Oval bullets

[GoBig]

Have put in a few sessions with my Lee 312-185 two cavity mold using both range scrap and wheel weights. My bullets are coming out oval. 90 degrees from the parting line they measure .311-.312 and on the parting line they measure .313-.314. The range I attribute to my casting technique but them not being round concerns me. I've looked for burrs or lead splashes holding the blocks apart and don't see any, and I can't see daylight between the mold halves. Any ideas on how I can produce round bullets or am I out of luck?

[jhalcott]

How tight are you squeezing the handles.

[Bzcraig]

To be off .001 or 2 is not that uncommon, sizing will take care of that.

[GoBig]

How tight are you squeezing the handles.
Tight enough that they don't come apart. Not using a gorilla grip. Should I try more or less pressure?

Bzcraig, won't sizing oval bullets size them more on one side than the other? It would end up round but off balance?

[JSnover]

Tight enough that they don't come apart. Not using a gorilla grip. Should I try more or less pressure?

Bzcraig, won't sizing oval bullets size them more on one side than the other? It would end up round but off balance?

Not necessarily. Try a few.

[Larry Gibson]

Using range scrap and WWs probably means your alloy is antimony rich and tin poor. Thus the bullets do not solidify evenly. That is most often the cause of your problem. Suggest you use COWWs + 2% tin and see if bullets cast of that are more uniform.

Larry Gibson

[Alley Cat]

Try measuring a sized boolit. If the out of round condition still exists, Lee's customer service might take care of the problem. They might also tell you that it is within tolerance...Also, try shooting some, even if out of round. I've been pleasantly surprised by boolits that I didn't think would shoot well for whatever reason.

[MBTcustom]

The most common cause of the discrepancy you describe is blocks that are not lining up properly. Just .001 or so off and they will give you a wide measurment over the part line. This is nothing to worry about as long as you are not pushing warp speed. For normal shooting, just size and shoot them. My old Lyman 311466 has been used so much that when I was a kid it was casting janky bullets and its gotten no better after having dropped another 3.5 boa-zillion boolits. However, that never stopped me from hitting what I aimed at.

[GoBig]

Thanks a lot everyone. I'm not going to any speed records, looking for under 1800 in 7.62x54. Guess I'll have to hone out a lee size die. I'll size and lube these and give them a go. Next time I cast some of these up I will add some tin to mix to see if it helps. I had thought the range scrap would have some tin in it due to some of the stuff being cast bullets. Thanks again for the help, much work to do now!

[44man]

That is normal for almost any mold.
If a mold gets too hot it shrinks 90° to the parting line.

[popper]

What 44man says.

[JeffinNZ]

They'll be round when they exit the barrel.

[John Boy]

Lube the mold pins with paraffin!

[Freightman]

[QUOTE=JeffinNZ;3327751]They'll be round when they exit the barrel.[/QUOTE
absolutely

[44man]

Shoot them, good to go.

[GoBig]

Seems the consensus is that I nitpick too much. I'll seat gas checks, lube and shoot. Thanks all.

[GoodAlloy]

If they size out right out if your sizing die and do well on target. Why fuss? If you are looking for the ultimate in bench grade accuracy chances are you have the wrong mould, alloy, and cartridge for that discipline. Just my 2 cents worth.

[GoBig]

If they size out right out if your sizing die and do well on target. Why fuss? If you are looking for the ultimate in bench grade accuracy chances are you have the wrong mould, alloy, and cartridge for that discipline. Just my 2 cents worth.
You mean the 1000 yard BR shooters aren't using mosins?! :p

[LuckyDog]

You mean the 1000 yard BR shooters aren't using mosins?! :p

Not if you use that mold and alloy... :veryconfu (from another Mosin Shooter)

[mold maker]

Not anything we make, is perfect. Only the final results matter. I guarantee no one can make one hole hits every time. Don't expect perfection, just be happy with almost.

[Larry Gibson]

Yes, the OP can soot them and they will be "good to go" for casual shooting at moderate ranges. The bullets will be round when they exit the muzzle" but The bullet will not be balanced and accuracy will not be a good as it could be even if the rifle is a MN. I have 2 MNs that shoot moa and have used both in military matches and have won the match with one of them. I find with MNs and cast bullets they can be as accurate as any other milsurp rife of equal condition. IMHO if you have a MN of excellent o very good condition and want to shoot the best cast bullet loads in it then why not? Perhaps the OP doesn't want to but from his question I perceive he does.

It is my experience that most moulds, even Lee moulds, that cast bullets out of round at.002 - .003" the cause is the alloy not the mould, especially if the alloy is antimony rich and tin poor. Casting technique can play a part also but most often it is the alloy. The reason the unbalanced alloy produces out of round bullets is due to uneven fill out where the air can and can not vent and the excessive antimony not in solution solidifies first. That is usually opposite the mould blocks just as the OP describes. That is why I suggested the OP simply try COWWs + 2% tin as it is balanced in antimony and tin with neither in an excessive amount. If the bullets do not cast within .001" with hat ally then the problem is elsewhere. Could be his casting technique r it could be the mould. There are moulds that are out of round for sure but the alloy is the cause for this problem most of the time.

Casting with a balanced alloy will tell the OP whether it is the alloy or the mould. If the OP wants better bullets as it appear he does then let's help him. Is it really necessary to degrade his rifle by insinuating it's suitable for mediocre bullets anyway? Aren't we better than that?

Larry Gibson

[nekshot]

last week I forgot powder in one cartridge and had to pound the slug out as it was about 2 inches from chamber. The boolit was PC coated so the primer flash really sooted the back and about 1/3 rd of the boolit along the entire side. The rest was nice and red color of pc. My lightening fast mind said now I know why these boolits don't groub well they are out of round. I would show pictures but my pictures won't load on forum any more.

[44man]

Alloy means nothing. It is mold heat. Antimony alloys can be cast cooler then pure lead. Once you get near frost, your boolits will be more out of round and at 800° for pure, molds get hot faster.
Cast fast, cut molten sprues and filling as fast as you can is not right.
You need to understand how molds expand. I made my own molds and learned a lot but talk to a blank wall. I can make a mold cast a perfect round boolit but you will not buy one.
Out of round has nothing to do with venting, ignore that stuff. Nothing to do with boolit cooling either.
To get a round boolit you must re-cut the mold when HOT.
You still see the round hole expansion stuff pushed, the mold cavity is NOT a round hole in a piece of metal. It is half a hole on the edge.

[MT Chambers]

The Lee oval bullets are best used in polygonal rifled barrels.