Hi,

I would like to cast bullets for my 625-8 5" revolver.
I shoot IPSC so I need to be fast.
Which mold would you recomend ( I think about 230 grain bullets).

I was thinking about Lee molds.
I would allso like to know more about how are you lubing the bullets ( I have the Lee mold for .357mag RN bullets, that I can lube with LEE LIQUID ALOX).

Regards,
Stefan

I used Lyman molds, which then require you to size and lube them with more equipment. I have since gone to Lee molds, selecting the once which can be used unsized with Liquid Alox. This have many small grooves compared to a heavier groove which require the sizing die/luber. I have cast several 1000 of bullets in 45 and 9mm using two cavity molds which are extremely inexpensive. I also have used a six cavity .40 mold for increased production. The two cavity molds heat up fast and give a good bullet fast. The six cavity take a lot longer to heat up and produce good bullets. Lubing is easy, heat up your alox, put bullet in two equal containers, say the bottom of a qt. soda bottle, then pour them repeatedly back and forth until all are coated. Spread on wax paper and stand them up if you feel like it. Wait overnight and load.

From Lee your choice of .45 molds is either a two mold or six, I use the 230 two cavity, there is only one choice in this style.

The cost of these molds allows one to toss them out after several 1000 casts if they give you trouble and no rust! For $20 for a two cavity mold, $50 for a lead furnace, some free wheel weights give it a shot.

Of course, there is a lot of safety concerns when casting.

DO NOT GET THE LEE 452-228 MOULD FOR YOUR M625 -8.............DO NOT!

Going to take some pictures and will show you what to get........

I use an RCBS semi-wad mold that casts a 203 gr. bullet with wheel weights and 2 % tin for the same gun. I've never cared for the Lee molds or the bullets they cast. Granted, Lyman and RCBS iron molds are expensive but they last forever with some care. You get what you pay for. This bullet with 5.3 grains of W-231 works well in the 625-8 and my autos as well! It's all I load for .45 ACP.
Dick

Culls need to be pulled yet but, here is a bunch, probably 250 or more, cast in an hour and a half or so with a mp-molds.com, Mihec: 452 200gr 4 cavity mould.



Here is one with the mould:



Any one of the reduced radius round nose bullet profiles will be very rewarding too. Like these:




If you notice the "step" from the last driving band to the ogive of the bullet, that is what the Lee does not have and, if they are cast a bit big, sized to .451" or a tad bigger, it will cause you chambering issues.

The TC style may work but I have no experience with them.

Hope this helps.........

And, fortuitously, it looks like the OP might be in the same neighborhood as Mr. Prevec:
Mp-molds
Might cut down on the wait time-

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Skip, you are torturing me with those m-p bullets.

I have a Lyman mold that makes a similar bullet ONE at a time.

For me to make a pile of lead like yours would take more time than I want to invest.

I'm gonna have to reach out to Mihec.

I'd get one of these Lee 452-200-SWC, RCBS 45-201-SWC, Lyman 452460, SAECO #069, or a Mihec or NOE clone. They should cut a nice clean hole in the target.

Cerb,
These moulds are the absolute best for making hp version bullets, or, boolits as that forum calls them.

I made all of those, and now have lubed them all through a Star sizer, a full 1lb coffee can full, in an hour and a half or so.

Send him an email or go to castboolits, join, and them PM him. Great guy and has always been up and up with all that had complaints.

The first thing to do with these moulds is to scrub them in Dawn dishwashing soap, hot water as hot as your hands can stand, rinse and do that two or three times. Nylon scrub brush and clean them good. THEN, take some graphite, I use aerosol and spray it into the cap and apply with a QTip to the pin shafts and the points. I use a little 99% pure industrial alcohol with it too to aid in drying. Put the mould together, heat it up, let it cool, heat it up, let it cool. You can work the plate and pins in and out when you are doing this.

Now, to the OP, the H&G #68 is a great bullet for the 45ACP, Miha even makes a HP version of that mould! hahaha All kidding aside, the shoulder on that bullet will have to be almost flush with the mouth of the case in order to chamber consistently. The cylinder throats are close to .4515" and a .451" bullet if seated too long can cause you some problems. I know, I have been there and done that!

At any rate, Cerb, quit fooling around and get a mould!

Does the 625-8 headspace with the casemouth or does it need moonclips or 45 auto-rim brass?

That was the mold that got me started casting - about 40 years ago - when Lee first started making molds. I have cast literally tens of thousands of rounds with this mold and simply love it. I use it in several revolvers and semi-autos alike. I couldn't be happier with the results, plus the longevity of the equipment.

