Skip Sackett
US Veteran
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?
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 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.
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.
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.
What recipes for the lube do you folks use ?
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.