Casting

[Griz44]

I did my first casting with the TL series LEE mold today in 45acp. After I got rolling and the temp adjusted to make a clean cast, I cranked out 500 of them. They got tumble lubed with LEE Alox tumble lube. Got to let them dry, so I will load a batch of them tomorrow and see how they shoot. The mold is very close to .452, and the sizer just barely skims them. Lee claims that they do not need to be sized. We will see when the loading starts.

 

[Sgt.Dusk]

Nice lookin boolits you got there.
I think its good to size TL bullets, no matter what Lee claims. I improved my .357 accuracy by sizing them, even if the sizer just licked the surface off the bullet.

 

[Griz44]

Sgt, did you use the Lee Liquid Alox to lube them? Sure seems to take a long time to dry.

 

[Sgt.Dusk]

Yea I used liquid alox. Great stuff with low velocities.
They usually take overnight to dry, but they still feel a little bit sticky.
I usually wipe the base of the bullet before seatin just to make sure that powder doesnt stick to it.

 

[357mag357]

Griz,
What kind of lead are you using? Wheel weights or some type of lead alloy? Your bullets look great! Nice and shinny.

 

[hotwheelz]

Did you check each bullet for size I have 2 holes on my lee 6 cavity in 200gr swc tl that drops fat so I end up sizing them all. I took lee at there word that i could run them without sizing started having feedding issues so keep it in mind , my 9mm 6 cavity works great without sizing.

 

[Griz44]

I met a guy from Hawaii that works at a gun range. He collects range lead and melts it down in 100 lb lots. It's alphabet soup for lead, but it is very consistent and casts very nicely. I do not adjust it in any way. I get a pot up to 900-950 degrees and flux it heavily with Lyman wax lube, stir and let it settle, scrap off the oxide on top and start casting. I learned the hard way, make sure the lead is hot enough, and never cast in anything less than a smokin hot mold. I go ahead and push everything through a sizer, picture attached. I mounted a LEE C press (free with the book on the anniversary special) and put a bin under it. Drop and pull, takes 4 or 5 minutes to do a 300 count bin full. That's pretty close to the output of one full pot of lead in the Lee production pot.

 

[jr45]

Griz,
I look forward to your report on these bullets. I use the same 230gr from my Lee mold (used pure wheel weights and Lee Alox or Johnson Paste wax as my lube). I am getting some moderate to heavy leading. If yours does well, I may consider a softer lead alloy.

 

[Griz44]

I will let you know how they shoot and the leading issue when I get a chance to go shoot them. I loaded up 50 of them for a test batch, WLP primers under 5.0 gr of HP38. It's my favorite combination, so I will have an excellent reference for accuracy and recoil.