Heads up on Group Buy for .44 casters

[MajorDude]

There is a group buy over on CastBoolits.com for a Mihec H&G 503 mold (Keith Style) clone that may be of interest to .44 special and magnum casters on this forum. I have received permission to post links to this buy on the condition that I talk about it a little bit. These molds are by all accounts excellent in design as well as construction. I don't personally own one (yet), because I missed the first group buy from last year, group buys are the only way to obtain the Mihec molds unless he happens to have extras listed on his website. This is a four cavity, brass body mold with Cramer style hollowpoint pins available with both round and penta cavities (or both!). The pins can be reversed to create a flat pointed bullet as well. The bullet is a nominal 250 grain, may be slightly less in hollowpoints. You can see the thread from last year's group buy here: NEW! MiHec H&G #503 Cramer Style Hollow Point - Cast Boolits

Here is a thread with some results after the molds were received:
Mihec HG #503 Cramer hollow point - Cast Boolits

I have no connection with Mihec or to Cast Boolits, except as a member. I am really excited about this rare opportunity and wanted to pass it on to other S&WForum.com members. The group buys usually are open for several months before they fill up. Once the desired number of orders are committed to, they will close the buy and Mihec will order materials and start manufacturing, sending invoices and shipping when he is done. Here is the link to the buy:
Miha 4 cavity H&G 503 HP Rerun - Cast Boolits

 

[KSCowboy]

I have one of Miha's molds and they are the best quality and best value out there. You won't be sorry when you receive it.

 

[MajorDude]

I have one of Miha's molds and they are the best quality and best value out there. You won't be sorry when you receive it.

That's exactly what I've heard and I can't wait! I have a new 20 lb. lead pot on the way in anticipation of the need for extra capacity!

 

[Maximumbob54]

I should be receiving a four cavity Cramer style HP mold with pins for round and hexagon holes. It’s supposed to drop 200 grain bullets. I’m so excited I feel like a little kid inside. So getting in on another group buy is a no brainer for me. One day I do plan on not spending money as fast as I make it. One day…

 

[MajorDude]

I want to bump this thread back up to try to raise some more interest in this great .44 special bullet mold that's going to be available. I received my Miha four cavity 200 grainer like Maximumbob54 mentioned and it's a sweet one! It was my first experience casting with a Cramer style mold and took a little to get used to, but I was dropping bullets like crazy once I got it figured out. The trick to these brass Cramers is high enough heat. I find I have to dump them while they're still quite a bit hotter than I do for my Lyman iron molds. If you do that, you don't have to bang on anything, the bullets fall right off the HP pins. The brass holds heat like nobody's business! These are the best made molds I have ever seen.

 

[ColColt]

I'd like to see Miha do a group buy on a 44 mold in four cavity approximating the Keith 250 gr SWC. I feel sure he's done it before and I probably missed out on it.

 

[BSkerj]

I am currently waiting for a group buy for my 625. He is making a .45 wadcutter. Should be a hoot to shoot. Miha's molds are the only ones I buy now. My Lyman and the few Lees that I have are just sitting on the shelf waiting to be used. I hope he will do a Postell or a copy of the Ideal 457125 . I have a Big Timber Shiloh being made in 45/70 and would like to use a Miha mold for it.

 

[MajorDude]

OK, one more bump in case anybody is interested in getting one of these molds. It's getting ready to go into production, so it's now or never (or at least until the next time it's run!).

 

[MajorDude]

I am currently waiting for a group buy for my 625. He is making a .45 wadcutter. Should be a hoot to shoot. Miha's molds are the only ones I buy now. My Lyman and the few Lees that I have are just sitting on the shelf waiting to be used. I hope he will do a Postell or a copy of the Ideal 457125 . I have a Big Timber Shiloh being made in 45/70 and would like to use a Miha mold for it.

I know what you mean about old molds sitting on the shelf. Since I got my first MP I haven't used anything else. I recently looked at some Lee 230 gr. LRNs that I cast last year and can't believe the difference in quality of the final product. I was always happy with them before! The best mold I had before the MPs was a .38 Ideal mold, and it's a sweet one, but not compared to the brass MPs. I wonder if they will hold up as well as iron molds over the long haul?

 

[PhilOhio]

Price is the first big consideration.

Shouldn't the delivered cost of one of these molds, at least $150, be on the first page of the thread? It took me awhile to dig that fragmentary information from one isolated post buried among the referenced threads.

I've cast hundreds of thousands of bullets, but never from a brass mold. Seems to me you must be unusually careful not to damage such expensive and soft molds. Tapping them would not go well. What about lead smeared by the sprue cutter, bonding to the brass? What about certain lead alloys soldering themselves to the brass, even in the cavity? I see brass molds as a major potential can of worms.

