MP Molds vs. Lee That much difference for the little money spent???

I've read here how consistent MP molds cast from one cavity to another. How does he do it with so little difference in cost from the Lee molds?



I'm currently casting with a Lee 148 gr. button nose wad cutter mold. The cavities are all over the place. None drop consistant diameters. They range from 0.358-0.360 plus from some cavities. They all have good fill out. The mold was dropping good, sprues cut great, no leading on the sprue plate nor the mold blocks. But the difference in diameter was concerning me. I didn't weigh them, because the difference in diameter tells me that they would be far differenent.

My question is this: for not much more money, is the MP 8 cavity mold that much better than the Lee 6 cavity? How can he do it if Lee can't?

I'm tempted to drop all 800 of the Lees back into the casting pot and order the MP Mold.

Edit / Delete Edit Post Quick reply to this message Re

Oh, yes! They cannot be compared! MP Molds are at the other end of the quality spectrum compared to Lee. If you try one, you would never use Lee again!

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Thanks for the feedback! I'm amazed at the little difference in cost between the MP and Lee molds. Additionally, the MP has two more cavities! I'm tempted to try one next payday (Uncle Sam's pittance called Social Security).

I have lee molds in 6 cavity that are fine , I also have MP molds and they are great I try to cast as close to diameter as I shoot , where I see a lot of molds that cast larger and then you size down , I prefer not to resize so a mold throwing a wide range of sizes is a no go for me .

I have a saeco and lyman wadcutter molds that come out at 360 , since I went to powder coat that is to big for me without resizing , what size do you need your bullets to be and do you size ?

I've been really lucky with Lee I guess all of my 6s cast within.001 and 3 gr which is good enough for the 100' can killers .

While I can't vouch for MP I have an H&G that casts 8 under a grain and within.001. I can't find enough difference in a Mountain Mold to call one or the other cavities. The NOE 5 holes show up 1 gr and .0008 dia but I think it's all about the sprue plate and hinge bolt .

Is it worth the extra money vs Lee ? Do critters do their business in the woods ? Heck yeah!!!

I use Lee Six cavity and MP eight cavity, they both work good. Never measured the bullets from each cavity because I only shoot revolvers out to 50 yards, so I never need 1000 yard rifle accuracy. :)

they cast equally well, IMHO.

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Originally Posted by hunter74

Oh, yes! They cannot be compared! MP Molds are at the other end of the quality spectrum compared to Lee. If you try one, you would never use Lee again!

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Ok I have to stand up for Lee here.

Are MP molds machined better than Lee? Absolutely. Are they worth the price difference? Absolutely. Is this required for casting quality bullets? No.

All of my MP molds are great, almost all of my Lee molds are great. Out of my great Lee molds and MP molds you can’t tell a difference in casting or end use.

MP molds you can get in brass or hollow point if you prefer, as all Lee are aluminum and no hollow point…if that’s what you’re interested in.

They both shoot great. You can inexpensively try out different Lee’s. If an MP doesn’t work out for you they cost three times as much, so I’m saying it’s cheaper to get into Lee’s.

I have several MP’s, but the last three molds I bought were Lee. Two work great, but my rifle doesn’t so much like the other. The mold drops a great bullet, but I don’t care as much cause it was $33.


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I own Lee and I own MP Molds. Lee molds are like Lee Reloading equipment. Lee Products are for the "budget-minded" reloader and caster. They work. For the money, you cannot beat a Lee 6-Cavity mold. I've learned that you have to tinker with the Lee 6 Cavity mold. Since I first casted using Lee molds, you have to make sure the mold is hot enough and the cavities are smoked. You have to make sure the pins are oiled so the mold pieces line up; otherwise the cast bullets will be out-of-round. Using a more consistent alloy helps. I only use JHP core from range scrap for my 38-148. And to make the weight more consistent, I twirl swirl my lead onto the sprue plate and into the cavity. A hot plate helps too. Last, you need to size your bullets anyway. My MP molds are a class apart from a Lee. It's like comparing a Lee press to a Redding. First, they look beautiful when you first receive them. I use 2-cavity molds because I can buy more variety of molds and the cavities will cast more consistent bullets. For my Lee, I have 2-3 different weight groups.

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Originally Posted by Wooserco

I've read here how consistent MP molds cast from one cavity to another. How does he do it with so little difference in cost from the Lee molds?



I'm currently casting with a Lee 148 gr. button nose wad cutter mold. The cavities are all over the place. None drop consistant diameters. They range from 0.358-0.360 plus from some cavities. They all have good fill out. The mold was dropping good, sprues cut great, no leading on the sprue plate nor the mold blocks. But the difference in diameter was concerning me. I didn't weigh them, because the difference in diameter tells me that they would be far differenent.

My question is this: for not much more money, is the MP 8 cavity mold that much better than the Lee 6 cavity? How can he do it if Lee can't?

I'm tempted to drop all 800 of the Lees back into the casting pot and order the MP Mold.

Edit / Delete Edit Post Quick reply to this message Re

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The difference between a .358 diameter bullet and a .360 diameter is going to be 1.5 gr. I am thinking you are worrying about the wrong things. This is easy practical geometry. Pie are square no Pi R round. The difference in the volume of two cylinders of equal length is difference in the squares of the radius.

Me, if I had 800 bullets that looked good I would lube/size them and shoot them. I don't even thing you would notice the difference shooting in a ransom rest.

Tim

Regarding how one manufacturer does its thing vs another. Margin, quality control, production rate, quantity. MP probably makes fewer molds checks their tooling more frequently, makes less money per mold and makes fewer molds. If MP increased their price they would get less business, if Lee tried to improve their quality probably nobody would notice. I hope they both make enough money to stay in business.

