NOE Magnum Hunter 250-34-RF mold

[EdinGa]

This last batch shoots about the same.  I have jamming problems too.  Looks like the mag didn't index fast enough and the probe hit the pellet off center.    This has a large meplat, seems like it is riding to one side snagging on the barrel.  This gun has some problems with pellets but nothing like this.    I'm going to pour some for a friend who owns a bolt action BSA.  It shoots everything I have fed it.

Just weighed out 20 pellets and they range from 27g to. 28.8  I'll look at the pins.

Those BSA barrels are awesome.

[Spacebus]

This last batch shoots about the same.  I have jamming problems too.  Looks like the mag didn't index fast enough and the probe hit the pellet off center.    This has a large meplat, seems like it is riding to one side snagging on the barrel.  This gun has some problems with pellets but nothing like this.    I'm going to pour some for a friend who owns a bolt action BSA.  It shoots everything I have fed it.

Just weighed out 20 pellets and they range from 27g to. 28.8  I'll look at the pins.

I had problems with my .458 mold due to the pins and the slugs were all over the place. After adjusting each pin carefully so that the widest part of the pin is flush with the bottom of the mold cavity. I just eyeballed it, but this is really unacceptable from a precision perspective. Unfortunately, I don't know any way to precisely set pin depth, so by eye/feel seems to be best. NOE recommends using a small adjustable wrench to grab the tips of the pin holders and bend them to where the pins are flush. I wish there were more pellet molds on the market, perhaps with an indexing HP/HB pin like Lyman uses. I really don't like any of the NOE molds with pins and won't buy any more in the future. I do appreciate the fact that NOE services such a small market and have given them plenty of my money. The pins are just too frustrating for me and I just want something that works.

[Wayne52]

Dj back when I bought my AEA 45 Max the only NOE BBT mold available was was the flat nose, I ordered them both at the same time too.  That slug is perfect in that gun,
I'd still like the option for the cup point on it though, or maybe even the hollow point as well, the last time I shot that gun was a dead ringer on a red squirrel@70 yds.  When
I shot I went for a heart lung shot and using the flat points they pass right through, all four quarters and the back were still in good shape.

[Spacebus]

Dj back when I bought my AEA 45 Max the only NOE BBT mold available was was the flat nose, I ordered them both at the same time too.  That slug is perfect in that gun,
I'd still like the option for the cup point on it though, or maybe even the hollow point as well, the last time I shot that gun was a dead ringer on a red squirrel@70 yds.  When
I shot I went for a heart lung shot and using the flat points they pass right through, all four quarters and the back were still in good shape.

I have similar experience with accuracy with the HP and FN slugs at 50 yards, but haven't tried longer ranges. I realized what was happening with the different slug weights after I changed over to the FN slugs and some had slight cups and others had slight raised portions on the meplat. When my pellet mold is not set up properly I get uneven skirts and poor accuracy. I'm hoping some day more mold makers will compete with NOE with different hollow base pin designs. Maybe someone will figure out an easy retrofit for NOE molds that offer more precise placement of the HP pins.

[sicumj]

I took a dial caliper and measured depth of pin from sprue hole.  Variability was .190 across the four holes.  Have them all within .002 getting ready to pour another bunch to see what I have for weight.  Changed to the shortest pins to see if the function is any better.

[Firewalker]

My Lyman Keith hollow base molds have a "swing arm" where the pin is riveted to the arm and cannot be adjusted.

NOE in my opinion is much better.

[sicumj]

I ran another batch and all are within a couple tenths in weight now.  They shoot a little better but will not function in my rifle.  Probably sell this mold and try something else.

[Spacebus]

I ran another batch and all are within a couple tenths in weight now.  They shoot a little better but will not function in my rifle.  Probably sell this mold and try something else.

You may want to make the pins a bit taller to make the skirts a bit smaller. There's a lot of fiddling with the pins until you get a well performing mold.

My Lyman Keith hollow base molds have a "swing arm" where the pin is riveted to the arm and cannot be adjusted.

NOE in my opinion is much better.

I was thinking about the single cavity Lyman molds with the wooden handle HP/HB pin. It seems the more I learn about molds the more I realize that all HP/HB molds are fiddly.