casting for 40 s&w ?'s

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Is any one using the Lee 401-145swc mold for 40 s&w

the other mold i was looking at was the lee 401-175tc with the standard lube groove

i have been eyeing up that 145gr mold

so much of the SD ammo for the 40 is coming out in 150 or 135 gr , with the 135 very closely matching the .357 numbers of the old 125 gr police load

i have done some searching but not finding much info on it more people asking about it than telling about it

i was hoping that some of you might have tried it , since some of the posts about it were a bit older and can give a report about it

[randyrat]

I used to load a bunch for the 40 in the 160-180 grain range. I never tried the lighter 140ish gr boolits. I do remember avoiding the SWC in most of the 40s I had, always seemed to have problems with the SWC. The TCs seemed to work good.

I hope it works for you.

I think the 40 was designed more for the 160-180 gr bullet, but we won't know unless you try it. Seems to me with such a high presser round the more lead to the walls the better.

My bet would be the 175 TC mold

[jameslovesjammie]

I have used it in a CZ75B and had no feeding issues. I personally like the TC or RNFP designs better. The Mihec .402-160 HP is about my favorite right now.

The Lee 145 SWC is only available in a 2 banger. I have used 135 grain Self Defense ammo before and it worked well. For $20 it is cheap to try, and if you don't like it you aren't out that much.

[Ronbo256]

I've had a lot of trouble getting any commonly available cast boolit to work in my .40 smith 1911. It seems if I load the lee lube groove 175 TC at 1.100 it will feed as long as I use a hard alloy. I have the 145 SWC on order, it should be here tomorrow, and I'm waiting on the NOE group buy round nose in March. I did get the LBT 403180 FNB2 to work, but I have to load it down to 1.080, which is almost in the web of a .40 smith. I should say my 1911 is using an unramped barrel. Plastic pistols with ramped barrels should be easier to feed. One problem the glocks and XD's have is that they are seldom throated properly, since I built my own 1911 I also bought a chamber reamer from Manson so I can load cast boolits without shaving lead.

[mpmarty]

I don't shoot a 40 but my 10mms like the 175gr tltc from lee just fine and I've got six cavity molds for that boolit. Tumble lube with fifty fifty lla jpw and all is fine. No leading and good accuracy.

[thegreatdane]

Both the little SWC and 175 TC from Lee work great in 10 and 40.

My only complaint about the little SWC is, 2-cav only. Otherwise great boolit.

[Ausglock]

G'day.
I have loaded the 175gr Conventional lube groove bullet in a G35 with factory barrel with no issues.
BAC or Jakes purple ceresin lube works great

[shotman]

I had some that guy give me . I had some feed problems as the offset at case mouth would catch sometimes . I tried seating longer and still about 1 in 6 would catch. This was in a Sig
never had a hitch with the 175 swc so that is what I use.

[evan price]

The Lee 401-175-TC regular lube groove bullet is probably one of the best casting 6-cavity I have, and they have been used with great success in a 40 S&W BHP. The lighter SWC is really not going to be a treat except in that it saves lead. Go with the 175 and you'll be happy.

[ku4hx]

Is any one using the Lee 401-145swc mold for 40 s&w

the other mold i was looking at was the lee 401-175tc with the standard lube groove


I have the 401-175 in both SWC and TC. Both worked fine in my Smith 4006 and 1006; but the SWC had problems in my Glocks both OEM and Lone Wolf barrels. LW reworked the chambers on their barrels and now the SWC version chambers reliably. But being the old curmudgeon I am and not wanting to cast two boolits for the same job, I now cast only the TC standard lube (but tumble-lube 'em) since it works in all my various barrels.

I thought about the lighter boolits but decided against it. My guns are extremely accurate and consistent with bullets and boolits in the 165-180 grains range. I just go with what works best for me.

[shootinxd]

Ive cast couple thousand Lee 175 tc and each round has to be checked to feed reliably in my XD 40.Ordered MiHec 160/170 over the weekend.(hope feed issue will be cured)

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

thanks for the info , it sounds like the 175 tc with standard lube groove is the easiest to cast and most problem free feeder with every one , in many different guns .

and i can see were the 6x mold would keep up with demand much better it doesn't take long to put a hole lot of 40 down range

what loads are you using with the 175 , is anyone running power pistol

[thegreatdane]

G'day.
I have loaded the 175gr Conventional lube groove bullet in a G35 with factory barrel with no issues.
BAC or Jakes purple ceresin lube works great

I'm doing the same with a G22 and 27 barrel. No leading. Great feeding.

[HighRoad]

I also just got the 401-175-TC and found it to be and enjoyable casting session.
I was reading on some other threads of issues with using cast bullets in glocks.
Not sure of what to make of it all. I have a freind who has a Glock 22 and he would like to use some of the 401-175-TC. Has anyone had case bulging problems?
Here's the loads I plan on trying for him with the 401-175-TC:
Bullseye 4.0gr
Bullseye 4.6gr
OAL = 1.135

[mpmarty]

Back when I still owned Glocks I shot cast in them all the time with no problems of any kind. No leading to speak of and good accuracy in spite of the cruddy triggers.

