Lee 6.5mm Group Buy From Long Ago

[Yodogsandman]

What markings would there be on the group buy 6.5mm mold from long ago. The group buy that I think was spear headed by member oldfeller maybe? Member 45.2.1 might have also been involved in the dimensions, as I recall.

I just bid on a mold on evilbay and was told by the seller that it was an old Lee group buy mold. He could not provide dimensions, it was unused.

[runfiverun]

the Cruise Missile was it's nick name.
OldFeller did honcho a number of group buy's back then, so did Catskinner.
you might find a clue here.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/google.php?cx=partner-pub-6216953551359885%3A1942134700&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=6.5+cruisemissile&siteurl=castboolits.gunloads.com%2Fforum.php&ref=&ss=9945j22288117j17&sa.x=12&sa.y=12

[MT Gianni]

Usually Lee put no markings at the first lots. Later they may have run some as to supposed diameter and weight. I recall Oldfeller? running a few and this could have been in the 140 gr range. It probably has a flat nose. It could have been any other as well. I would be happier with a current NOE offering were it me, the lube grooves on too many group buys were to shallow and narrow for my tastes. Good luck with it.
If it is the Cruise Missile, that bullet spun more hurt feelings and arguments than any other.

[Yodogsandman]

Thanks for the replies. I think I found some of what I wanted to know, shown in a photo from Buckshot. It shows the difference between the 170gr "cruise missile" and the 140gr group buy but, no dimensions. See post #5, it shows the 170gr with 4 lube grooves and the 140gr with 3. I won the auction (shows 3 lube grooves) so might have to wait to find out the sizes. I already had a 170gr "cruise missile" mold. That and one I cut down to 145gr.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?37565-Which-mold-for-a-swede-6-5X55

[runfiverun]

jeez Gianni.
I had forgot about that 6.5 thread.

it would be a miracle to find dimensions, I couldn't find a couple of threads on some molds I designed just a couple of years back.
I done a complete re-boot on my computer and lost the numbers I had saved.
I thought no big deal i'll just pull them from the initial thread, or at least jog my memory...nope.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Last year I bought a second hand (OldFeller GB) single cavity 6.5 170gr mold, it cast too small for my rifle and I sold it.
There were no markings on the mold, it came with original box and a Dim. drawing of the boolit. I didn't keep a copy of the drawing [I should have :( ]
but I do have my notes, from when I did some test casts, they weighed 165gr using COWW, The largest portion of the tapered nose was .261 and the drive band measured .264 and the remaining bands measured .266

My rifle's groove dia is .2685

Since R5R mentions more than one GB by OldFeller, and Buckshot's Photo of a 140gr boolit, it's difficult to know what you will get, til you get it. I wish I had a photo to show the number of lube grooves. Maybe have one in my photobucket account from when I sold it...but that's a nightmare.

FYI, I have bought a Midsouth version of the Lee Cruise missile, it drops FAT, like .272 fat, which was too fat for my rifle. I settled on the NOE 268 149gr RN. It's basically a fat version of Lyman's 266469.

[Yodogsandman]

I believe I just got the Lee, Oldfeller 6.5x55 mold from evilbay yesterday. I bought this for use in my customized Swedish Husqvarna M38. Loaded to an O.A.L. of 2.855", the boolit marks evenly around the base of the nose showing the fit to the throat. The gas check is below the case neck but, not fully below. This is the longest length that would freely feed from the magazine in my rifle. It did not show any engraving of the rifling. I didn't expect any engraving due to the long military leade. When tried in the barrel at the muzzle they will not fully enter the rifling and hang up at an approximate .264" diameter on the tapered nose. Boolits were cast of COWW. Here are the basic dimensions measured only with a caliper. Cast just about one hour before taking measurements.

1.0" long
.269"+ on the base bands
.261" to .268"+ tapered nose
139 gr

Update: While doing some casual reading tonight it seems that "jumptrap" might have designed this mold. Again, Buckshot made a reference to it in a post. He called it the Lee first edition.