Opening Lyman 452374 mold ahead of the lube groove?

[Animal]

Hello folks,

Those of you who are familiar with the Lyman 452374 have probably noticed that there is a difference between the older versions and the newer versions. The newer versions appear to be much pointier, with the curvature starting at, or almost at the lube groove. Older versions seem to have a little more bearing surface beyond the lube groove. My guess is that the additional bearing surface of the older version might give a slight edge on accuracy. Would this seem like a reasonable assumption? or am I splitting hairs?

I've been thinking about trying another bullet mold with additional bearing surface that will replicate standard ball, or possibly sending the Lyman mold that I have to someone who can modify the cavities to resemble the older version. I'm not sure which would give me the best bang for the buck.

The reason I'm thinking about this is because it seems like I'm able to get better accuracy from the Lee 2281r which has a great deal of bearing surface and the Magtech 230gr FMJ which also has a lot more bearing surface. While I like both of those bullets just fine, neither one is a bullet that I wish to cast/purchase for the sake of producing standard ball loads. Factory bullets are expensive and the 228 1r has to be seated too deep for me to feel comfortable calling it "standard ball".

What say you? Replace the mold? modify the mold?

[Outpost75]

I would not spend money to modify a Lyman mold. Doing so will cost about $25 per cavity.

You can buy a new block from Accurate in 4-cavity for $128 or a 2-cavity for $96 and get exactly what you want.

Myself, I prefer a flatnosed bullet.

Attachment 166096Attachment 166097

[Animal]

Thank you for the helpful response. I'm interested in trying a flat-point like what you have shown. I may pick up a couple of Lee 2cavs and see what happens. I think that would be a good way to sample a few bullet styles without dropping big bucks on a nice mold.