Going to start loading for the 629-3(8-3/8") barrel i'm gonna stick with one mold for hunting leaning towards a 300 grain any suggestions on nose design for this revolver ? i used to buy lbt molds but he is difficult to deal with at times so thinking noe or lyman.
Thanks
M.S.

Honestly, 300 is a bit outside the butterzone for the cartridge.
If you can find some flavor of TC or RNFP between 250 - 280, you'd likely be better off where heavy magnums are concerned.

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it just needs more voltage

Disclaimer: I don't cast my own bullets.

However my favorite 44 mag bullet is an LBT style 260 gr. WFNGC (mostly from Cast Perf.)
Supremely accurate in my 7.5" Redhawk over 18-19 gr. 2400 depending on the brass.
The weight obviously depends on the size animal you ultimately intend on eating.
The 260 kills deer DRT.
I have read Veral Smith's book and I consider him a worthy successor to Elmer Keith as a bullet designer.
Not nearly as eloquent as Elmer but somewhat more scientific in his approach.
He must be getting up there in years and I am sorry to hear he is difficult.
(I also read Glen Fryxell's excellent tome at lasc.us)

Besides NOE and Lyman, I have read MP moulds in Slovenija are superior.
They have a design that has removable pins to create HP or FP in the same mould.
MP-molds - Bullet molds
432-640 HP

I save the big 300's for use in the 444.

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

Veral’s shop burned down Christmas day. He has no plans to reopen.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

I don't know what you want to do with this gun but unless you are hunting big bears with it a 250gr will do a LOT. There is a mold maker called Accurate Molds that has a catalogue on their website and the molds are a candy store for us bullet casters. Here is a 253 gr 45 mold he made for me for my 25-5. His name is Tom and he can make the same mold in 44 cal or you can pick out one from his catalogue. His are works of art. I love the 3 cavity molds and I am a fan of aluminum ones. The 250 gr that he makes as a copy of the Lyman 429421 is no slouch either. All my 44's shoot that bullet design really well and they hit like a runaway train!
Murf

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Dang that's bad news.
I guess he now graduates to the status of a legend.
Do you have a news article we could read about that?

Woodleigh burned down in Australia a few months back but they are rebuilding.
(They make a .430" 280gr. SN weldcore for the 444).

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold C430-310-RF 44 Special 44 Remington Mag 44-40

load over 21 GRAINS OF h110 AND YOULL HAVE A VERY ACCURATE LOAD IN MOST GUNS

.44 Caliber Copper Gas Checks

youll need these

The 330 gr. SSK design that JD Jones and Larry Kelly developed and popularized in the 1980s is a classic! NEI makes their version, and it is a very high quality mold.
Someone mentioned MP molds from Slovenia. Lately, their deliveries have been very bad and the quality has really, really slipped. Too bad, they used to be quite good and wiling to do custom work.

I ended up buying a lyman 250 gr hp/gc devestator mold gonna pair that with 20-21 grains 2400 primary use hunting with the occasional break in defense use !

Hunting primary use and i have many many accurate molds thank you !

I found this on the Firing Line forum,

“… This was posted by LeverActionGypsy on the Reloaders Network on 12/26/22

"Merry Christmas all! I thought I'd stop by with an important update about LBT molds. I was going to start apprenticing under Veral Smith of LBT Bullet molds this January and learn the art of making great bullet molds....I just got off the phone with him - the shop burned to the ground on Christmas day.

Cause unknown at this point. He just parted ways on bad terms with a disgruntled apprentice so it makes me wonder. All the tools and machinery to make LBT molds Veral made himself. Custom one of a kind machinery and tooling - all destroyed. LBT Bullet molds is over.

I asked him about getting the shop rebuilt and starting up again but he said no due to his age - which was why I was going to be apprenticing under him. He said he is going to do one more book more in depth that the last but thats it. So if you were thinking about ordering LBT molds, dont send in a payment as the site is still up. They have no power and likely the site will be up until they get power restored.