Tim

Lots of folks cast good bullets with Lee molds. They usually have experience casting and can apply all they've learned to get the most from whatever molds they use.

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Originally Posted by Wooserco

I've read here how consistent MP molds cast from one cavity to another. How does he do it with so little difference in cost from the Lee molds?

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Easy, difference in currencies and lack of overhead.

My suggestion is to save your money and practice with the Lee .38-148WC mold. My test groups are the size of my cylinder at 25 yards. Use your money to buy what Lee doesn't offer like a hollow point mold with interchangeable pins than can even cast a FN bullet. I like the 2 cavity brass molds because they aren't heavy

I’d say it’s the difference between tooling in a mass production and a small scale production process. Same with a lot of things. The reason an Anderson lower is $50 and a Knights lower is $200. I own both and there’s a marked difference in the quality.

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Originally Posted by BJung

My suggestion is to save your money and practice with the Lee .38-148WC mold. My test groups are the size of my cylinder at 25 yards. Use your money to buy what Lee doesn't offer like a hollow point mold with interchangeable pins than can even cast a FN bullet. I like the 2 cavity brass molds because they aren't heavy

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Yep!


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"My question is this: for not much more money, is the MP 8 cavity mold that much better than the Lee 6 cavity? How can he do it if Lee can't?"

You have answered your own question. The price difference is not significant, so why buy a Lee? The MP might not be that much better, but it is unlikely to be worse. Plus, if the MP mold is not giving consistent results, MP is more likely to make it right.

There are very few people who have done enough testing to determine if MP molds produce a more consistent bullet and if that bullet is more accurate. One casting session is not enough. Then, if both molds are producing "decent" (whatever that means) bullets, you would need to weigh 200 bullets and determine ES and SD. Lastly, bench testing twenty 5 shot groups after you have determined a load that your gun likes with each bullet.

Most folks are not that anal. "Good enough is good enough", and "when I do my part", works for most pistol shooters. Even when I was a good pistol shot, we used a Ramson Rest to test loads. I cannot shoot well enough to know if a load groups 2" or 3" at 50 yards unless I shoot a lot of groups. Most people call it "done" once they get a couple of acceptable groups.

If I was buying molds, I would buy the MP. NOE or Accurate molds and not worry about the small premium. But I use pistol bullets in carbines so want to increase my chances for accuracy to 100 yards. If I was buying a mold to cast 9mm blasting ammo to use at less than 25 yards, it would not matter. Just my take on it.

Lee quality consistency now differs from the days when Richard Lee was on site. Around '79 (before the computer age) I needed a 405 gr. for a Ruger #3 @ .458. I wrote Richard Lee & received a 1 cav. #457-405F with a note from Richard Lee "this one drops @.458 with ww. Send me a check for $12.95".
My 1st 6 cav. was in the early '90s: a 358-150RN. I was re-entering IPSC shooting revolver & need a RN. That mold dropped perfect boolits. Several more 6 cav. Lees were added in the '90's & I was happy.
Recently a Lee 356-125 6 cav. was not aligned properly. I returned it @ my expense with sample boolits & they sent a replacement.
I have 9 MP 8 cav., 2 6 cav. brass molds. & 4 2 cav.HP molds. They are beautiful & produce beautiful boolits. I will never regret buying them.
However, I prefer the Lee handles to the MP handles.
I confess that I do not shoot wadcutters.

I did not mean to ramble.

PS: I also have several Accurate molds & love them.

decades ago I never bothered to get a Lyman 311041 for the 30-30 because the lee 309150f and 309170f worked perfectly well but the most recent lee mold I got which was from the clearance page the cavities dont seem to be finished so well. over the years ive collected at least 20 MP brass molds from group buys and then from Miha's web site and have not regretted purchasing any of them. the one mold ive gotten from NOE also produces perfect castings each and every time. I think I got 3 different Lyman 429421's from different eras before getting the MP 503 clone and shooting that and the 430640 in 44's most often.

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Originally Posted by Wooserco

They range from 0.358-0.360 plus from some cavities. They all have good fill out. The mold was dropping good, sprues cut great, no leading on the sprue plate nor the mold blocks.

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You are over thinking it. It sounds like you have a mold that is casting well as is. Unless you have an expert or better classification in Bullseye pistol you will not know the difference. You might be able to tell a difference with a ransom rest or very careful benchrest shooting. Lube and size them .358 and go shoot them.

Now if you want an MP mold for the higher production rate or just a better quality mold go for it, but I very much doubt you will see an accuracy difference with cast wadcutters.

Interesting to say the least.

Contrary to popular belief you don't need to be an expert/master class shooter to tell the difference between a mold that cast multiple diameter bullets and a quality mold that throws consistent bullets.

Decades ago (1987) I bought/used a h&g #50 6-cavity mold to cast 148gr wc's using range scrap (8/9bhn) and a lyman 450 sizer .358". Had a pistol range setup in my back yard and shot 1000's of those wc's in the same revolver. Years later (1992/93?) I bought a bunch of molds (20/25?). They were all lyman with several mold handles. Among them was a 4-cavity wc mold 358495. I sold the h&g before testing the lymans, what the heck.

A wc mold is a wc mold after all. Shocking!!!

For some odd reason I never could get those 358495 wc's to shoot as accurately as the h&g's. Ended up selling that 4-cavity mold and buying another 1. Darn!!! Same thing. Decided to try a lee 6-cavity wc mold. Again no love. Ended up going back to the h&g #50 mold and life was good again.

It wasn't that 1 bullet was more accurate then the other. It was there was less fliers with the h&g wc. Consistency ='s accuracy.

Do yourself a favor and buy consistency.