The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Just wondered if someone can identify the mould used to cast this bullet please? It's a GM bullet from Kranks, 180gr TC .358.

It is by far and away the best shooting cast bullet in my Marlin so far with several powder/speed/range combinations. The only thing is they're VERY hard and I fancied getting hold of the mould and casting some myself in a softer alloy.

Alternatively if someone has the same mould and would be willing to sell some softer bullets I'd be interested in that too.

Many thanks.

Looks like a Magma 38-158 FP BB.

Thanks very much!

Just looked them up, they ship to the UK but $400 dollar export fee to pay first. Anyone know of any stockists of Magma? Or a mould similar to it?

Magma moulds are mainly made for their casting machines, in fact most volume commercial bullets in the UK will come from Magma machines and moulds. Hand operated versions are expensive and consequently pretty rare especially over here.

I suggest that you have a look at Accurate moulds listing they may have a copy already, if not Tom will make you one to your specification at no extra cost, just send him drawings and specs or just some bullets and he will take it from there. I wouldn't get the bevel base though just go for a plain base version.

SAECO do a very similar one - my SAECO moulds always throw good boolits

Why do you want to shoot soft lead alloy in your Marlin.
If its got micro bore rifling you could end up with a leaded barrel.
A soft lead and high velocity combination would lead to very poor accuracy
because the rifling would strip the bullet before exiting the muzzle

Mauserbill wrote:Why do you want to shoot soft lead alloy in your Marlin.
If its got micro bore rifling you could end up with a leaded barrel.
A soft lead and high velocity combination would lead to very poor accuracy
because the rifling would strip the bullet before exiting the muzzle

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!

If you say this is the same bullet then it's made/distributed by Hannam's reloading and is 180gn .35cal Truncated Cone.

Hope this helps

Barrel leading is caused by shooting hard, undersized bullets. The use of very hard bullets in the UK started in the pistol shooting days when soft bullets fired at high velocity would upset in the forcing cone of a revolver and cause both leading and lead spitting. Many rifles have tapers at the end of the chamber and the bullet needs to be soft enough to set up quickly and prevent the flame front from passing down the side of it and melting the lead surface.
The "lead bullets need deep rifling" myth has been about for years and in fact the opposite is true. Super accurate target .22 rifles use micro groove rifling. The Enfield muzzle loaders chucking out more than an ounce of lead use shallow rifling of variable depth which is very shallow indeed by the time it reaches the muzzle. Superbly accurate tools!
Fred