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Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) Pope Universal Bullet Mold (Read 246 times)
RSW
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Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Feb 25th, 2026 at 9:10pm
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Back about a year ago, I acquired a “Pope” Universal bullet mold made by Jim McLemore (back in the 1980s?). It came with blocks that were not to my needs but Jason Brewer made new blocks to my specifications. Jason also makes complete Universal molds machined from castings using Pope’s original patterns. Jason can be found here on the forum if you are interested in a complete Universal mold or a set of blocks to fit your Pope or McLemore handles.

I’ve always wanted a Pope Universal bullet mold but never able to score one. As a long time bullet caster I have found the Universal an interesting device. The Universal mold offered a sprue plate that cut the sprue on opening the mold and an auto bullet eject that kicked the bullet out of the cavity. Both features actually do work. If you have read anything about the original Pope Universals you no doubt know they were renowned for the speed at which you can cast target-quality bullets. I have read where you could double the rate at which bullets can be cast vs our typical single cavity molds and I have read where you can crank out 1,200 an hour (obviously nonsense). So I set out to see at what rate I could cast with my Universal.
The photo montage below shows the overall mold configuration , the open cavity with some freshly cast bullets and a run of 52 .32 cal bullets and resultant sprues that I cast in 20 minutes. Now I’ll have find time to do the same test with my regular single cavity .32 cal mold to compare times.

One hint if you are interested in a Pope Universal mold - read Pope’s original instructions on how to use this device and follow them.

Here is a link to my Facebook page where I posted a short video demonstration of how to cast with this mold. The light tap I give the mold block is to ensure the two halves are fully seated together.

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Randy W
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There are indeed two Americas. Simply put, it is not the haves and have nots. The two Americans are in reality divided into those who do and those who don't.
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RDBallard
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Re: Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Reply #1 - yesterday at 2:45am
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I bought one of Jason's Universal moulds. It is a work of art and casts beautifully. He cuts an excellent cavity exactly to my request. To be perfectly accurate and honest these are not made from castings from Pope's patterns. They are made from castings from moulds that were made off of a McLemore mould which was actually made from Pope's patterns so these are not actually from Pope's patterns. When you make a mould off of something the part you cast in that mould will be smaller due to shrinkage when the metal cools and I believe Rodney added in some spots to account for that when he made HIS patterns which these are actually cast from and not Pope's actual patterns. Also Jason's are cast from steel instead of the original bronze. Jason's are great. I'm not complaining or nitpicking, but rather clarifying.
« Last Edit: yesterday at 3:27am by RDBallard »  
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RSW
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Re: Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Reply #2 - yesterday at 10:44am
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RDB
Thanks for the clarification about the mold patterns. It was my misunderstanding of info that I received that led me to think that Pope's patterns were used for Jason's handle castings. Pope patterns or not, Jason puts out high quality work.
  
Randy W
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There are indeed two Americas. Simply put, it is not the haves and have nots. The two Americans are in reality divided into those who do and those who don't.
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marlinguy
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Ballards may be weaker,
but they sure are neater!

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Re: Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Reply #3 - yesterday at 11:07am
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I own a few Pope molds, but owning a Pope universal mold has always been something I dreamed of owning someday. Availability and pricing has made that dream pretty unlikely, especially as I'm getting older and fewer years left to look for them!
  
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Jamey
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Re: Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Reply #4 - yesterday at 11:32am
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Randy
That universal mold truly is a thing of beauty. What is Jason’s business name/website/email. 
I’m totally incapable of finding anything on this forum that isn’t directly in front of me…
  
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RDBallard
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Re: Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Reply #5 - yesterday at 2:09pm
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If you want to be sick check this out.
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RSW
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Re: Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Reply #6 - yesterday at 4:41pm
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That looks fairly close to new in the box. Did you notice the bent ejector pin? (photo below) Too bad but other than that flaw, it's a major score for someone.
  
Randy W
ASSRA 10211  -  ISSA 125
There are indeed two Americas. Simply put, it is not the haves and have nots. The two Americans are in reality divided into those who do and those who don't.
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Statesrights
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Re: Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Reply #7 - yesterday at 5:00pm
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A flat interesting thread. What a great forum!
  
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marlinguy
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Ballards may be weaker,
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Re: Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Reply #8 - yesterday at 6:32pm
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RDBallard wrote yesterday at 2:09pm:
If you want to be sick check this out.
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Wow! Guess I'm not watching Ebay enough!
  
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s.s.jeff
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Re: Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Reply #9 - yesterday at 6:40pm
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It’s at my house now!
  
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RDBallard
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Re: Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Reply #10 - yesterday at 7:45pm
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s.s.jeff wrote yesterday at 6:40pm:
It’s at my house now!

How did I know that you were the one that snagged that Jeff? Did you convince Gary that it's real?
  
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s.s.jeff
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Re: Pope Universal Bullet Mold
Reply #11 - yesterday at 8:05pm
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Yes I did, it’s real
  
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