Unknown bullet mould ID

[Oyvind]

I have to original two-cavity percussion revolver bullet moulds with cavities for roundball and conical balls. One is easily identified as a Colt's Patent mould for the .44 calibre New Model Holster pistol (Model 1860 Army). The other is unmarked, except for a faint "S", but casts a bullet almost identical to that of the Colt. Could the second mould be a Remington mould for the Remington New Model Army or something else?

The bullet dimensions are as follows (the Colt measurements listed first):

Largest diameter: .460" vs. .462"
Heel base diameter: .441" vs. .439"
Length: .7" vs. .68"
Weight: 217 grains vs. 220 grains
Roundball diameter: .460" vs. .460"

http://www.svartkrutt.net/temporary/images/mold_1.jpg
Colt mould (top) and unknown mould.

http://www.svartkrutt.net/temporary/images/mold_2.jpg
Colt mould (top) and unknown mould.

http://www.svartkrutt.net/temporary/images/mold_3.jpg
From left to right: Ball from unknown mould, ball from Colt mould and a Lee 456-220-1R for comparison.

[John Holland]

In my opinion the second unidentified mould is a Remington made mould.

[Oyvind]

Thanks for your reply, that's what I thought too but difficult to say without any markings.

For those who are interested I've published a small piece on the moulds and the original Remington I use them in here: http://www.svartkrutt.net/articles/vis.php?id=50

[Maillemaker]

That's a nice article. It looks like you did not lubricate the conical bullet lube rings. Do you think that might affect accuracy?

I see target pictures of your round ball results but not your conical bullet results. Do you have pictures of your conical ball results?

Steve

[Oyvind]

I've added a photo of the conical ball results to the article. As seen below, two cylinders at 25 yards, standing one wasn't very impressive compared to the roundball results.

http://www.svartkrutt.net/artikler/bilder/rem_nma/rem_nma19_stor.jpg

For convenience sake I lubricated the chamber mouths after loading the cartridges. I tried some cartridges dipped in lube which performed slightly worse. The tests with conical balls will continue when the light comes back in a couple of months. It would have been great to have a conical ball load that at least can hold 12 shots inside the 8 ring.

[R. McAuley 3014V]

The groups may not be very impressive as far as precision target shooting is concerned, but put either of those targets up against your torso, and they tell a completely different story when one realises their real purpose was in hitting another man! Big difference is, the targets aren't shooting back at you.

[Oyvind]

It looks like two different targets, but the 12 shots are actually shot at the same target. My point of aim was 6 o'clock at the bottom target. I'm fairly satisfied with the 8 shots to the upper left, but not so much with those hitting the black. They will however still cover a man's torso. If he's a big one :)

[Oyvind]

I'm one of the few that enjoy making paper cartridges, so I've written a piece on how to make them as well: http://www.svartkrutt.net/articles/vis.php?id=51

The conical bullets used in the article comes from the mould in this thread. Some pictures:

http://www.svartkrutt.net/artikler/bilder/papirpatron/rulling31_stor.jpg
http://www.svartkrutt.net/artikler/bilder/papirpatron/rulling22_stor.jpg
http://www.svartkrutt.net/artikler/bilder/papirpatron/rulling02_stor.jpg

[Maillemaker]

That's very cool. I like paper cartridges, too.

It's a shame the conicals do not perform as well as the round ball, even in an original gun!

Steve

[Maillemaker]

Great article on the cartridges.

Your link for H&C actually links back to your own article though.

Steve

[Oyvind]

Thanks for noticing that, the link has now been corrected!