Lee Moulds

TXGunNut · November 7, 2010, 10:52 AM

Finally crossing over to the red side on boolit moulds.

Latest smelting session yielded several pounds if pure lead so naturally I need a few ball moulds.

Have cartons full of 45 ACP brass around here and am getting tired of paying current prices for practice ammo for my carry guns. Can't beat the Lee moulds for that project either. Pretty amazing, Lee moulds with handles cost quite a bit less than what I paid for Lyman handles!

Will be nice to see what's been hiding under that tall blue cover on my loading bench for the last ten years too.

Hope they have room in the box for one of those new & improved Lee Auto Primes.
I did see a Lyman mould I'll have to order, the 457122/330 HP mould may just be the mould that works in my Guide Gun. The 457193/405 FP is OK but I know it can do better. Might as well get a Lyman ingot mould and use my bakeware for baking.

Pretty much done with all my hunting rifle cartridge projects, loaded the last batch of hunting loads yesterday. Now I have five rifles and a revolver to sight in this afternoon and I'll be ready to go on to other projects! About damned time, hunting season started yesterday.

Come on, Big Brown Truck!

GP100man · November 12, 2010, 04:59 PM

TGN

Was lookin thru the threads & not 1 response to this 1

I like lee molds ,if not for lee s I probably would`nt be addicted to this shootin ,reloadin& castin habit - - - -er hobby now !!!

Have Fun !!!

TXGunNut · November 12, 2010, 10:33 PM

Thought it rather odd myself, I'm pretty excited about this development. Still trying to decide between the TL and grooved 45 ACP boolits. Been reading the Lee manual lately, just getting to the bullet casting section. Hope to get it from Richard Lee himself about the merits on TL and grooved boolits. I have tremendous respect for Mike Venturino and am gaining respect for Richard Lee. They don't agree on much. This is going to be fun!
Mike Venturino is a big part of Lyman's new Cast Bullet Handbook. Was wondering if I should buy the 3rd edition as well.
Hunting rifle sight-in went well, BTW! 30-30, 30-06's, and 45 Colt were great, 35 Rem and 45-70 need a bit more work. Such is hunting and reloading!

10 Spot Terminator · November 12, 2010, 11:34 PM

OK,

So I'm always questioning things and thinking outside of the box and this boolit castin thing is no different. When I see boolits with a high number of lube grooves I have to think the more lube the better especially if the barrels tend to run on the long side. Team this up with different lubes of different make ups and I start to ask myself questions that make my pea brain hurt such as how much of that lube actually makes it onto the bore, how far down the bore does it actually lube and do things like faster vs slower velocities with a given bullet and lube make a difference ??? Guess I should have spent more time in science class an less time checkin out the girls when I was in school. Along this line of thought what about using say white lable or Jakes moly ceresin lube on a tumble lube boolit ran through a sizer just tight enough to downsize the boolit say 0.001 ??? Think in barrels over 4 inches long this might be a good trick. I have just started putting some feelers out in the past couple of weeks locally about starting a reloaders club. Get enough talent together in one place and actually work toward fine tuning the craft and recording results to share with one and all might not be such a bad thing, what do you guys think ??? 10 SPOT

snuffy · November 13, 2010, 10:04 AM

Most of my molds are lee. Why? Because they are less expensive, and they work. A 6 cav lee weighs less than a 4 cav Lyman mold. That gives you 2 more bullets with each trip under the spout. Lee molds are ALL lathe turned, there's no cherry involved with producing the cavity. That usually means the cavity is perfectly centered in the mold.

As to the question about whether to get the TL design, or the standard lube groove design, that's a choice that has to be made based on whether you want to bother with a sizer or, want to shoot them as-cast. The TL design was created to go with the lee liquid alox ,(LLA), lube so you didn't have to run them through a sizer. The TL design can be lubed in a Lyman or star, the standard can be tumble lubed. Yeah, I know that flies against their designed target, but there's no rules in this game. The TL design is made to drop at the standard bore size for your weapon.

As for the lee round ball molds, they are the best you can buy, bar none! The tangential sprue cut-off leaves only a small flat area on the side of the ball. Other round ball molds have a sprue "neck" that protrudes up from the ball. That has to be centered up or down when loading in a front stuffer. Also, the lee molds are cut with a cherry undersized, then a smooth, round carbide ball is pressed under high pressure into the hold halves. Result is a very smooth surface on the resulting cast ball.

grumpa72 · November 13, 2010, 10:25 AM

The Lee molds with microgrooves are using TL part numbers. The TL indicates that they can be used with tumble lubing using either Alox - http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Liquid-Alo.../dp/B0007WJSMC or Rooster Jacket - http://www.roosterlabs.com/products.html.a

I use Rooster Jacket in my .45 acp and 9mm bullets and it has worked for several thousand rounds. The 9mm in my S&W CS9 and Sig P226 and the .45 acp in two Colt 1991s and a Sig P220. No leading or issues.

