Lee six hole semi-wadcutter mold question

[mechdriver]

I bought one of these, and several others, last spring and just recently had time to try it out. Cast great as soon as I got it warm.
My problem is that it is supposed to be 230 grain .452 TL and I'm getting consistant 240 grain +/-.5 boolets out of it. They do measure .452. My alloy is wheelweights and some 50/50 solder to add tin.
Should I see this great an increase in weight?
Is it time to call Lee and ask them?

[44man]

Very normal with almost all molds and is nothing to even think about. If the diameter is right, you are home free.
Mold makers set the weights with ONE alloy and even then never hit it perfect.
I have a Lyman that is supposed to weigh 325 gr but boolits drop at 347 gr. It shoots so good I would never get rid of it.

[HeavyMetal]

Save your "dime" on that call to Lee.

It's not unusual to get a mold that's marked for a specific weight and then get boolit's out of it a bit heavier. Most manufacturer's, Lyman for example, will use a "favorite" alloy as there "gauge" when projecting expected boolit weight. Lyman has always favored the "mythical" Lyman number 2 alloy when cataloging boolit weights. Most of the time they fail to tell anyone this!

In your case you picked up 10 grains and I suspect you had a lot of stick on WW metal in your melt?

These are pretty much pure lead and can certainly account for the weight gain.

This is one more reason you start with a "reduced" or start load and work up until you get good accuracy or pressure signs.

So you can live with the "fat" boolits or do some alloy playing with some clip on WW's which should have slightly less lead in them.

[Ricochet]

My "230 grain" Lee TL-452-230-TC boolits weigh right at 240 grains in my soft alloy. They work fine with normal 230 grain .45 ACP data. That much weight difference is trivial.

[mechdriver]

Thanks for setting my mind at ease.
I'm very careful to remove stick-on wheel weights when smelting, so I knew that wasn't in the mix.
I was amazed at how quickly this mold started dropping bootiful boolits.
I sized and lubed them last evening and will load some this weekend to see how they fly.