Lee .38 Caliber Mold Bullet Size

[homer1000]

I am a brand new caster and I am totally confused by my first batch of bullets. I used a new Lee .38 6 cavity mold last night and cast about 300 bullets from WW ingots. Most came out perfectly and I loaded about 100 to try shooting today. The problem is they have a diameter or .362. I checked my previously purchased cast bullets and the OD on them is.358. My Berry's plated are also .358 OD.

My question is is .362 too big. I don't understand why these are .04/1000 bigger out of the .38 mold. Can I fire these in my 686 with 3.0 gr of Bullseye or do I need to start over. With this mold it was my understanding that you do not have to size them.

I have tried searching this wuestion but I really couldnt come up with an answer.

Please help. Thanks!

[WGSNewnan]

resize to .358

[725]

Load a couple dummies (no powder or primer), and see if they fit the revolver cylinder. If they don't, stop right there and resize the boolits. I wouldn't think such a large boolit would be good to shoot. I don't shoot stuff much over .002 over. The Lee push through sizer is a very good tool and a very inexpensive answer to your issue. See if they have a .359 or .358.

[Echo]

I believe the correct procedure is to measure the throats of your 686 and size your boolits to that diameter, or +.001. My revolvers like boolits sized to .360 for that reason.
And I agree with 725 - load a couple dummies & see if they chamber. If they do, press on...

[462]

Welcome, Homer.
That mould is dropping boolits that are entirely too fat for caliber. Return it to the seller for a full refund or an exchange. For that caliber, I would not accept a mould that dropped any larger than .360", and .359" would be preferable.

If you are not already doing so, measure all slugs and boolits with a micrometer.

[fecmech]

I would make sure you did not get any lead on the faces of your mold blocks that would hold them apart giving you fat bullets. If the ones you have loaded will chamber I would shoot them. Your load of 3.0/BE is not going to hurt your 686 a bit. If your mold is dropping .362 bullets I would return it also as a previous poster suggested.

[williamwaco]

Another opinion.

I have been loading the .38 special since 1956.
I cannot tell you how many molds I have owned in that caliber.
I have owned Lyman, Saeco, RCBS, Lee, H&G, and Ballisti-Cast. Several of each.

Most of my casting is done with straight clip-on wheel weights.

The only molds I have ever owned that cast bullets round within .0005 was the H&G and the Ballisti-Cast.

The only molds I have ever owned that cast bullets .359-360 were the H&G and the Ballisti-Cast.

Every other mold I have ever owned cast .360-.362.

There is nothing out-of-the ordinary about a .38 caliber mold that drops bullets at .362. That is exactly why they sell sizing dies.

I am told that modern Lyman molds are casting undersized bullets. I have not bought a Lyman mold in several years so I can't address that issue.


.

[homer1000]

Thank you all for your help. I went out today and fired the 100 or so rounds that I loaded and they shot fine. They are slightly oversised but that didn't appear to be a big problem in the short term.

The thing that I am a little dissapointed with is Lee customer service. The tech said that the tollerance can be up to 3/1000 over .358 and still be within spec. Mine is 4/1000 but he said I must be in error of the measurement as I used a dial caliper. Come on do they think we have no brains at all. He said if I wanted to send it back to them they will take a look at it. I may but it seems a little silly to pay 5 to 10 dollars shipping for a 3 9 dollar item that they may or not fix.

This certainly make me appreciate my Dillon Warranty. I have sent my Dillon press for repair after 20 years and they still honor the warranty with no questions asked.

Thanks again everyone.

[dualsport]

"they shot fine". There you go. .362 works in some of my guns and is too big in others. If the loaded rounds are a little hard to chamber consider a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die. It resizes a loaded cartridge. The die is cheap, works great. Some well known cb shooters use this method to produce match ammo. I would be very surprised if a .358/.359 boolit shot well or didn't lead up your gun. My .358 molds are useless. EDIT: The 'Berry's' plated boolits I've tried were horrible. The plating is very very thin. Like shooting a boolit with no lube, and undersized to boot.

