Which Bullet Mould To Buy for .38 and .44?

[DRSLYR]

Hello Everyone--I'm a new member from Missouri. I've been shooting cast bullets in .38 Special and .44 Mag for many years, but l always purchased them at local gun stores or gun shows. I always wanted to learn to cast my own. I'm retired now and have the time to do it.


A couple of weeks ago my buddy showed me how to cast bullets & I want to purchase some moulds & other stuff so I can try it myself. I see where Lee has both a .358 and .430 tumble lube mould and the bullets don't need to be sized after casting. Does anyone have any experience with these Lee moulds? Would this be a good starter mould for a newcomer? They are not very expensive & I have access to some lead. Any help would be appreciated.

DRSLYR

[SSGOldfart]

Hmmm be careful with the no sizing ideal,that can bite you pretty quickly,I'd start with a full wadcutter they are easy to cast and very forgiving,then go to something close to what you have been using,welcome to the addiction btw you need to start building now,because your going to need more space

[jabo52521]

I agree with SSGOldfart. I started out about 40 years ago casting for the same calibers. Now I've taken up the whole two car garage. But back to your dilemma. Bought a LEE 150gr swc for the 38/357 and a LEE 240grain swc for the 44. Neither is made anymore but pretty sure any LEE made in those weights will work. Just be aware some of the tumble lube boolits will lead your barrel.

[Stilly]

I think that no matter what bullets you cast, you should ALWAYS at least have a push through sizer. If you want to do what you are talking about, then buy the TL designed molds but get their push through sizers, they only cost around $17 or so and they are worth it for at least a little peace of mind.

I can size all of my PC pills very fast, like 1-2 seconds each, maybe 3-4 if you count the time to grab another handful.

For what it is worth, I have several designs of the TL molds in 9mm, 44, and 45 and I like them for PC. They size REAL nice like. And they appear to be fairly accurate.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Hello Everyone--I'm a new member from Missouri. I've been shooting cast bullets in .38 Special and .44 Mag for many years, but l always purchased them at local gun stores or gun shows. I always wanted to learn to cast my own. I'm retired now and have the time to do it.


A couple of weeks ago my buddy showed me how to cast bullets & I want to purchase some moulds & other stuff so I can try it myself. I see where Lee has both a .358 and .430 tumble lube mould and the bullets don't need to be sized after casting. Does anyone have any experience with these Lee moulds? Would this be a good starter mould for a newcomer? They are not very expensive & I have access to some lead. Any help would be appreciated.

DRSLYR

Yeah, I think that's a good place to start....I myself started with a couple TL molds, I still have one of them. Also, if you don't have one, get a 1" Micrometer to measure your boolits to be sure they are the correct size. You may get lucky and get a Lee mold to drop the correct size, but if not, it's no big deal to size them. Keep reading here, and maybe get the Lyman castbullet handbook, and read that info thoroughly a couple times.
Good Luck,
Jon

[jcren]

The lee tl designs are a perfect start. The tumble lube works well if everything else is matched up, there are several recipies on here to improve on basic alox and yes the bullets can be shot as cast as long as they chamber properly. The tl design bullet also works well with traditional lube and powder coat. Personally, I love the lee 158 tl swc for accuracy and whallup.

[RogerDat]

I like the Lee tumble lube SWC offerings in both those calibers. DC TL358-158SWC & the TL430-240SWC both seem to cast and shoot fine. The 158 gr. for 38 is pretty standard and Lee makes a RN mold in the same weight if you wanted something later that was a RN but would probably do well with the same loads as the SWC.

I think at plinking velocities you might just shoot as cast but the lube and sizing kits from Lee are only $18 from Titan and come with a bottle of the liquid lube used for tumble lubing that style of bullets. The lube alone is $6 so sizer is a good deal as it only costs the remaining $12. Use the bullets you cast to determine correct size for your revolver(s). Pushing them through will cause them to mold to the correct size. Let you know the best sizer to order.

Look up 45/45/10 lube with a site search. It is a mix made from that Lee liquid alox lube, paste wax and mineral spirits. Works very well, can tumble lube in a butter tub or heavy zip lock baggie. Works better as 45/45/10 mix than the liquid alox alone, but that alone will work too.

