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Old June 12, 2020, 09:53 PM   #1
BJung
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9mm and 40 cal cast bullets

I started casting bullets and have a number of 38 cal 2 cavity Lee molds and just purchased a 6 cavity 38-148gr WC because I'll shoot more of this.. The next molds I'll buy will be .45acp. I think I can't go wrong casting for the low pressure loads. Here are two questions.

First, is there a disadvantage using the 2 cavity Lee molds? I read that they last for only 5000 casts?

Second, is it trickier to cast accurate 9mm and 40cal bullets? I don't want to lost accuracy compared to just buying hardcast bullets to maintain accuracy. I'll use Lee molds here too but plan to purchase a 9mm 6 cavity 120gr TC mold. I might just settle for a 2 cavity 40 cal TC mold.

Thanks.
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Old June 13, 2020, 05:36 AM   #2
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I have a few 2 cavity Lee molds, work OK, but the 9mm 124gr TL one did start to fall apart after about 10 years of use. I received a 6 cavity version that has been working well for years, but the aluminum gets deformed under the breaking bar.
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Old June 13, 2020, 08:34 AM   #3
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drawbacks

Have you compared your groups between your 9mm home cast vs. 9mm hard cast bullets using Lee molds or any other mold?
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Old June 14, 2020, 06:16 AM   #4
Mike / Tx
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I have a drawer full of Lee molds and use the 6 cavity for bulk ammo. That said, I also have a good number of NOE, Accurate, and MP molds.

Groups are what you make of them but they all have turned in excellent results. The big thing now is powder coating, its a little more labor but the cleaner bullets and cleaner running loads make up for it, along with the larger variety of lead that can be used.

Honestly the Lee will work if you mind the temps and handle them gently. If your looking for longevity the extra spent on the other makers is worth it or if you want something different. In the decade or so I've been pouring I have moved away from the bulk to pouring mostly hunting bullets for the big bores and have been using the higher priced molds due to custom options but for pouring a coffee can full of blasting or practice bullets its hard to beat a Lee 6 cavity.
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Old June 14, 2020, 09:56 AM   #5
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Same track so far

Mike - Having just started, it seems that I'm on the same track as you. I powder coated my bullets and separated the bullets by weighed. I resized all my powder coated bullets but some measure to .358. I'm wondering if they're more accurate if left alone. I'll probably othbuy er manufacture's mold later.
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Old June 14, 2020, 09:17 PM   #6
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burbank I have been casting for just over 9 months. I now have 2 Lee 2 cavity molds, 1 Lyman 2 cavity, 1 Lyman 1 cavity and 1 6 cavity Lee.

The Lyman are iron, one is a 358 141gr wadcutter that drops small at .356" and the other is 452 225gr RN single cavity. They are nice and drop clean well defined bullets though I may sell off the 358 as it is too small for my 38Spl.

The Lee are a two cavity 356-102 R1 and a 452-200 RNFP. The Lee 6 cavity was a mistake. I thought it was a 452 TC but it is a 452 TL SWC. My gun won't cycle SWC.

I have thought of buying another 452 225gr RN Lyman in 2 cavity but for the extra dollars I may just go to a new Accurate Mold 452 200gr in either a TC or RNFP.

Moving from the aluminum Lee to the Iron Lyman was a bit of a learning curve but it has worked out well..
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Old June 15, 2020, 12:17 AM   #7
BJung
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Right behind you

I'm probably not too far behind you.

I haven't looked into non-Lee molds yet. What benefits have you found using them?

As for your WC mold, can you put 2 coat of powder paint on it to increase the diameter?
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Old June 16, 2020, 08:07 AM   #8
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Research results

I've did some research and have settled on Lee 6 cavity molds in the future. I tried my new 38-148wc 6 cavity molds for the first time and it paid for itself after the first use. It is so easy to use.
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Old June 16, 2020, 05:22 PM   #9
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Lee 6 cavity molds are the best value out there.

The 2 cavity molds are decent but many people view the 6 cavity molds as being of higher quality along with producing large quantity of bullets faster. Unfortunately some designs are not available in the 6 cavity option.

Other makers have many more bullet options available, various other molds materials such as brass or steel, a variety of cavity options, gas check or plain base options, include set screws, and other custom features available such as being drilled for a temperature probe.

For the money Lee 6 cavity mold are a good value. If you want something different or better, it's nice to have options available.
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Old June 17, 2020, 12:19 AM   #10
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Looks and Performance can vary

The bullets look great to me. I grouped them by weight. Now I have to see how well they group.
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Old July 3, 2020, 08:30 AM   #11
res45
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Burbank, about the only disadvantage to the two cavity Lee molds is it just takes longer to case a lot of bullets whereas you can really crank them out with the six cavity molds. All my Lee rifle bullet molds are two cavity and I've only had to replace one in the past ten years and I'm pretty sure I cast more than 5K bullets with it.

