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Hensley & Gibbs 503S, 503SX .44 Mould Comparison
The .44 “Keith” Semi-Wadcutter
I acquired a new style of #503, a 503SX
4 cavity mould. It's a late production
mould (thick handles (.308”), with serial number). I have surmised that the design is the Keith
.44 bullet, (503) heavy ("S" @ ~290 grains) with an eXperimental change to a thicker front driving band and
shorter extended base. This experimental
design appears to move more of the bullet weight outside of the case.
The Hensley & Gibbs factory ledger entry for the original
Keity design #503:
#503-.44 Caliber. 250 grains.
"Keith style", designed by Elmer Keith.
Plain base, one square grease groove, one heavy crimp groove, semi-wadcutter shoulder, gently rounded nose taper, to slightly
rounded meplat.
The photos are descriptions are for those interested in the
Keith designs. For comparative purposes,
I included photos of a "standard" 503S
combo mould, which is a 4 cavity mould that has two different cavity styles,
two cavities are the standard 503 design, and two are the 503S
extended base design which brings the weight up to around ~290 grains. Note that in the combo mould, the front
driving band is noticeably thinner than in the 503SX
mould. For more
information on the Hensley & Gibbs Mould numbering scheme, click here for
an article on that subject.
I invite comments regarding the designs and the intent behind
the 503SX design change.
The photos:
First....the original 503S combo 4 cavity mould:
And for comparison, the newly acquired 503SX
4 cavity mould with the thicker front driving band and shorter extended base:
Click on Photos for larger pic…
The three projectile designs side by side for comparison and
labeled:
The same photo, as a hyperlink, without any labels:
http://www.hensleygibbs.com/molds/503SX/503SX5.jpg
The three different cavity designs side by side for comparative
purposes:
Both Moulds side by side for comparison…
And the edge delineation for the profiles. Notice the 2X
denser venting on the 503SX, I would guess that is
also part of the eXperimentation. Easy to see the larger driving band on the 503SX:
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