TXGunNut · November 13, 2010, 10:54 AM

Grumpa-
Do you dilute the Rooster Jacket lube like some folks do the Alox type lubes?

grumpa72 · November 14, 2010, 04:03 PM

No diluting of RJ for me. I use it at 100% and my one quart is well over 1000 bullets. I don't count my bullets but at one time (prior to a very busy summer range schedule) I had 1000 each 9mm and .45 reloads and they all get RJ. So, if I had to guess, I am going to get another 2000 bullets out of this quart.

I figure if the manufacturer wanted to sell a product that was designed to be diluted or thinned out, that they would do it. I don't see the purpose of thinning.

armoredman · November 14, 2010, 06:42 PM

Lee moulds flat out work, all but one of mine is a Lee mould. They work every time, and I am happy with the results. I use straight LLA, lightly applied, and have no leading issues with wheel weight lead.
You'll have fun with Lee, good stuff!

458winshooter · November 18, 2010, 08:02 PM

Just got 2 new Lee molds today both are 2 holers.I smoked them and tried both out as soon as they arrived.I am very impressed with the 358-125-RF.It dropped boolits at .361 and 130 grs with nice clean edges.The other mold is a 358-105-SWC.It dropped boolits at .363 and 106 grs.I was using wheel weights and water quinching.Both are welcomed additions to a growing battery of Lee molds that I have.

November 7, 2010, 10:52 AM	#1
TXGunNut Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2010 Location: If you have to ask... Posts: 2,860	Lee Moulds Finally crossing over to the red side on boolit moulds. Latest smelting session yielded several pounds if pure lead so naturally I need a few ball moulds. Have cartons full of 45 ACP brass around here and am getting tired of paying current prices for practice ammo for my carry guns. Can't beat the Lee moulds for that project either. Pretty amazing, Lee moulds with handles cost quite a bit less than what I paid for Lyman handles! Will be nice to see what's been hiding under that tall blue cover on my loading bench for the last ten years too. Hope they have room in the box for one of those new & improved Lee Auto Primes. I did see a Lyman mould I'll have to order, the 457122/330 HP mould may just be the mould that works in my Guide Gun. The 457193/405 FP is OK but I know it can do better. Might as well get a Lyman ingot mould and use my bakeware for baking. Pretty much done with all my hunting rifle cartridge projects, loaded the last batch of hunting loads yesterday. Now I have five rifles and a revolver to sight in this afternoon and I'll be ready to go on to other projects! About damned time, hunting season started yesterday. Come on, Big Brown Truck! __________________ Life Member NRA, TSRA Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call Lonesome Dove My favorite recipes start out with a handful of used wheelweights.

November 12, 2010, 04:59 PM	#2
GP100man Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2007 Location: Tabor City , NC. Posts: 1,969	TGN Was lookin thru the threads & not 1 response to this 1 I like lee molds ,if not for lee s I probably would`nt be addicted to this shootin ,reloadin& castin habit - - - -er hobby now !!! Have Fun !!! __________________ GP100man

November 12, 2010, 10:33 PM	#3
TXGunNut Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2010 Location: If you have to ask... Posts: 2,860	Thought it rather odd myself, I'm pretty excited about this development. Still trying to decide between the TL and grooved 45 ACP boolits. Been reading the Lee manual lately, just getting to the bullet casting section. Hope to get it from Richard Lee himself about the merits on TL and grooved boolits. I have tremendous respect for Mike Venturino and am gaining respect for Richard Lee. They don't agree on much. This is going to be fun! Mike Venturino is a big part of Lyman's new Cast Bullet Handbook. Was wondering if I should buy the 3rd edition as well. Hunting rifle sight-in went well, BTW! 30-30, 30-06's, and 45 Colt were great, 35 Rem and 45-70 need a bit more work. Such is hunting and reloading! __________________ Life Member NRA, TSRA Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call Lonesome Dove My favorite recipes start out with a handful of used wheelweights. Last edited by TXGunNut; November 12, 2010 at 11:02 PM.

