I had forgot that I was down to one old single cavity 429241 until today when I was loading some cast bullets and noticed that I am running low of 44 bullets.

It’s one from the dark days at Lyman with the thin front driving band and rounded grease groove. The two holer that I used to make bullets for years was the more authentic style with the thick driving bands, square grease groove, and bigger meplat.

Surfing the web for a replacement and I’m thinking Lyman will be down the list of preference. I’ve had much better luck with 32 and 38 molds from RCBS lately.

I need a two cavity and prefer cast iron though I might consider aluminum if you guys convince me. Not interested in any heavyweights or anything tumble lube. Just a good shooting plain base 240-260ish SWC.

The vast majority of them will be shot at steel but they’ll also be used for deer, elk, and pigs.

What do you guys recommend?

Give LBT molds a look, i know that Veral makes a Keith semi wadcutef mold. With the better bullet lubes of today there is no need for the square bottom grease grooves.
LBT molds are aluminum yet the cast excellently

I'd call NOE

Keith bullets only... you shooting it in special or mag? RCBS 250 KT.

They’ll be shot in Special and Mag but nothing hotter than 1200fps. I was just looking at an RCBS 250KT. I have the 38-150KT an it’s a great mold and bullet. I use the 32-98SWC in my 32 mag and it’s great too. Just making sure there wasn’t anything drastically better that I was missing.

Mihec #503 brass four cavity with all the fun pins!!! The penta pin is about all shoot.

I like NOE moulds, and would look there first. Nothing wrong with RCBS, either, at least nothing that a little elbow grease doesn't fix. Though I have had RCBS warp a little when running them hot and fast. Keep telling myself I'm going to pick up something from Veral Smith, but I haven't yet.

I have used the 44-250 KT and 38-150 KT and been happy with them at various velocities. In fact I sized a couple of the 150's down to .356 and used them in a 9x19 just to see if they'd work. They did.

NOE

They make 3 Keith moulds.

The 432421 (434421) 245-255gr., the H&G 503 265 gr.(432 diameter) and the 275-K, both .432 or .434 diameter.

Thet come in 2, 3 or 4 cavity brass or aluminum.

The Lyman is nominal diameter with #2 alloy and the RCBS 250-K is sized with Linotype; this means both have a tendency to cast undersized with WW metal, which makes them wonky with .431 or larger throats.

That’s good info HawkI. I hadn’t given any thought to the alloy the RCBS molds are sized for.

I have an RCBS 250K; it barely hits (kind of) being sized and lubed in a .431 Star die with Lino. With WW alloy it flat doesnt work.
It and the Lyman can be great moulds, but they have their pitfalls for success.

What gun or guns do you plan to use this bullet in?

The 275 K has the best killing meplat, but requires a flat bullet seating plug, the H&G 503 runs decently in lever guns and has a better meplat than the 429421 and RCBS 250K.

Wonder why they spec them for Lino. I’ve never known anyone who didn’t have a buddy with a print shop who cast bullets from straight lino. I have a buddy who’s been in the printing business for 60 years, he uses straight lino to make sinkers and jig heads!

My 32-098RCBS drops bullets at .314 from WWs and my 38-150 drops them right at .3585. Works out fine since I size to .313 to fit the 32 and .358 works for my 38s but I can see where it could lead to problems with a little different alloy or guns with big throats.

For now they’ll be shot out of primarily my Bisley Hunter and out of my 2nd model Hand Ejector in special cases. I sold all my long guns when I moved down here. I’m trying to work a deal on an 8 3/8” M29 Classic but it’ll see the same 8-10gr Unique loads my Bisley does. That load, if it shoots and it has out of all my 44s, really does all I need from a 44. A 250 at 1150-1175 is powerful enough to kill whatever I’m hunting with it and easy shooting enough I can shoot 50 to 100 rounds at steel and not be flinching and sore.

The old 1926 gets 6gr of Unique with the Keith bullet. I may try to shoot a deer with it someday and I’ll likely use my 429215HP with a soft alloy for that to make up some for lack of speed. Mostly though it’s just fun to shoot plates with a piece of history.

I've never known a guy who had a print shop. Where do you meet these guys?

The .432 H&G 503 would work well in all of them with WW metal and sized .431, as an all around bullet.

I should add that I've lapped a couple Lee aluminum moulds and one RCBS mould to cast larger bullets. It works, but it's a PITA, and the RCBS mould took about 10 hours to get both cavities right. It can be done.

Small town newspaper owners. Sadly setting type is about a thing of the past but I still have a breadbox full of type blocks out in the shop with my casting gear.

Any experience with Arsenal molds? They make a 503 that’s reasonable priced and specs call for WW. Browsing their site just now they have a good selection of designs and are US made. But Lee is US made too so....

Yep.

I had about 500lbs. from a newspaper in a medium sized town. Still have a couple hundred left. Just use it for sweetening or 224 bullets.

Its kind of macabre melting down an old obit photo from the 1960s....

No, I dont.

I don’t have that mold but have a few others from them. Good molds Each one has been virtually trouble free and cast great from day one. They make a 200 grain 40 caliber SWC they list as a Keith. Great bullet in my 401 Powermag and am looking forward to trying it in my Buckeye 38-50/10mm.

This is a great mold. I have it and would be fine with it as my only 44 bullet if I were forced to just have one choice. With the various pins one can cast a solid or a few different HP options. A very versatile mold.

Accurate molds will make you about anything you want, mold material, sized for specific alloys, number of cavities, etc.


That said, I have an RCBS that drops WW bullets @ 260 grains & approx .4305".

I have a two-cavity Lyman 429421 that I have been using since the early eighties that is still going strong. I recently bought an RCBS 44-250K from the classified’s here, but I haven’t tried it yet. Waiting for cooler weather.

Ain't it purty.

Yes it is. What mold did it come out of?

My favorite Keith isn't really a Keith. The RCBS .45-270-SAA.

It also didnt drop from an RCBS mold....

In fact its not a 270-SAA at all, but probably the 275 K NOE or originally the 275 NEI.

The 270 SAA has a smaller meplat and a larger base band and middle band than the forward driving band.

Do us 38 WCF fans a favor and keep us appraised of the results.