I am going to order a new mould to cast 45 colt Keith style 325 gr bullets.

I can't decide between the Mountain Moulds or Ballisti-cast. Anybody have experience with both? I have shot bullets that were cast with the Ballisticast moulds but have not used the mould.

Looking for comments from guys with First hand experience with the moulds in general, not just the 45 moulds.

I am real interested in the aluminum XL moulds.

I have a pile of Molds in 45 around that weight range, maybe a tad heavier, that Dan at www.mountainmolds.com has made. They all shoot great in my Taurus 454. I don't have a Keith style mold, but do have a modern SWC and the flat point molds in 70%, 80%, and 90% nose all in gaschecked I also have a 70% plain base. Mountain Molds are a joy to work with. I haven't used the Baliisticast. If you would like a sample of some of the bullets cast from Mountain molds, drop me an email and I'll send you some. I'm not sure what I have cast at the moment, but I should be able to round up a few. I did an accuracy comparison of several of them, I think the link is http://members.fortunecity.com/howda and navigate from there.

David Thomas,

Never use Mountain molds but have Ballistic cast molds, I'm very happy with Ballistic cast mold.

I think you can't go wrong with Mountain mold or Ballistic cast mold.

both are real good molds the balllistic cast molds look a little nicer and cost a little more. but both will make good bullets and if in the case of mountain molds you opt for the steel molds will give many years of service.

Thank yall. I appreciate all of the help.

I know I can't really go wrong with either. I just wanted to hear some first hand experience.
I think I am going to order a Moutain-Mold, because I like the idea of designing it my self.

Lar45,
Thank you for the link to the accuracy test. I was very surprised by the 90% meplat performance.

I've cast with both. Personally, I think that ballisticast makes the finest molds on the market. They cast beautifully, and are fit wonderfully.

Mountain molds are good molds, and for the price, you can't beat getting a custom mold. I would also suggest the aluminum over the brass, as brass is the most finicky type of mold I've used. The one thing I don't like about mountain molds is the aluminum sprue plate. If a steel sprue plate is available for a few more $'s, I'd go with the steel sprue plate.

www.mountainmolds.com does have a tool steel sprue plate availible now. I have one on my 500 gn .475 mold, but haven't cast with it yet. Dan's blocks are large, so I preheat with a propane torch and have good luck that way.

I've cast with just about everyone's molds.

My favorites were always the H&G molds of the old days. Have two ... a 44 Keith and a 41 Keith. Both are simply deadly. Both molds are wonderful.

Just got in a 500 gr 475 mold made by Ballisti-Cast. They make beautiful molds ... may even be just a touch better than the H&Gs. Simply lovely! Had been able to bum some slugs from a forum member and they shoot very well in a .470 NE double rifle.

Good molds make life much nicer. Buy the best you can afford ... once.

Balisticast molds are the only molds I have that are fit so well that you can turn the mold to the side and the sprue plate opens under it's own weight. Now part of that is the massiveness of the sprueplate, made from 1/4" tool steel. But mostly it is the superlative fit and finish.

On the 4 cavity mold, when it's well heated, and I let the sprue just barely cool, I can tap the mold on a soft clothe, and the sprue plate will cut the sprue off.

Hi again, I should have mentioned this sooner.
I tested a pile of 45 molds with Dan at mountainmolds in various nose shapes and meplats. The only bullet that didn't perform well was a Keith SWC in the 330gn range. All loads were shot in my Raging Bull useing WC820 velocities were in the 1300-1400fps range.
I have a short writeup on my page
http://members.fortunecity.com/howda
FWIW

I was wondering what grain of 41 Keith mould you have.

My favorites were always the H&G molds of the old days. Have two ... a 44 Keith and a 41 Keith. Both are simply deadly. Both molds are wonderful.

Lar45,
you have a PM. I really like those Howda pistols. They both look great. I bet they are a lot of fun.

I still haven't ordered either mould. I got distracted trying to find a heavy(250gr.) bullet for my 300 win mag (no luck), and developing loads for a friend of mines 45-70 and trying to perfect a 45 colt load for a new Bisley. The new Bisley seems to accumualte alot of lead in the barrel fast.

David, you might want to check the throat diameter. It seems that Ruger makes them extra small. The bullet will swage down in the throat and then if it doesn't seal the bore, it can cause leading. Brownells makes a throat reamer for 45colt, or you could send it out to a smith. I used to have a 45colt Ruger Redhawk that wouldn't chamber a 300gn XTP because the throats were so tight. I honed them out to .453" and it shot great after that. I have one weird bullet mold, it is a SWC design in 45cal about 330gn. Dan was makeing it and there was a glitch in the program so the lube grooves got turned out and there is just a slight depression in the shank, otherwise it is a solid shank with a SWC nose. I cast a few and tried them just for laughs. I wiped a little lube around the shank and loaded as normal. They shot excellent and didn't show any leading at all. Makes you wonder just how much lube is needed for a hard cast pistol bullet???
Are you shooting gaschecks on your bullets?
Maybe check in on the cast bullet forum for a more informed opinion by the experts?