Humor me here. Just supposing you wanted to identify which bullet came from which cavity (in this case it happens to be a couple of .22 cal two cavity iron molds; 225438, #221) what's the best way to do it. Below you'll see the far cavity throwing a heavier bullet than the near cavity. Overall its about +/- .5 grain without the sort.
And just pretend for the moment that it makes a difference.
Thanks, Bill.
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Take a small sharp center punch and make a SMALL divot on the nose of one of the cavities.
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I do the same thing but with a small diameter sharp scribe to keep the divot as small as practical, and apply it on the ogive of the bullet to aid in orientation in the chamber/throat.
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Thanks for that. Both are round nose spritzers. Ross, if you mark the nose I assume you mean to avoid the mold seam, right? I wonder if a sharp scribe mark on the driving band would show up well enough to see.
Bill, I’ve used that method the last couple castings with the 225438 but it a pain in the butt keeping cadence. It works, but the machine gun pace needed to keep the .22 mold hot could be problematic.
I just got lucky the last two castings. But I was younger back then. This was way back in 2024. Anyone over 75 will understand that statement.
Marking one of the cavities sure seems attractive to me. Heck, a scribe mark on the olgive like gnoahhh suggested might be the most obvious to see. And heck it’s got land tracks from the bullet to lead contact when chambering anyway.
But there’s something about scratching a mark in a brand new iron mold that makes gives me a moment of doubt.
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Wm: When I say nose I mean the side of the nose portion. If you mark a driving band then your mark will be obliterated during sizing. Just don't get carried away with the hammer. Yes avoid the mold seam.
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When I want to do that I have 2 separate containers of water. I gently open the mold and drop one bullet into one pot and the other bullet into the second pot.
The only problem I have had with my method is that at my age I forget which water pot is which.
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Cut the sprue and mark the base of the bullet in front cavity with a sharpie before you dump them out .
Grumpy Old Man With A Gun......Do Not Touch .
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I seperate on soft towell just by watching them fall from mould. Usually on cavity will drop before the other.
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