[Char-Gar]

Chances are your ideas would give you decent plinking loads in the 38 and 44 Special, at less than 1,000 fps.

However if you want to go beyond decent/OK plinking loads you will need to move on to more sophisticated casting, sizing, and lubrication of you bullets.

[bedbugbilly]

I have way too many .38 molds of different designs . . . but one of the most accurate I have out of my 38s & 357s is the Lee Tl 358-158 SWC. Most of my molds are Lyman/Ideal but that boolit just works great out of any of my 38s - 7 different revolvers and 357s - 3 different revolvers. All I can speak of is my experience - I load them and don't size. In fact, I no longer size most of my different boolits from my Lyman/Ideal molds - 358-311, 358-242, etc. I just tumble lube them and load them. As long as they chamber, I don't worry about it. The only 38s I do size are two different lighter weight boolits out of several old Ideal molds that are .360 that were intended for 38 S & W cartridge.

The TL 358-158 SWC works great out of my 357 Handi Rifle as well.

Can't speak for 44 spl/mag as I don't own one nor cast for one - I opted for 45 Colt instead.

Good luck with your casting and have fun!

[williamwaco]

Hello Everyone--I'm a new member from Missouri. I've been shooting cast bullets in .38 Special and .44 Mag for many years, but l always purchased them at local gun stores or gun shows. I always wanted to learn to cast my own. I'm retired now and have the time to do it.


A couple of weeks ago my buddy showed me how to cast bullets & I want to purchase some moulds & other stuff so I can try it myself. I see where Lee has both a .358 and .430 tumble lube mould and the bullets don't need to be sized after casting. Does anyone have any experience with these Lee moulds? Would this be a good starter mould for a newcomer? They are not very expensive & I have access to some lead. Any help would be appreciated.

DRSLYR

I have used these molds in both .358 ( two styles ) and .44 one style. They are excellent bullets.
I use LLA. Despite what you may have read, it does a good job.

You can see my test results here:

http://reloadingtips.com/pages/exp_111201a_lla_test.htm

[twc1964]

I started with the lee .358-158rf boolit. It cuts nice round holes in paper, is fine for hunting if alloy is right and im betting a bad guy wouldnt like getting smacked by one or more. I started using tumble lube but went to powder coating quite quickly. This is just my two cents though. Others have given sage advice also. Just take your pick.

[DRSLYR]

Thanks for your quick reply & the advice. It appears I have more research to do before I buy any moulds. SEMPER FI!

DRSLYR

[DRSLYR]

Thanks for your advice. My buddy uses the 45-45-10 lube on his bullets & gave me some to use on the bullets I cast with him a few weeks ago. It seems to work well. I want to start this slowly with the TL moulds & work up. SEMPER FI!

DRSLYR

[DRSLYR]

Good advice for the inexpensive push through sizer. Thanks for your help.

DRSLYR

[DRSLYR]

Thanks Everyone.

DRSLYR

[jcren]

If in doubt, several guys here don't mind sending out a few samples to see what you like.

[roberts1]

My 2 cents here. You can easily tumble lube any bullet design so why limit yourself to tumble lube only? If you want to try different lubes down the road the tumble design may not lend itself to doing so.

[EDK]

Look up BEN'S LIQUID LUBE...lots easier to make than 45/45/10...works great for me in 357, 9mm and 44. Dries lots faster too.
I'd get round nose flat point boolit moulds in both calibers and standard weights. I do some Cowboy Action Shooting with MARLIN Cowboy rifles in both calibers. Get a push through die in the size you want and eliminate some problems. Don't know how to find the ones that are too small.

[William Yanda]

You told us what calibers. Which firearms is another vital part of the equation.
Welcome to the slippery slope of pour your own. You will find many enablers here.

[gwpercle]

Which mould to buy? You mean you want to buy only one mould for 38 and only one mould for 44 ?
That's not how it works, it's like trying to eat just one potato chip. Can't do it. The addiction thing kicks in, then you discover used moulds on E-bay, then you find out about NOE and Accurate and then Lee moulds are only $20.00 with handles...pretty soon you are getting more moulds than any sane person, except for us, should have, want or need.
Yeah...buy that one mould, you'll never need another.
Gary....hopeless mould addict.