A new two-cavity aluminum mold from Lee, complete with handles, retails, full list price, for $26. Many of us pay less. It's going to take a lot of casting to amortize a not-so-expendable soft brass mold that costs 600% of that, and does the same thing.

Lee has changed the casting market, winning over many of us who thought we had to pay big bucks for iron molds which were more difficult to use and cast bullets which were no better than those from expendable Lee molds. If we damage or tire of a Lee mold, pitch it and buy something else.

Not to rain on anybody's group buy parade, but all these non-Lee mold prices are getting out of control. The technology is 200 years old. There has to be some rational relationship between price and product. And as indicated, I am very dubious about fragile brass molds. Iron molds cost about the same. If brass is superior, (and obviously easier and cheaper to work), why isn't Lyman making brass molds? Don't you suppose they have thought that all out, decades ago? The main advantage of brass, as I see it, is to the manufacturer. Anybody can inexpensively tool up to make limited production brass widgets in a garage. That tooling should last indefinitely. Brass doesn't wear it out. But I wish the best to anybody who makes the effort to build precision molds of any type these days.

Happy casting, whether the mold is iron, aluminum, or brass. Just don't lick your fingers afterward.

 

[MajorDude]

Price is the first big consideration.

Shouldn't the delivered cost of one of these molds, at least $150, be on the first page of the thread? It took me awhile to dig that fragmentary information from one isolated post buried among the referenced threads.

I've cast hundreds of thousands of bullets, but never from a brass mold. Seems to me you must be unusually careful not to damage such expensive and soft molds. Tapping them would not go well. What about lead smeared by the sprue cutter, bonding to the brass? What about certain lead alloys soldering themselves to the brass, even in the cavity? I see brass molds as a major potential can of worms.

A new two-cavity aluminum mold from Lee, complete with handles, retails, full list price, for $26. Many of us pay less. It's going to take a lot of casting to amortize a not-so-expendable soft brass mold that costs 600% of that, and does the same thing.

Lee has changed the casting market, winning over many of us who thought we had to pay big bucks for iron molds which were more difficult to use and cast bullets which were no better than those from expendable Lee molds. If we damage or tire of a Lee mold, pitch it and buy something else.

Not to rain on anybody's group buy parade, but all these non-Lee mold prices are getting out of control. The technology is 200 years old. There has to be some rational relationship between price and product. And as indicated, I am very dubious about fragile brass molds. Iron molds cost about the same. If brass is superior, (and obviously easier and cheaper to work), why isn't Lyman making brass molds? Don't you suppose they have thought that all out, decades ago? The main advantage of brass, as I see it, is to the manufacturer. Anybody can inexpensively tool up to make limited production brass widgets in a garage. That tooling should last indefinitely. Brass doesn't wear it out. But I wish the best to anybody who makes the effort to build precision molds of any type these days.

Happy casting, whether the mold is iron, aluminum, or brass. Just don't lick your fingers afterward.

You make a good point about pricing, I originally got into casting to save money, but like a lot of us, the hobby got the better of me. That being said, the Mihec brass molds are breathtaking if you like that sort of thing. I haven't been using any of mine for more than a couple of years, but so far, they are holding up well in terms of wear, and I don't have any permanent soldering problems to report. When they are up to temperature, they spit out the most perfect cast bullets that I have ever seen. I don't know if it's a function of the quality of the machining or the design, material or what, but they are that good. One of these days I'll try to take some macro photos that really show the difference. Part of that price is the difficulty and extra parts involved in making the Cramer style HP molds that Mihec has come to specialize in. They are expensive no matter who makes them.

There is also the factor they are so darn hard to get. I've waited for almost a year for a couple from initial concept to final delivery. Maybe that rarity makes them desirable to some as well. I think Miha is trying to alleviate this by making extras available on his website.

I have a pile of Lee dies too. For generic volume bullets like 124 gr. 9 mms or round nose 230 gr. .45s, the Lee 6 cavity gang molds are my favorites.

I put this post on here because I frequent this board and thought some readers here might want to know about a group buy opportunity on another board.

 

[358156hp]

And Cadillacs cost more than Kias, but both are cars, so why is Cadillac still in business? After all, a car is a car, is it not?

 

[ddixie884]

The bullet mold in question is a very good clone of the Hensley & Gibbs version of the Keith .44swc.

 

[Forrest r]

I have 1 of these molds (4 cavity with sp pins, small hp pins, large hp pins & penta point pins) & all I can say is that they cast beautiful bullets. MiHec makes some of the best molds out there right now, bar none.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Already have one! Works great!