Quality of Lee Molds

[BAMB]

I am brand new to casting, and am looking to buy a mold for a flat nose .308win boolit in the 170gr range. Everyone seems to think the Lyman 311041 is the way to go, but the Lee molds are so cheap! Anyway, I am just wondering what kind of experiences you guys have had with the Lee molds? Are they worth a try, or would buying one just be a waste of time and money?

[jblee10]

I personally don't like the 2 cavity Lee molds. They just don't seem to close right for me without really paying attention. Not that paying attention is such a big deal. But I do like the six cavity molds and think they are a great value. The problem is the six cavity is not offered in all designs.

[smokemjoe]

I have used a good no. of them, I check them for burrs on the parting lines, Deburr the top of the molds for they dont get deep marks on top of the mold. Wash out good with hot soap and water, Put graffited on the top of mold and spruce plate, When hot use bull plate lub. on the spruce plate now,and line up pins, Some molds it help to lightly smoke, Even if you dont hardly see it, If they hang up I lap them very lightly, tooth past will work for it,Treat them with care and I have a no troubles, I have 2 gang molds and doing the above they have casted thousands of bullets, I have molds I paid over $100.00 for and you have to take care of any of them, Hope this helps, Joe

[badbob454]

i use the 170 gr fn 30-30 mold lee makes , it casts nice i reccomend if on a budget , im getting into the NOE( night owl enterprise ) molds , they seen to come out with a mirror finish on them

[462]

My experience with Lee two-cavity moulds has been one defective and returned mould for every two that require a lot of TLC for them to remain keepers. Considering the time involved, to get them to cast properly, Lee two-cavity moulds are not as inexpensive as they seem. I'm not disparaging them, just saying that they lack no little amount of quality control.

If you decide to buy one, do a Leementing search so that you become familiar with what it will take to get it to cast to its potential, and to make sure you have the patience and necessary equipment to do the job.

An excellent .30-caliber, 170-ish boolit is Lyman's 311291. It was originally designed for the Winchester Model 1894, has been available for 100+ years, and should not be overlooked for use in bolt-action rifles. My '03-A3 is in love with it.

[JIMinPHX]

I've used the 150-gr Lee 2-cav flat point .30 cal mold for years with good results. The Lee mold is not quite as easy to get good results from as some of the higher priced molds are, but if you do a little prep work when you first get it & continue to do your part as you use the mold, good results can be had.

A lot of guys go for the higher priced molds for rifle boolits because rifle work is usually a lot more precise due to the longer ranges involved. There is some wisdom in that line of thinking, but I've managed to get my Lee boolits to shoot more accurately in a .30-30 than factory ammo did at the same speed. I'm sticking with my Lee mold, even though that particular one is a little fussy about dropping well sometimes.

[BAMB]

Sounds like trying a lee mold might be worth a try.

[Mykos]

I'm just getting into casting, and so far I'm happy with the LEE molds I've got.

[williamwaco]

I use the Lee two cavity .30 cal 172 grain fp It is a virtual clone of the 311041.

Try it. You will like it.

I got a flyer from Midway today. They have a special on the Lee two bangers for 17.50.

[mooman76]

If Lee mould weren't any good they would be able to sell as many as they dor or sell them very long. Yest they aren't the quality of the higher priced moulds but what do you expect fro less than $20. They enable people on a budget to cast bullets that otherwise may not be able to. I have allot of Lee moulds and some others too. They all put out good bullets. Occationally you do get a Lee mould that is troublesome but over all good quality for the money.

[shredder]

I love my Lee moulds. Personally I cast the 160 gr roundnose in .30. Sized and gas checked they group very nicely out of my 30/06 at 1450 fps. Highly recommended for the dollars. I have 3 Lee moulds for about the price of one from any other brand and when you start adding up handles that are not included... Well, make up your own mind.

[grouch]

I had good luck with Lee's single cavity molds, but not with double cavity ones. Troublesome to cast with, and by the time I sort for cavity, not worth the trouble
Grouch

[skeet1]

For the money Lee moulds can't be beat. I have used a number of 2 cavity moulds from Lee and all of them have worked OK. The newer Lyman moulds I have purchased in the last few years have shown much poorer workmanship than the Lee and they cost three to four times more. Lee is a great place to find out if you like to cast Boolits.

Ken

[DLCTEX]

I like Lee moulds and have the 170 and 150 gr. FP in 2 cav. that have worked well for me. I use Bullplate lube and no smoke. I have not had to lap those two, but have other Lee, Lyman, and RCBs moulds to get them to drop well. I have used a flat surface to set the mould on when it was giving alignment problems, but today I tried the method recommended by a fellow poster on an old Lee mould. As the mould is closed, tilt the handles up and back to let the blocks hang in the opposite manner of normal, worked like a charm.

[pdawg_shooter]

I use the 309170 Lee and a couple dozen others too. Best value on the marker IMHO.

[geargnasher]

If Lee mould weren't any good they would be able to sell as many as they dor or sell them very long. Yest they aren't the quality of the higher priced moulds but what do you expect fro less than $20. They enable people on a budget to cast bullets that otherwise may not be able to. I have allot of Lee moulds and some others too. They all put out good bullets. Occationally you do get a Lee mould that is troublesome but over all good quality for the money.

I have to agree fully with this post. I think it puts the whole thing in perspective. My mould collection includes a great number of Lee moulds, both six and two cavity versions, and I've determined that with the use of Bullplate sprue plate lube or similar, and if the caster does his job both of mould prep and care when casting, the Lee moulds can make boolits as good as any other mould.

Most of the issues with Lee moulds come from lack of experience casting and from improper use.

The 170-grain Lee flat nose gas check boolit is a very good design for most .30 caliber rifles. An exception would be some of the Winchesters and Marlins that have .301" or larger bores, as they don't support the nose of this boolit design.

Gear

[fredj338]

My exp w/ several Lee molds; get a good one, they work fine, get a bad one & they are krap. They have always had QC issues, but what do you expect for such a cheap price. If you want better, you'll have to pay for it. MM will make you a great casting mold for 4x the cost but it will be really nice to cast with. Lee could make some small changes, double their price & improve their quality 100% but it isn't going to happen.

[BAMB]

It is decided, I will try Lee. Sounds like everyone has found them to be more than serviceable.

[doctorggg]

Where is a good source for bullplate? Thanks

[JIMinPHX]

Where is a good source for bullplate? Thanks

Bullshop is the only source for Bullplate.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=100396