[Ausglock]

My load in the G35 is:
175gr TC over 5.4gr WSF in Winchester cases with win primers.
Bullet is seated with .25mm of bearing surface showing above the case mouth.

[emorris]

This is one that I am currently working on. I am casting the lee tc 175 with regular lube groves out of wdww. I am using BAC for lube. MY initial testing went ok. I seated to 1.115 with 3.4 up to 3.8 gn of bullseye. The recoil seemed snappier than my berrys load which has a little more powder in it. I have a storm lake barrel on its way but I couldnt wait for it to get here ao I shot a few out of my glock barrel. I didnt test velocity or accuracy yet.

[Ronbo256]

I got the Lee 145 Grain SWC mold today and cast up a few in WDWW, loaded to 1.127 they hand cycle great in my 1911, I have to wait till tomorrow to try out a couple of magazines. I'm going to try to push them with 7.2 grains of Herco. I have to agree the Lee 175 TC lube groove casts like a dream, still need a few more to get the 145 to completely fill out every time, might need to add a little tin to the COWW.

[Moonie]

I have the 145 grain swc mold, I use them in my 400 corbon. I don't have feeding problems, but bottle neck pistol cartridges don't usually have those issues.

[Ronbo256]

Got to test out the 145 SWC's today, they feed like they are greased at 1.127 and 7.2 grains of herco put all my brass in a 2 foot circle! Now I need to convince Lee to make this in a 6 banger.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Got to test out the 145 SWC's today, they feed like they are greased at 1.127 and 7.2 grains of herco put all my brass in a 2 foot circle! Now I need to convince Lee to make this in a 6 banger.


group buy maybe?

a round flat or a truncated cone in the weight might be nice options also part of what got my interest in the lighter bullets was the speed you could get with them

and that's why the 135 gr self defense rounds are popular with velocity in the 1200 to 1300fps range

[thegreatdane]

Got to test out the 145 SWC's today, they feed like they are greased at 1.127 and 7.2 grains of herco put all my brass in a 2 foot circle! Now I need to convince Lee to make this in a 6 banger.

Or we could group buy it... Edit: Pete beat me to it.

[9.3X62AL]

Good to read that the lighter Lee casting did well for you. The Lee 175 TC/conv. groove has done so well for me in several pistols, that I haven't really explored lighter or heavier bullets. My authorized carry load is Ranger SXT 180's, so the Lee TC at 175 grains is a close duplicator of factory velocity/recoil/ballistics with 4.7-4.8 grains of WW-231.

[Ronbo256]

Since I'm using an unramped 1911 the metplat on the Lee and most other TC's tend to hang at the top of the feed ramp often enough to be a real pain in the tucas! I was very pleased that the 145 swc fed so well, just got in from casting about 200 of them. I weighed several of them and with COWW they are dropping at 145 +/- 0.5 gr and right at .4025 diameter.
I want in on a group buy for a 6 banger of this if it happens. I really like the 175/180 grain in the .40 smith, but I need something that feeds well.

I put in a request for the NOE 160gr round nose group buy, there is also an option for a 150gr hollowpoint/160 gr flatpoint, but the metplat size on that is too close to the size I've been having trouble with. There is also a 180 gr PB and 190gr BB in that group buy. Alas, those molds won't be available till April.

[BLTsandwedge]

That 145g Lee is the only Lee I currently shoot out of anything. Bought the dinky little 2-holer a few weeks ago and found out there's just a bit of difference between its weight and my H&G #50 in ten-cavity. About 400 pounds difference. The Lee feels like air.

I shoot a S&W 610. With the 145g Lee, I do believe my own thoughts are confirmed- the revolver would rather shoot a true flat-based SWC than Lyman's 401638 or similar designs. The 145g Lee on top of Lyman's starting load of Power Pistol for a 150g shoots extremely well- better than anything I've used in the 610 to date. This weekend I'll be experimenting with the Lee 145g in 10MM.

I too would like to see about a group buy for a six cavity in this style.

[thegreatdane]

...This weekend I'll be experimenting with the Lee 145g in 10MM...

Be sure to let us know how that goes! I'd like to compare results. I've played with that boolit in 10mm too, but stopped due to 2-cav labor vs 6-cav plenty.

[sabrecross03]

I've completed some initial testing using the Lee TL.401-175SWC mold with Power Pistol, 6.5 grains. It is at the top of load data from Lyman reload manual (49th ed.). I like the feel of it and it is accurate.

[noylj]

My .40s are most accurate with 145gn lead bullets. As the weight goes up, the accuracy decreases. I have accurate loads with all bullet weights, but the 145s are more accurate across all powders and charge weights. 135gn bullets are significantly less accurate.