Is this mould messed up?

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I just have two moulds that are for my .357 and .38 .Both are Lee two cavity. The 158 gr. FN casts great boolits that are consistent. It has regular lube grooves. The second one is 148 gr. TL wad-cutter. The band at the bottom of the mould is always bigger than it should be by 2-3 thousandths. It is very consistent but always wider than it should be. The bands fill out great. Is this the nature of the TL mould and if it isn't any ideas? I wondered if I can load them like that or do they have to be sized? I'm about ready to get some brass loops and make sinkers out of them. Woe is me:violin:

[HammerMTB]

I just have two moulds that are for my .357 and .38 .Both are Lee two cavity. The 158 gr. FN casts great boolits that are consistent. It has regular lube grooves. The second one is 148 gr. TL wad-cutter. The band at the bottom of the mould is always bigger than it should be by 2-3 thousandths. It is very consistent but always wider than it should be. The bands fill out great. Is this the nature of the TL mould and if it isn't any ideas? I wondered if I can load them like that or do they have to be sized? I'm about ready to get some brass loops and make sinkers out of them. Woe is me:violin:

Seems like to me if it will load and chamber readily in the gun, it might be a good thing if it's .002-.003 over. It means a nice tight fit and seal with a WC which will no doubt have a light charge and not likely obturate much, if any.
If it wuz me I'd try 'em and as long as I liked the results, shoot 'em 'til I ran out, then repeat.... :castmine:

[deltaenterprizes]

Load some with the fat side up and some with the fat side down and see how they shoot.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I'll give that a shot, guys. No pun intended

[Shiloh]

I run all mine through a .358 LEE sizer kit for consistency. For me, the sprue side is loaded as the nose. the bottom of the boolits usually have perfect fill.

Shiloh

[Charlie Two Tracks]

Update: I put a pound of solder in a full 20 lb. pot. I cranked the temp up to 850 and pressure cast the TL boolits. I then ran them through a .358 Lee sizer. I can see where the sizer touched all of the boolit. Seems as though I may have gotten this mould figured out.
thanks for the help guys.

[mooman76]

Have you worked it out? If not just a couple thoughts.1. Check your mould real close. Sometimes a spec of lead will get in a alinement pin or somewhere it shouldn't be and be enough to throw you off a couple thousanths. 2, Also if you are going to size anyway, I wouldn't worry about it or 3. like stated, load it backwards and it should shoot fine.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

What I was concerned about at the beginning was the fact that the boolit was not filling out in the middle. When recovering spent boolits, I found that there were no rifling marks on them. Not a good thing. I will try the new batch and see. The TL boolits are harder for me to cast and if there is no great advantage, I will stick to a more normal mould. I just got one from Miha and it will not be the last one. Good stuff.