Best Minie Mold ~

[David Nimrod]

I have a Parker Hale 2 Band, 5 Groove .577 Enfield.

What would be the best mold (for accuracy), to cast from..?

[Andy632]

I have a Parker Hale 2 Band, 5 Groove .577 Enfield.

What would be the best mold (for accuracy), to cast from..?

What's a MOLD?

[dromia]

The Lee Minies are the cheapest and if you get a good one then fine but it is a risk as their QC is non existent.

My go to Minie has always been the RCBS one it has shot best in all my PHs and original Enfields.

The Lymans are good moulds also and deliver good groups but their shallow base one has never performed for me.

Moose moulds also do an excellent line of Minies with their International HB being as good a performer as the RCBS but it will need sizing down.

I have now settled on 0.550" Pritchett Cartridges for my Enfields and NOE do an excellent line in moulds for these made from my specifications.

At the end of the day accuracy with Minies isn't just a function of bullet design but a combination of design/skirt thickness, cavity shape/depth, diameter, powder charge, lube and alloy. Line all these ducks up and shoot them in a good barrel and 4" groups at 100 yrds will be your starting point.

There are also wadcutter and dustbin designs and they do do well out to 100yrds however I have had similarly good results out to 100 yrds with a round ball, it does need to be over size and driven hard though in rifles with progressive depth rifling.

I have found experimenting with diameter to be very productive and have sizers from 0.550" up to 0.578" in 1 thou increments. Obviously soft alloys are recommended, I use plumbers lead with 1% tin as a grain filler to aid castability and fill out.

Experimenting with base plugs is also productive as it can help in getting the centre of pressure and the centre of gravity aligned correctly which is the key to accurate bullets, Britain experimented with this in the Minies they used for the Snider and ended up with a hollow nose as well as a large hollow base in their search for an accurate Snider round.

[David Nimrod]

What's a MOLD?

It's what Americans call a MOULD

[David Nimrod]

.......

Thank you for a wealth of useful (and interesting) information...

It's obviously a complex area, with many factors affecting accuracy.

I'm just starting the journey, and I may be some time!

[David Nimrod]

I'll need to post a Wanted Ad, and see if anyone is selling any s/h Molds

[ResearchPress]

It's obviously a complex area, with many factors affecting accuracy.

All part of the fun of the 'journey'! :)

David

[legs748]

Moulds!