If you want an LBT mold check Ebay and look for what you want before the word gets out and the molds start going for hundreds of dollars. I'm thankful I got the chance to know Veral fairly well and have four of his custom molds, but I have to say I'm pretty sad to hear the news. I've tried most brands of molds and LBT definitely were the easiest molds to cast with. If you want what I'd say is likely the BEST design for 45ACP, go find his classic 452-230gr LFN design. At least It's become my favorite, lol. Happy New Year, all!"…”

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

Thanks for the information!
There is a little more discussion at:
headspace.thereloadersnetwork

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

432-281-WFN-BP1 | NOE Bullet Moulds
I have this mold in plain base and see no need for a gc with it. I can push it faster than I need to from a 14" contender and not run out of lube.

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Front sight and squeeze

I have this 4-cavity mold. You lose too much velocity for a S&W action. but for Super Blackhawks and Contenders it is fantastic. I cast thousands of these unsized and sold them to Muzzle loaders for use in sabots! I also liked this mold to cast up range lead as a form of ingot, then alloy with type to make harder alloys. Much easier to use then Lee or Lyman ingots!

Ivan

sorry to hear that about his shop that has to suck i remember when his wife passed away i spent quite a bit of time on the phone with him he was really feeling bad as you would expect about that time i had a mold order in with him and it took forever to get then when i finally got it it was screwed up and he said to send it back then he sent it back and said tough luck then i never bought another mold from him again. well i hope he does do another book i have one of his first and will buy his new one when it comes out. and Kevin it's too bad you can't apprentice under him you could have learned a great skill !!!

Does any one know about these 629/44's cylinders opening under recoil i guess s&w use to do a modification can't remember what it's called but i think power customs makes a kit or has the parts to do it i'll have to call ron and ask him. i don't think i'll push it with this gun if i want a real boomer i'll get a freedom arms 44 but since i have this one i want to at least get it shooting instead of sitting in the safe!

Does any one know about these 629/44's cylinders opening under recoil i guess s&w use to do a modification can't remember what it's called but i think power customs makes a kit or has the parts to do it i'll have to call ron and ask him. i don't think i'll push it with this gun if i want a real boomer i'll get a freedom arms 44 but since i have this one i want to at least get it shooting instead of sitting in the safe!

Every firearm is different, been casting/reloading for the 44spl & mag for 30+ years. Owned lever actions, multiple 44mag bbl's for contenders, multiple black hawks, multiple ca bulldogs, s&w 44spl's and 44mags (624's/29's/629's).

The lever actions, contenders & black hawks tended to be more accurate with the heavier fn cast bullet designs (260gr+).

The s&w revolvers tended to be more accurate with cast bullets in the 220gr to 260gr swc's and type III wc's.

The ca bulldogs preferred the 180gr to 220gr cast bullets.


180 & 200gr fn's left (ca bulldog) and 260gr fn hp's (the 640 mp mold from above post) right

Never could get that 640 series bullet (pictured above on right) to shoot in a 629-3. But I tossed a reddot on a 10" contender bbl/44mag and sighted it in at 100yds to bang on steel.


That chicken scrath of a target doesn't look like much. I was moving the dot around on the top 3 target. Got it close and moved to the bottom 2 targets. Shot the left target and dimed the dot down 1 setting and shot the bottom right target.


Gave the dot a couple clicks down and 1 click right and beat the heck out of the 6" steel @100yds.

It's hard to beat the "keith" style swc's in the s&w revolvers. I use a mp mold (432-256) for my s&w revolver needs anymore. The 4-cavity mold casts a 260gr solid nose/252gr small round hp/245gr large round hp/238gr penta point hp.

thanks for the info any experience with that 250 devestator mold i bought ?

You might be thinking about the Endurance Package on the N frames! Back a few years, the Silhouette shooters were hot rodding 300gr bullets for their matches. This was causing damage to the N frame guns and they had the problems of the cylinder unlatching under recoil. The Endurance Package had the cylinder stop notch made deeper and longer and some internal modifications made. You can see the difference in the stop notches in this pic. This change was made to all N frame guns made after the mid 1980s.

jcelect

Yeah that sounds familiar but i think power customs had a ball bearing type of deal to help keep the cylinder latched ? i'm actually sending my 629 into smith to have a unfluted cylinder installed but i hear so many horror stories about their work i think i'll just do it myself !!

By the time that mold came out I was at the point of thinning the herd of the 100+ molds I had laying around. Others have reported excellent results with them.

