Who makes a good 45acp bullet mold these days ?

[NoStress]

I have read the Lyman 452374 casts undersize bullets. The RCBS 230-RN mold would suit me if it is a good mold. A heavy round nose bullet mold is what I want and a two cavity mold would be fine. I don't want the Lee mold although I cant remember why. Seems there are seating depth issues if I remember right. I am wondering if I should just get a mold from one of the custom mold makers to avoid quality control issues some claim the main mold makers have.

[Highspeedlane]

I have molds from RCBS and Lyman and they are all good molds. I also have the RCBS 201 gr SWC and the only thing I don't really like about it is the lube groove (only one) is too skinny. I get the best results as far as reduced throat leading from bullets that have generous lube grooves. I always cast a Lyman #2 type alloy.

I know some will say if the bullet is sized correctly to the throat, leading there will be eliminated but I size all my .45 ACP cast to .452" (sometimes .451" as for my Ruger 1911 CMD with Ed Brown match barrel), load and shoot. In the vast majority of cases these bullets all shoot very well when matched with a powder the pistol likes.

Over the years though and credit to shear lack of time (or laziness sometimes  ) I have taken to buying bulk cast if the price is good. Exceptions to this are in my Super Redhawk .454. I haven't found a bulk cast bullet that performs as well as the Lyman 325 gr FPGC bullet in that one, cast in #2 and sized to .452 and hard lubed. That same bullet also works great when loaded in .45 Colt brass and run through my little Winchester Trapper at +P velocity. 

[Boogieman]

LBT  Accept no substitutes.  And their bullet lube is without peers.

[Mr. Black]

The Lee mold makes a fine bullet but it does in fact have an odd profile to it and often has to be loaded really short in order to fit most chambers.   

I powdercoat all my bullets now so I quit worrying about lube designs.   Not trying to say buy the Lee, but only that it does work and can be made to work 100% 

I am interested in buying a 4-6 cavity high quality mold in 45acp though myself.  Pouring two at once takes for ever.   

Going off now to check out the suggestion of said Boogieman.  

[nitesite]

I have problems with the LEE 230 RN mold because it makes very blunt bullets which when seated to published OAL the ogive engages the rifling in some barrel leades.  As long as I seat them so short that they look stupid, everything is fine.

My 2-cavity Lyman 230 makes a longer RN bullet with an ogive that allows seating to proper OAL and there is very little exposed portion of the bullet that is full diameter.  I quit caring about the single lube groove when I began powder coating.

NOE makes a great mold I hear but darn they are expensive!  I'm happy with my Lyman so I haven't bought an RCBS.  

In fact, I still cast a TON of LEE 230 RN with my 6-cavity mold, and they shoot just fine once I learned how to seat them.

Edited July 6, 2018 by nitesite

[Mr. Black]

14 minutes ago, nitesite said:

I have problems with the LEE 230 RN mold because it makes very blunt bullets which when seated to published OAL the ogive engages the rifling in some barrel leades.  As long as I seat them so short that they look stupid, everything is fine.

In fact, I still cast a TON of LEE 230 RN with my 6-cavity mold, and they shoot just fine once I learned how to seat them.

Exactly.   I have mine down to 1.210" COAL and they will shoot perfectly in anything from Glocks to 1911s      

Any other bullet would be loaded to around 1.250" COAL which I consider standard.  

[Boogieman]

39 minutes ago, Mr. Black said:

The Lee mold makes a fine bullet but it does in fact have an odd profile to it and often has to be loaded really short in order to fit most chambers.   

I powdercoat all my bullets now so I quit worrying about lube designs.   Not trying to say buy the Lee, but only that it does work and can be made to work 100% 

I am interested in buying a 4-6 cavity high quality mold in 45acp though myself.  Pouring two at once takes for ever.   

Going off now to check out the suggestion of said Boogieman.  

LBT only makes 2 bullet units.  Even if you go with another brand I can't recommend the LBT lube enough.  I'd also suggest picking up Veral Smith's book available on the LBT site.

[Borg warner]

I have a Lee 2-Cavity TL452-230 45 ACP and it works very well in my Ithica 1911A1 with an Olympic Arms "NM" barrel using Wilson mags. Cast from wheelweights it weighs 240 grains.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Borg warner

[NoStress]

Thank you all for the info. I will take a look at some of the molds suggested. There sure are an awful lot of choices.

[Mr. Black]

16 hours ago, Boogieman said:

LBT only makes 2 bullet units.  

That kinda sucks as honestly like I said earlier I'm actually pretty happy with my 20 year old Lee Mold once I figured out it's quirks.     

Have you guys ever heard of Accurate Bullet Molds? 

They seem to have an endless selection of profiles and offer blocks anywhere from 2-6 holes.   They will build in Aluminum, Brass, or Iron.   

I am looking at this grooveless 230g profile that looks like it would be awesome for powdercoating.  

 

 

Edited July 7, 2018 by Mr. Black

[jmax]

I have had Lee, RCBS and Lyman, I have NOE molds.

[Mr. Black]

I ended up going with a 4 hole Lyman steel mold.  225g round nose with one lube groove.  Will be powder coated anyways.    This will be my first steel mold.  Can't wait to see how it works.  

[NoStress]

I was able to get two used but like new molds and am waiting for top punches and a .452 sizer die. The molds are an RCBS 230-RN (82048) and a Lyman 200 GR FN BB (452630). Its a start.

[norton]

I use two brands of molds, Lee and Lyman.

Most of my Lee molds drop bullets oversized.  No big deal.  I run them through the inexpensive Lee sizing die after powder coating.  It is an extra step however.

My Lyman molds drop bullets that do not need sizing.  As long as leading is minimal, and accuracy is good, I don't worry about anything else.