List your favorite bullet molds and what you use them for

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beekeeper

Re: List your favorite bullet molds and what you use them fo

Post by beekeeper »

Lets see my list starts at the rifle listing in the Lee Catalog and goes to the end.
I have one of each of them in 2 cavity
I have 3 BRP Molds and 4 NOE molds.
At a swap meet for shooters at the range I go to I bought 6 lyman molds in single cavity
I keep my molds in 45 cal ammo cans and have 8 cans full.
Is that OK or should I go get the actual numbers.

You have to understand I have been casting my own for at least 30 years.
But it is still a learning experience!!


beekeeper
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Re: List your favorite bullet molds and what you use them fo

Post by Model 52 »

In terms of a Lee mold I use for other than intended purposes:

311-100-2R - a .32 luger/.32 S&W intended mold that I use for the .30 carbine. I cast them form wheel weights with 1% tin added, drop quench them from the mold a few weeks and push them at about 1800 fps with great results, even with no gas check. About every 400 rounds I need to remove the gas tappet and clean out the gas port in the barrel.

In terms of lee molds in general, I've always been a big fan of the:

452-200-SWC (with it's H&G'esque profile
575-500-M Minnie ball mold
456-220-1R concical mold
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Re: List your favorite bullet molds and what you use them fo

Post by AlaskanGuy »

I cast for everything I shoot, but there is one standout.... It is the Lee 430-310 in six banger mold.... It is the bullet that I have in my 44 day in and day out when guiding on the salmon rivers here in Alaska... I carry my 44 6 months out of the year at least, in very wet and nasty conditions... That bullet is the one at I take out of my gun when I want to shoot something else, and when I am done shooting something else, it is the one that goes right back in, and stays in unless I wanna mess around with something else... It is what I bank on for my clients defense, and my own, in an area that has a high concentration of brown bears when the fish are running...

Many folks are gunna question this next part, but the gun I carry them bullets in is an old large frame model 44 from taurus... I have carried this gun every year for the last nearly 15 years... It is the one that I practice with and I am good with.... Yes I have ruger, and a couple smiths, i started carrying the taurus years ago following a very simple logic, and that was, if guiding on the river, and I loose a nice redhawk or my 629, it would just break my heart, so After much research in finding a large frame easy to handle 44 for river guiding, i settled on the taurus, and bought 2 for the price of a nice ruger.... One has hardly seen the light of day the other, well, it just kinda grew on me, and i have the second one so i would have a backup river gun if I did loose the taurus.. I have dropped it in the mud, put it away wet, shot several thousand rounds through it, and it just grew on me... It sits under the seat of my truck, gets kicked about, and I don't mind much, as it is a tool, and a good tool... It has never failed to fire, and has never locked up due to a bit too hot of a load... The barrel is factory ported, so it makes a Bunch of noise and a large flash when fired, further deterring a nosy bear if needed... None of my rugers or smiths are ported... Plus, the porting reduces recoil on heavy loads that I shoot, allowing me to be able to make faster follow up shots.... So, for me, the taurus is just a better bear gun in every way. I cant speak to the folks that say taurus sucks or are junk... I can say that my experience with the heavy model 44, is that it is a grand firearm, and am dang glad I started carrying it so many years ago... Here is a pic...

AG
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Re: List your favorite bullet molds and what you use them fo

Post by RBHarter »

I have the 358-158 RF that is the go to for 38 ,357 in revolvers and carbines ,I have the 125 I'm hoping will be a little heavy and more utility filling the 1 mould nitch to feed a 9mm also.

The 45s leave me in a lurch I wish the 452 255 RF was less like original and more like the above. I don't really have a favorite 45 as of now since the 452-252 SWC hasn't worked out as well as I'd hoped either.

The 401-175 SWCTL has worked well in the 40 I load for, better than the TCTL and has good utility and works in an XD40.

I think the 301618 172gr is going to be a real go to in my 30cal rifles, its in load development but has produced better results faster than several others I've work w/a lot. It is a NOE remake of an old Lyman/NRA design.

Currently the 7mm family just isn't working out 5 moulds and only 1 happy shooter.....

I have a Bater to try out for a 222 I was advanced 4-5 225 bullets the RD Bater TL was too nose fat . The 22-55 FP worked but is unavailable so a $10 old style Lee Bater gets a try.
Just a Red neck,White boy, Blue blood American.....
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Re: List your favorite bullet molds and what you use them fo

Post by Chajohnson »

My go to mold for handgun and rifle fodder is the Lee 358-140 SWC. I started using this mold back in the late 70's for PPC because it shot as accurately and reloaded faster than Lyman wadcutter mold I was using. When the 6 cavity molds came out I bought two. Alternating these molds in a weekend casting session gave me a nearly year supply of practice and competition ammo for PPC. I sized them .001 over cylinder throat diameter for my custom S&W model 10 PPC gun and found nothing more accurate. They also shot very well in my Mod 15 for the Service Match and also in my old Det Special for qualifying and an occasional BUG match. Since I've retired and no longer eligible to shoot PPC, I started using this bullet in Bullseye competition. Additionally, since the advent of tumble lube, I've found that the application of liquid alox does as well in terms of accuracy and no leading as did filling just 1 groove with NRA 50/50 at midrange velocities. I also shoot this bullet in a 357 Mag Rossi 24" lever gun for everything from hogs to squirrels. It feeds well in the Rossi stuffed in either 38 sol or 357 cases with no leading even at good magnum velocities with a 50/50 mix of WW/scrap lead sweetened with a little tin.. It's really a great bullet for 38 357 caliber shooting. At 140 grains it's fairly economical on lead and carries enough energy to do its job on either meat or paper.
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