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extremepyro
10-31-2009, 09:10 PM
First off---Just started casting.
I bought the 124 gr lee mold (90465) for my wifes sig 380.
I sized to.356,, If I load these to the max OAL it seems the bullet is pressed to far, is that a problem?

I was having trouble getting the bullets to fill real nice an flat on the top, I think I my have had the lead to hot?

I wasnt going to go with a 380 bullet with that much weight but I thought I might be able to use it in my 357sig (figured after the fact I cant)
Go alot to learn in this casting thing but im pretty much getting adicted and only loaded one shell.

future topic::: i bought the lee 175gr-swc .401 for my Glock---which now I read you cant shoot cast from a glock. but I hear of people that do it.

2ndAmendmentNut
10-31-2009, 10:10 PM
I have never seen load data for a 124gr boolit in a 380. Most 380 data calls for 100gr boolits or lighter.

There are many reasons why your mould might not be filling out properly. Alloy is to hot, alloy is to cool, mould is to hot, or mould is to cool…..and many more. Are your boolits wrinkled? Or frosty? Also the way you fill the mould cavities can have an effect on proper fill out.

Why can’t you shoot a 124gr boolit from a 357sig?

You definitely can shoot cast from a Glock. Even one with a stock barrel. There is a sticky (article) on this site devoted to the myths surrounding Glocks and cast.

2ndAmendmentNut
10-31-2009, 10:22 PM
future topic::: i bought the lee 175gr-swc .401 for my Glock---which now I read you cant shoot cast from a glock. but I hear of people that do it.

Go to the Wheelguns, Pistols and Handcannons section of this site and right near the top is a sticky on shooting Glocks with cast.

Oh, welcome to the forum, and the addiction of casting.:grin:

Treeman
10-31-2009, 11:18 PM
If you are not getting good base fill out the lead or mold are likely not hot enough or you aren't letting the mold fill. If you press the sprue plate against the spout of a bottomdraw pot you must keep the valve open long enough for complete fillout. If you are letting the lead run into the mould in an open stream then try leaving a little puddle on top of the sprue plate.

I load that bullet in .380-yes you need to seat it slightly past the bullet shoulder to meet OAL-in my gun it feeds fine. There isn't a lot of data for 124 gr. lead in .380 but I have some data for 4756 which has worked well for me.-2.7gr.4756 ,Lee RNL seated to max oal. Max is 2.9 grains according to my data source

helg
10-31-2009, 11:36 PM
380ACP max length is .984" (SAAMI spec)
380 brass length is .682" max (SAAMI). My brass is all around .670"
Lee 90465 bullet ogive is .342".

.670" + .342" is 1.012", which is greater than .984". This means that the bullet, when seated to max OAL should have the ogive inside the brass at least by .028". Thin case neck with this seating becomes unsupported by the bullet, and can be easily deformed. This may affect accuracy at first - when the neck is bent while feeding or transporting the round.

The bullet occupies most of the shell space. For the 380 shell with 11.5 grains of water capacity, the bullet takes 7.1. The remaining volume should fluctuate a lot for brass with different headstamps - they usually differ in thickness at the base. I doubt that the load, which you develop for one headstamp, may give different results with another headstamp.

Anyway, the bullet will go bang. I would try to make a few dummies that are a bit longer than the max OAL, and check if they chamber your barrel to the same depth as a factory round (this should not be a problem as bullet ogive starts inside the shell), fit into the magazine, and feed fine - if your gun is happy with the longer rounds, when bullet ogive starts at the case neck, you will see no problem at all.

As for load data, Quickload calculates that 2.0 grains of Bullseye under Lee 90465 bullet, when seated to the max OAL gives 687fps in 4" barrel, and
about 70% of the max pressure. 2.4 grains gives 100% of the pressure - never go that close. Verify this load somewhere else before using it, bla-bla-bla.

You see, due to the small volume under the large bullet, you can not push the big bullet to full 1000 fps speed for the caliber. Anyway, this is a good revolver speed, which should punch same holes in paper as high-speed semi-auto loads.

MikeSSS
11-01-2009, 01:25 AM
I use the Lee 105 SWC over 2.2 gr of 231 in a Ruger LCP, it works flawlessly.

