Why is the word “mould” spelled incorrectly in your company name?

We misspelled it purposely because there is a German-based plastic mould maker by the name of Victory Moulds, and there is no correlation between us.

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Why does Victory Molds charge more for moulds?

Victory Molds are extremely labor intensive to craft.  We start off with a bar of 11L17 steel cut to lengths across the grain of the steel, we then true the blanks slightly oversize and cut the handle groove, after which we put them in the oven and stress relieve them twice.  This process takes two days, then we grind them in matched pairs on the faces. 

At this point, we drill and ream three or more alignment holes and fit the hardened pins and seats.  All of the other holes are drilled and tapped at this time also, and then we grind the top, bottom, and ends until perfectly square. After this, we bore the mold to the desired bullet.   

After boring, the cavities are polished lightly and the mold is removed from the lathe, inspected for tolerance and deburred.  It is then put back in the lathe for another final polish which makes a huge difference in how the bullets drop from the mold. The cutoff plate is then fitted up and the mold is ready for test casting.  This also takes time and is one more reasons our molds cost more.   

Another reason our molds are expensive is that we engineer each cavity to fit your individual rifle from your chamber casts and bore slugs.  This little detail is very time consuming but makes a big difference in how the bullet will shoot.  Frequently, we have to make the boring bars specifically for your bullet which is very time consuming in itself.

Ultimately, we work out the bugs, if any, for you, then check the bullets cast from your mold on our precision Bullet Spinner and Bench Micrometer for the desired specifications. If at any time the mold shows a defect or the bullet has more than .0002  “run out,” not counting the part line bump, it is scrapped and we start over.  We only make as perfect a mold as possible, period!   

You are not spending  this much money for nothing:  We work hard for it and you. If your casting technique is consistent enough, you can expect bullets as consistent in weight and size as swaged bullets. We do it here and so can you with practice and attention to detail! 

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Which is better?  Nose Pour or Base Pour? 

I haven’t seen a match won recently with a nose-pour mould.  This doesn’t mean that the base-pour moulds are better, only that today’s shooters prefer a sleeker bullet with a better ballistic profile than a nose-pour mould can offer. Personally speaking, I have seen no advantage to a nose-pour mould. I have even made identical moulds in both nose and base pour without coming to any conclusion as to which was better. So by the virtue of a better choice of ballistic profile, my money goes with the base pour.

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Can I hunt with cast bullets?

Depending on the laws in your area, yes.  I suggest that if you are intending on hunting with cast bullets, that you stay with flat nosed or hollow point bullets on thin skinned game, relying on large diameter and bullet weight to do the job with the added touch of the flat point/hollow point for shock effect, due to their lower velocity. They can be truly impressive.  I have made bullet moulds for a 500 BPE (English version of 50/140) that put a 2” hole completely through a large Russian Boar leaving the guide in open-jawed amazement -- and to this day, he states he has seen nothing else like it.

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Where do I find bullet alloy metal?

Check your Yellow Pages for scrap metal dealers and ask for linotype, pure lead, X-Ray lead, lead pipe, wheel weights, tin, and antimony.  Ask other shooters in your area. Check with both indoor and outdoor ranges in your area. Midway also sells alloy. Be careful of scrounged lead as it usually has some kind of impurity that can cause casting and accuracy problems. If you experience problems, clean the metal by melting and skimming the impurities off the top of the alloy (don’t flux when doing this since it will disperse the problem metal back into the mix).

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What is gain twist?

Rifling that starts out at a slow rate of twist and increases in rapidity toward the muzzle.

Some people think it has advantages with cast bullets, others don’t. It is one of those questions that is near impossible to answer.  I have both types and can’t say one is better than the other.  Harry Pope made most of his famous record-setting barrels with gain twist, He also said late in life that he could never prove one was better than the other.  Military canons are for the most part rifled with gain twist and they have been tested more than anything else so maybe there is something to it.

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What is breach seating?

This is a method of loading a rifle by inserting the bullet into the barrel ahead of the chamber by means of a special tool and putting the cartridge into the chamber separately.

This is thought to be a more accurate way to load a single-shot rifle. Whether it is or not, I do it, but more because I am usually too busy to load proper fixed ammo, and I can tweak the load on the range as I shoot. It is amazing what a couple of grains of powder can do one way or the other.

Where do I find load data for my bullets?

You are on your own here.  Fortunately, there are many sources to reference:

1.  Lymans hand books

2.  RCBS’s fine cast bullet manual

3   Hodgdon’s loading manual  

4.  Accurate Arms loading book

5.  Alliant’s load tables, etc.

Let common sense be your guide and always lean toward the safe side! Don’t hesitate to ask someone if there is a question.  

