Lee R.E.A.L. Bullets

[30coupe]

Anyone have any experience, good or bad, with Lee R.E.A.L bullets? I've got a .45 cal Pedersoli Kentucky coming, so I ordered a combo mold in 200 gr. REAL and .440 ball. I'm just wondering if any of you have tried them in something similar. The Kentucky has a 1:48 twist and Pedersolis have fairly deep rifling. I guess I'll experiment on my own with it too, but any advice would be appreciated. At least Lee molds are cheap enough to buy, I won't be out that much if my rifle hates them, lol.

[mike69]

I'm having good luck with the 250gr R.E.A.L in a cva optima-v2 50 cal pistol . I'm using a over powder felt wad with it . read a good bit where people where getting better accuracy with the felt wads . it's working good for me .

[bmortell]

I don't know if your talking about for target shooting or hunting but I shot a deer with the 50cal 250gr version pure lead at 1350fps, lengthwise shoot right towards me, it made it to the last rib on the back and stopped from the skin stretching out. it deformed a bit to maybe 60 cal and the deer dropped right there. for accuracy im not real sure I hate cleaning muzzleloader so I only shoot as much as necessary.

[Jniedbalski]

I have had good results with the real but I have two fast twist in lines. They both shoot very good with it. I also tried a lot of other billets but kept coming back to the lee. Not because they where so much better but because I had the mold and could make free bullets .all the other bullets where store bought and to me expensive. The lee I could make bullets when I wanted for free out of my stash of lead that I also got for free. The lee did shoot very good for me. Never used felt wads just lubed and shot. I have all the other lee molds also for 50. My one inline with the lee modern mini hollow base flat point. to me they where loose in the bore to the point I thought they would slide back toward the muzzle when hunting. I shot these off a bench and they also shot very good for me. They load very ease for me and give good groups at 100 yards.

[ukrifleman]

I had a .50 cal Ardesa Buckhunter pistol in-line with a 1-20 twist which I used for target shooting and the Lee 250gn R.E.A.L. was very accurate.
I would imagine a 1-48 twist would be on the cusp of ball/REAL projectiles.
ukrifleman

[30coupe]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I went with the 200 grain REAL because of the slower twist rate. I wasn't sure how well my rifle would stabilize a longer bullet. I've killed deer with a .50 caliber round ball, but the .45 is new to me. I'll try to work up loads for both REAL and PRB. Accuracy is most important. I'm a bow hunter, so getting close is not going to be an issue. The last four deer I've killed have averaged about 11 yard shots. I'm pretty sure the .45 PRB will get the job done at the range I plan to shoot, probably 75 yards maximum, with 30-50 being more likely and 10-15 highly probable. I gave my inline to my granddaughter. I'm going old school as long as my vision holds out!

[RU shooter]

Tried them is a 56 twist 45 cal with deep rifling colrain barrel from that same combo mould . The shot good enough at 50 yds for deer but I wouldn't take a shot past that about 3 inch group at 50 yd deep grooves and conicals aren't a good match

[brewer12345]

They shot well in my 54 Grey Hawk with 1 in 48 rifling. I only got accuracy from them with an over powder wad, but it was good enough for me to be willing to take 100 yard shots on game.

[30coupe]

They shot well in my 54 Grey Hawk with 1 in 48 rifling. I only got accuracy from them with an over powder wad, but it was good enough for me to be willing to take 100 yard shots on game.

I've had others tell me that the over powder wad helps. What did you use for a wad? Was it lubed? This will be my first attempt with conicals.

I'm hoping the 1:48 twist will give them enough spin. I suspect RU's 1:56 is PRB territory in a .45 for sure. I'll let you all know how they work out. The rifle is supposed to be delivered on Monday. The USPS is hopscotching the mold around the country, so I don't know when it will show up. It started in Cedar Rapids, IA, about an hour and a half from me, then went to Rapid City, SD for some unknown reason. Now it is somewhere in between, unless they think it needs to see Denver, CO first.

[megasupermagnum]

I've got both 50 and 54 caliber versions. They are a tricky design for sure, all of mine are far too small. I did not give the 50 caliber much chance, but it did not shoot well. I did try quite a bit with the 54, and again not much luck.

To get mine to shoot good I had to do three things. #1 use 2 layers of aluminum tape to beagle the mold. It now drops .536" on the bottom band, and .555" on the top band. #2 sort by size, not just visually. Anything less than .555" on the top band gets tossed. #3 use a 1/8" felt wad under the bullet.

Even beagled, .536" is too small a bottom band for a 54 caliber, which bore diameter is usually .540" plus or minus a little on the TC's. I use 90 grains FFg, 1/8" felt wad, then the bullet lubed with crisco. I only seat lightly. The bullet practically falls down the bore with the weight of the ramrod, then I use maybe 10 pounds of pressure to seat on the powder. Any more force ruins accuracy. I have to swab between shots. My gun will not group these on a clean bore. I never had luck with 20/1 alloy, likely because the bullet needs to obturate to grip the rifling. I use stick on wheel weights, which are mostly pure lead, and cast at about 800 degrees. They are not easy to cast perfectly.