I seat it so just a tad of the front driving band is in front of the case mouth, less than 1/16".

A friend tried them in his Sig 232, they worked in that too.

I reserve 124's for 9mm.

jdgabbard
11-01-2009, 06:03 AM
Yes, if you load that boolit in the .380 it will be too long for the MAX OAL, or the boolit will be seated too deep in the case. Best to find another boolit to load. Might is suggest the 92g Lyman 358242.

WHITETAIL
11-01-2009, 08:16 AM
extremepyro, Welcome to the forum.
As far as loading heavy for the380.
I load a 120 Lyman in the 380, with
2.1 of Bullseye.:lovebooli

jonk
11-01-2009, 12:13 PM
I've done 158 gr in 9mm... same sort of idea. Shouldn't be a problem if you can find load data.

Leftoverdj
11-01-2009, 01:00 PM
Data is not a problem. The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook has data for their 358242 at a nominal 121 grains w/#2 alloy. The problem is the design of the bullet in question. It has too long a nose to use in .380. Other designs of the same weight will work.

XWrench3
11-01-2009, 08:02 PM
i want to make boolits for my 380, but i refuse to only cast 2 tiny little boolits at a time. i just saw a 38 caliber lee 6 hole 105 grain mold that i am going to buy and try. i will have to size them down to .356" from .358". but that should be no problem. the only thing is it may be until after Christmas before i can get the mold. just thought i might plant a seed before you do anything you really do not want to do. for what it is worth, i had trouble with long bullets in a 380 case (115g hornady xtp's). i had to have just the right brass, or the taper in the brass would bulge the round out so far, they would not chamber. may have just been my gun (tight chamber?), but i thought i would mention it. i think the only brass i tried that would work was winchester. everyone elses brass, the taper started so early, that the longer bullet forced the case outward. it almost looked like it was buckled.

extremepyro
11-01-2009, 08:32 PM
This is awsome,, pretty quick help :-)
I'll play around with it and let you know how it goes. Would like to try this bullet in my 357sig but might need gas checks for that one.(Gotta learn this stuff first)
I just started reloading also,,, I used the 95Gr montana bullets in the 380 for my first reload.
They were great.

Thanks again

extremepyro
11-01-2009, 08:33 PM
let me know how they work. xwrench

extremepyro
11-01-2009, 08:35 PM
Data is not a problem. The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook has data for their 358242 at a nominal 121 grains w/#2 alloy. The problem is the design of the bullet in question. It has too long a nose to use in .380. Other designs of the same weight will work.

Thats how I ended up with this bullet

extremepyro
11-01-2009, 08:40 PM
I have never seen load data for a 124gr boolit in a 380. Most 380 data calls for 100gr boolits or lighter.

There are many reasons why your mould might not be filling out properly. Alloy is to hot, alloy is to cool, mould is to hot, or mould is to cool…..and many more. Are your boolits wrinkled? Or frosty? Also the way you fill the mould cavities can have an effect on proper fill out.

Why can’t you shoot a 124gr boolit from a 357sig?

You definitely can shoot cast from a Glock. Even one with a stock barrel. There is a sticky (article) on this site devoted to the myths surrounding Glocks and cast.

bullets were frosty, So im thinking the mold and lead was to hot. Recieved my thermometer from Roto yesterday , so that will help.

2ndAmendmentNut
11-02-2009, 12:50 AM
bullets were frosty, So im thinking the mold and lead was to hot. Recieved my thermometer from Roto yesterday , so that will help.

Frosty is not necessarily “bad” it is just a sign that your mould is getting rather hot. An excessively hot mould, or cool mould can have a detrimental effect on mould fill out. You know you mould is too hot when you cut the sprews and they smear, and the cavities start to fill out poorly. Allow your mould to air cool for a minute or so, and then resume casting. A lead thermometer will really help take the guess work out of your alloy temperature.

The way you fill your cavities also has an effect on proper fill out. I use a bottom pour pot, so that is the only way I know how to describe. I let the stream of lead hit the side of the hole on the sprew plate, this supposedly causes the lead to swirl into the cavity. Also fill the cavity up and let a good dome of lead form above the hole.