Lee 359-125

[cwlongshot]

Just picked up a 6 holer.

Bullet looks good, unsure how I missed it all this time... Guess I didn't have a lot of need for a light 357 before. Now just need to wait for some "castable" temps... Its single digits today and for next couple... :veryconfu

I am interested to see if it works well in the 357 SIG Carbine Im building.

I see its useful in the 9MM. (I don't have that) I do have a few 38/357's to feed.

Anyone try this in a 357SIG?

CW

[smkummer]

Is this the RF ( round flat)? If so, it’s primary use was for cowboy action for lighter recoil in 38 special revolvers and to feed smooth in lever action rifles. If you water quench for hardness, you will probably loose the surface hardness sizing down to .356, so you may need a hard alloy to start. Hope it works.

[Rick Hodges]

I use it (the RF) in my 3" Ruger LCRx to duplicate my carry ammo for practice. They drop at 129 gr. from my alloy and shoot to same point of aim as my WW 130 HP's at 850 fps. I powder coat them.

[cwlongshot]

Dunno..

Here is a borrowed pic:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/PICT0007_zpsdfsfqxzq.jpg

It was cheap enough as all lee molds are. :) It Looks like a nice bullet! (If looks mean anything these days)

[tazman]

It's designation is 358-125-RF.
I use that boolit in 9mm and 38 special.
The only drawback to that boolit is, you need to seat it deeply in order for the nose to clear the rifling. If you look at the bottom center boolit in that picture, you can see where the full diameter section goes clear above the crimp groove. It needs to be seated inside the case to that point in order to fit in short throated barrels.
That doesn't keep it from working in my 9mm pistols. It feeds fine and shoots accurately for me.

[cwlongshot]

It's designation is 358-125-RF.
I use that boolit in 9mm and 38 special.
The only drawback to that boolit is, you need to seat it deeply in order for the nose to clear the rifling. If you look at the bottom center boolit in that picture, you can see where the full diameter section goes clear above the crimp groove. It needs to be seated inside the case to that point in order to fit in short throated barrels.
That doesn't keep it from working in my 9mm pistols. It feeds fine and shoots accurately for me. OK I see that now. So likely NOT optimal for the lil sig as its temperamental to what bullets work well in it. (Sure you guys know) Its short lil neck aint really lead friendly. [smilie=s:

cw

[Sig556r]

Just picked up a 6 holer.

Bullet looks good, unsure how I missed it all this time... Guess I didn't have a lot of need for a light 357 before. Now just need to wait for some "castable" temps... Its single digits today and for next couple... :veryconfu

I am interested to see if it works well in the 357 SIG Carbine Im building.

I see its useful in the 9MM. (I don't have that) I do have a few 38/357's to feed.

Anyone try this in a 357SIG?

CW
I got both the 125g & 158g 359 LRFNs & both work wonders in my 9s & 38super.
Been loading/shooting the 125g (127ish in my alloy) in 357Sig using 40SW convert brass with LFCD to crimp groove. Shoots well so far in my Sig 1911 nightmare & G22 conversion barrel without the hyped bullet setback. AA#9 seems to fill nicely without being compressed.

234925

[cwlongshot]

AWESOME NEWS!!

Ill try this bullet hard and soft, but being able to shoot it in the lil 357sig is a big plus for me!

I never had issue with setback in the sig... I size to HS off shoulder and crimp bullets. :)

My fav 357 SIG is a KKM barreled Glock 24 and it shoots under 2" @ 50 yards.


Off hand:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Glock/357%20SIG/9A11AF06-1D40-4A4B-8017-45094EF3B7B4_zps9steoqvt.jpg


Benched:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Glock/357%20SIG/B634B21F-E2A2-4F4D-99A2-7EE4C08E9198_zps4qqefjrx.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Glock/Glock%2024/357-G24/9DC74FD2-9282-4FF9-A563-1F3EFF0D6B4C_zpsxr3duuei.jpg



CW

[Sig556r]

AWESOME NEWS!!

Ill try this bullet hard and soft, but being able to shoot it in the lil 357sig is a big plus for me!

I never had issue with setback in the sig... I size to HS off shoulder and crimp bullets. :)

My fav 357 SIG is a KKM barreled Glock 24 and it shoots under 2" @ 50 yards.


