NEI #21 Mould

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  • Last Post 27 September 2009
6pt-sika posted this 09 February 2008

Yesterday I ordered an NEI #21 six cavity aluminum mould and a top punch .

This is a 257 caliber 114 grain FN GC design . I purchased this thing for use in my Marlin 1893 in 25-36 Marlin caliber .

Has anyone here tried this mould in either a 25-36 Marlin or 25-35 Winchester ?

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william iorg posted this 09 February 2008

6Pt,

 

I have a two cavity, two cut mold Walt made for me quite a few years ago. One cavity is the # 21 and the other is the # 23.

 

My No. 21 is .952� overall without the gas check installed. It weighs just over 117 grains with my rather soft mix. The nose on the bullet is about .486� but it has good straight sides and you are able to seat it a bit deeper without crimping problems.

This is a good bullet in my TC barrel and in the Model 94AE. I cannot shoot them much over about 1,850 fps without wild things happening. Below 1,850 fps the bullet shoots very well.

 

The # 23 bullet is intended for lever action rifles as it has a crimp groove. For use in the Model 94 even with the rather short throat the # 23 bullet needs to be seated out and the crimp groove is of no use.

 

Posted a picture of two of the #21 bullet seated in the .25-35 case in Dr. A's .25-35 thread on the Beartooth forum.

 

Slim

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6pt-sika posted this 10 February 2008

William , my biggest reason for getting this mould is to increase my productivity . I already have a Lyman single cavity 257325 that I got from Chargar on castboolits and it shoots well in my 25-36 but takes awhile to cast enough bullets .

Now I have a pair of bullets in the 115 grain range to play with and a pair with possibly a third mould for 80-90 grain bullets that I can use in the 25-36 and my 25-20's !!!!

Seems kinda unfair that I only have one 25-36 Marlin , might shoot it out :shock:

Maybe I better start looking for a second Marlin 1893 in 25-36 Marlin .>

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william iorg posted this 10 February 2008

6Pt

 

I have the 257420 which works well in the .25-20 Marlin 1894CL and the Savage Model 23. In the .25-35 TC barrel this light bullet would shoot well in the 1,000 fps range but as the velocity climbed above 1,100 fps I could not stay on the Beartooth cotton tail rabbit target at 50 yards.

 

A few years ago F&M Distributors had Lyman make a special run of the 257283, a plain base 85-grain bullet. This bullet has a good base band and an equally wide middle band. The bullet shoots well at 1,150 fps but not much faster in the quick twist of the .25-35.

 

I believe a 100-grain bullet with a lot of bearing surface is the way to go in the quick twist barrel and it would be interesting to find a 257454 bullet to experiment with. An LBT style bullet with the wide meplat and short bearing surface would probably be a better answer. Any way I look at it the 100-grain bullet appears to be the best weight whether jacketed or cast.

 

Time is our enemy these days. I put a book in the CD player and sit down to cast.

Slim

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6pt-sika posted this 10 February 2008

william iorg wrote: I have the 257420 which works well in the .25-20 Marlin 1894CL

The Lyman 257420 was the first 25 cal mould I ever acquired . I have used it in the 25-20 for squirrels and also played with it a bit in my little 1894CL for “Pistol Cartridge” lever silhouette . The little 64 grain bullet knocked the 100 meter rams over just fine I might add !

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6pt-sika posted this 07 March 2008

Well my 6 cavity aluminum NEI #21 mould arrived yesterday and the top punch arrived today !!!!!!!

The mould looks pretty nice from visual inspection .

Depending on how well this one works I think I can see me in the not to distant future getting a copy of the NEI mould .322"-160-GC #89 mould and possibly see if they can trim about 5-10 grains from it ;)

That 32-160 in a 6 cavity mould would be very nice   :dude:

 

Well if the weather helps out hopefully I can cast some with this new NEI mould saturday or sunday .>

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6pt-sika posted this 08 March 2008

Took all my stuff outside to cast with the new NEI #21 today and darned if it didn't start sprinkling once I got a pot full of lead melted .

Well I endured long enough to cast about 6-8 sets . And that wasn't long enough to get the wrinkles out but I did get an idea of what I have !

 

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william iorg posted this 10 March 2008

While I am not normally interested in multi cavity (more than two) molds I believe I would be interested in this bullet. I just bought a new set of .25 Remington dies and this bullet would feed well in the Model 8.

Slim

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6pt-sika posted this 11 March 2008

william iorg wrote: While I am not normally interested in multi cavity (more than two) molds I believe I would be interested in this bullet. I just bought a new set of .25 Remington dies and this bullet would feed well in the Model 8.

Bill , I've had the group buy thing up on castboolits for a few days now , and the response is not overwhelming .

I still however want a 4-6 cavity copy of the 257325 . Also kinda intrested in the NEI #23 , which is a 257 caliber 110 grain GC mould !

I'm gonna go from almost nothing in moulds for my 25-36 to MANY !!!!!!!!!!

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william iorg posted this 11 March 2008

I'll go over to castbullets and have a look. It may be the round nose that slows people up. 

Slim

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6pt-sika posted this 01 April 2008

william iorg wrote: I'll go over to castbullets and have a look. It may be the round nose that slows people up. 

Bill , I'm starting to consider getting a 6 cavity #23 from NEI instead of messing with a Lee group buy for the 257325 .>

True it'll cost me more , but the wait and the hassle is way way less !

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6pt-sika posted this 01 April 2008

Bill it took me a year of forum whining to get somebody to sell me the 257325 I have now !

I am thinking of keeping my eyes open for a two cavity  and taking my single cavity and making a HP out of it ;)

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william iorg posted this 25 September 2009

6PT

 

How goes the work with the 257325?

I had put my 25-35's up for awhile due to other shooting projects but I am back with them and the 256 WM (low velocity and heavy bullets).

I am overrun with raccoons this year and time to hunt has been my only problem.

Slim

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KenK posted this 27 September 2009

I recently purchased an 257382 mould which is proving to be a very good shooter.

I would like to try that NEI # 21 cut in plain base version.

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