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Thread: Lee 105 SWC , 38/357 Mold

  1. #21
    Boolit Master Thumbcocker's Avatar
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    So what was the powder charge?
    Paper targets aren't your friends. They won't lie for you and they don't care if your feelings get hurt.

  2. #22
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    ..............I must be way out of date on the new Marlins as I wasn't aware they'd started offering them with colorcased actions. I suppose since it's all in the family now it's easy for them to have it done, as the style of work is very easy to trace as to who did it!

    Now if they'd see their way clear to come back with a flatbolt 1893 repro I'd buy one, if I had to float a loan!

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  3. #23
    Boolit Buddy Cloudpeak's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Recluse View Post
    Yep, and thanks to you and some pictures you posted several years go, I went and bought that mould (two-banger, though. . . still haven't warmed up to the six-bangers all that much. . . yet) and that is one of my favorite all-around all-purpose boolits.

    Great fun, great shooting, great economy!
    I'm glad you're tickled with the bullet. It's been very accurate in every handgun I've fired it in including my S&W 620 revolver (and the gun grouped low with the lighter bullet.)

    I can't imagine casting with a two cavity mold, though. I cast a bunch of 158 gr SWC out of a Lee 2 cavity mold that garadsrus sent me. He bought it used on e-bay and it had a lot of miles on it when he got it. It was pretty much worn out but, if you placed the mold halves on a flat surface when closing it and held the handles tightly, it dropped pretty danged good (and accurate bullets). But that experience is when I decided that, for handgun bullets, I'd never go below 4 cavity capacity I'm not getting any younger and don't want to spend time with a 2 cavity!

    My 6 cavity 105 mold has cast thousands of bullets and the sprue pivot bolt threads finally stripped out so I drilled the mold block for a 1/4" bolt and threaded the bottom hole and also used a nut below that. Works very well and the mold has thousands more bullets to cast. My lead supply will last forever!
    Cloudpeak

  4. #24
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    I used and abused my first 38-105 so much that the alignment pins and handle pins loosened and eventually fell out. I bought another, but it gave me alignment problems from new, so I drilled a hole and fitted a conventional alignment pin. I haven't yet decided to buy a 6 cavity 38-105, but if it shoots in my 1894c, I may.

  5. #25
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cloudpeak View Post
    ...I can't imagine casting with a two cavity mold, though... if you placed the mold halves on a flat surface when closing it and held the handles tightly, it dropped pretty danged good (and accurate bullets)...
    That is good advice for using the Lee two cavity and keeping it good for a long time. They may be cheap and of "iffy" construction but if treated well, they will cast good bullets for a long time.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cloudpeak View Post
    ... But that experience is when I decided that, for handgun bullets, I'd never go below 4 cavity capacity I'm not getting any younger and don't want to spend time with a 2 cavity!...
    For many years, prior to getting 6 cavity molds, I fed a PPC competition habit with three Lee 358-148 WC molds. Used in succession, they cast a pile of boolits quickly and really emptied the pots. Up to the 25 yards, I used them interchangably. At the 50 yard line, I used boolets only from one mold. For me it worked great.

    I am still not sure the six cavity is any faster. More convenient, oh yeah, much more convenient!
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  6. #26
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    I broke out my modified 2 cavity and cast up a few. Later, I dug out the little Lyman 115gr(?) SWC and cast some of those as well. I'll load 'em and see if my Marlins like either of them. The Lyman has a slightly longer bearing surface and wider meplat.

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by StrawHat View Post
    I am still not sure the six cavity is any faster. More convenient, oh yeah, much more convenient!
    Well I cant speak for the Lee six-bangers, but I know the step up to Lyman 4-cavs for me was a HUGE step up in production speed. Until you look up at the level in the pot and realize your on E...
    JDGabbard's Feedback Thread

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  8. #28
    Boolit Mold baladel45's Avatar
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    Thumbs up

    I read in a French magazine that this bullet can be used to make 9 mm Luger precision loads with great success in conjunction with VV N-340 powder

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by baladel45 View Post
    I read in a French magazine that this bullet can be used to make 9 mm Luger precision loads with great success in conjunction with VV N-340 powder
    Great minds think alike. I just returned to this thread to ask if this might make a good .357 Sig boolit if it were sized to .356?

    I just bought this mould from Mid-South, so I guess I'll find out soon enough.

  10. #30
    Boolit Master Whistler's Avatar
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    Same here, I'm planning to buy the 6-cav 105gn SWC and use it in my 9mm 1911.
    From what I've heard, this bullet works best sized .358 when using it in 9x19 casings. Some people don't size it at all.

    If anyone has load data with recommended OAL and powder charge for this bullet in 9x19 I would be grateful to take part of it.

  11. #31
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    .............I have a Lee 6x coming from Midway for their 125gr RF withthe idea of trying it in my Witness 38 Super. Should have also ordered one for this 105 gr SWC too. That thing would scoot!

    ................Buckshot
    Father Grand Caster watches over you my brother. Go now and pour yourself a hot one. May the Sacred Silver Stream be with you always

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  12. #32
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    I'd not size that .357 Sig boolit down to .356 with more info. If it is like the 9mm Para (and I imagine it
    is worse due to high velocity) it will need to be bore +.001 or more. Be sure you slug your
    bore before you select a size - 9mm Para's are nortorious for needing larger diameter than
    .335 or .356 that the j-bullets come in. Many 9mm Para's have .357 bores and need .358 boolits to
    work properly; shoot accurately and not lead.

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    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

  13. #33
    Boolit Master

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    358 would prolly be just about perfect for the 357SIG round. The kicker would be the OAL. The SIG round requires a very short ogived bullet in order to have proper neck tension on the boolit and still have enough of a grip on it. I actually have the Lee 125gr RNFP that I have considered putting in my 357SIG. I might mock that up tonight and I will let ya know..
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  14. #34
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    I use that bullet in all my 38's and 357's, and 9mm's. Shoots llike a dream in all of then with either Bullseye , W231, or 700X. LLA or Felix works well as a lube also. Accurate as all get out and little if any leading. Out of my new 1894 CS 357 the first five shots out of the box went through the same hole off a good bench rest at fifty yards. Did that one with 700X powder. Size them to .357 for the Kimber 9mm, don't size them for anything else. Mine come out of the mold at .3595".
    Lost in Penn's Woods.

  15. #35
    Boolit Buddy
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    This is one of the best posts I have read to date, Thanks Ben. I have similar Marlin and with the peep sights it shoots fantastic with the lyman 358156 but the snubbies don't care for them very much. Has anyone tried them with PC?

  16. #36
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    Now to load up

    Got Lee 105 gr mold in and cast between 15 and 20 lbs worth. Have one good batch PCed and sized ready to load. Just looking for a good load using ww231 to see if it will work. Hope to load and try this weekend if not raining, maybe even if it is like last weekend.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Lee 105s.jpg  

  17. #37
    Boolit Buddy Ateam's Avatar
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    I shoot 4.5g 231 in the 357 with that boolit. 4.1 in the 38 if i remember correctly, check that one though as I have not loaded 38 in a long time.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

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