Off hand:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Glock/357%20SIG/9A11AF06-1D40-4A4B-8017-45094EF3B7B4_zps9steoqvt.jpg


Benched:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Glock/357%20SIG/B634B21F-E2A2-4F4D-99A2-7EE4C08E9198_zps4qqefjrx.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Glock/Glock%2024/357-G24/9DC74FD2-9282-4FF9-A563-1F3EFF0D6B4C_zpsxr3duuei.jpg



CW

Nice shooting, mind sharing your recipe?

[cwlongshot]

I shoot allot of Longshot, but like my 10MM heavies the lil sig shoots Bluedot and 800X well for heavy loads. This barrel is a screamer too! I am anxious to shoot some 16" barrel loads!!

I have broken 1600 fps with a 125 from the 6" barrel still with a healthy fire ball, so wasted powder that should leave room for velocity gains from the longer barrel.

As to the recipe, I had the pic labeled 50y G24... but didn't record any numbers on the target so sorry no, I don't know for sure.

CW

[Conditor22]

https://i.imgur.com/dwTkGXj.jpg

[cwlongshot]

I saw that Grmps. :bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2: That's why I was lookin'. :)

CW

[Moonie]

This is my favorite boolit in 357 Sig, I loaded 50 of them up tonight for a nephew to shoot tomorrow. I crimp them in the crimp groove to prevent boolit setback when feeding. I purchased this mold to use for my brothers girlfriends 642 38 special. I got the 357 sig later, wished I had gotten a 6 cav rather than the 2...

[Conditor22]

I have a poser:
I PC'd and loaded the following 4 boolits with the same charge of BE for 9MM for a friend
356-120-TC
TL356-124-TC
TL356-124-2R
358-125 RF
He said:
the first 2 were super accurate

the 2R was ok

the RF was terrible he said he could do better just throwing the boolits. I'm confused

all 4 were sized .356 and LFC just to the point they would chamber (pulled boolits that measured .356)

[tazman]

Every pistol makes it's own rules. Particularly 9mm handguns.
There is no good explanation for the preferences of some handguns.

[Moonie]

While I really like the lee 358 125 rnfp in the 357 sig I really don't like it in the 9mm. It has to be seated deeply and can get swaged down by the case.

[cwlongshot]

While I really like the lee 358 125 rnfp in the 357 sig.

Great to hear just what I was hopping!

CW

[cwlongshot]

Well last night I coated the batch I made Sunday before the spure olate handle snapped off. GRR. ( I welded it back up. I also contacted LEE, got the ** answer “fill out the form send it in pay postage”. **!

Anyhow, gloss Blue coated real nicely, but for some reason stuck pretty bad to my basket. Guess its time for a few new baskets. They are getting pretty heavily coated. One bullet absolutely refused to come off basket!! It was standing up so had entire base attached. I needed to use plyers!!! :D

I sized up 100 to .356 and loaded four dummies to function test. Two 9MM and two 357 Sigs. I really like the looks of this boolit! I also grabbed a two holer 358-158 mold to try heavies in these two calibers.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Bullets/Casting/Powder%20Coating/86D38384-8B9C-4AFF-A1BB-289B06557341_zpsjlayxdrb.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Bullets/Casting/Powder%20Coating/E2DB1AED-6298-4885-A508-EADC5745BC12_zpsqw4qadtm.jpeg

CW

[doghawg]

I've been impressed with the accuracy of the 125 Lee in my Mod 15 S&W and in in lighter loads with .357"s. Really pleased that Lee actually put a decent crimp groove on this one!

[Ausglock]

Glock 35 with a Pulver 357Sig barrel.
I run resized 40S&W brass with an Accurate Molds 35-168Z coated with HITEK coating.
https://i.imgur.com/z9kR08l.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/SwdeiTu.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/QYAhGaq.jpg

[cwlongshot]

Looks great!! I haven’t tried heavier then 147 yet. Those green color look very nice!!

I just ordered the 358-158 mold to try a little heavier slug.

CW

[Ausglock]

The green ones are a grooveless 156gn RNFP. it has a Crimp groove only and it is in the perfect location for 357Sig heavy crimping.
https://i.imgur.com/TuOwLuJ.jpg
The gun and 357Sig is used to play IPSC here in Australia. We can't use 40 or 45cal, So 357Sig is Major power factor for STD Div and Classic Div,
Here is a 185gn FP i'm playing with for 357Sig.
https://i.imgur.com/YMO4xda.jpg

[Gatch]

The green ones are a grooveless 156gn RNFP. it has a Crimp groove only and it is in the perfect location for 357Sig heavy crimping.
https://i.imgur.com/TuOwLuJ.jpg
The gun and 357Sig is used to play IPSC here in Australia. We can't use 40 or 45cal, So 357Sig is Major power factor for STD Div and Classic Div,
Here is a 185gn FP i'm playing with for 357Sig.
https://i.imgur.com/YMO4xda.jpg

Jeeez that doesn't leave a lot of space in the brass.

