I just had a friend ask if I would cast up some bullets for his .40 cal XDM what is the best bullet for this caliber.
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I just had a friend ask if I would cast up some bullets for his .40 cal XDM what is the best bullet for this caliber.
The best cheap mold is the lee 175 TC TL or plain lube groove, your choice. I like the Lee 145 SWC it feeds best in my 1911, the 175 TC has a huge metplat. I hear a lot of people like the Lyman 401043. Lee also makes a 175 grain SWC TL but I haven't tried it.
The 40043 , or the modern numbered 401043 is a
fine bullet in the .40 S & W.
Take a look at this post , mine has been hp'd .
I pity the bad guy that gets hit with one ! !
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=30029
Holy Cow. I'd hate to see what it'd look like coming out of somebody!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben
MP- moulds 402 HP or solid. A fellow member sent me about 100 of each to try in my 400 corbon.
all i can say is I need this mould
http://www.mp-molds.com/shopping/pgm...php?id=17&=SID
Is the Tl or single lube groove better?
I got the single lube Lee 401-175-TC mold a couple of weeks ago. I got 470 good boolits out of my casts in less than an hour of casting. This is the second time I've cast ever.
The boolits that came out of my mold measured 0.4015" to 0.4020" and equal on both axes. The weight was 180g +/-1 on a couple dozen samples using WW as the alloy. After cleaning the molds with IPA and smoking the cavities with a stick, the boolits fall out of the mold when opened. Once in a while, I flick one or two off with my gloved finger, but that's it.
Tumbled them in Recluse's formula.
Unsized and seated to my usual 1.135", they had a slight resistance when doing the "plunk" test in my disassembled barrel, so I had to seat them to the bottom of the cone with no vertical wall showing and got a COL of 1.1015". Then they drop in with no resistance. I kept the charge down to 4.0g Bullseye which gave me only 875 fps out of a 4.25" M&P 40. Function in the gun was perfect and the groups were great. After returning home, I saw that there was no lead at all in the barrel after 200 rounds, probably because they were fat and going slow. I've got a bit of margin, so the next batch I'll work up towards 4.7g.
My first cast was with the TL452-230-TC so I've seen both the TL and single groove. Both seem to work equally well with tumbling.
If you wanted to size the boolits, you could probably seat the boolit higher, but you'll want the single groove version for sure because the TL version has a shoulder which may get hung up in feeding or at the front of the chamber. It's actually called a SWC and not a TC and has a smaller metplat than the TC.
I'm quite pleased with the 6 cavity Lee molds so far. Next comes a session with the 358-158-RF.
I like the RCBS 10MM – 170 un-like the Lyman mold its a plain base bullet. I get real good accuracy in my 40 S&W with them. Just not a fan of the Lyman bevel base bullets.
Any problems with fill-out of the T/L grooves?
The TL grooves on my 45's were probably the most variable issues, but they were all cosmetic. Sometimes they were shinier, sometimes they were frostier, but all were filled out about the same time that the wrinkles went away on the big surfaces (mold got up to temp). Here is a picture of my first casts with the TL's.
Sure look good. How did you pre-heat the 6 cavity mould? Haven't done this before so I guess I'll start with the 2 cavity Lee T/C. Don't know if my XD will handle the SWC. T/C works fine.
I sat the mold on the ledge of my Lee 4-20 as the lead melted, then dipped the edge of the mold into the lead for about 30-45 seconds. The Aluminum spreads out the heat pretty quickly and the mold got up to temperature quite quickly. When I saw that the boolits were starting to get frosty, I cooled the mold on a wet rag for about 6 seconds.
I watched CowboyT's Youtube video and just copied his motions, but I like filling from the front to the back so that the closest sprue is filled last. That's the one with the least mechanical advantage and it supposedly makes the sprue cutting easier.
I've never cast anything before and found the 6 cavity molds to work just fine. I'll bet that if you do well, you'd wish you bought a 6 cavity mold first. That's what most MidwayUSA reviewers said. If you feel more comfortable with the 2 cav mold, I certainly won't stop you from doing that. You need to do what is most comfortable to you.
I've never shot anything other than TC's in my M&P 40, but whether commercial cast, plated or my own, the gun loves TC's so that's what I'll shoot until I need or find something better.
Here's a shot of this afternoon's batch:
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...401-175-TC.jpg
Those TC's look fine! I use both the Lee 180gr TC as you have in standard LG and the 175gr. SWC in the TL LG. Both run like champs. My 175gr SWC is a 6-cav that I HP'd one cav for and drops at 160-165 grain depending on my pin setting. But everything runs accurate and smooth. It's a fun cartridge to cast for. Enjoy!
Here's the HP'd SWC set at 1.135...
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...m/DSCF6292.jpg
Rangefinder - what are you shooting those out of?
A piece of PVC and a finishing hammer :DQuote:
Rangefinder - what are you shooting those out of?
;) My primary HD is a Sigma 40G with a trigger job. It eats anything I feed it, but really likes those more than everything else so far.
Yea, I used a drill stem I found in the quarry with a hammer for 22s(long time ago when I was young and stupid). I ordered both of the Lee molds for .40, I'll find which one does better in my XDm.
fishboy, XDs have a known issue with SWC bullet designs. You need something without a shoulder on it.