What is the best all around .38/.357 mold diameter?

I know in an ideal world you should get a mold that matches the slugging results from any particular firearm and there would be some overlap between guns. Never going to have a micro groove marlin so my question, is "What is the best all around .38/.357 mold diameter?" I realize that my single action revolver may not match my J Frame or Ruger LCR or the soon to add 1873 lever action or Blackhawk, or GP100 or whatever. Have two .357s now and I know the inventory will grow. Would like to keep the mold count down if possible and would probably get rid of a gun that fell outside the parameters of the molds I get, rather than the other way around and add another mold. Want to stick with .357 for all my guns and keep it simple. Thanks for your input.

"Had his shooting been as good as his running, he might have given a better account of himself."
James. C. Henderson

Boolit Mold Join DateJan 2013LocationMilan, MIPosts16

Not sure why you wouldn't want to increase your mold count............. but if it were me, I would keep molds that cast large and get a few Lee push through bullet sizing dies in .357, .358, .359,.........got it covered.

The determing factor for me is cylinder chamber not bore...my 357's won't chamber a loaded round with a .360 sized bullet unless it's been run through a LFCD. If I use the seater die to seat and crimp, no joy...so .358 is what I size to. The cylinder chambers on my guns measure .380...(throats are .358 bore is .357)

JM - If I had my choice in your situation, I would get a mold that dropped boolits at .359 anyway. That way, you can size down some, or not. Good advice regarding the cylinder throats. Small throats will wreck the whole program. Don't be afraid to accumulate a few molds. After all,
the 2 cav Lees are available for 20 some bucks. How bad is that ?? Good luck. Mike

I saw Elvis at 1000 feet. John Force

"Not sure why you wouldn't want to increase your mold count."

Money and simplicity.

"Had his shooting been as good as his running, he might have given a better account of himself."
James. C. Henderson

a good rnfp mold sized to 358 is what you'll want.
for all my revolver cartridges I have two molds, a rnfp and a swc of some sort.
I generally have one-two revolvers in that cartridge and a levergun or three.
358 for the 35's, 430 for the 44's, and 452 for the 45's.
I occasionally do something different for a special gun.
and if pressed to one mold only it would be a rnfp style with a fairly short nose.

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

Too many to pick from. I have LEE and Lyman molds. LEE 140 gr WC is sperb so is the Lyman 148 gr WC boolit.
I have others that shoot well also. Mine drop at .358+. The largest is .3604. Tweaking the alloy would change that. I use .358 in the nines as well. How big are your cylinders miking at??

Shiloh

Last edited by Shiloh; Yesterday at 07:03 PM.

"A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves."
Bertrand de Jouvenel

?Any government that does not trust its citizens with firearms is either a tyranny, or planning to become one.? ? Joseph P. Martino

?If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert , in five years there would be a shortage of sand.? ? Milton Friedman

I order molds, for 150 grains and up, that drop at .360, if possible, and size down to .359. My Marlin requires it and my 586 shoots that size just fine. I don't like having loads for only one firearm when I have multiples that take the same cartridge. I order .359 molds for lighter bullets so I can size them to work in 9mm as well.

I like the Lyman or RCBS 158 grain Cowboy moulds (these drop slightly larger). Bullets drop out around .361 from my RCBS cowboy version mould, and size easily to .358 using the RCBS Lube-a-matic. When using the Lee type sizer to size these .361 bullets down to .358 it will leave fins around base of bullet (not good).

If .361 is too large then I would get maybe the Lyman 358477. These should drop smaller and size easily using both types of sizers.
http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/bullet-casting/mould-details.php?entryID=9

I would say a .358. That is what works most of the time and if you need one a little bit bigger, you can "beagle" the mold or change the alloy or temp to get a different diameter.
Also: what runfiverun said.

The RCBS 9MM bullet drops exactly .358" using 20/1 lead tin (i have this mould). Shoot as cast
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=0004482077

I really appreciate all the replies. Every post was helpful in my quest to simplify my life and save some time and $$$. Thanks and God Bless

"Had his shooting been as good as his running, he might have given a better account of himself."
James. C. Henderson

Boolit Master Join DateAug 2009Posts693

I'd go .359" too and agree with runfiverun on getting a rnfp. It will work better in the leveraction and still do all you need in the revolvers.

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