you pouring lead untill a little bubble comes out the top of the sprue plate? This will help with fillout.
I usually spray brake cleaner in a new mould to get rid of ALL oil, dirt, etc...
Sean
Quote from: Steve4102 on August 21 2013 04:06:21 AM MDT
I'll try again tomorrow and take pictures.
I pour the melt in until it fills up the cavity and overflows the sprue plate. When I open the sprue plate there is an air gap of about 1/16 inch where the lead did not come to the top of the mould. Basically the base of the bullet is missing.
2 things come to mind here:
#1 - your sprue plate is probably too tight. If it swings freely when warm, that's fine, I like it a little tighter than that but not much. (The tight sprue plate is trapping air in the cavity.)
#2 - smoke your mold cavities with a butane lighter (NOT a wick lighter or a candle). You can't hurt the mold by doing this. A thin soot layer in the mold cavity lets it fill out better, over a wider temperature range. I do this with all of my molds, and most of them will start dropping good bullets as soon as they're too hot to touch. Many of them fill out well enough to see the machining marks from the mold cavities.
Thanks, I'm going to loosen the S plate this afternoon and see if that helps.
I agree that this is most likely a vent issue from a sprue plate too tight and too small vent lines.
Hey Steve, I am having the same problem, none of mime fill out, I am wondering if I have to Patina in the Vents? I was tired when pouring, 1:00am. after about a hr. i just turned the pot off and came upstairs, kind of PI$$ed off.I will try again later, this weekend.
I had one fill out, but could not get it to drop.
I cleaned with Dawn, twice, rinsed, twice, let dry, put it in a SS pan heated for 1hr. let cool down ea. time, then repeated, twice, looks great, but I can't get it to function, like my other mold.
I use a carburetor cleaner to dissolve all solvents a clean the molds. You guys will need to get those molds hot, pour at about 750-800 degrees, let poured bullets sort of cook off any and residual oils and what ever else is on your molds. when the bullets fill out and are no longer wrinkled then lower the pots' temp to about 670 degrees.
After the bullets fill out the mold properly and if they stick (that means they are filling out completely) then you can lightly soot the mold cavities, HP pins and bottom of the sprue plate with a propane lighter.
Some tin in your alloy can help fill out. Pure lead is not going to fill out totally.
Many newer wheel weights are zinc alloy...If your alloy has zinc in it you are screwed! :o Use it for something else besides bullets.
Even though I have been having issues with the #1 Cylinder, I still managed to get a few good bullets cast, sized and lubed.
I loaded up a few today with 7.9gr of Silhouette seated to 1.255 +/-. I found that 1.255 hung up just a little when loading the 6th and 7th rounds in the mag. I will load a few dummies at 1.250 and see if that helps. They all feed and fired without issues, :)
I set up at 25 yards with a sand bag. The first mag was a little disappointing, but for me that is really not all that uncommon.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/steve4102/newBullet1_zps92c3ca23.jpg)
The next mags was better even with the flier.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/steve4102/newbullwt2_zps5dcd9196.jpg)
Then I did one without my reading glasses. This way I can see the target clear, but the front sight is blurry. Another flier. Hope these fliers are me and not the bullets?
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/steve4102/newbullet4_zps6e2df441.jpg)
So far I like it. More bullets and more practice and hopefully the fliers disappear.
You really need to post your experience and questions here:
Results Thread: Mihec 10mm - 200gr WFN / .40s&w - 180gr HP, 4-cavity, Brass (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=171093)
Those are the guys who have the most experience casting with this mold. They can help you diagnose problems better then I can.
I wish I could offer some help. I have 2 Miha molds, this one in 190, and a .38/357. They both seem to like to run hot, and I preheat on a hot plate while the RCBS bottom pour is heating up. The HP and shallow HPs drop like a dream, but the flat nose is a bit difficult. All are slightly frosted. The .38 mold even drops the Penta HP pretty well. One other thing. Have you watched the video on the mihec web site. That might help if you are new to using these molds.
Are you sizing these bullets if so how and to what size?
Quote from: Ramjet on August 23 2013 07:05:38 PM MDT
Are you sizing these bullets if so how and to what size?
Yes, .402 with Lee sizing die.
It's running now. I did a lot of different stuff, so I'm not sure what was the cure if not a little from all of them.
I loosened the sprue plate. That alone did not solve the problem completely, better, but not fixed.
I took everything apart and heated the two halves on a hot plate, very hot. I took a brass brush and scrubbed the flats of the mold being careful not to f-up the cavities themselves, then let them cool.
I pressure sprayed the two halves with Break-Clean and let them dry, twice.
I heated the two halves up on the hot plate, very hot, and let them cool.
I put it all back together and set it on the hotplate sprue plate down until hot. Set the melt to 700*. Poured perfectly as long as I held the ladle up about an inch above the mold. Cast a couple dozen this morning without a single reject. :)
Get a bottom pour furnace it will help allot.
Did some more wet pack testing today with the cast HP the entrance was small and just 3" in the damage to the wet Pak was crazy about 3" wide for 6" long then I got a total of 14" of penetration the button wad cutter drove deep and straight. I am really thinking about using this bullet for Elk in October.