Parker Hale 58560 mold-the rest of the story

[gjkershul]

I posted this on the N-SSA Civil War Small Arms Forum on June 17:
"I picked up the top half of a Parker Hale .58 Minie mold at a gun show last month. Not having the bottom plug I tried my bottom plug from a Lyman 575611PH mold. It was too small.
I have an old 500 grain RCBS Minie mold from which I tried the bottom plug. It fit. Also, I found the RCBS mold screws going through the mold handles and the attached RCBS plug plate plug worked. Makes nice bullets now. When I get a scale that weighs over 500 grains I will find out what weight it casts now.
Does anyone know what weight projectile the Parker Hale 58560 mold is supposed to cast in its original configuration?"

I found that it cast 520 grain projectiles. One response indicated that another N-SSA poster got projectiles of 550 to 560 grainswith his Parker Hale mold.

Something was amiss!
I sent the mold to RCBS for a new center plug and got it back with a polite note telling me that they never made molds for Parker Hale but that they had fitted an RCBS deep 500 grain base plug to my mold at no charge. Aside from being nice, RCBS seemed to think my mold may have been made by Lachmiller for Parker Hale before RCBS bought Lachmiller.

I note that there is an early Parker Hale Musketoon for sale on the "For sale" forum that includes the Parker Hale mold that was part of the Parker Hale package with the Parker Hale rifled muskets when originally sold.

Does anybody know what company made the Parker Hale molds?
_________________

[Mike Seymour, 3215V]

I have a mold marked PH 58560. It throws a bullet weighing in at around 562 gr. I like the bullet, but wish it had a deeper cavity in it. Mine has a shallow,flat base

[paul w/McGregor's 385V]

Greg,
Parker Hale moulds were made by a company in England. Unfortunately Parker Hale did not see fit to mention who they were.

Take care and be safe
pfb

[Joe Burchette, 2440V]

Mike; if we ever get a cannon, we can cast projectiles with it.

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

I've got two of those molds set up on one set of handles. It takes a little dexterity to operate, but back when I was shooting a PH musket and musketoon, I needed a lot of bullets, and that set-up made casting faster.

I loved that bullet. It shot great out of my Parker Hales. In fact, I don't remember it not shooting out of any gun. As long as you used pure lead, it was an accurate bullet. The shallow but thin skirt seemed to work just fine.

After PH quit making that mold, Lyman made a mold for the Parker Hales, but it wasn't the same. Both the nose and the skirt were a little different.