Lyman Double Cavity Pistol Bullet Mould 452424

Lyman Double Cavity Pistol Bullet Mould 452424

Lyman Double Cavity Pistol Bullet Mould 452424

Elmer Keith hit two homeruns with his 429421 and 452423 SWC’s and, as a follow-up, developed the HP version of both.452424 These were cast in his pet 16-1 alloy and expanded readily, especially when driven to the higher velocities that he achieved with his +P loads.452424

This HP version, weighing around 235 grains (cast of range scrap), is still used today to deliver high velocities to varmints and larger game like javelina, coyotes and antelope.452424 The resulting round is well suited for the larger-sized revolvers that were being manufactured at the time, and can easily deliver 1100 fps from old guns using Keith’s standard load.452424

However, this design was not without its flaws.452424 First, it was designed to fit Colt cylinders with throats of 0.454′′ or larger, so it was a bit of a challenge to size the Keith to the tighter chamber throats that came along with Ruger’s.45 Blackhawk (which is why some RCBS bullets that are sized to fit Ruger cylinders have an odd crimping groove).

Second, while the original Keith was plain-based, he enlarged the hollow-base design to accommodate the rounded ogive of the magazine guns (the cylinders would not accept the straight-base version of this design), but the ogive proved too much trouble to cast and maintain in the thicker-headed.452424 45 Colt cartridges. Eventually, this was resolved by Lyman by dropping the ogive and replacing it with a straight-base ogive of a smaller diameter.

The bullet itself was no slouch though.452424 The three equal width driving bands, the square-cut grease groove, the deep crimping groove and the double-radiused ogive combined to form one of the most devastating handgun rounds ever made.

Another nifty feature of this design was the hearty meplat, which had a diameter that was about 65% of the overall bullet diameter and was shaped to maximize the velocities of loaded rounds as they sailed down the barrel.452424 This is actually a very popular design among bullet makers and is found in many current RCBS bullet moulds, including their 45-255KT and the 45-270 SWC versions.

The meplat on Keith’s next SWC, the 454424, was a big deal too.452424 Originally, it had an ogive shaped to maximize the velocities from loaded rounds as they sailed down the cartridge’s barrel. It weighed about 238 grains and had 3 equal width driving bands, a “square-cut” grease groove and a deep crimping groove, all of which joined to form an amazing bullet. Unfortunately, Lyman no longer offers this model of Keith’s SWC.