Lee 6 cavity 9mm molds?

[jonk]

Hi all,

I have a Lee 2 hole 124 gr TL bullet mold; I've never liked it. It casts wrinkled bullets, the mold sometimes doesn't fill out, and the blocks don't align reliably. This is the only mold I have that does this; the other molds are fine, so its not the alloy or technique- just a bum mold. I may use the "Lee-menting" technique, but I digress...

Anyone have opinions on the regular (non tumble lube) molds by Lee in 6 cavity for 9mm? I would be shooting them out of a P1, Luger 08, and 9mm Largo Llama. I would like to go for the 6 hole job as I shoot a lot of 9mm out of the P1, and am thinking of getting another 9mm to boot, but would like some opinions before I sink nearly fifty smackers into one.

Thanks,

Jon

[Leftoverdj]

The Lee six cavity moulds are far superior to the one and two cavity moulds. They are more than worth the price. Their steel locating points eliminate many f the problems you have had, but they are still made by Lee and still may require some attention to do their best work.

I'm using the discontinued 356-153-2R for your kind of uses and am very happy with it. You might take a look at their moulds for .38 Special while you are making your selection. It's quite possible that one of those moulds will suit your needs better than one officially for the 9mm. I lucked out on mine and got one that casts .358. It's my plinking bullet for anything vaguely .35 caliber.

[Dale53]

jonk;
I seldom shoot a 9mm so these are general remarks.

I have a number of the six cavity Lee moulds in various calibers including, but not limited, .32-.45. They all cast well. Sometimes, just like I have had to do with multiple cavity iron moulds, there is little "tuning" required. Mostly, I just cast.

I do really like Bullshop's Sprue Plate Lube and use it regularly (no, I don't have any financial interest in the lube and only know Bullshop from this forum. However, I DO know a good product when I use it:mrgreen: ).

Dale53

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

jonk,

LeftOverdj is giving you some good advice and I would add only one piece of information: Buy yourself a small pot and some serrosafe and serrosafe cast your chambers in your pistols before you make a decision on a 9MM mold. The Lee 9MM molds are .356 and you may find, like I did, that your bore is more like .357-.358. If you find that's the case, the .356 molds generally won't cast you a bullet that'll shoot well in your gun. LeftOverdj is lucky and I'm envious he has that mold casting at .358.

I'm likely going to end up with a .38 special mold for my 9MM, though I haven't decided which one yet.

[jonk]

Well then, for that matter I might go with a .38 mold and just size them down to .356 if needed. I shoot a lot of .38 special too, and while I'm quite happy with my Lyman mold for that bullet (158 gr RN, 2 hole), being able to use the mold for more than one thing is only a plus.

[tomf52]

Jonk - I cast my 9MM stuff from Lee's 105 gr SWC .38 cal mold. I started off sizing them down to .356 but was unable to get an accurate measurement of the 9MM barrel slug with a conventional mic so I tried .357 and .358 and all work well. The best results seem to be as cast at .358 from the mold. Lee liquid Alox and /or Felix lube both seem to leave me with some leading so I just have learned to live with it and clean the bore with the Chor Boy tool. I use this mold also in my .357's and .38. A very accurate bullet.