A few years ago I bought a Lee 230 TL mold. I tend to use this one a bit more, but only because it is a TL and requires no sizing, and also because its a multi cavity and I cast faster. The bullets are no better or worse.

As I can see!

Torture again. You do a tour of duty at Gitmo?


Yep, I just rejoined at castboolits after a long break. Same handle as here. I missed a lot of the group buys to my detriment.


The 200 .45 is nice, but I really need one at 230-250grs for the Rugers, and the 358640 at 160grs for the 38/357 stable.

After that I will fill in the blanks with other calibers.

I use the Lee 230-TC tumble lube in my 45 ACP and 45 Colt. For the Ruger .45's I crimp in the top lube groove.

Mine are dropping at .453" from range scrap with a little tin, or WW. I lube with Rooster Jacket or a new liquid drench material I am trying.

They shoot great unsized from the two Rugers and fit the Gov't Model's chamber with no trouble and very reliable feeding.

I shoot mine all the time without clips.
I'd like to add that I size them to .452.
This is one of my favorite handguns!
Dick

Attached Images

SW Mod. 625-8 JMP0853.jpg (46.8 KB, 40 views)

I honcho'd the one you need. 454640. It casts a 250gr large HP and to be honest, I am not sure how heavy the solid is. 270gr or so. Never cast one of them yet.

Here, some more torture:


And the newest addition: (Which I bought direct without a group buy going on.) 359640

Oh, and don't let me forget the one in the middle:
432640!

I have the LEE 230 grain TC mold ... its my go to hardball equivalency projectile and has no trouble chambering, even in some of the super short leads often found in some so called match grade chambers.

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it just needs more voltage

After reading all posts, I am thinking about two molds, that are " to get " in EU:

1. Lee TL452-230-2R and
2. Lee TL452-230-TC.

Any expiriences with them?
I need the bullets that alow me quick reloading with moon clips (I shoot IPSC).
Do I have to size the bullets?
About lubing I know, that I can lube them with Liquid wax.

I use the Lee TL230-2R for most of my RNL .45ACP loads with excellent results. I also use Lee 200 grain SWC, both the traditional and tumble lube versions, with a preference for the traditional bullet. I highly recommend the six-cavity molds over Lee 2-cavity molds, they are of much better quality, and really speed up production, overall, a far better mould offering at least three times the productivity at less than twice the price.

I know that from casting .357 bullits.

310, What is the OAL of your load and what are you shooting them out of. Remember, he has a M625 -8 or a JM. Are you shooting them out of that?

I have the regular lube groove 452- 230-TC. It feeds and shoots good in my XD and my buddies' 1911's. The only thing special I do is load to an OAL that fits what ever chamber I'm using it in. I do plan on flycutting the bevel base off the mould. That's the only thing I would change.

Stefan,
I was on castboolits.gunloads.com and Miha says he has one of the 452-200gr Cramer moulds in stock. For us, after using Pay Pal, we usually get them in less than 2 weeks. You will not have to wait that long!

I use the none LT version of the 230 TC.
I dont care much for how they sacrifice the front band in the TL designs.
pan lube is easy to do .. a short piece of 1/2" brass tubing with a chambered end used as a cookie cutter can help

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it just needs more voltage

I use the 200gr SWC TL Lee mold. What am I missing about the front band? They feed into my 1991A1 and shoot as straight as I can aim. They don't lead unless I don't use enough alox.

it stems from lessons learned in higher velocity cartridges.
yours may do well in a 45 auto .. transition that over to say a 454 Casul and the compromised front band rears its ugly head.
TL designs, as produced, make the bullet a one trick pony.
I'm not entirely against the concept. I have a 276 grain 44 HP mold I bored myself that uses the TL idea, but preserves that traditional front band. The shank length of this bullet allows for it. Its not only usefull in 44 magnums, it can transition all the way up to the 444 Marlin and give the 445 supermag a viable bullet as well.

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it just needs more voltage

Bob,
A lead bullet that is driven hard needs a decent front band or ogive that will contact the lands firmly. When the front end of the bullet "stops" because it is stuck in the lands, the rear end keeps going causing obturation. If there is no front band, at a higher velocity, it may skip in the lands, and that causes leading, and then it doesn't obturate as it is supposed to......Kinda......

yup thats about as close to it as we need to get.
i figured that one out with the LEE 240 swc with TL ... man that one frustrated me. it made a nice mild load that their 215 grain swc addressed a bit better pushed past that to make a more serious load ... wire brush time.
I don't think that mold has seen hot lead in ten years now.
kinda a shame for all the potential it should have had.