November 13, 2010, 10:04 AM	#5
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	Most of my molds are lee. Why? Because they are less expensive, and they work. A 6 cav lee weighs less than a 4 cav Lyman mold. That gives you 2 more bullets with each trip under the spout. Lee molds are ALL lathe turned, there's no cherry involved with producing the cavity. That usually means the cavity is perfectly centered in the mold. As to the question about whether to get the TL design, or the standard lube groove design, that's a choice that has to be made based on whether you want to bother with a sizer or, want to shoot them as-cast. The TL design was created to go with the lee liquid alox ,(LLA), lube so you didn't have to run them through a sizer. The TL design can be lubed in a Lyman or star, the standard can be tumble lubed. Yeah, I know that flies against their designed target, but there's no rules in this game. The TL design is made to drop at the standard bore size for your weapon. As for the lee round ball molds, they are the best you can buy, bar none! The tangential sprue cut-off leaves only a small flat area on the side of the ball. Other round ball molds have a sprue "neck" that protrudes up from the ball. That has to be centered up or down when loading in a front stuffer. Also, the lee molds are cut with a cherry undersized, then a smooth, round carbide ball is pressed under high pressure into the hold halves. Result is a very smooth surface on the resulting cast ball. __________________ The more people I meet, the more I love my dog They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?

November 13, 2010, 10:54 AM	#7
TXGunNut Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2010 Location: If you have to ask... Posts: 2,860	Grumpa- Do you dilute the Rooster Jacket lube like some folks do the Alox type lubes? __________________ Life Member NRA, TSRA Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call Lonesome Dove My favorite recipes start out with a handful of used wheelweights.

November 12, 2010, 11:34 PM	#4
10 Spot Terminator Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2008 Location: Central Oregon Posts: 348	OK, So I'm always questioning things and thinking outside of the box and this boolit castin thing is no different. When I see boolits with a high number of lube grooves I have to think the more lube the better especially if the barrels tend to run on the long side. Team this up with different lubes of different make ups and I start to ask myself questions that make my pea brain hurt such as how much of that lube actually makes it onto the bore, how far down the bore does it actually lube and do things like faster vs slower velocities with a given bullet and lube make a difference ??? Guess I should have spent more time in science class an less time checkin out the girls when I was in school. Along this line of thought what about using say white lable or Jakes moly ceresin lube on a tumble lube boolit ran through a sizer just tight enough to downsize the boolit say 0.001 ??? Think in barrels over 4 inches long this might be a good trick. I have just started putting some feelers out in the past couple of weeks locally about starting a reloaders club. Get enough talent together in one place and actually work toward fine tuning the craft and recording results to share with one and all might not be such a bad thing, what do you guys think ??? 10 SPOT

November 13, 2010, 10:25 AM	#6
grumpa72 Senior Member Join Date: April 5, 2009 Posts: 487	The Lee molds with microgrooves are using TL part numbers. The TL indicates that they can be used with tumble lubing using either Alox - http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Liquid-Alo.../dp/B0007WJSMC or Rooster Jacket - http://www.roosterlabs.com/products.html.a I use Rooster Jacket in my .45 acp and 9mm bullets and it has worked for several thousand rounds. The 9mm in my S&W CS9 and Sig P226 and the .45 acp in two Colt 1991s and a Sig P220. No leading or issues.

November 14, 2010, 04:03 PM	#8
grumpa72 Senior Member Join Date: April 5, 2009 Posts: 487	No diluting of RJ for me. I use it at 100% and my one quart is well over 1000 bullets. I don't count my bullets but at one time (prior to a very busy summer range schedule) I had 1000 each 9mm and .45 reloads and they all get RJ. So, if I had to guess, I am going to get another 2000 bullets out of this quart. I figure if the manufacturer wanted to sell a product that was designed to be diluted or thinned out, that they would do it. I don't see the purpose of thinning.

November 14, 2010, 06:42 PM	#9
armoredman Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 5,299	Lee moulds flat out work, all but one of mine is a Lee mould. They work every time, and I am happy with the results. I use straight LLA, lightly applied, and have no leading issues with wheel weight lead. You'll have fun with Lee, good stuff!

November 18, 2010, 08:02 PM	#10
458winshooter Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2008 Location: Transplanted to Ridgeland,SC Posts: 606	Lee molds Just got 2 new Lee molds today both are 2 holers.I smoked them and tried both out as soon as they arrived.I am very impressed with the 358-125-RF.It dropped boolits at .361 and 130 grs with nice clean edges.The other mold is a 358-105-SWC.It dropped boolits at .363 and 106 grs.I was using wheel weights and water quinching.Both are welcomed additions to a growing battery of Lee molds that I have.