I got a lyman mold #452374 for xmas. It is supposed to drop bullets at 180 but instead they are right under 200. Searching Google I found several comments confirming that these molds do indeed drop at 200, but nobody really mentions a load. Even the lyman cast bullet manual lists them as a 180 with data looking a bit warm for a 200. (Some of the 200 gr starting loads exceed the max loads for 180) I've currently worked up to 7.8 gr of AA#5 and everything seems ok so far. Crony readings are 942 -960 over 5 shots with that load. Should I stop here? 45 acp springfield 1911 a1.

According to Accurate a 200 grain Hornady JHP can be pushed with up to 9.7 grains of AA-5. With a lead bullet having much less resistance going down the bore you should be fine.

In their loading manual 8.4 gr./924 fps, 9.7 gr./1050 fps.

Lyman lists a 200 grain lead bullet at 8.0 gr/970

So it looks like you are well within the limits and have room to move upwards if you want to.

Nice looking bullet...

Bob

Kind of curious how they got that data. If I hadn't weighed them first I could have started over max depending on which powder I used. Maybe they had a prototype mold that dropped 180 gr. bullets?

Not weighing a sampling of the bullets you cast would be...not smart.

What alloy did you use? A 200-grain bullet in pure lead would be close to 180-grains when cast with #2.

Clip on wheel weights with maybe 1% tin added. I knew the alloy made a difference but I didn't realize it was that much. Thanks for pointing that out.

Depth of bullet in case affects pressure more than 20 grain difference.

Except all the variables can stack and then a guy might really have a problem. It's best to control the things that can be.

#2 is generally the lightest alloy. 20-grains is a lot to pick up using clip-on wheel weights, but about right for pure lead.

Based on density your bullets should have weighed around 192-grains, but that assumes a lot about the alloy's composition and "is more what you call guidelines, than actual rules..."

I have a 290 grain mold for the 44 mag that seats considerably less bullet in the case than a 240 jacketed. When seated to the canalur is too long for a SBH or S&W but works in a RH/SRH and takes more H-110/296 than a 240 grain. Intruding into the case capacity matters most.