Can't Find an Answer to Lee 9mm Mold

[Wayne Smith]

If you are going to use a boolit from another cartridge design pay as much attention to the length as the weight. How deep the boolit sets in the case is important in pistol loading. The deeper the boolit sets in the case the higher pressure the load.

[Finster101]

Strongly recommend the OP order the Lee 0.357 sizer, and load/shoot that for 9mm cast.

I have to agree. Don't waste money on a .356 sizer, get a .357.

[frkelly74]

I agree with .357 as a starting point for a sizing die. One thing to think about concerning Lee sizing dies is that they can be considered adjustable as long as you want to go larger. I have a die marked .356 that I have polished out to actual .3585 diameter. I also have a die marked .244 that I drilled and polished to .268. I wanted a large 6.5mm die and none were available easily, but the .244 was. The fun is in the tinkering.

[Rich/WIS]

Might want to slug your barrel, last 9mm I had was an mid 80's CZ 75 that slugged .357.

[GrizzLeeBear]

+1 on the .357 sizer die.

Another thing I don't think anyone mentioned is that if the mold cast undersize you can "beagle" it with a couple small pieces of high temp. flue tape. I have had success doing this with several molds, include a 6 cavity 356-125-2r.

[Dusty Bannister]

I think the OP is having trouble finding a clear answer to a very fluid quality control issue that does occur with Lee molds. Some cast as stated, many cast over sized. It might be better to get the mold of your choice and IF there is an issue, THEN the forum members are more than happy to give specific advice on how to resolve the issue or at least offer a work around.

[Finster101]

For ALOX or powder coating in the future a tumble lube design would be a good choice as well. The 124 grain RN is a nice design that should easily run in any gun.

[243winxb]

Alloys with antimony, will make bullets larger, harder & lighter. As cast & after sizing.

Manufacturers of molds regulate molds with their alloy. Lyman #2 is very different, compared to lee.

Lee- Our bullet mold weights for our rifle and pistol bullet molds are based in a 95% Lead / 5% Tin mixture.

[mgunner]

Strongly recommend the OP order the Lee 0.357 sizer, and load/shoot that for 9mm cast.

I hope I get lucky; I ordered everything last night before I saw your post. Guess I'll have to see what happens.

[Bazoo]

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to post here. Your experience has been very helpful. I'm surprised that I received one response let alone so many responses on New Years Eve. So thank you so much for your help.

I've been reading everything posted in this thread, going through my manuals, and I also have some information from Lee Precision. According to them, their molds cast bullets that are .003/.000 inches over the stated size. They say that they usually drop toward the higher side of the range.

Taking all the information I have into consideration, I'm going to go with a Lee 6 Cavity 9mm mold. I'll also order a bullet sizing die for .356. My hope is that the mold will cast a little oversized. Then I'll experiment. I'll shoot some cast bullets that are unsized, and some that have been run through the bullet sizing die to see what works best.

Hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, and welcome to cb.gl forum.

What else do people do on New Years other than ask/answer bullet questions or work on making ammo? I know I did.

I can't really offer any advice on 9mm, since I've never loaded for it. I would, however, be glad to offer measurements for anything I have even if I don't have it on my website yet.

[Bazoo]

Alloys with antimony, will make bullets larger, harder & lighter. As cast & after sizing.

Manufacturers of molds regulate molds with their alloy. Lyman #2 is very different, compared to lee.

Lee- Our bullet mold weights for our rifle and pistol bullet molds are based in a 95% Lead / 5% Tin mixture.

Thanks! I didn't know they regulated to a specific alloy.

[jdgabbard]

This will possibly ruffle some feathers. But honestly, I stopped caring about ruffling feathers a long time ago. So...

The short version is that Lee has had a reputation for decades of cutting molds that are undersized, and/or oblong in the X/Y axis, as well as many other issues. Do they make usable molds? Sure they do, and often times if you're willing to do some work to them they can be quite nice molds. But I have not recently, and will not likely, ever buy another 2-cav lee mold. Even the new ones that I have see are junk in my opinion. Outside of being a cheap mold to see if this is a hobby you're interested in enough to keep at, and this being a cheap mold you can afford until you can afford a nice mold, I see no purpose in buying a piece of junk like one of Lee's 2-cav molds. Personally I'd rather have a nice 1-cav Lyman than a junk 2-cav Lee.

Now, I have a slightly different opinion of their 6-Cavity molds. These are generally of a nicer quality. And while they often do have a few small issues (X/Y oblong issues and Undersized bullets do still exist, though not as frequently as their 2cav brethren), their price for the bang is well worth the cost in my opinion. The downside is their limited number of designs. And some designs they do not even offer in 6cav molds. Two examples of molds I would TOTALLY buy from Lee if they offered them in 6cav are the 356-102-1R and the 365-95-1R. These are primarily designed with the .380 and the 9mak in mind. But they don't offer them in 6cavs, only 2cavs. Same issue with their rifle molds, I would totally buy a C312-185-1R in a 6cav. But they don't offer one, and thus I'm stuck with the 2cav version I purchased nearly 20 years ago that I have lapped to round, and done some work on to get usable. But because of the durability issues of their older molds, I use this mold very infrequently.

Here in lies another problem, if you're looking at getting a 6cav mold, you'll likely need a bottom pour pot. Though, it is possible to run a 6cav mold with a ladle, I tend to think you'll spend more time melting lead in a small pot than you'd spend casting. SO if you're wanting to stay cheap a small pot and ladle may be the ticket, but you'll likely want a 1cav or 2cav mold to go along with them. And if that is what you're doing, I'd suggest looking at a nice used Lyman/Ideal mold before looking at a Lee 2cav.

