Swampman
Old Fart
I blew hot coffee through my nose when I read that!
If you don't get what I'm saying, promise me that you'll come back in a few years and reread that post.
Another Lee mold question
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If you don't get what I'm saying, promise me that you'll come back in a few years and reread that post.
AJC1
Member
I've been casting a year and I have 6 noe molds.I blew hot coffee through my nose when I read that!
If you don't get what I'm saying, promise me that you'll come back in a few years and reread that post.
I know what you are talking about... I do it with every hobby.I blew hot coffee through my nose when I read that!
If you don't get what I'm saying, promise me that you'll come back in a few years and reread that post.
Thanks. That gives me an idea.
I ordered that mold as well.
Swampman
Old Fart
Don't worry.
You'll learn to expand your horizons and appreciate new things as time goes by...
Seriously though, think hard about the molds you really want to invest in.
The last few years aren't indicative of used mold pricing.
AJC1
Member
Oh that's just noe, I have Lee also.Don't worry.
You'll learn to expand your horizons and appreciate new things as time goes by...
Seriously though, think hard about the molds you really want to invest in.
The last few years aren't indicative of used mold pricing.
Shooterbob
Member
Don’t forget about m&p and accurate and there is a few moti can’t recall right now
Just a thought; buy some of the bullets that you want to cast. Load and test in your gun. If everything works, buy the mold. I have 3 45 ACP guns and one, my Ruger P90 doesn't feed 200 gr. SWC consistently. All other bullets I've tried work well, but the SWCs are problematic..
gwpercle
Member
With the price of Lee moulds being reasonable , let me suggest buying a dedicated mozzel loading bullet mould and a mould designed for the 1911 Auto pistol .
My favorite for the 1911 is the Lee 452-200-SWC or the tumble lube version TL452-200-SWC .
Over the years I've found the 200 gr. bullets to work best and they use up less metal and powder than the heavier bullets ... and less recoil to boot !
The 250 grain bullets are revolver bullets and not designed to feed in a 1911 ... you might have feed problems with it .
Gary
My favorite for the 1911 is the Lee 452-200-SWC or the tumble lube version TL452-200-SWC .
Over the years I've found the 200 gr. bullets to work best and they use up less metal and powder than the heavier bullets ... and less recoil to boot !
The 250 grain bullets are revolver bullets and not designed to feed in a 1911 ... you might have feed problems with it .
Gary
I ended up ordering both the 255 and 230 TC. My current load is a 200 SWC. I've run a wide variety of bullets through this gun without issue.
I'll probably end up loading the 230 with bullseye. It will be the closest to what the gun was designed for.
gwpercle
Member
Excellant move ... Order Both is never a bad choice . The 230 gr. Lee TC would be my choice also . Years ago I bought the Lee 452-225-1R thinking it would be like a "hardball " bullet ... but that 1R nose profile isn't right ... it gave me feeding / chambering problems ... that 1R needs to be a 2R to be "right" anyhow ... I sold it at a garage sale for $5.00 to a fellow with a 45 acp revolver .
Gary
I had noted that in my research. Before I buy a mold, I search as many forums as I can to see how commonly it's used and if there are issues noted.
I'm my testing using commercial bullets. I found it easier to find an accurate load with TCFP or SWC bullets.
My hunting has shown WFN or RNFP tends to work best.
I'm not prepared to try getting a WFN to cycle in a 1911. So I wanted the next best thing.
I have the 452-200-RF mold. The profile looks the safe as the 255 gr. mold.
I have to set the COAL with the 200 gr. at 1.100" for the plunk test in 45 Auto. It cycles okay in my P345 as long as I don't load more than 5 rounds in the magazine. Anymore and the round jams going into the chamber. More tension on the magazine spring won't allow the round to guide into the chamber.
So I think it's a win-win with you getting both molds.
One thing I would add about the TC bullet is, since I powder coat (and these received two coats because I was experimenting with HF matte black at the time) I did end up having to seat the bullet deeper than I would have if I had tumble lubed because the bullets would make contact with the rifling otherwise.
Depending on the bullet I use, my typical load is between 5-5½gr of 231 (IMHO, .45acp and 231 go together like peanut butter and jelly)
Since I seated them deeper I ended up settling on 4.8gr of 231.
Of course, YMMV
AJC1
Member
I'll have to look but I recall loading almost everything 45 acp at 1.2" 6.0 grains of cfep was a slow and steady way to get rid of that powder.
These are quite a bit shorter: @1.190" hence my decision to back off on my normal charge weights but still function great in my 1911's.
At the time, I was loading for 5 1911's and a SA XD (I'm down to just 2 1911's now) and, IIRC, the Springfield had the tightest chamber (somewhat surprisingly) so I used it to determine my OAL.
*edit* my OAL is 1.190# NOT 1.90"!!
Also, Lyman #4 cast book has this tumble lubed bullet and it's listed at 1.170" and a start charge of 5 gr 231.
I still felt it prudent to drop below that and work up.
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I don't have 231.
I only have titewad, bullseye, 700x, titegroup, 7625, IMR green, green dot, wst, universal, unique, CFE pistol, and wsf.
I want to finish burning up the bullseye and unique since it's old enough to be in card board.
Then I'm going to jump around and see what wins accuracy wise.
That's great to have so many powder choices!
I'm sure you'll find something out of all those to satisfy!
The 700X, green dot and universal are stacked pretty deep because they work well in medium 357 and 38 special loads. My brother picked up several of the others for me, at a yard sale.
I've messed with Universal and Unique as well as Bullseye but found myself coming back to 231.
I'd like to give Bullseye another try; I thought it was dirty but that was before I started powder coating and, looking back, most of my traditional lubed bullets were dirty compared to PC.
My dad was a huge fan of Accurate #5 in the ACP and I see Red Dot mentioned favorably in this forum every day for one use or another so, if it ever makes it back to my LGS shelf, I'm gonna give that a try.
I'd like to give Bullseye another try; I thought it was dirty but that was before I started powder coating and, looking back, most of my traditional lubed bullets were dirty compared to PC.
My dad was a huge fan of Accurate #5 in the ACP and I see Red Dot mentioned favorably in this forum every day for one use or another so, if it ever makes it back to my LGS shelf, I'm gonna give that a try.
I've only used bullseye in cast 30-30. It's pretty happy there.
I haven't tried 231/hp38 because availability was very spotty where I lived.
Yeah, I've heard that often about 231 (and other Winchester powders) over the years.
Odd because that's the only brand of powder that has consistently available locally for me.
I would like to try more Ramshot powders but I've only ever seen it once locally (TAC, and I bought some)
I don't shop HazMat online.
Odd because that's the only brand of powder that has consistently available locally for me.
I would like to try more Ramshot powders but I've only ever seen it once locally (TAC, and I bought some)
I don't shop HazMat online.
I'm stuck with everything hazmat now. It drive an hour plus. So I am happy I had a huge stash before I moved.
I need to research some more before choosing the 255 powder.
I'm lucky in that regard, I have/had 5 well stocked (except for Ramshot
) shops within ½ hour (one guy retired and closed the doors for good this past summer)Curious about how that 255gr works out for you!
Good luck, stay safe.
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