Anyone have experience with this mold? I just did a bonehead move. Got through loading up about 100 rounds before I realized I had not plunked tested. Plated, jacketed 230g fmj's I usually run @ 1.165", went to plunk my cast loads, which were at 1.165...no dice. Ok, fair enough, my bad. Figured I'd need to seat them a little deeper. Yeah, .105" deeper. Had to go to 1.060" to keep them from hitting the lands in a standard GI Colt 1911 barrel. The case mouth is beyond the ogive at that seating depth. Is this mold only meant to be used with 45 Colt loads? 10, 20 thousands deeper to accommodate a rounder bullet profile, that I get. 100 thousands...not so much. Not sure if I should be disappointed with Lee for making a mold that makes a bullet that doesn't fit the intended cartridge, or myself for not realizing its meant for a different cartridge.
LEE 452-228-1R for 45acp Problems
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Targa
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I have plenty of experience with that mold for my .454 Casull but 255 grains just seems like a bit to much bullet for a .45acp. Maybe someone is going that heavy and will chime in.
Its a 228 grain mold, im dropping 230 grain bullets, so my wheel weight alloy is probably a little light on antimony. As far as where its hitting, I'd say about .050 above the transition of the ogive. Its the profile of the nose thats a problem, its too round, which makes me think this was meant as a light 45 Colt bullet.
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No experience with the mold. I have the TL452-230-TC and seat to where the cone meets the rim. That ensures both smooth feeding and no interference with the lands.
You have a few choices:
Ream the barrel
Get a new mold
See if a 0.451" push through sizer gets you more wiggle room
Live with deep seated bullets, make sure they don't 3-point jam on you and adjust your loads to avoid excessive peak pressures.
You have a few choices:
Ream the barrel
Get a new mold
See if a 0.451" push through sizer gets you more wiggle room
Live with deep seated bullets, make sure they don't 3-point jam on you and adjust your loads to avoid excessive peak pressures.
There have been several threads concering Lee's "1R" bullet profile especially in 45 ACP. The blunt, fat ogive requires much deeper seating to pass a plunk.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=OAL+for+Lee'e+45+ACP+1R+bullrt&atb=v275-1br&ia=web
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=OAL+for+Lee'e+45+ACP+1R+bullrt&atb=v275-1br&ia=web
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Targa
Member
Oh man...I have a reading issue. I was thinking the 255 grain mold. I actually just ordered the same mold that you have for .45 acp as well
The lower antimony should give you more shrinkage. I would think it would ogive more room in the throat area. After the driving band, and the start of the ogive, what final diameter are you getting?
Looking at Lee's online catalog, the round nose looks ideal to me. But looks can be deceiving.
Edit: I was looking at Lee's 230-2R. I can see where the ogive may run into the throat early on the 228-1R.
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Well shoot. Case mouth is crimped at .470. Have to amend my original post. My typical seating depth is 1.265" These have to get down to 1.160 to plunk. Looking at some of the post @mdi linked to, looks like others have had success seating at 1.190, but between my particular barrel, and the powder coating, that may be the difference. Either way, they fidin't dit. So, who needs a gently used Lee 452-228-1R mold? Still have the original box.
FWIW:
When I load any bullet for my semi-auto's I seat the bullet so that there's +/- 20/1000th's of the bullets shoulder/body sticking out above the case mouth.
Typical swc's for the 45acp with the bullets shoulder/body above the top/mouth of the case.
What you are doing when seating the bullet so that the +/- 20/1000th's of the bullets body sticks out of the case is seating the bullet to the "MAX" oal of the freebore that is cut into your chamber. The other day I did a little testing with a 1911/45acp & used 3 different bullets for those tests. Here are those bullets and what the oal's look like next to those bullets.
The left & center rounds have the bullet seated so there's +/- 20/1000th's of the bullet sticking out above the top of the case. The right bullet is seated with the bullets shoulder/body is seated flush.
I always set the oal to the "MAX" 20/1000th's when testing new loads. Doesn't matter what a book says or recommends for their loads. My bbl tells me my oal. From there I do testing for function. The bullet on the right needed to be seated with no shoulder above the rim to get it to feed/function without jams.
The left load and the right load function flawlessly, both have an oal of 1.180"
The center load uses the standard 1.250" oal
Always look at the amount of the shoulder of the bullet that sticks out above the case mouth when using a new bullet.
When I load any bullet for my semi-auto's I seat the bullet so that there's +/- 20/1000th's of the bullets shoulder/body sticking out above the case mouth.
Typical swc's for the 45acp with the bullets shoulder/body above the top/mouth of the case.
What you are doing when seating the bullet so that the +/- 20/1000th's of the bullets body sticks out of the case is seating the bullet to the "MAX" oal of the freebore that is cut into your chamber. The other day I did a little testing with a 1911/45acp & used 3 different bullets for those tests. Here are those bullets and what the oal's look like next to those bullets.
The left & center rounds have the bullet seated so there's +/- 20/1000th's of the bullet sticking out above the top of the case. The right bullet is seated with the bullets shoulder/body is seated flush.
I always set the oal to the "MAX" 20/1000th's when testing new loads. Doesn't matter what a book says or recommends for their loads. My bbl tells me my oal. From there I do testing for function. The bullet on the right needed to be seated with no shoulder above the rim to get it to feed/function without jams.
The left load and the right load function flawlessly, both have an oal of 1.180"
The center load uses the standard 1.250" oal
Always look at the amount of the shoulder of the bullet that sticks out above the case mouth when using a new bullet.
It has been a while since I used my Lee 452-228-1R mold (15-20 years or so) but I do not remember having any issue with the bullets. They ran fine in my Colt Mk IV Series 70 1911. I seated them the same as jacketed or plated 230 RN bullets.
I generally seat my 45 ACP 230 RN bullets to a COL of 1.250" or a bit less.
My bullets were sized and lubed and I was using them before powder coating was a thing.
I generally seat my 45 ACP 230 RN bullets to a COL of 1.250" or a bit less.
My bullets were sized and lubed and I was using them before powder coating was a thing.
A lot of reloads have had issues with this bullet, it's actually designed for the 45 auto rim/revolvers. Standard 2r round nosed bullets for the 45acp/semi-auto's are loaded to a +/- 1.265" oal.
The issue with the lee 228gr 1r bullet is that it is shorter then the standard 2r bullets. The lee 230gr 2r rn bullet is .660" long. The lee 228gr 1r bullet is .628" long. 30/1000th's + shorter ='s 30/1000th's+ shorter oal.
Most people run this bullet with a +/- 1.20" oal
The issue with the lee 228gr 1r bullet is that it is shorter then the standard 2r bullets. The lee 230gr 2r rn bullet is .660" long. The lee 228gr 1r bullet is .628" long. 30/1000th's + shorter ='s 30/1000th's+ shorter oal.
Most people run this bullet with a +/- 1.20" oal
earplug
Member
Consider having a gunsmith relieve the throat of you barrel to allow your cartridge to seat/plunk. Its not rocket science.
STI barrels were generously throated to allow long heavy bullets to plunk.
I used your bullet for many years in a 45 ACP revolver and had KART ream a barrel to fit for my 1911.
STI barrels were generously throated to allow long heavy bullets to plunk.
I used your bullet for many years in a 45 ACP revolver and had KART ream a barrel to fit for my 1911.
Revolver!
You're asking the wrong crowd, buy a .45 ACP or .45 Colt revolver, no question about it.
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