Thats my .02. Some people will get upset with this, thinking it's like shunning Lee reloading equipment because Dillon is the best (Go Blue or Go Home as they used to say). That is totally not the case. I pretty much exclusively use Lee reloading presses. Their molds are just a steamy pile of dung...

[mehavey]

I'm not upset (at least on this issue... and the day is young ),
but why would 6 Cav mantech be different from the 2-Cav ?

[dondiego]

I probably wouldn't be a caster if it weren't for LEE. I didn't have much money when I was working my way through college, but I wanted to shoot!

[jdgabbard]

I'm not upset (at least on this issue... and the day is young ),
but why would 6 Cav mantech be different from the 2-Cav ?

They seem to just have a better overall design and QC where the 6cav molds are concerned. Trust me, I want to like Lee molds, but their 2cavs are made to a price, not to a quality.

[mgunner]

This will possibly ruffle some feathers. But honestly, I stopped caring about ruffling feathers a long time ago. So...

The short version is that Lee has had a reputation for decades of cutting molds that are undersized, and/or oblong in the X/Y axis, as well as many other issues. Do they make usable molds? Sure they do, and often times if you're willing to do some work to them they can be quite nice molds. But I have not recently, and will not likely, ever buy another 2-cav lee mold. Even the new ones that I have see are junk in my opinion. Outside of being a cheap mold to see if this is a hobby you're interested in enough to keep at, and this being a cheap mold you can afford until you can afford a nice mold, I see no purpose in buying a piece of junk like one of Lee's 2-cav molds. Personally I'd rather have a nice 1-cav Lyman than a junk 2-cav Lee.

Now, I have a slightly different opinion of their 6-Cavity molds. These are generally of a nicer quality. And while they often do have a few small issues (X/Y oblong issues and Undersized bullets do still exist, though not as frequently as their 2cav brethren), their price for the bang is well worth the cost in my opinion. The downside is their limited number of designs. And some designs they do not even offer in 6cav molds. Two examples of molds I would TOTALLY buy from Lee if they offered them in 6cav are the 356-102-1R and the 365-95-1R. These are primarily designed with the .380 and the 9mak in mind. But they don't offer them in 6cavs, only 2cavs. Same issue with their rifle molds, I would totally buy a C312-185-1R in a 6cav. But they don't offer one, and thus I'm stuck with the 2cav version I purchased nearly 20 years ago that I have lapped to round, and done some work on to get usable. But because of the durability issues of their older molds, I use this mold very infrequently.

Here in lies another problem, if you're looking at getting a 6cav mold, you'll likely need a bottom pour pot. Though, it is possible to run a 6cav mold with a ladle, I tend to think you'll spend more time melting lead in a small pot than you'd spend casting. SO if you're wanting to stay cheap a small pot and ladle may be the ticket, but you'll likely want a 1cav or 2cav mold to go along with them. And if that is what you're doing, I'd suggest looking at a nice used Lyman/Ideal mold before looking at a Lee 2cav.

Thats my .02. Some people will get upset with this, thinking it's like shunning Lee reloading equipment because Dillon is the best (Go Blue or Go Home as they used to say). That is totally not the case. I pretty much exclusively use Lee reloading presses. Their molds are just a steamy pile of dung...

Thank you for the information. I actually ordered a 9mm Lee 6 cavity mold last night along with some other things. I received a Lee 20lbs bottom pour pot for Christmas. I hope I get lucky and everything works out when I start casting. If not, I'll have to figure it out as I go along.

[jdgabbard]

Thank you for the information. I actually ordered a 9mm Lee 6 cavity mold last night along with some other things. I received a Lee 20lbs bottom pour pot for Christmas.

You're welcome, just sharing what I've learned over the years. The bottom pour pots they offer are nice, but a little leaky at the nozzle. Place something to catch the drips, you'll thank yourself. Which mold did you order?

[Bazoo]

Welp, JD opened the can of worms... might as well fish.

I like Lee moulds... but I've been hit or miss getting bullets that are usable in size. When I have found a Lee mould that works well and casts a bullet of the correct size, and that's not terribly out of round... I hold onto it, normally. I did have one indiscretion and sold a couple a while back. I actually regret those now because I know I can't just buy a Lee mould and replace them. I might get a good one, or a lemon.

I've had Lyman moulds both out of round significantly and undersized. I bought a used 311041 a while back and it was .008 out of round best I recall. I complained and Lyman replaced it for a fee. The new mould left a fine on the nose as I recall. I ended up selling it and getting a used mould that was out of round, and had Eric Ohlen work it over for me. So... for all the cost and headache... I came out way under compared to buying from Accurate.

I've never had a problem across 4 or 5 RCBS moulds that I own or have used though.

All that said, I'd love to find a Lee TL430-240-SWC that dropped .430/.431. I had one a spell that dropped .4285 on the x and .430 on the y. Wouldn't mind trying their 429-214-SWC, C429-240-SWC, and their C430-310-RF in both my 44's. I bet the first one would work like a charm in my Winchester 92, and I got hopes the latter will.

[mgunner]

You're welcome, just sharing what I've learned over the years. The bottom pour pots they offer are nice, but a little leaky at the nozzle. Place something to catch the drips, you'll thank yourself. Which mold did you order?

I was aware that they drip at the nozzle so I also ordered an ingot mold to catch the drips.

I ordered the Lee TL356-124-TC 9mm Luger, 38 Super, 380 ACP (356 Diameter) 124 Grain Tumble Lube Truncated Cone mold.

[Finster101]

While the pot is new and before you fill it, get some valve grinding compound at a local parts store. Use it on the valve rod and spout to get a nice mating surface and leaks will be very minor if any at all.