NOE .25 cal Pellet Moulds

[rsterne]

I have been working with NOE on a series of moulds for pellets, and they have just released the first batch.... Here is a photo.... The pellets have a fairly large meplat, designed to hit hard....



Al sent me a dozen to have a look at and measure, and I am very pleased with the results.... They cast VERY nicely in pure lead.... They use their RG style pin arrangement, and they supply three lengths of pins so that you can cast 3 different weights, about 2 gr. apart in the case of these .25 cal pellets.... The ones Al sent me were the lightest, with the deepest base cavity.... The moulds are nose pour, and I weighed the pellets and they varied between 32.0 - 32.5 gr. averaging 32.2 gr (they were designed at 33 gr.).... For comparision I weighed the same number of JSB King Heavy Mk.IIs, and they also varied 1/2 gr., between 34.1 - 34.6 gr., averaging 34.3 gr.... I fired a few through the Chrony using my Hatsan, tethered at 200 bar.... The JSBs averaged 930 fps, and the NOEs averaged 955 fps, just about right for the weight difference.... The pellets measure 0.250" at the head and 0.258" at the skirt, which is the same as the JSB Mk IIs.... The mid length pin pellets should weigh about the same as the King Heavies, and the short pin should produce pellets about a couple of grains heavier....

Al has been working on these moulds for a long time, getting them to pour and drop properly, and be dimensionally correct, and I must say they are GORGEOUS.... Moulds are available in two or four cavity, and are now available in the NOE Store.... http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=374_376_483 .... The skirt diameter is shown on the drawing, but Al omitted the head diameter, which is 0.250".... I will advise him so that he can clarify that on the drawing.... You guys have been asking for a mould to cast your own pellets.... NOE listened, and they plan to make .30 cal, .357, and .45 cal moulds as well.... scaled up from this .25 cal....

Bob

[Rich_B]

Thanks for getting this done for us Bob. You're a good guy, no matter what they say.

[PeruvianHunter]

Great job on that pellets Bob...do you have any accuracy test to show us?

[rsterne]

Nope, I only had enough pellets to weigh, measure, and shoot through my Chrony....

Bob

[grand-galop]

"dang" good news...  This is tempting to buy a .25 rifle and start molding ...  Thanks

[calinb]

Well now I've got a problem. I can't decide whether my next purchase for my TalonP should be the NOE pellet or 253-42 BBT mold. My RCBS .25-50-RN 251 casts too small for my TalonP and I've been experimenting with "Beagling" up the castings but so far, the results have not improved accuracy.

Some of the BBT design features address problems that I've thought about but the more airgun-conventional pellet might end up shooting better from my choked 1:17.7 LW barrel. I might buy a new 24" LW barrel, turn some new barrel blocks, and fit it up. I'd could cut it in half and try both the choked and non-choked sections for about as good an A/B comparison as possible. I'd really like to crack the code on shooting both pellets and slugs well from the same barrel, though.

[oldpro]

 OW YAAAAA!!!!!! Sexy looking pellets...Order made. No more pass threws just SPLAT factor.

[dyotat100]

The big question is are they going to be accurate. Nick has been trying for a long time to get the pellet molds to work and so far no luck. They look good but won't shoot good.

Would be nice to cast them though. I have shot a few thousand .30's into my trap so far.

[oldpro]

 Ill give a honest review of how they shoot as soon as I get the mold and cast them up.

[calinb]

The big question is are they going to be accurate. Nick has been trying for a long time to get the pellet molds to work and so far no luck. They look good but won't shoot good.

Yup! When it comes to molds, there are so many process and technique variations that can make a huge difference. And then there's the problem that what's perfect for one gun can be accuracy poison for another. A long track record of many customer reviews is necessary to reduce risk in buying a new mold (or even a tin of pellets).

BTW, I'm getting very nice looking Beagled (mold halves shimmed .004" apart with aluminum tape strips) RCBS pellets in pure lead right now (they resize to about .253 +/-0005 oval-ness. Beagling doesn't result in as much pre-resizing oval shape as you might guess, but there's still some oval that persists after resizing. Partly this is due to the driving band lead getting pressed into the lube groove when resized, rather than going into make the driving bands rounder.

My hunch is with Bob; the distortion in flat base, non-gas-checked slugs from the rifling reduces accuracy. In PB rifles, we don't see it, because we tend to use gas checks. In PB handguns, we don't see it, because we don't shoot them all that accurately! Diabolo pellets and BBT slugs don't have the problem nearly as much as a flat base slug.

[oldpro]

 Bob I got my molds in and they look fantastic but I miss placed my handles what mold handles do you recommend for these molds.

[Wayne52]

I just ordered the mold, I've got quite a collection of pure lead that through the years I've found with my metal detector.  The best source I've found for the dug up lead that I've gotten is old sewer pipe, it's the best for my muzzle loaders which also require pure lead.  I'll definitely be writing a thread on these pellets once I get some good ones molded. Very cool!!!

This mold won't take long at all to pay for itself, the only thing that going to cost me now to shoot my .25 will be air from my tanks, technically I don't have to even spend that, then the only thing that's going to cost money is the electricity for my Lee melter

[Rich_B]

Bob I got my molds in and they look fantastic but I miss placed my handles what mold handles do you recommend for these molds.

I use a pair of Lee 6 cavity handles with my NOE mold.

Hurry up and let us know how they shoot.

[rsterne]

Yep, Lee 6 cavity handles is what I use....

Bob

[Wayne52]

I've got the Lyman handles I use for the double cavity 451 ball for my 6 guns and also a mold for my 58 cal mini ball mold.  I wonder if these handles will work, they seem plenty big.

[rintafile]

I've got the Lyman handles I use for the double cavity 451 ball for my 6 guns and also a mold for my 58 cal mini ball mold.  I wonder if these handles will work, they seem plenty big.

Those won't fit ifI recal correctly, holes don't mach.. RCBS,Lee and NOE's own handles will work

[Wayne52]

I see on their website they build moulds from brass and aluminum, looks like these will be aluminum because they're not marked brass.

[Norm_m]

Seeing he will be making other sizes a .257 pellet mold would be nice.
They sure would be great in a 14" PRod barrel

Norm

[rsterne]

Norm, NOE can easily cut a larger diameter, using the same tool (they just interpolate the circle larger in the mill to increase the diam.), but unless they make larger RG pins for the hollow base, the skirt thickness would increase.... Also, you would have to get this done while a production run is happening, or there might be an extra charge for a one-of.... Since the head of the existing pellets is large enough to bore-ride the lands in a .257, and the skirt large enough to engage the grooves, I would try some of the current diameter before going the custom route.... Tom at AAA found that .30 cal JSBs work fine in a .308 barrel, so stranger things have happened....

Bob

[nielsenammo]

I hope these work I have made 3 pellets for 45 caliber and none of them worked that great.  I got about the same or slightly better than the current JSB pellet in 45 cal and that don't cut it.  I have given up on diabolo to focus on other designs.