If I do all of that right, my Renegade will keep them inside of 4" at 100 yards. Personally I'd be looking at the maxiball, or a patched round ball.

[John McCorkle]

Haven't had a shot in deer yet with it, bit worked up a load in an online 50 with 1:28 twist over 95 grains of RS select...using the 320 grain version... definitely found a felt was from durofelt was the winning ticket with these. Get a cheap punch set from harbor freight and call up durofelt for their hard felt for ML wads ...they'll send you some ASAP. I put just a touch of lube on the outside of the REAL

I get fantastic accuracy..1-1.5 inches at 50...it's a huge hunk of lead and I think I choron'd it somewhere just at or just below 1300 fps. As said I haven't had the opportunity to squeeze one off in a whitetail yet but with that mass and speed I don't think it'll stop for anything. I'd be highly surprised to recover one ever.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[brewer12345]

I've had others tell me that the over powder wad helps. What did you use for a wad? Was it lubed? This will be my first attempt with conicals.

I am lazy so I just buy wonder wads, which are lubed. They are made out of wool.

If the REAL does not pan out, I would try a maxi ball and a Hornady Great plains bullet. The REALs shot ok out my 1 in 48 50 cal, but the maxi ball was really good (like clover leaf at 50 yards). For the slower twist, Buffalo Ball-ets have a good reputation. Or you could stick with round ball. I would think of 45 PRB as being a little light for deer and offering relatively smaller margin of error vs. the larger bores, but if you can get within 25 yards I don't imagine it will make much difference.

[30coupe]

Haven't had a shot in deer yet with it, bit worked up a load in an online 50 with 1:28 twist over 95 grains of RS select...using the 320 grain version... definitely found a felt was from durofelt was the winning ticket with these. Get a cheap punch set from harbor freight and call up durofelt for their hard felt for ML wads ...they'll send you some ASAP. I put just a touch of lube on the outside of the REAL

I get fantastic accuracy..1-1.5 inches at 50...it's a huge hunk of lead and I think I choron'd it somewhere just at or just below 1300 fps. As said I haven't had the opportunity to squeeze one off in a whitetail yet but with that mass and speed I don't think it'll stop for anything. I'd be highly surprised to recover one ever.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

Do you get the 1/4" thick felt then? I see the 44/45 caliber durowads are .50" in diameter. Would you make the heavy felt ones that much over bore size? Seems like a .50x.25 hard felt wad would be a tight fit in a .45, but maybe that's what I'll need. I've got a punch set, but I'm not sure how big it goes. It's at my other place, naturally. I'll be back up there Monday or Tuesday, so I'll check.

[30coupe]

I am lazy so I just buy wonder wads, which are lubed. They are made out of wool.

If the REAL does not pan out, I would try a maxi ball and a Hornady Great plains bullet. The REALs shot ok out my 1 in 48 50 cal, but the maxi ball was really good (like clover leaf at 50 yards). For the slower twist, Buffalo Ball-ets have a good reputation. Or you could stick with round ball. I would think of 45 PRB as being a little light for deer and offering relatively smaller margin of error vs. the larger bores, but if you can get within 25 yards I don't imagine it will make much difference.

I'm hoping to cast my own. Trying to find a maxi-ball mold in .45 that is affordable is a study in frustration. Do you know of anybody who makes an affordable mold for either the GPB or maxi-ball?

[brewer12345]

I see 45 maxi ball molds on eBay all the time. Lyman makes a plains bullet mold, but not sure about 45 Cal.

[ole_270]

My son took a medium sized buck at 75 yards with my old New Englander this year. Near broadside shot, maybe a bit high, put a hole in the scapula and exited far side. Buck went about 75 yards with a decent blood trail. Load was the lighter 50 cal REAL over a card wad and about 90 gr equivalent 777 loose powder.

[ShooterAZ]

I tried the REAL's in my Lyman 54 Cal Deerstalker, the accuracy was mediocre at best. I ended up going with Accurate's version of the Great Plains boolit, the 55-430M. I know, not a .45... but that's my only experience with them besides in my ROA. Tom at Accurate Molds has some great tapered muzzle-loader designs, you might want to take a gander at some of his offerings. I do have some 45 Cal REALS that I use in my Ruger Old Army (both the 200 and 250 grain versions). I'm happy to send some to you to try out if you'd like. They have been sized to .454 though, not sure if that would work for you or not.

[30coupe]

Thanks for the offer, Shooter, but my mold will probably be here before you could get them to me. If the REALs don't give me satisfactory accuracy, I'm sure the PRBs will. Deer have been succumbing to .45 cal round balls for hundreds of years. I don't think they've grown armor, so I bet if I put a 128 grain ball through the lungs, they will still die. On top of that, my shoulder will suffer a lot less! I was just wondering what kind of luck others have had with the REALs. Sounds kind of mixed at this point.