Order Placed on Monday, 3/5 - Group Buy: Custom Lee 358-429 Mould for 357 Magnum & 38 Special

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Schedule update: Committed moulds = 13 (FINAL)

Current phase: In the mail -The moulds came in from Lee yesterday, a couple of weeks early.  They have all been packed, labeled and shipped as of today. Let me know if you didn't recieve tracking info from the USPS.


To see what zipcodes moulds have been ordered for, look on:
http://357shooter.blogspot.com/p/active-group-buy-lee-358429-zip-codes.html
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This is a Group Buy for a custom made 358-429 Keith, six cavity aluminum mould.  This is consistently the best performing bullet in 357 magnum revolvers, and in 38 special too.  This configuration is not available on the market except as a custom mould, which requires design work, development, prototyping and testing to duplicate. 


That cost both time and money.  By participating in this buy you take advantage of my sunk cost & time, also you take advantage of spreading the manufacturing tooling costs across multiple buyers.

For more information regarding the performance of this mould, please see my blog posts at:


http://357shooter.blogspot.com/2012/01/best-all-around-mould-to-cast-for-your.html


http://357shooter.blogspot.com/2012/01/update-on-new-custom-lee-358-429.html

Why do this group buy?  For several good reasons:

1.       The 358-429 design has proven to be the most accurate bullet ever designed for the 357 magnum, however

2.       It’s commonly available in only two cavity and four cavity versions.  A very big negative, and

3.       These two cavity and four cavity moulds drop small diameter bullets that underperform more often than not, making them average performers at best

4.       There are several design variations, this offering is Lyman influenced, which provides the best accuracy with light loads and magnum loads.  It's a proven and versatile design for 38 special, 357 magnum, revolvers and lever rifles

5.       Custom and semi-custom moulds are more expensive ($120-$170), for three cavity and four cavity moulds.  Not nearly a desirable as a six cavity mould, which provides

Note: This is custom design.  If you cast with wheel weights expect it to drop 175-176 grain bullets, give or take two grains.  I like softer alloy, which drops at 178-179 grains each.  The minimum diameter is .360 and can be up to +.003 inches.

The bullet nose measured from the crimp groove forward is .375 inch, like the Lyman design.  The lube groove in the picture above and below is .007 inch, the groove for this group buy is .009.  That makes it close to the original Keith, and keeps a good-beefy bullet base.

The overall length remains the same, the lube groove will be .002 larger, and the base will be .002 smaller than pictured.

How will this group buy work and how long does it take for manufacturing?

This Group Buy may be different than others you may have had experience with.  So please read this, carefully.  This group buy will have a planned schedule to follow.  Two items to be aware of are

• having enough buyers commit to buy (via email) so we can confirm that the buy will happen, and
• Lee will provide an updated timeframe estimate when the order is placed.

Baseline schedule:

1. The initial commitment and sign-up phase is expected to take three weeks.  A sign-up of 7 is needed to get this group buy confirmed.
2. Once the sign-up phase is completed, payment is needed.  This is planned to take one calendar week.  Additional orders cannot be added, the manufacturer, Lee Precision, requires 100% of the payment before they schedule production.  They don’t accept changes.  So once payment is made, it cannot be refunded.  Payment can be made by PayPal, certified check or money order.  Having the funds ready to go to Lee ASAP is important to keep on schedule.
3. Manufacturing takes up to eight weeks, sometimes less, but it’s best to plan on the eight weeks.  I will post and updated estimate, from Lee, when the order is placed.  It changes based upon their current backlog of orders.
4. Order processing and shipping preparation:  All buyers will be notified when the moulds arrive here.  Each buyer will get a personal notification their mould has been shipped.  This can take up to one additional week.

That’s a estimated maximum of thirteen weeks total time for manufacturing and order processing/shipping preparation time, once the manufacturer has the total payment. I'd figure on one additional week for unexpected complications that often arise whenever taking something like this.

Note regarding payments, PLEASE READ:  If there are not enough buyers, payment will not be collected and the buy cancelled.

This is a great deal on a great mould.  If you have any questions, please ask.  If a three month process seems long, keep in mind that they can typically take a year.

Pricing Information:


 Everyone that purchases a custom mould pays the same price, however the price.  The price will be finalized at the end of the three week sign-up phase, and depends on the number of people buying moulds.

• 7-19 total moulds ordered will all be priced at $85 each
• 20-24 total moulds ordered will all be priced at $80 each
• 25 and up, total moulds ordered will all be priced at $75 each

In all cases, shipping to you (in the US) costs and additional $10.95.  This is USPS Flat Rate shipping, FYI.  PayPal has an additional $0.30 plus 2.9% charge.  We will exchange and confirm shipping information, total costs and payment arrangements via email.

FYI: Handles are not included and must be purchased seperately.


How to sign-up and commit to buy:

To commit to buy please post a comment saying "I'm in for N mould(s)", and/or please email me at info357shooter@yahoo.com.  I'll post updates regarding how many people have signed up and when the next phase is scheduled to begin.

Also, feel free to use the blog comment section to post your interest and to ask questions.  There's also a thread at Ammosmith.com in the classified section if you don't have a Goggle ID or just prefer a great forum format:

http://www.ammosmith.com/forum/index.php/topic,7079.0.html

Let's do this thing!