357 magnum, which lee 6 cavity mould do you recommend?

[kryogen]

357 magnum, which lee 6 cavity mould do you recommend?
Which sizer?

Will be getting my S&W 357 magnum 686 plus 7 shot tomorrow.

What would be a good all around mould to use?
I use alox tumble lubing.

[Moonie]

I have a 125 but I had it prior to getting my 357. I would suggest one of the 6 cavity 158gr molds, my preference would be SWC.

[Hurricane]

I like 358-158-RF.

[kryogen]

what is the advantage of bullets with a flat vs the traditional rounded bullets?
I always tend to think that rounded bullets are better but there is probably something I do not know.

[Harter66]

Yep what they said.

[kryogen]

why RF or SWC vs the round nose?

[MT Gianni]

The meplat or flat on the front displaces tissue or paper cleanly by pushing a cone in front of it. The rn displaces tissue by sending it around it's nose. If you ever hunt with it the fn will put game down quicker with much less suffering. They are generally easier to scope on a target as the hole is cleaner. RN are generally easier to load and may be a touch more accurate.

[HeavyMetal]

Until recently Lee has not made a decent, in my Opinion, 357 boolit mold.

The "new" 125 and 158 RF would be the current exceptions and I would lean toward the 125 grain non tumble lube design.

If you want an SWC I wil suggest RCBS 150 KT design, sadly only available in a two cavity mold but great boolits!

Lyman has a close copy in a 4 banger but not sure of the number right off hand, Not sure if the Lyman 359429 will fit in the L frame but if it does it to is a good choice but a tad heavy for the caliber in my Opinion.

[kryogen]

whats the issue with the TL molds?

[jmort]

Either the 158 RF or SWC will work well. The RF has a decent meplat and is a good choice if you add or have a .357 lever gun. I like the TL designs and especially the Ranch Dog versions. Many like TLs and most do not. To each his own.

[MtGun44]

Lee 358 158 RF is a hum dinger.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=50444&d=1244513091

Bill

[jmort]

"Lee 358 158 RF is a hum dinger"

Exactly, could not have put it better.

[Rainier]

The Lee TL 158gr SWC ain't too shabby in a pinch even out of a GP100 ;)
This from 7 yards with old eyes...

91358

[khmer6]

Couldn't agree any more. I can cast them up in a quickness. They casted flawlessly from the first drop. I was expecting get some finicky Ness but was great.

[HeavyMetal]

I find tumble lube to be much to messy and slow to fill my needs in casting.

The whole ideas looks good on paper, I actually did some tumble lubing in the early 70's when Lee intro'd liquid alox, but in the end I found it lacking in both speed and ability to prevent leading. Many who use it here will do a double coating to keep leading to a minimum but in the end it's still time consuming ( I refer to dry times) and messy if you plan to do more than s handfull at a time.

This is a very short opinion on TL, others have posted longer and more descriptive threads, both Pro and Con, I'll end this by saying it simply wasn't my cup of tea nor did it do anything I couldn't do, and better, with a conventional lube sizer.

[Artful]

My question before I answer is are you going to push hard enough to want a gas check design?

Actually I will give a partial answer - to save my lead I use Lee's 105 grain SWC in 38's and 357 loading - so that's one mold I recommend - I also use it in 9mm's
http://www.precisionreloading.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/Lee_90316.jpg

[Airman Basic]

My question before I answer is are you going to push hard enough to want a gas check design?

Actually I will give a partial answer - to save my lead I use Lee's 105 grain SWC in 38's and 357 loading - so that's one mold I recommend - I also use it in 9mm's
http://www.precisionreloading.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/Lee_90316.jpg
Use the same boolit in the 140 grain flavor. Still save a little lead and more bearing surface makes me feel better. In revolvers and a Rossi lever. Fun.

[evan price]

My vote would be for 158-RF and a .358" sizer, However I do not own a 158-RF mold.

I do have the 105 & 150 SWC, and the 158-SWC-TL and they all do a good job. The TL molds do not require sizing (theoretically) and they do great at under 1000 fps with a single TL of ALOX. The 150-swc does better at higher speed than the TL designs.

[kryogen]

ok, will go for the 158 RF TL, because right now I just tumble lube.

[Cherokee]

Lee 358-158 RF non-TL is my choice @ .358; have cast and shot thousands of them and they are great in my 686 7 shot, GP100 and other 357's. I don't know how the TL version works but should be OK.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I would recommend the LEE 158 RF @.358 and get the mold with lube grooves. You can still tumble lube them and then change to some other lube if you want to experiment. If you get the TL mold, all you can do is tumble. Well, I guess you can paint either one also.

[kryogen]

cant use the tl mold with a lubesizer?