I simply tend to stick with the classic keith and thompson designs.

It doesn't take a lot to take deer down. I've taken 2 deer with a 8 3/8" bbl'd 29-2 using the classic lyman 429421 years ago when I hunted with handguns (late 80's/early 90's).

A 240gr+ bullet in a 44mag doing +/-1200fps is extremely affective/hard hitting round.

Used to carry the 4" bbl'd 29-3 in the winter for ccw. Used that 238gr pent point hp doing 1200fps @ 7yds.


The last thumpers I made for the 44mag's were these 265gr hp's.


I was pushing those 1200fps out of a 6" bbl'd 629 and 1400fps out of a 10" contender. Those bullets have 2 different crimp grooves. The top crimp groove was for the revolver. The bottom crimp groove was for the lllloooooonnnnngggggggg throated contender bbl.

No matter what bullet you use you need to get the shoulder of the bullet out into the leade of the cylinders/chambers.


The bottom round has a longer oal putting the shoulder of the bullet out into the leade of the cylinder. This aids in accuracy along with creating a more consistent short start pressure with leades to more consistent loads/lower es's ans sd's.

No you got me wondering about that mold not sure if it has a crimp groove and where it's located if i can get it out far enough although i do have a corbins cannelure tool i can always stretch it out if i have to

Agree.
IMO the S&W 29-629, even with the endurance package, may not be ideal for a steady diet of very heavy loads.

well i'm glad i got the 250 once i get it dialed in it will probably sit in the safe for god knows how long i have so many guns to hunt with i have a very hard time deciding which one to hunt with of course depending on the power requirements for the hunt. But i really like this gun and want to shoot it thought about selling before i ever shot it but decided to go ahead and do some loading should be fairly easy to put together a good recipe !!

I had numerous conversations with Veral . He felt that the 260 gr cast bullet was at the top end of " heavies " . I have a 250 LFN and the 260 WFN , both in plain base and gas checked . The accuracy is very very good with both . Veral felt the LFN held accuracy out to 130 yds , the WFN was good to about 90 yds . I have never tried a 300 grain so I have no experience to share . I have S&W 29-10's in 4" and 6.5" . Years ago I purchased his book , " Jacketed Performance with Cast Bullets " . It well worth the reading .
That is terrible news about his shop . My prayers go out to him . Regards Paul

You misunderstand, I am merely the messenger! I already have a great skill but, unfortunately, no apprentice.

Besides, it does not sound like Veral and I would be a compatible teacher/student pair.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

well i received my lyman mold but it has given me some troubles first the venting was no good so i had to bevel the corners off the mold so now the base fills perfect then i was getting incomplete fill out of the nose it appeared like it had notches in it or rippled so now when i pre heat the mold i take the pin out and heat that directly on the hot plate. another trick i picked up is after i cast my bullet i take the pin out after 10 seconds and wedge it on the top of the lee furnace to keep it hot while i'm counting for the bullet release then i reinsert and cast again that has really helped but the nose is a little off from one side to the other so i'm thinking it's still a venting issue will keep after it. anyone else had this experience with a hollow point mold this is my first.
Thanks
MS

If I had to pick one mold for all of my .44's, to do everything from targets to deer/bear hunting, it'd be a Lyman 429244GC or its look alike from Accurate Molds, (43-250K) either weighing ~260 gr...the latter would be my first choice as you can specify driving band dia. based on your intended alloy use. I'm not a fan of over weight for caliber bullets and strongly believe that the .44 Spl and Magnum are at their best with 240-260 gr bullets.

A close 2nd to the ones above is the Lyman/Thompson 429215GC...this one produces a good LSWC weighing ~220 gr and is as accurate as its big brothers but more economical with my dwindling supply of wheel weights. For range use I don't bother with the gas check, but do install them for use in my Marlin carbine and for handgun loads over 1200 fps muzzle vel. I've loaded this bullet to 1700 fps in the Marlin with great accuracy and telling penetration. It's a good, light bullet for deer here in KY, giving complete pass through on rib cage shots.

Both of these Lymans are gas check copies of Keith's classic 429421, albeit with slightly narrower scraping bands. In my guns, Smiths and Ruger BH's alike, it's the most accurate bullet with any load.

