Lee Loader

An associate came into a pile of good moulds , all of the big 3 . He offered me pick of the litter and 3 had my attention right away .......
I hate putting a price on someone else's stuff . The 2 266??? Singles are easy but what about the 257312 4C , it probably comes from about the time of the change from Ideal to Lyman so it is a Craftsman's mould and would seem to be in good low mileage shape . The question is what is an out of production 4C Lyman worth ?

He said they're on the way send what you think they're worth ....... I have no idea ? Frankly head and heart don't agree either .

Yeah, that is a tough one. Actually, he is the guy that needs to come up with a value I think.

I have arrived at a window value for the 3 moulds . I think he said they all have handles as well .
My head says be a critical buyer and pick every nit when it arrives . My gut says send the man fair market and gravy for freight because high market is $300 for them with handles . The status of the 257312 let alone a 4C with handles makes it a $150 mould in serviceable condition to a collector . The Man is a machinist that runs parts finished at 280 then starts polishing , when he says good I have to take his word for it . They will be here in a day or two . The 257 Roberts should be in 7th heaven and I'll have a 4C Lyman to show off next to the Cramer #45 and the Lachmiller triple . Nope not a collector it's just working out that way .

After 18 days in the mail they are here.

WOW Any trepidation of price is gone .

I'm trying to give $75 for a mOld on Marlin Owners (expensive to me) but I can't get a usable PM.

Looks like it's new unused unless my eyes are failing me

It is used but not much .

GasGuzzler wrote:I'm trying to give $75 for a mOld on Marlin Owners (expensive to me) but I can't get a usable PM.

I bought it despite no advice. It's an old school Ranch Dog 311165 six holer with handles. Should be perfect for my 66 year old waffle.

GasGuzzler wrote:

GasGuzzler wrote:I'm trying to give $75 for a mOld on Marlin Owners (expensive to me) but I can't get a usable PM.

I bought it despite no advice. It's an old school Ranch Dog 311165 six holer with handles. Should be perfect for my 66 year old waffle.

It will work, this is the rifle I designed it for. A bit about the mold. Originally, I referred to it as the TLC311-165-RF but later changed the designation to TLC311-170-RF to better reflect the weight of the finished bullet. The problem was that the software I use generates a name based on the features and a rounded weight, but it was not allowing for the weight of the gas check in that name. Somewhere in the mid-'80s, Marlin tightened up their production (probably as old school tooling was replaced) and the nose profile, a tangent ogive, is not appropriate for these rifles through present production without trimming the brass way back to accommodate the fat nose. I designed a second 30-30 Wiin bullet, this with a bore rider nose, and it is a bit lighter so it became the TLC311-165-RF.

On the left is the original TLC311-165-RF which was renamed TLC311-170-RF. On the right is the second 30-30 Win bullet that became the TLC-311-165-RF. I also offered this bullet as a C311-165-RF, a standard lube groove bullet.

I cast a few from the new moulds last night . Lordy I like to never got the 4 holer hot enough to cast good bullets . When it did settle down it I got .262 dia at 95 gr and some whiskers in the vent lines . I am a victim of impatience it looks like the previous owners preservation went hard scale and is holding the mould open a little .

The 257312 is pretty wide across the nose it should thump pretty good . I included the 266s also .