I'm shaking out the new (to me)629 Mountain Gun. What's the first thing I find? Oversized throats. My beloved 429244 casts a .431 base, and a .430 driving band in linotype/wheelweights. It might be time for a new mould. My Rugers had .430 throats, so it was no biggie. I already ordered a .432 Star die today for it. I had hoped to get by without a new mould for the time being. I guess it's time to call Veral again.

I don't see you have a problem. Lose the Linotype and use straight WW. You have a gas check mold, so no need for super hard bullets. The 431 bullets should work just fine in the .432 throats. It is not uncommon to find Smith and Wesson pistols with .432 throats.

You are premature with your angst. Shoot it and you will probably be very happy.

I want a new mould...

id shoot them first. Being off only .001 alot of times doesnt make a differnce in a gun that has a good barrel and everyting else is right about it. Only problem with going from lino to ww is there probaly going to be smaller yet cast out of ww.

You NEED a new bullet mold, and a holster, YEAH, that's the ticket!

--
Of the Troops & For the Troops

It is Christmas..

I never could remember what made CB's smaller/larger in Diameter. So more lino makes for a larger CB ?? What about pure lead ? Straight WW's make for smaller dia then ?

The greater the antimony content the larger the bullet. Antimony is one of the few metals that expand when cold and contract when hot. Linotype is rich in antimony for this reason.

The smaller the bullet is than the throat, the more it needs to be expanded by the gases to seal in the throat. The harder the bullet, the more pressure it takes to expand it. So you are in a Catch 22 situation. Reduce the Lino/antimony and make the bullet softer which might make is a little smaller, or shoot it harder and less likely to expand by the pressure.

I have noted the recent wave of thinking that says cast sixgun bullets must be the exact size of the cylinder throat and harder than a woodpecker's lips. However, I hold the opinion that a softer bullet is often better and will slug up to fit the throats.

It was common for older Smith and Wesson 44s to run .432 or .433 in the throats and they shot very will with .430 cast bullets, when cast soft enough to slug up with the pressure of the load.

Charles is right on the money, listen to what he said , and all of your cast bullet problems will go away. I have seen .435- S&W throats.

pure will make the smallest bullet linotype the largest with ww inbetween. The tin in the linotype helps fillout and reduces shrinkage when the bullet cools.

ntxt

Try casting up some bullets with as close to pure lead as you can get to cast... no harder than Lyman No. 2 alloy. Lube them with a good soft lube, then load 'em up over a stoutish charge of Unique and give 'em a try. I think you might be surprised at how good a result you get.

-AaronB

My beloved 429244 4 cavity mould has a little personality I was unaware of until now. As cast with 50/50 lino/WW, the driving band measures .431, as does the base band. The middle band only measures .429 to .430. I have a .432 Star die on the way, and I should be okay as long as I don't crank the lube pressure in the Star up too much. I'll have to use the heater, and as little lube pressure as I can use & still get the grooves filled.