I have some Lee 6-cavity molds, and they work good. Good bullets. No complaints. In fact I have the same tl358-158, is that what yours is?
I’ve got a Lee .309 170rf and a .457 405rf that cast absolutely horrible the first time. The vast majority of the boolits were rejects.
Didn’t do a thing to them and just cast about 100 boolits of each and they were beautiful from the get go.
I heated them up the same, didn’t scrub them out, nothing. Just poured awesome boolits.
Can’t wait for them to harden and shoot some.
The .457 is going on a cow elk hunt with me. My contender handgun in 45-70 seems to like them.
Majority of my molds are Lee as well. I love them. I hear some horror stories now and again, but for 20 a pop i will gamble and i haven't lost yet on. I have about 10+ Lee molds and i have a few More on my radar.
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~Theodore Roosevelt~
O really like Lee molds. Have had a few i had to play with a little bit most work great from the start and for 20 bucks you can't go wrong. My only complaint is that I wish there selection was better. Have had to go with other companies to get the mold i wanted.
I have over 20 molds...only 3 or 4 are iron. The rest are Lee. I've never had a bad one either. They throw questionable bullets for the first 5-10 fills...but after that...they throw pretty consistently. The only complaint as already mentioned by RED BEAR is that they have a limited bullet selection.
redhawk
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Have a few favorite Lee's but prefer old Lymans and certain RCBS. But yes,they're definitely worth the 20$.
The newer molds, say from the last 10-15 years, are a LOT better than the early ones from 30-35 years ago. They were junk as far as I'm concerned. I have always used Lee round ball molds with no complaints. About a year ago I wanted to try a heavyweight 8mm bullet but didn't want to spend a "C" note to learn it might not work. Bought a Lee...I think it's about a 240 gr. bullet(?)....for a bit over $20.00. It cast very good bullets but unfortunately the weight and length didn't work in that particular rifle. Better than being out a hundred bucks and, if I ever have need of a heavyweight, 8mm bullet I have a mold.
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Lee six-cavity molds are excellent. The sprue plates though, are not of the same high quality. To make a Lee six-cavity mold really come alive, swap in a sprue plate made by Red River Rick.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/memb...Red-River-Rick
You can definetly overheat a lee sprue plate. When I preheat my lee molds, I do it sprue plate up, and at a lower heat setting on my hot plate. Still after one or two pours, I am making perfect bullets.
The bigger problem with Lee sprue plates is sometimes they break. It doesn't happen often, but Rick's plates are a sure cure.
I have never broken one, however I have warped one. Either way I am sure that the sprue plate is a worthy upgrade.
I have to admit the mould design and functionality have gotten better but my experience is the bullet size is still a **** shoot roll the dice you may get one that drops to spec you might not . Still rolling the dice in that regards . Least it's not a expensive dice game with Lee
If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!
My ONLY gripe about Lee is the bevel based pistol bullets. I've got a 1/2 dozen of their 2 cavities and a 405HB and would much rather have a Lee that dropped a bullet to proper size than an undersized Lyman (of which I have three).
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |