Bullet mold snivel

StG58

TJ Guru
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2015
Messages
6,650
Location
Orygun, the wet side...
First, a little background. I cast and reload for almost everything that I shoot on a regular basis. Something like 10 different cartridges and 13 or 14 different pistols, revolvers and rifles. I also research the snot out of any new application that comes up. Folks think that the 1890's were the golden age of cast bullets, but the technology has been changing rapidly in the last ten years or so. Improving by leaps and bounds.

Snivel/ The major players in the bullet mold industry like RCBS, Lyman and Saeco have had the same old molds designed for the same old alloys in the same old sizes cataloged for ever. Nothing particularly new, innovative or up to date. What's up with that?

The TJ got me looking for a Jeep gun. Something that would be a general purpose knock around type of rifle I could throw in the back (and it would fit handily) that would not be in an unusual caliber or take special ammunition. In other words, I need to be able to buy a box of ammo at a grocery store in Tillamook or over in Baker City. It needs to shoot out to 200 yards or so. It must be reasonably cheap to plink with and be able to hunt everything from Squirrels to Elk around here. It's got to be reliable and flexible. Above all, it needs to be able to survive the snot that is my world. So, I got that one figured out.

Now for the bullets. I've got everything covered except for hunting Elk out to 200 yards. Did my research and came up with a bullet design and weight with a load that is as close to perfect as can be. Do the Big Three make a mold for that bullet? Nope, not even anything close enough to mess with. Lots of stuff that is the cream of 1930's technology though. Great! Yeehaw! I can ignore all the recent advances in cast bullet and smokeless powder technology and drop right back to what Granddad was hunting with! Whoo-hoo!

I did find a second tier bullet mold maker that makes exactly what I was looking for, to a quality standard that is as high, if not higher, than the big three and offers multiple choices for mold options. Twice the price, but 10 times the utility. Guess who I'm getting my new mold from? Maybe two of them in different weights and patterns.

This is how old line companies go out of business folks. \Rant

By the way. I'm getting my new molds from NOE. If the first one works out as well as it looks like it should, they will sell me a bunch more.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Rob5589