Ok then the LEE 158 RF @.358 it will be I guess.

[seaboltm]

Some bullets I TL, some I lubesize. Sort of depends on the application. I prefer traditional bullet designs with 2500+ lube for pushing bullets hard. For light field use and plinking, I use TL bullets. I use the Lee 148 TL and the 158 SWC TL. Honestly if I hunt with a pistol I use a caliber that starts with a 4.

[ShooterAZ]

Do yourself a favor and get the non TL mold. You can still use tumble lube with it just fine. If you decide to get a lube-sizer down the road you will be set.

[khmer6]

Yes do that. All my molds are non TL now when possible, but I still TL

[Harter66]

I have 2 TLs that I lube w/Darrs and they work fine. I just bought the 358-125 RF for the sake of casting 1 boolit for 6 loads.

[kevindtimm]

Lee 358-158 RF non-TL is my choice @ .358; have cast and shot thousands of them and they are great in my 686 7 shot, GP100 and other 357's. I don't know how the TL version works but should be OK.

What velocity/powder/load?

[MtGun44]

No idea if the TL version is any good. Not a fan of TL.
Look at the sticky note on my target image for ONE good load. I also
have had great results with a little over 16 gr of H110/W296, check
your loading manuals for the exact load.

Bill

[kryogen]

I have 2 TLs that I lube w/Darrs and they work fine. I just bought the 358-125 RF for the sake of casting 1 boolit for 6 loads.

Do you shoot 357 mag with that bullet? You just load it to 38 special velocities?

I plan to shoot my 357 at 38spl speeds, it's just for paper punching. I don't need to kill the paper.
I'm in quebec, and here, you can only use pistols at approved restricted ranges. Cannot carry, cannot hunt. So they are basically collection items/ paper punchers.
If I want max loads I will probably just buy a box of plated bullets and load a few.

[375RUGER]

I have these 2 that are used for .357mag
358-158-RF
358-125-RF
Either would be a good choice depending on what your use case is.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

If I want max loads I will probably just buy a box of plated bullets and load a few.

Depending on the brand, some plated bullets may not hold up to max loads in a 357. If you want to go that route, better to go with full on J-words, although a gas checked boolit with ACWW alloy or harder should do just fine. I havent tried the Lee 158 SWC-GC naked yet (been getting 3 MOA out of it in a 357 Handi with Max Herco charges) , but I don't see why it should work just fine at 800-850 fps for plinkers in a revolver with the option of crimping on a GC for max loads. Seems like a pretty versatile mold to me.

[kryogen]

can you shoot 1200 fps without GC? might just try the 358-158-RF and see how fast I can bring it?

[Shiloh]

I have several. All shoot well when worked up. Ny current favorite is the LEE 140 gr. SWC.

Shiloh

[Bzcraig]

[QUOTE=Artful;2537376]My question before I answer is are you going to push hard enough to want a gas check design?

Actually I will give a partial answer - to save my lead I use Lee's 105 grain SWC in 38's and 357 loading - so that's one mold I recommend - I also use it in 9mm's
http://www.precisionreloading.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/Lee_90316.jpg[/QUOE]

Like Artful, if just punching paper, save your lead and use the 105swc. If you plan on hunting get a good mold in the 165-180gr range. Besides, can a guy have too many molds?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

can you shoot 1200 fps without GC? might just try the 358-158-RF and see how fast I can bring it?

Sure, it just depends on boolit fit, alloy, lube, powder, your gun, tolerance for leading, and your accuracy requirements. 1200 fps without a GC is by no means impossible but you may have to work a little to get there. Read the stickies, buy a mold and get started!

[leadman]

I vote for the 158RFN as it fills out the mold really well compared to some SWC boolits. I have shot these lubed with Carnuba Red in a Marlin lever gun over 1,600 fps with no leading. If you need to you can invert a gas check and place it in the mouth of the case and push it in when seating the boolit.
It is accurate in my guns and really stops the big jack rabbits around here.Would not hesitate to use it for deer.

[Rainier]

Last time out with the GP100 using 15grs of VV N-100 with the 158 TL SWC I got an average of 1332 fps and a little leading in the last 1 1/2" of the barrel. It appears you can push a PB TL boolit pretty fast...

91502

[Bigslug]

Everything they make (aside from the gas check version, which you shouldn't need) seems to be a bevel base - messy in a lubrisizer. I'd go with the 158 tumble-lube and tumble lube - or go with another maker if you plan to use a sizer.

[sghart3578]

I love the 358-158-RF. I tumble lube them in 45-45-10 from White Label. I load them in .38 SPL with 4.5 gr of HP-38 all the way to .357 mag with 14.5 gr of 2400. I lube, size to .358 and lube again. Great boolit from a great mold.