How many molds?

Gary those NOE are sweet, I have 3 and am looking at a couple more.
If you really want to be tempted though check out Accurate molds. I have 1 for 41cal and it is NICE. That guy has as many mold designs as all the other makers combined
 
I have never really counted. I suppose it's a pretty big number. I would suspect quite upwards of 150. :) If a mold has variants, such as wider driving bands in some or different ogives, nose lengths, or meplats, and also if I want plain base, gas check, and hollow point options, then I might have 6 or 7 of basically the same bullet. For example, I have the NOE 358429, and then they came out with the Keith 358429, and I wanted the HP 358429, and of course then I had to have the MiHec version of the 358429, as well as the Lyman version and one modified by Erik at hollowpointmolds, so just in that one bullet, I probably have 8 molds for it. The 357477 is another one that has different driving bands based on the year Lyman/Ideal made it. I have 7 of those. And then I have my favorites, which I just have multiples of, because I like them, such as the Turtle Buster (358432), and I must have 10 or so of those. And some are just because of different materials. If I had one in Lyman (steel) and then NOE came out with it in Aluminum - I got one, and if then MiHec came out with it in brass (my favorite medium) - I got one of those as well. And in some, NOE only made aluminum molds for years, then I lead a charge of people who wanted brass and then they not only made new designs in both metals, but also offered some of the older molds in brass now, so I got one of those also and duplicated my aluminum one. :D
 
I haven't counted either. Certainly in the dozens. At least four 6-cavity molds on top of a number of two-cavity molds in .452" for the .45 Auto, alone. Ones that don't get used much are ones that just didn't seem to produce bullets that shot as well as others. For example, I've got a 185 grain RCBS mold with a stubby round nose profile that looks like it ought to shoot fine, but which my 1911's didn't seem to like much. But I kept it, unused, for a couple of decades. When my dad gave me his 25-2 Auto Rim revolver, it proved to be a bullet form it likes just fine, so I started using the mold again. So, it's a little like having a library, I suppose.
 
I should inventory my molds one day.I have a rough idea about how many I have and know I have a couple of duplicates.I'm guessing around 30 to 50 molds.
 
I re-inventoried today.
It's exactly 34 molds.
Four of those are essentially different mold block or bullet configurations of the same bullet. (GC/HP, PB/HP, PB/FN, GC/FN ... and more lube groove variations, since some blocks have combinations of those options.)
Another three and a half (no sprue plate or screws on one) are very, very minor variations of the same .432" bullet. (Which I no longer shoot. :rolleyes:)
The majority are .44 caliber (.430-.433").
The major minorities are .32 caliber revolver (.313-.316"), and .48 caliber (.475-.478") for rifle and/or revolver.
 
Unclenick: So, it's a little like having a library, I suppose.
Click to expand...

I agree. I have sold some that I missed having later. And I have shelved some that I found great use for in later times. And I have bought molds for calibers that I didn't own and never thought I would own, but they were a good deal, and lo-and-behold I now own some of those caliber guns. It's great to have a good selection.
 
I have a few molds... some rifle molds i prolly will never use still in the orange old Ideal/lyman boxes.

I even think i have an old button mold for 45-70
 
reloader28 said:
Gary those NOE are sweet, I have 3 and am looking at a couple more.
If you really want to be tempted though check out Accurate molds. I have 1 for 41cal and it is NICE. That guy has as many mold designs as all the other makers combined
Click to expand...
Like I need MORE temptation....NOE is bad enough....but I appreciate the enabling you guys provide.
What was that site...maybe just a little peek, that wouldn't hurt ...looking is free ...right
Gary
 
When it comes to selling moulds , even though I've buying, begging, borrowing and stealing them since 1967...I have only sold 1 . An old single cavity Lee made for the 45 acp, a 230 grain 1R roundnose . That 1R nose profile just wasn't right...I quickly picked up a used Lyman 2 cavity #452460 SWC in 200 grains , ( paid $12.50 for it) sold the Lee abomination for $2.00 at a yard sale (and felt sorry for the guy who bought it) and never looked back.
I thought that two cavity mould was the cat's meow for production and the design was accurate and fed properly in a 1911.
Lee didn't have the truncated cone 45 acp designs back then, those are proper bullets .
Gary
 
I have 6

357 caliber 125 grain gas check, "pointy wad cutter" (Lyman mold 35893)
357 caliber 195 grain round nose

458 caliber 250 grain gas check, HP
458 caliber 405 grain gas check FP
458 caliber 525 grain FP

000 buck shot. (this one does not work well "for me")
 
I've not heard of alot of good luck with buckshot molds!

I just aquired yet another. Winchester brand 38 special, single cavity. Really nice mold...but single cavity!!:confused:
 
Not trying to hijack the thread, but I have a question. When you mold you own bullets, does that mean you shoot unjacketed lead? Do you coat the lead with plastic or plate them or jacket them some other way? Thanks.
 
Yes, it means you will be shooting unjacketed lead bullets. Some guys coat their bullets with plastic, but I simply apply a lube to mine when resizing them and all is well.

Don
 
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