The MP H&G50 8 Cavity aluminum mold.

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Hi guys today I cast some wad cutter bullets.

I pulled my toolbox away from the wall then set up my casting equipment under the bright LED lights mounted on the wall. I fired up the lead furnace turkey fryer and in 20 minutes I had 25 pounds of 750 °F molten lead.

Then I lower the flame and start warming up the mold blocks. This is a brand new to me mold. I had just opened it from the postal box that arrived in today. Unwrapped it, mounted it on Lee handles wiped it down with a clean rag and then I plunge the mold into the fires of the Furnace. I count to 30 then bring it out and wipe it down with an oil soaked cotton rag and it doesn't smoke so I put it back into the fire and count again. On the third time it was almost perfect and so I started casting bullets. The mold temperature is correct when the oily cotton rag smokes when you wipe down the blocks.

I pick up the ladle and fill the blocks starting closest to the hinge pivot and pour moving outwards and fill all eight cavities. I watched the sprue and when it takes a couple seconds to freeze and I know the timer is starting and when it changes color to a dull lifeless Gray then I open the sprue lever and dumped the sprue into the catch bucket on the left side under the furnace.

To my right I position the mold over a small cardboard box with a clean cotton rag draped across it. I open the mold blocks and all eight bullets fall out. I closed the blocks, reposition the mold near the casting pot, and fill all eight cavities again.

I just kept making more and more bullets.

Now I'm sizing them with the Lee hand press

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I made 7.2 lb of bullets. They weigh 143 grains each. The calculator says that there's 352 bullets in the Box.

[rmh3481]

What caliber? I like the looks of that mold.

I recently bought 5lbs of the American Reloading surplus flake powder to do some 45auto loading. MP-254 is what its called. Says similar to IMR-Blue, but it looks to me like Unique.

[Recycled bullet]

Originally Posted by rmh3481

What caliber? I like the looks of that mold.



I recently bought 5lbs of the American Reloading surplus flake powder to do some 45auto loading. MP-254 is what its called. Says similar to IMR-Blue, but it looks to me like Unique.

The mold claims 360 I am sizing them to 358 after powder coating them. I'm getting ready to fire up the furnace and cast another batch from softer metal see if the bullets will weigh more than 143 grains.

I wonder if you will have issues with powder dispensing many of the American reloading flake Surplus powders meter like corn flakes or Pizza Hut chopped pepper. Steve Urquell on cast bullets has a thread specifically about mp254.

[Mike / Tx]

It's been a while but I purchased an OLD original H&G version of that mold,






I've poured up around 30 or so pounds of them since I got it probably in 5 or so pound batches. They seem to last a while since I have other things to play with. Loaded over between 3.8 and 4.2grs of Red Dot in 38 SPL they shoot fairly well out of my GP-100, and a touch better out of the S&W 38.

You are correct in that the closer you get to pure the closer to 148gr's you will get. With mine and the lead I call "pure" they hit between 148 and 150grs on average. For my purposes though as long as they fill out they do well enough. You really have to love the MP version though, being aluminum your probably only hold up a quarter of the weight I have on mine, and you get two more to boot.

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Hello Mike thank you for the response. The other night I cast up 15 more pounds of wad cutters from softer alloy. After I powder coated them they weigh 147 grains. Last night I assembled 50 of them matching RP 38 Special brass with three grains of Bullseye. Hopefully I might have time to test them this weekend:-)

That's a very nice iron mold. I like how well the iron mold hold Heat. I have a two cavity n o e blackout Taco bullet mold it is very easy to cast with. I would expect that your H&G mold is very heavy. I find aluminum to be annoying for the way it interacts with heat while at the same time appreciating the lightness of an eight cavity bullet mold especially with all cavities filled and a big fat sprue on the top.

[Mike / Tx]

It's definitely iron all the way through and through, and you notice it right from the get go. I have a couple others but of newer vintage that aren't quite so heavy but still one 20# pot is usually plenty.

Most used are 4 cavity brass or aluminum, mainly since I pour lots of hp's and can roll on with them. The MP and NOE are awesome in that respect. I also use a couple of the Lee 6 cavity and 8 cavity MP's in smaller caliber and know what you mean on the heat. That was one of the main reasons I added a PID controller to the works. I noted what temps worked best and preheating the mold on a hotplate allows me to set it and roll, usually from the first pour. My first foray into making shootable bullets was with a Lee 452-300 RF 6 cavity. After about 5 or 6 dumps it would be frosting them up pretty good and I'd have to let it cool a little. Once I got the PID though, just set it to 725 and get on with it. With the alloy I use pouring HP's I usually run 745 on average with the 4C brass and about 730 with the aluminum as most of them are 2C.

A while back I picked up WC molds in 41, 44, and 45 calibers for my big irons, and haven't even opened the boxes. I figured they might be fun once I retire in a couple of years and if I don't use them the grandsons can fight over em.

[reddog81]

Nice looking mold and nice looking bullets! I have a 8 cavity MP mold for 147 RN for 9mm and it rains bullets.

[LAH]

I have one of those Mike but it is a little different than yours. Yours may be older.

[Mike / Tx]

Hey Lynn good to see ya. Hope you and yours had a greatThanksgiving.

Yeah mine is circa 1940's according to the H&G info page. Yours is more in line with those from early 50's on, but I'm betting it ain't a bunch lighter when you get it going. I picked mine up back when ol' Beagle was running round with his " turtle loads". Haven't heard from him in a bit might have to rustle him up.

I have an 8c 410 258 that I purchased from a local fella that is in real good shape. It throws a dandy bullet but like these it don't take long before you have enough both bullets and holding onto it. I forced myself to run a 10# pot of them a year or so back and have been real conservative using them up.

[LAH]

They can get very heavy Mike as you know. The nutcracker handles helped me though. You can hold a handle in each hand after cutting the sprue & hit the hinge pin on something solid & the bullets will usually dump.

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I've been casting a lot of bullets this week. I cast these spread out over three casting sessions in the past week. Then I powder coated them in a small toaster oven using Ford light blue. I am not excited about sizing them. The Zippo lighter is for scale.

I have shot some of these with three grains of Bullseye and they grouped well, consistently getting six out of six on a 9-in white paper plate shooting off hand at 50 yards with four different guns.

[Mike / Tx]

That is what I SHOULD be doing, but the "Munitions Specialists" oldest GS, said we should shoot up some of the "older" stuff first.

So I recon it'll have to wait till after deer season, then we'll get on it.

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This batch the bullets average 147 g each. The yellow box weighs 40 lb and the calculator says that there are 1900 bullets in that box

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The newest batch have passed through a lee 359 push through sizer bushing.

[BJung]

Here are examples of what I PC'd

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Originally Posted by BJung

Here are examples of what I PC'd

Gorgeous bullets! Are they the mp 357-125 hp? With the round hp It is my favorite 9x19 mold and works well in 38 special too.

[LAH]

It's definitely iron all the way through and through, and you notice it right from the get go. I have a couple others but of newer vintage that aren't quite so heavy but still one 20# pot is usually plenty.

Mike has big forearms.