Generally speaking, if there is a question about your load, it is probably too hot. The old saying, “where there is smoke, there is fire” applies quite well here. Approach your maximum loads with caution, and don’t use the full loads from Powley’s computer or you’ll have a disaster on your hands.  Some older loading manuals have very dangerous loads with today’s powders, so utilize up-to-date information as often as possible.

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What diameter should the expander plug be in my loading dies?

Cast bullets are very soft and deform easily so every effort should be taken to protect them from being distorted.  The seating operation is a critical and often overlooked step toward accuracy.

The expander should be of a size that will leave the mouth of the case just able to hold the bullet. I make my own expanders to bullet diameter and this has never let me down. A .309 inch bullet gets a .309 inch expander and the spring back of the brass is enough to hold the bullet.

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When should I use gas checks?

Any time you are driving your bullets over 1800 fps, I advise you to design your bullet for gas checks.

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What is an ogive?

An ogive is the radius of the point of the bullet expressed in calibers (for example, a .308 diameter bullet with a 3 caliber ogive would be 3X .308 = .924 inches so you take your radius .924 inches at a right angle to the axis of the bullet starting at the end of the straight bearing surface and arching forward to the center line).

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What is a Snover nose?

A point shape developed by Mr. Snover, having a bore-riding section combined with a relatively sleek ogive and a small rounded tip to resist deformation (a very well designed nose shape).

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What is a Pope style bullet?

Around 1890, Harry Pope adopted a form of bullet that tapered from groove diameter at the back to bore diameter at the front. This works very well with Henry, Shalck, or Pope-style rifling and barrels with wide lands. These are used almost exclusively as breach beated bullets (bullets seated into the rifling with a special tool and the case inserted behind afterward).

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What is a Hudson bullet?

Dr. Hudson developed a bullet that was two diameters:  .001 inch over groove diameter on the rear, and bore diameter on the front. This works well on fixed ammunition.

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What is a bore-riding bullet?

A bullet designed so that the front section ahead of the driving bands is riding on the tops of the lands offering support and better alignment. Also, John Rigby developed a bullet around 1870 that was entirely bore diameter and relied on upset from the powder charge to grab the rifling and seal the gas behind it. This proved to be the most successful muzzle-loaded bullet in history as far as accuracy is concerned, and it was easy to load too.

We have experimented with this design and found that by reverse tapering the driving bands (small at the base to near groove diameter at the front), accuracy is improved even further.  Franklin Mann found that bore-diameter bullets worked the best in his extensive tests during the writing of  “The Bullets Flight from Powder to Target.”   

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What is the difference between groove diameter and bore diameter?

Groove diameter is the major or largest diameter of the hole through the barrel.  Bore diameter is the smallest diameter measured from top of land to top of land within the barrel (if a rod were machined to just fit in the barrel from the muzzle and then measured, this measurement would be the bore diameter).

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What is a cherrie?

A cutting tool used in mass producing the cavities in production bullet moulds. 

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What alloy is the best? 

This is a trick question because it all depends on what you are trying to do. Many people think that you have to cast them hard to drive them fast, but this is not necessarily true. If you are pushing your bullet as fast as you can, it will need to be stiff enough to prevent the nose from slumping to one side, unbalancing it.  But there comes a point where the alloy becomes brittle and breaks easily so a compromise is needed.

For target shooting, I have used everything from straight Linotype to a 1-35 lead/tin mixture with great results. In a nut shell, what works, works. And if you think it has to be your way or no way at all, please seek professional help. You can tailor your alloy for the purpose it will be used for. I prefer softer alloys for hunting at around 1-20 to pure lead and stiffer alloys for gas-checked rifle and pistol loads, such as Lyman #2.  Some folks add a trace of silver to their alloy for lubricity.  There is a best alloy for your load waiting somewhere around your lead pot. Go cast and have fun.

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What bullet will stabilize in my rifle/pistol?

First, you must know the twist rate of the rifling in your barrel: Measure this and don’t trust the manufacturer/gunsmith.  I have seen mistakes made by the best.  Next, a little math:  Divide the twist rate of your barrel by the groove diameter of your barrel.  

Take 150 and divide that by the number you came up with to obtain the length of your bullet in calibers.  Multiply the groove diameter by that number and you have it. Okay, let me give you an example:  We have a barrel with .321 groove diameter and a 14 inch twist so 14/.321 = 43.613707.  Take 150/43.613707 = 3.4392857, now take the groove diameter, .321X3.439285 =1.1040107 -- the length of your bullet in inches assuming you are casting out of lead. 

This is a simplified Greenhill formula and is not engraved in stone because there are several variables not accounted for such as changes in specific gravity due to alloy, but it is close enough to give you a very good idea of what you need as far as the length of a given bullet.  You can use a slightly longer bullet, but it is better to err on the short side as over stabilized is far better than under stabilized.

