I bought this mould,It is a Lyman mould with a pin insert to make hollow point cast bullets. The Bullets come out fine but as far as finding load data for a 255 gr I'm not having any luck. Its a gas check bullet round. Any sugestions from anybody out there

What is the mold number?

B.

The numbers on the mould are 429244B
Z5 845

This is the way they are stamped om the mould. Thanks if anyone can help

OK. This is the .44 cal version of Thompson's 358156 for the .357 magnum. The mould is listed as dropping a nominal 255 gr SWC in solid form using #2 alloy. I do not know what the hollow point version weighs and don't recall that bullet being offered in hollow point version from the factory but I could be wrong.

I do have data for this bullet in solid form from Lyman and can forward same if you wish. Contact me via e-mail (in my profile) & we'll see how to handle this the easiest way. In a pinch, you can use starting data for bullet #429421 and work up.

Bruce

wimpy,
What kind of loads are you looking to develop for this round?
Plinkers or smokers?

I did a search for the mold with hollow pointing features but couldn't find anything. Do you have a scale? Weigh the bullet as cast in hollow point form and go to the Lyman Reloading manual for some suggested loads. Maybe the cast bullet manual would be best as they have a wider selection of bullet types for each caliber in it.

If it were me, and I was developing a load with a new bullet here is what I would do. Weigh the bullet, find data in a manual for a bullet with similar driving band configuration and weight and load some at the suggested starting recipe. Make allowances for nose type and OAL if they are different. Remember, more bullet in the case means less powder than the recipe calls for.

I WOULD ONLY DO THIS IF I HAD A CHRONOGRAPH THOUGH. IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE DON'T FOLLOW THIS ADVICE.


p.s. Here is a link to another website about this subject. The original poster over there is a member here too. Great guy. Adds a little more credence to my suggestion to weigh a bullet, huh?

http://castboolits.gunloads.co...83&highlight=429244B

My experience with hollow point boolits in the .44 mag leads me to suggest that you weigh the boolit, and then load to OAL of 1.690 to 1.170 and use data for the 429421.I have a 429244HP mould, but mine has been "scalped" to give me a final hollow point weight of only 223g. The load I use is 18g of 2400,Rem 2-1/2 primer, and the OAL I use is 1.690.
Your boolit will stick into the .44 mag case a lot farther than mine, and that is why I suggest you use 429421 data based on your boolits weight. Both 429421 and 429244 are approxamately the same length, and have similar bearing surfaces.

The Lyman 44th Edition from 1967 lists a #429244 bullet 250 grains with gas check.
start and MAX loadings

Unique 7.0 (819fps) 11.0 (1200fps)
2400 18.0 (1088fps) 22.0 (1295fps)
Herco 10.0 (982fps) 13.0 (1160fps)

The MAX of 2400 is a compressed load.

Hope this helps.

__________________
U.S.A.F---E-7--Retired

Thank you gent's for all the usefull info.I am looking foward to putting some loads together and I'll keep you posted. I'll be using them out of my S&W model 29 8 3/8 blued classic

That does good with 8 or 9 gr Unique.Titegroup I was useing 9gr BUT that was from a 629 thats kind of heavy

With oddball cast bullets, you'll find little printed data. You can always use 300grlead data & work up. I shoot a 265grLHP from the Lyman Dev. mold. You can go mild w/ Unique or Universap or wild w/ 2400 & H110. Where are you trying to go?

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I like to shoot on the mild side with my 44, Full tilt clinch your teeth clean the wax out of your ear loads are just not for me. Only if I were using it to take game. But for punching holes in wet telephone books at around 30 yrds I like to keep it down to 1000 fps of so

Try 8.8gr of Unique. THis pushes a 265gr-275grLHP (Lyman Dev. mold) to right around 950fps from my 4" revs. Using 17gr of 2400 gets me just under 1100fps w/ room to spare.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Thanks Fredj338 I'll give that a try. And thanks to all of you shooters with all your help. I have been reloading rifle rounds for about 15 years and with the price of new ammo these days , I just got into pistol rounds aswell Being able to load my ammo to suit my needs is surely the way to go.