I have around 40 bullet molds twenty-five of them being Lee, a couple old Lyman / Ideal molds, and several from NOE, Arsenal and Accurate and have nothing bad to say about any of them. If I end up replacing any of my Lee pistol mold in the future it will be with the six cavity molds.


Some powder coated 9 mm Lee 120 gr. TC and Lee 230 gr. 24 ACP bullets I cast and powder coated a couple of weeks ago from my Lee six cavity molds.



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Last edited by res45; July 3, 2020 at 08:39 AM.
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Old July 3, 2020, 10:48 AM   #12
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Eye Candy

Very nice eye candy.

I plan to buy the same molds. Can you let me know how well they shoot? I purchased a Lee 6 cavity .38 wad cutter mold and I can crank them out quick. I ordered a 6 cavity .45 200gr SWC mold next and will do the same. I think they should be the most accurate because the pressure is low for the range lead I'm using. I don't know if accuracy will suffer with higher pressure 9mm or 40cal loads.

Thanks
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Old July 3, 2020, 11:42 AM   #13
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With powder coating you don't have to worry as much about how hard your lead is vs pressure. I have pushed range scrap in my 44 mag. to max book charges of 2400 with no leading of the barrel. You shouldn't have any issues with your loads, but work it up to make sure you don't have issues.
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Old July 3, 2020, 12:48 PM   #14
res45
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Quote:
Very nice eye candy.

I plan to buy the same molds. Can you let me know how well they shoot? I purchased a Lee 6 cavity .38 wad cutter mold and I can crank them out quick. I ordered a 6 cavity .45 200gr SWC mold next and will do the same. I think they should be the most accurate because the pressure is low for the range lead I'm using. I don't know if accuracy will suffer with higher pressure 9mm or 40cal loads.

Thanks
I'm pretty sure they will shoot very well as I have pretty much the same bullet design in 124 gr. in a NOE mold that has fewer cavities and it's an excellent bullet in my Canik TP9SA sized to .357". I haven't loaded any of the Lee bullets up yet but will sometime over the 4th. but it might be a week or so before I get to shoot them over at my buddies range.

I also have the Lee 200 gr. SWC for my 45 carbine and Ruger P90 and it shoots really well in both firearms. I cast all my pistol an rifle bullets mainly for 50% pure lead and 50% clip on wheel weights with just a couple ozs. of tin thrown in for good measure, powder coat them and let them air cool or water quench them right out of the toaster oven depending on if I want expansion or need the bullets to be a little harder. I've shot gas check 170 gr. 30-06 cast rifle bullets with excellent accuracy up to 2300 fps. with that alloy PC'ed with no leading so anything below that in handguns or rifles is not an issue.

In my 9 mm and 45 ACP load I use Power Pistol which runs the 9 mm cast loads at around 1100 fps and in the 45 ACP just a little over 900 fps, with the carbine running about the same as the 9 mm load.

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Old July 3, 2020, 04:47 PM   #15
BJung
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Helpful Information

This is reassuring. I was concerned that I'd have to purchase hard cast 9mm and 40cal. bullets to maintain decent accuracy. I have a nice supply of range lead and would like to use my money purchasing moulds. If my accuracy load is does not recoil like a .22lr while not needing to be a hand cannon, I'm happy.

Lee makes a 9-120 mould and a .356-124TC mould. I'm leaning more to the first. Any opinion between the two?
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Old July 3, 2020, 05:07 PM   #16
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Quote:
I was concerned that I'd have to purchase hard cast 9mm and 40cal. bullets to maintain decent accuracy.
Please don't fall into the "hard cast" crapola. It is just a bunch of horse hockey.

My 9mm cast bullets range from 8-10 BHN and I do not lead the barrel at all. AND since you are powder coating, there ain't no worries at all for you.

In this case size DOES matter.
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Old July 3, 2020, 08:05 PM   #17
BJung
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Using the Pencil Set

I received and used my pencil set to get an idea what the BHN was for the lead ingots I have. The ingots that were made from FMJ 45acp range scrap bullets were either 13-14 BHN. Then, there was range lead that was mixed in with the dirt in the berm. It could have been a mix of hard cast bullets because they were not attached to brass jackets. The BHN was 15-16. One ingot was 28. I plan to add tin to the harder ones to cast rifle bullets.
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Old July 5, 2020, 11:06 AM   #18
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28 is either Linotype or a Babbit material.
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