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What does “put the bullet to sleep” mean?

This is a term adopted by some clever ballisticians to refer to a bullet that is flying through the air perfectly stable, no yaw, pitch, or oscillation. Most bullets fly in a cork screw path while oscillating around their axis.  This is bad and very evil!  Not only does this cause problems with sighting at different ranges, but it has been found through extensive tests, that a bullet that is “put to sleep” has as much as 40% less wind drift.  WOW that is incredible!  If you are able to achieve that level of stability, you are on top of the game and handicapped in no way.

If you watch a top spin, it will mimic what a bullet does in flight, and if you can get it to spin perfectly stable so it looks as though it isn’t moving at all, it will spin far longer than if it wobbles and or oscillates. That is what is meant by putting a rotating body to sleep.

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What is the throat?

The area, or section, within the barrel just in front of the chamber, devoid of rifling.

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What is the leade?

The area or section, from the forward edge of the throat where the rifling tapers into its full form.

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What is bullet slump?

When the bullet starts down the barrel, it accelerates to roughly 65-85% of its full velocity in the first few inches of the barrel and depending on the burn rate of the powder, so the base of the bullet with the gas column behind it will compress until it has nowhere to go but down the barrel.  The nose section will resist the initial acceleration and the bullet will distort, shorten, or “slump”. With pure lead and softer alloys, this is a problem and can be a cause of instability.  Slump can be controlled by designing the bullet with as much support as possible, and/or a harder alloy.  Generally speaking, slump is not a problem with alloys of 1-20 lead/tin and harder.

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What is meant by upset?

Again, with pure lead and softer alloy, when the powder ignites and forms a rapidly growing gas within a few milliseconds, the base of the bullet is forced forward expanding the base of the bullet to fill the grooves of the barrel or “upset”.

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What is bumping the bullet?

With a mould that doesn’t fit the barrel, some folks will mechanically distort the bullet to more or less fit the barrel in an effort to make it shoot better. We do not believe this to be a viable alternative to actually making the bullet right to start with.  It is very difficult to bump a hundred bullets identically and it takes a special swage to do it right, adding another step that is completely unnecessary. If the mould is made correctly, a swage won’t help the bullet and can only damage it. 

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My bullet is too small!  What is going on?

We try to make our moulds as close to size as possible, so the sizing process doesn’t distort the finished bullet making it more accurate.  Due to the multitude of variables possible, the bullets I cast while testing each mould may be different than the bullets you cast from the same mould.  Of course, the important thing is how they fall from the mould when you cast them, so we will lap your mould or cut a new one to cast to your style and alloy.  That is another reason we are a little higher priced. We can, on request, cut the mould larger but it pretty much destroys the advantages of a true custom mould.

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What is detonation?

Detonation, sometimes called “secondary wave,” is a phenomenon that has been experienced by a few shooters, including yours truly. Whatever the cause, the burning rate of the powder is magnified, increasing pressures to a dangerous level. It seems to happen with reduced charges of slow-burning powder in large cases like the 264 Winchester Magnum and 25/06 Remington, but I have seen it happen with fast-burning powders such as 4227 in a 38/55 with heavy bullets of 310 grains and heavier.

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Can Victory Molds ship anywhere in the world?

Yes! Unless prohibited by law, Victory Molds ships worldwide, utilizing United Parcel Service (UPS) or, when requested, Federal Express.  Shipping and handling dues will be added to the price of the merchandise and depend upon size and weight of parcel and on whether the customer requests a speedier delivery.

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Why won’t my bullets fill out completely?         

There could be many reasons for this, including:

1. The mould or the alloy is not hot enough, evidenced by wrinkles.

2. The mould or alloy is too hot, evidenced by a frosted      appearance and excessive shrinkage.

3. Something in the alloy -- some scrap lead sources have things other than tin and antimony in them. If you procure some supposedly pure lead and your groups go in the trash, melt it and skim the impurities off the top.  I have had some supposedly 99.9% pure lead that defied casting a decent bullet until I skimmed off the impurities, losing about one-quarter of the material -- then all was well again.  

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My mould is galling on the sprue plate. Why?

Lube should be kept on the hinge screw, and the sprue plate should be just loose enough that you can lift it off the top of the mould when closed, using the ladle to hold the plate tightly against the mould.  If the plate is too tight,  it will seize up.

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Why aren’t there any vents in my mould?

There are!  We vent our moulds differently than other mould makers by grinding a clearance between the faces and sometimes a vertical groove along side the cavities to further vent air out of the mould.  This process has counted very much toward consistently-round bullets.  Normal vent grooves tend to plug up with lead, nullifying their reason for being.  Also, the lead feathers from the vents tend to get caught between the faces of the mould, causing an out-of-round bullet.  Our process is self cleaning and thus more reliable.  

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