[paul h]

I'd much rather have a slightly oversized bullet than an undersized bullet. I've cast and shot lee 105 swc, 158 gr rf and 158 gr swc in 35 caliber and all have been accurate. I don't think I've ever measured the as cast dia, I either tumble lube them, or run them through the lube sizer.

One thing I've learned with guns, reloading and casting is don't break out the metrology equipment unless you're trying to trouble shoot a problem. If the bullets shoot accurately, be happy. If they aren't shooting well, then measure the bullets and the gun.

Remember too that what alloy you cast with affects the dia of the bullet, and mold manufacturers design their molds around a paticular alloy. If you use a different alloy, your bullets can be bigger, or smaller.

Lee products yield reasonable performance for much less money than their competitors. Don't expect world class customer service.

[Alan in Vermont]

I am a brand new caster and I am totally confused by my first batch of bullets. I used a new Lee .38 6 cavity mold last night and cast about 300 bullets from WW ingots. Most came out perfectly and I loaded about 100 to try shooting today.

You don't mention any lubricant. Being a new caster I have to ask, "Did you apply any sort of bullet lubricant?

I realize that is not relevant to your problem with oversize bullets but lubricating is required whether you adjust the size or not.

[homer1000]

I used Alox lube tumbled in a plastic bin.

thanks everyone for sharing your experience with me.

[500MAG]

Are you water dropping these boolits when casting?

[Windyvista]

Are you water dropping these boolits when casting?

Just like Homer, I am new to casting and had purchased a Lee 38 caliber 6 cavity mold from TitanReloading.com. I have cast approximately 400 boolits and then started to check them with digital calipers. They were coming out 0.362 just like Homer. I was water dropping. While water dropping I know increases hardness, does it also increase diameter size ?

[500MAG]

I have heard different things from everyone. People on the site have done test's and, from what I have read, it didn't seem to change diameter. It does make the boolit harder and can take some time for the hardness to change. I think mold temp can play a role in diameter. I have had problems water dropping larger boolits like the 500 magnum. when the mold is too hot and the lead is not cooled enough in the mold when the boolit hits the water you can see the expansion.

[jimb1972]

My Lee die is casting boolits .362 as well, I am not water dropping, when I run them through the sizer there is almost no groove left and very little lube sticks in the tiny crack. Any ideas?

[Rex]

jimb, when I look at the little lube groove on the 358156 gas check mold I am beginning to think that only about 1/10th the lube I usually apply to a cast boolit is really needed.

[Alan in Vermont]

I have had problems water dropping larger boolits like the 500 magnum. when the mold is too hot and the lead is not cooled enough in the mold when the boolit hits the water you can see the expansion.

Wow! That's gotta be a bunch to be visible.

Must be related to how water bends an arrow or a fishing rod. Dip them in the water you can see the bend, pull them back out and they're straight again. That surface tension is some powerful stuff!

[Ben]

My Lee die is casting boolits .362 as well, I am not water dropping, when I run them through the sizer there is almost no groove left and very little lube sticks in the tiny crack. Any ideas?

Which Lee bullet mold ( it is actually not a die ) ? What is your sizer dia. Need more information before anyone can offer possible solutions to your problem.

[MtGun44]

Good grief. Stop water dropping them, this is totally unecessary for this cartridge. If they
fit the chamber, shoot accurately and don't lead - what's the beef? Who cares what size
they are if they are working properly?

Bill

[Ben]

Hopefully we can offer some help with his problem ?

[MrXrings]

My Lee mold cast them large also, I just ran them through a 358 sizer, no big deal.

[Ben]

For some reason, some people think that sizing a lead bullet down from .360" to .358" will ruin the bullet.

I guess I've ruined many tons of them then................

Ben