modified lee 6 cavity .225-55gr mold

[donerightsigns]

So here the deal. I have been shooting hornady .224 60gr sp bullets for a long long long time. Now of course we have trouble getting what we need to reload. Right? So I says to myself, myself you need to get the lee 6 cavity 55gr mold and make your own bullets. Now when you can hit a jackrabbit at 411 yards,one shot one kill, the hornady 60gr bullet is doing something right for that kind of success. (and by the way, I am shooting and hitting jackrabbits form 100yds to 500yds and never needing to shoot more than 2 shots) But the lee mold is only 55gr bullets. I don't want to be changing the scope zero between 60gr and 55gr bullets when ever i change from hornady to cast bullets. So I got this idea to take the lee mold and drill out the end of the mold, or extend the length of the bullet mold. The nose of the lee bullet is very close to 1/8in. wide. The length of the lee bullet is .580. Now I have an old RCBS 2 cavity mold that puts out a 60gr bullet. Never did like the bullet it made and did not like casting just 2 bullets. But the RCBS bullet is .651in. long. The difference in length between the two bullets is .071in. So I took a 1/8in. drill bit and drilled out the end of each cavity in the 6 cavity mold .071in. longer. The bullets are a little strange looking. Now I am casting bullets from 60gr. to 63gr. depending on the lead mix. Now i am going to be trying my hand at powder coating, resizing, and gas checking these bullets.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Good luck! I hope the drilling was done directly in line with the axis of the rest of the boolit. Otherwise accuracy could suffer.

[TjB101]

I’ve been chasing accuracy in the 224 Lee 55gr bullet for quite some time. It’s just not there. Trying Unique, Bullseye, H110 and 2400 ... My 10PC is a MOA gun with 55FMJ reloads ... not even close with these Lee. 1, 2 3MOA ... but no tumbling.

Going to range today for some more fun with it and 3 new loads... I have about 2k, coated and GC’d ... won’t be cooking them too soon but the frustration is climbing.

Good luck and let us know how you make out

[dimaprok]

What makes you think that cast bullet will have the same trajectory and impact as jacketed bullet? If you're shooting your FMJ at 3000fps your cast bullet will travel anywhere from 2200-2500 fps hitting much lower.

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[dimaprok]

I’ve been chasing accuracy in the 224 Lee 55gr bullet for quite some time. It’s just not there. Trying Unique, Bullseye, H110 and 2400 ... My 10PC is a MOA gun with 55FMJ reloads ... not even close with these Lee. 1, 2 3MOA ... but no tumbling.

Going to range today for some more fun with it and 3 new loads... I have about 2k, coated and GC’d ... won’t be cooking them too soon but the frustration is climbing.

Good luck and let us know how you make out

I can't say I tested enough Lee 55gr to say for sure its the bullet but NOE 60gr shot much better in my test. With NOE I did size it bigger .225 and used 2400 powder, now need to do same with Lee.

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[Larry Gibson]

"I don't want to be changing the scope zero between 60gr and 55gr bullets when ever i change from hornady to cast bullets."

A lofty goal.

If you get down this way give me a shout.

[TjB101]

This was today’s tests .. I’ve been doing a lot of test loads over the holiday but no range time for a month. Range day today.

First tests were at 100yards with my 55gr FMJBT behind 25.5gr Varget ... dead on. So then I played with the cast 55’s at 50yards

Performance was just ok. H110, Unique and Bullseye today.

.

The one load with 4gr Bullseye was pretty good and very soft ... Thanks Larry, saw this load from you on another post ... It has some promise.

[robg]

I’ve been chasing accuracy in the 224 Lee 55gr bullet for quite some time. It’s just not there. Trying Unique, Bullseye, H110 and 2400 ... My 10PC is a MOA gun with 55FMJ reloads ... not even close with these Lee. 1, 2 3MOA ... but no tumbling.

Going to range today for some more fun with it and 3 new loads... I have about 2k, coated and GC’d ... won’t be cooking them too soon but the frustration is climbing.

Good luck and let us know how you make out

im still trying to get a good load for my tikka with the lee boolit i feel your pain

[earlmck]

I think Lee thought they were copying the great old Lyman 225415 boolit which shoots very well in my favorite hornet rifle. But Lee's version does not shoot nearly as well. Hurts my feelings because the 6-cavity Lee mold can sure chuck out a batch of fine-looking boolits in a hurry.

[Mk42gunner]

Good Luck, but I don't think this is a realistic goal.

Robert

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP...

Now when you can hit a jackrabbit at 411 yards,one shot one kill, the hornady 60gr bullet is doing something right for that kind of success.

Dang, that's some good shootin. I wonder what cartridge and what Rifle?


PS: One time, I took to a boolit mold with a drill bit...I was able to turn a $20 Lee mold, into scrap metal is less then 5 minutes.