Found a Strange bullet mold.

C

CCCLVII

New member
I was at a yard sale last summer and the woman there was selling her former husbands reloading items. I bought all the bullet molds they had.

Well yesterday I was looking at one and it looked odd to me. So I decided to cast it to see what it actually made.

The bullet is .3575 in diameter. It has a very short nose length of .31, so that leads me to believe its a 357 magnum (or possible 38 special bullet) but the odd thing is the weight and length of the bullet.

The bullet weighs in at 251 grains cast from wheel weight and is .953 in length. There is no place to put a gas check.

Is this just a super heavy 357 magnum bullet or is a a 358 rifle bullet with a very short nose?

If I can find a camera ill post a picture. I do not see any markings on the mold its self.
 
9x57 used slow and heavy 357 bullets in that weight range. I can't really see any handgun with room for nearly an inch of bullet.
The other option is a paper patched bullet, and your nose length is really the top of the paper, not the end of the case.
 
If it were intended for paper patching it MIGHT be for a round like the 9.3x74R.

It could also be for the .35 Winchester cartridge.

Who made the bullet mold? Any stock number on it?
 
The British police used a 38 with a very heavy 200 grain bullet. Moved slower than a 38 special, but when the bullet hit anything it would start to tumble causing a very large wound cavity.
 
The British .380-200 was originally developed from the .38 S&W cartridge.

It was adopted as the .380 Mk I cartridge in the early 1920s. Later international warfare law concerns about the all-lead bullet resulted in the bullet being changed to a 170-gr. jacketed bullet, the Mk II.

Even though the Mk I was no longer the official service cartridge, it was in common use in the opening years of WW II as there was a lot of it in stores, but not much Mk II ammo.

But, at 250-gr., the bullet mould that CCC found is NOT for the .380-200.
 
I looked through some of my early Lyman manuals and the only bullet that comes close is #3589, now called 35809 to make Lyman's computer happy Problem is it was only cataloged in 150 and 200 gr. weights.
I have that mold in the 200 gr. weight and it's accurate even from a 2" snub nose. I tried Lyman's data to duplicate the old 200 gr. police load that Winchester and Remington once sold. Any other bullets I saw in a 250 gr. weight either had long tapered noses or took a gas check.
I wonder???? At one time Lyman would make a custom mold for a price. I have one that casts two different bullets, 311284 and 311282. Bullets are the same except 282 doe not take a gas check. A possibility is your mold is a #3589 shortened to lighten weight plus eliminate the gas check. A good clear picture would be a big help.
Paul B.
 
I have a similar mold (in that it has no name or marking on it). Is yours made of Brass? Are there lube groves on the bullet?

I understand (correct me if I am wrong) that in the old days there where a few custom mold makers out side of the larger manufacturers. This may be for a proprietary cartridge than never caught on.
 
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"...British police used a 38 with a very heavy 200 grain bullet..." British Army when trying to get more "Power" out of their .38 S&W revolvers.
"...believe its a .357 Magnum..." Not at 251 grains. And .3575" is too small for 9 x 57. That uses a .360" bullet. Definitely a rifle bullet at that weight and length though.
.356 Winchester or the like, maybe.
 
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