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it just needs more voltage

Well son of a bleep. That's the first .44 mold I tried using with my 629 and it leaded the barrel stem to stern. It drove me nuts and I finally stopped using it since I thought it needed more lube than the TL could offer. Go figure when I tried a new mold it worked like a champ. Now I know what was going wrong.

[I] don't cast yet but for now i get my 45acp/230rn leadcast bullets from Cast Bullets Home Its reasonable for now. I posted this for the guys like me who don't cast also.

What recipes for the lube do you folks use ?

Stefan

yeah .. tell me about it. and if your yardage has been anything like mine, you have that mold fairly well "bookended" out by now. In the range it works well, something lighter works just as well and at less cost. in the range you want to use it, something a little meatier becomes the order of the day.
The TL design actually carries more lube than a traditional design .. in the volumes Ive worked with in the past I'd have to guess the TL will eat up lube about 30% faster.
its all on the front band .. the 276 grain HP I bored retains a wide front band .. its as trouble free as any other good design.
TL is not a bad idea in and of itself, its just the execution.

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it just needs more voltage

I've been though so many its easier to answer questions about specific formulas
most often mine have a base of 50/50 parafin and bees wax with Alox and or axle grease added till its pliable at room temp.
Ive also used STP oil treatment, automatic transmission fluid, motor oil ... butter.
some worked out better than others.

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it just needs more voltage

I have made MANY different lubes. All worked, some better than others.

Here is what I am using now: BAC or Carnuba Red from LsStuff-White Label Lube - Cast Bullet Lube

The BAC doesn't need a heater to be used, the Carnuba needs about 90*F for flow through my Star Lube/Sizer.

You can make a bunch of useful lubes. One is Johnson & Johnson's paste car wax with bees wax. As Venom mentioned, it is best to be usable at room temp. Remember though, on a hot day in a car, it could melt, leak into the powder and foul it, not good!

like motor oil ... thats good for a leaky lube. it seems to weep from the wax base at elevated temps lending to powder contamination. Though, if you can shoot it all off in a reasonable span of time, it works rather well.
I stick mostly to alox and grease as additives, they dont seem to suffer from weeping like oils

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it just needs more voltage

Cant beat the Keith 454423 235 gr SWC in my book! I shoot it in my 1955 target in 45 ar with excellent results.

I use bee's wax from new toilet rings I buy at Home Depot or Lowe's, with lithium grease mixed with a small amount of Alox lube purchased on E-bay. Add Alox to the heated mixture and test the thickness after it cools. I thin mine to where it will feed through my Lyman 45 Lubrisizer well. Works well! I heat mine outside, on a hot plate and tinker with it until I get the thickness right.
Dick

I dunno about the 625, but my old 25-2 shot high with anything over about 215 with the RS cranked all the way down . Those guns were designed for bullseye matches with the classic 200 gn SWC target load.

Just something you may want to test before buying a mold.

If a bullet must be sized, I recommend the Lee nose-first setup. Much cheaper than a lubrisizer and gentler on the bullets than base first sizing..

You might give a look to:

1) Ballisti-Cast (they own the rights to the old H&G Cherries and designs,

and these new owners are great to work with.)

Their molds have a "6" in front of the old H&G's model numbers,

thus a H&G 68 is now a Ballisti-Cast 668,

and a H&G 50 is now a Ballisti-Cast 650.

They also make molds for THEIR own BULLET CASTING MACHINES, along with ones for

the MASTER CASTER CASTING MACHINES BY MAGMA.


2) N.O.E. (Night Owl Enterprises)


3) Miha

You might consider BRASS as a mold material also, nice molds, holds heat really well, but more expensive.

You really do GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR with bullet molds, save your money and INVEST IN QUALITY CASTING MOLDS.

I happen to use a STAR LUBE-SIZER which is very nice, Ballisti-Cast has a nice one and presently making a
NEW and IMPROVED one with the help of their CASTING CUSTOMERS.

The STAR is a NOSE FIRST sizer.

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NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

I cast the Lee 200 & 250 grain RNFP and the 230 grain RNL TL for .45 ACP and .45 LC .

I like the RNFP better , they drop larger . I usually size to .454" .

Get the 6 cavity molds , production is SIGNIFICANTLY increased over the 2 cavity molds .

Gpd bless
wyr

A Lee 6 cavity 230 gr. mold turns bullets out quickly. Sure beats the speed of my 1 hole 500 gr. 45-70 mold.

I use store bought 230 grain round nosed hard cast bullets in my 45. They shoot well, feed well and its what the 45 is all about. Frank