Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Ideal 358477 mold

I bought a clean 2 cavity 358477 mold at a LGS this weekend with handles for $25. Have used the 358429 and 358495 for years will good results.

Have heard good things about the '477. Goal is use in the newer .357's that have cylinders too short for the 170 Keith bullet.

Anyone else using this bullet?

Is that one the hollow point SWC? If so, mix your lead rather soft and it will work like magic. Anywhere from 16:1 - 20:1 depending on the velocity you push it.

This is an old Lyman #358477 though not as old as your mold. It shoots great in my 38/357s. Does your mold have the flat meplat? If so, it is the berries. The newer Lyman molds in this # have a rounded meplat which I don't like as well.





This mold is pretty much worn-out. It doesn't line up as well as it should but still shoots well. Go figure......

No Kevin, just a run of the mill two cavity Lyman Ideal.

I used it for the first time today and ended up with about 200 keepers.
Mix was mostly WW with some other misc. lead pieces.

Sized to .358, lubed and loaded in .357 cases over 4.5 HP-38.

The casting seemed a little easier than 358429's and 495's.

Lastround:

Yes. a flat meplat. My cast bullets look like yours but the lube groove is deeper.

What do your bullets with that alloy weigh? That was a copy of the old Sharpe design that was used to develop the .357 Magnum back in the early 1930s. Good midrange bullet but for full power the .357 has always needed a gas check design, hence the Lyman .357156.

Back in the day, we used amazing quantities of 2400 behind those bullets as "expert"s advised if you could eject all six from an N frame S&W "they were safe." This was before most companies had pressure equipment, and the experts were wrong.