[cwlongshot]

Thats a super weight in the lil sig!!!

CW

[Jlw6636]

What are you guys seating your 125’s in the 9mm to?

[cwlongshot]

I just seated two dummies at crimp groove. I haven’t had it in or cycled thru any gun yet. Any measurement I would recite wouldnt mean much.

CW

[McFred]

Here is a 185gn FP i'm playing with for 357Sig.
https://i.imgur.com/YMO4xda.jpg

That's awesome! Do you mind sharing your load data? There isn't very much case capacity remaining there.

[Sig556r]

Anyone try this in a 357SIG?

CW
Lights out with Sig 1911 nightmare & G22 conversion barrel using stock 357Sig & converted 40SW brass. Be mindful of your crimp as case-mouth tension is paramount.
237075

[Ausglock]

That's awesome! Do you mind sharing your load data? There isn't very much case capacity remaining there.

These are fired in STI Edge 2011 Std Div guns. 4.4gn AP-70 ( Hodgdon universal to you northerners) seated to 31mm OAL
In the Glock 35 357Sig, 4.2gn AP-70 seated to 1.155". Both loads use heavy crimp. All loaded in re-sized 40S&W brass.
We very rarely use actual 357Sig brass down here in Australia, as 40 brass is free from the police. Primers are Magtech small pistol.
The 4.4gn load gives 174 power factor.

[cwlongshot]

I really like that Green!!

Im gonna see what I can come up with mixing colors!!

My 358-158 mold came in today and we are gonna be socked down with two snow storms forcast! So Im gonna cast some in the garage again!!

CW

[Ausglock]

The green is called Kryptonite Green HITEK coating.
Donnie at Highperformance coatings has it.

[cwlongshot]

I used that mold this weekend and ITS FIXED!! I was pretty ginger with it, but I cast a couople hundred more bullets and its working just fine!!

I also cast a couple hundred with the 358-158 Mold. it has some spure plate problems I have never seen... It dosent flow well. At first I thought dirty contaminated. I blasted it with parts cleaner spray and started over... not much better... few cycles later II tried again this time with a stiff nylon bristle brush for cleaning molds... Not really any better... I de burred the face and top with a file, no Burs detected.. I stoned the chamfers and cleaned again... still cannot really say its any better. But It casts a nice bullet its just hard to fill???

Lastly I tired to match up that HYTEC color Kryptonite Green...

I think I did pretty good too!! 2 parts Kawi Green, 1 sm part Mirror BLK one part Copper metallic. All mixed well and coated...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Bullets/Casting/Powder%20Coating/CDE0A8A7-FC7F-4437-B58F-1C8E5ABE0541_zpsy95cddbn.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Bullets/Casting/Powder%20Coating/B9446875-A846-47FC-8E2D-6CE2B190E435_zpsg4y6ho5j.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Bullets/Casting/Powder%20Coating/E388C49D-0C8C-493F-828E-5EE0630E7352_zpshiaexip6.jpeg

Here it is in extreme close up, out in the afternoon sunlight.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/Bullets/Casting/Powder%20Coating/954C2956-EA2F-4CB0-B51B-99E02592A2F7_zpsuvh5kmdx.jpeg

CW

[tazman]

What are you guys seating your 125’s in the 9mm to?

I am seating the Lee 358-125-RF to a OAL of 1.025.
I size to .357 using a Lyman lubrisizer and NRA 50-50 lube from White Label.
At this length it runs perfectly in all my 9mm handguns, including my Range Officer which I didn't really expect since it can be picky about OAL.
I shot some of them today and got a 2.5inch group at 10 yards for 25 rounds with my Taurus PT92.
I arrived at this OAL by looking at the side of the boolit after sizing. You can see where the sizer stops sizing the boolit and I seat that spot even with the case mouth.

[Airborne Falcon]

I get it ... bumping an oldie but goodie. Only us SIG 357 fans can truly appreciate this thread. Finally stumbled upon this same 6 holer ... really looking forward to giving these a try.

[cwlongshot]

Still enjoying my lil 357's. Picked up a G24 & a 6" KKM barrel for it just to have a long slide 357 Sig!

Its a coyote killin machine!!