If hollow pointing is a consideration, I like Mihek's MP432-256 (a close copy of the H&G 503 IIRC) with its full set of HP pins. He offers cavity pins in penta, narrow hp and wide hp...all are superb and will give expansion with 50-50 wheel weights/lead with muzzle velocities above 950-1000 fps. My examples (3) are brass three-holers that are a joy to use. The only reason this mold is not my #1 choice is that it is not gas checked which limits its velocity for rifle/carbine use.

HTH's Rod

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Vote the bums out!

Try Elmer’s bullet. RCBS makes a better rendition than Lyman does! The number is 429421!

well i'm going to keep after the casting process for a 44 mag but it will be for a freedom arms 44 mag i just ordered instead of the smith 629-3 i'm gonna put it up for sale never even shot it one time since i bought it. too bad it's a nice gun and has a great trigger and lock up since i went thru the whole action it's just too much cash to leave on the table !!

I hate to hear this. I have several of MP molds that I purchased a few years ago. First class QC and fast shipping.

For all around use in 44mag a 240gr bullet is more or less sweet spot.
I started in 60s with Kieth HP cast/ gas check over 21.0gr H-2400. That was for Ruger SBH. I still have it, my designated deer gun but now shoot 240gr XTP over 22.5g H-2400.
But don’t shoot that load in my 29s. Still shoot 240 cast but with mild load of Unique at 1000fps. I recently got the 44 HBWC mold but haven’t had a chance to shoot yet. It from Slovenia and looks to be very nice quality of material and workmanship. It was part of a custom pre ordered run.

Lyman 429421 250 swc or copy. The true sweet spot for 44 magnum. Tons of load data and easy to get very accurate loads. Does not require costly gas checks and the extra effort to apply them. It will kill anything in North America

When I cast 44s, I also had the Lyman 429421.
Back then, I was following the Gospel of Elmer.
Be sure you use a harder bullet lead mix and good lub.
Load hot and take out every Outhouse in the County!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Veral Smith leaving the industry is bad, bad news for the casters among us.

prescut

Nothing better than the Keith 429421. It weighs around 250-260 depending on alloy.

I also use a variation of it with a gas check. Plain or GC, it is accurate.

You can get lucky and get a decent Lyman mold, but I've lately just been buying Accurate molds in 2 cavity iron. I think they are the way to go. Check out their website. They have a huge catalog and you can find probably hundreds of designs in .43 caliber.

300 is not really needed in the 44 magnum. I think its sweet spot is about 250.

For hunting big game I would advise against using hollow points.

A good SWC with at least Lyman #2 or harder, is the way to go.

Guys like Elmer Keith and Ross Seyfried believed in this too.

Hello, thank you i did order a new mold a 250 gr swc gas check and will use lyman # 2 i will start working with it this weekend. My freedom arms 44 mag silhouette is on the way should be here soon maybe Saturday so will start putting some loads together. I was going to sell my 629-3 but man i just like it too much to get rid of even though i have not shot it once since i bought it !!

8 grains Unique, Universal, or equivalent (2 less than max) and that bullet would make a nice stiff but not full house load for that 629-3.
Chances are good that the 629 has larger chamber throats than the Freedom Arms will.
Size accordingly and don't use too hard an alloy in the 629.
I have a 629-2 4" and it dotes on such a load.
I dont shoot full 44 magnum loads (24 gr. W296 + 240 XTP) much any more.
Quite frankly I don't see the need.
The slightly sub-mags will do anything the mags will unless you are like Elmer and shooting elk at 200 yds.
About the only thing I tend to disagree with Elmer on is the utility of gas-checks.
They don't hurt anything in the 44 Special and definitely help in the 44 magnum, carbines, and the larger still 44 cartridges.
Here's Elmer's load for your Freedom Arms:

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

Thanks for the info ! The throats on the 629-3 are spot on .429 but the freedom arms still on a airplane headed my way. Never have loaded for a 44 mag prior to this but the 454 and 45 win mag loads i always use h110 or imr 4227 with some 2400 thrown in there at times but i have a lot of powder options so i'll try the unique for sure. I am going to start shooting silhouette here in the next couple of weeks so the 44 might have to try her on the steel !!