Lee 2 cavity 175 .401 mold question from a newb

[PBblaster]

I recently decided to cast my own boolits, I purchased a lee 2 cavity 175 .401 mold. My first casting session was last night after receiving, cleaning and brining my mold up to temperature. Once I established a decent technique i was getting well formed boolits and was happy with my progress. Once my session was complete I weighed a good sampling of my new boolits, they all came in at 185 grains and my diameter is closer to .405 then .401. I did not purchase the sizer considering much of what I read stated the lee mould may eliminate the need to size. I seated a few of the new boolits and they will not chamber in my pistol, I will obviously need to size. Would the Lee sizing die be a good option to help correct at least the diameter issue?

This is a really great forum, thanks to all who make most of the trial and error easier for new casters.

[RobsTV]

Welcome to the forum.

That size and weight is normal with many alloys, and many stock pistols will not chamber much above .402. Yes, the Lee sizer will get you down to around .401 and works great. You still might need to do a few things afterward, but this is a good start (after slugging bore). Search .401 for more issues that might pop up with that caliber in pistols.

[popper]

I have the TL and standard groove moulds. Works fine using the Lee sizer. TL with recluse and shoot.

[PBblaster]

Thank you very much for your responses, I have slugged the barrel and I am at .40 per my calipers. The lands and grooves are difficult to get an accurate measurement with calipers, I will measure with micrometers and possibly the CMM once I return to work. Do you think the current size I am casting will be O.K. to run the rest of my alloy and size later or should I stop production until I get the Lee sizing die?

Once again I thank you for your knowledge.

[Casting_40S&W]

I would run the loaded rounds thru a Carbide Factory Crimp die, this will post size your brass/bullet to work in a standard SAAMI chamber. I do this with my Lee TL bullets.

[PBblaster]

I do have the FCD as well as the bulge buster I use for range pick ups. Would there be any benefit of using the bulge buster in the FCD or should I just run them through the FCD? I do appreciate your advice, thank you.

[Casting_40S&W]

Run the loaded rounds thru your bulge buster, and report back with any chambering problems. The Bulge buster will post size the entire cartridge, while the FCD will post size as far as the shellholder will permit.

[garym1a2]

I tried buldge buster when I first started for glock 22 in 40. It did not work for me. Only thing that works for me is to buldge buster on the brass. Size the case and prime them seperatly and size the boolit befor loading it. Once I have done that I still drop test the rounds before using them. I only use the old style crimp die, not the lee factory drimp die.

My glock has ran 100% good with this for over the last 15 months of USPSA events and lots of practice.

[MT Chambers]

Do it right and get yourself a lube-sizer, so you can size and lube at the same time, cookie sheets and wax paper gets old real quick.

[9.3X62AL]

What MT Chambers said. Not only does the wax paper bit get old quick, the lube-sizer route allows you to go past pistol-only mild-to-moderate pressures and velocities.

[saint_iverson]

Ok, so you cast the boolits up, good start! But since you didn't size, did you use any lube? Although I cannot speak for the 40, I have both the TL and normal lube grooves for my 45acp and size them both through Lee's push through sizer.

Steps:
1. make the 45/45/10 mix as seen on the forum
2. using a sparing amount of lube and let dry
3. push through size
4. re-lube and let dry
5. load
6. shoot
7. (longest step) recover brass from the grass

[saint_iverson]

To piggy back off of the recommendations from 9.3 and Chambers, they are right in sayin that the TL lube will not support the higher pressures. However, to keep your setup conservative to begin with, I still recommend the TL and Lee Lube Sizer. ESPECIALLY for the 40cal... Not often you will be developing a hot round in that particular sizer .40*". Therefore, the cost of the size and top punch, you have the same cost as the Lee anyways (~$16-18), and you didn't have to buy the $150- lube press and pony up for a lube heater.

[PBblaster]

Thanks to all who have responed, here is where I am with my progress.

1. Tried the buldge buster and it is not going to work, the sleeve is a larger diameter than the boolits.
2. Used the FCD ( set up per Lee instructions) and did get the rounds to chamber.
3. Pulled the barrel and checked the rounds, they slide in but do not fall out on under their own weight. If I lightly shake the barrel the round will fall out. I gave the FCD another .25 turn and the round falls out when I turn the barrel upside down.
4. I have some lube I made 50/50 paraffin,vaseline.

I will more than likely not shoot over 900fps and I use HP38 as my light IDPA load. My completed round dimension per my calipers is
.423 and my chamber measures .426, Will this be o.k to shoot or should wait and put them through the sizer?

Once again many thanks!!

[lonewelder]

I think first I would give lee a call.The last 2 dc lee molds I got had size problems.I have a 6 cav 175tl that works fine as cast.

[RobsTV]

Couple things not yet mentioned are the gun make/model and the cartridge OAL. Some, like S&W, will usually require additional steps to properly chamber a cast lead .40. Get the $15 Lee .401 sizer and lube kit. The FCD should not normally be used as a cure for lead. Unless of course all you wish for is the round to fit, and could care less about accuracy or leading.

Just did the $15 throating reamer rental on my S&W and finally cured the chambering issues. (thanks to tips posted by geargnasher)

Pan lubing is not so bad. This thread had me spend some more time doing additional research on lube sizers again. The cheap lubesizer route will run you a minimum of $180 (4500 heated w/GC, die, punch, C&R price) to get started with one caliber. That will also be slower than the $15 Lee sizer (according to some that use LLA method with sizer, and no longer use their lubesizer due to being too slow). I can size, pan lube with Carnauba Red, and cookie cut about 50 boolits every 15 to 20 minutes (includes heating and cooling time) using Lee sizer. Could do much faster with 2 pans running if I needed to, but the rate I do them at, 150 to 250 per sitting, is fast enough for me. When I use LLA, 200 sized rounds in a Ziploc bag are done in minutes.

[PBblaster]

Thanks again, I will call Lee about the mold and also purchase the Lee sizer. The primary goal is to cast and reload my own boolits for a S&W M&P 40 PRO (5" barrel).

[RobsTV]

The S&W's have an edge in the throat that boolits will catch on, making it hard to chamber and shaving lead when fired. Sizing the boolit down with heavy crimp, FCD or bulge buster to clear this edge will cause boolit to be too small for bore, resulting in poor accuracy and severe leading.

Here was a thread that mentions it, as well as shows photo of the chamber and throat.:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-Bore-Diameter

[saint_iverson]

Robs- good call, never heard of this issue before but these pieces aren't my flavor. I would agree with you 100%, what is S&W hoping to achieve with this lip??

[PBblaster]

Thanks for the information on the Smiths, I ordered the sizing die and will try a few to see if I experience leading. I will check my diameters before and after sizing and crimping to see where my end diameter will be. I have never shot anything but commercial cast lead from my M&Ps 15 BHN and sized to .401. I hope my casting project shows good reults, I am hooked on the hobby and would hate to have a set back. My original thoughts were to cast so I can shoot cheaper and learn something new, now I enjoy casting as much as shooting........

[rsrocket1]

Hello PBblaster and welcome. I have been casting the Lee 401-175-TC for about a year now and have cast and shot about 5000 of these through my M&P40 FS.
Have you measured the diameters along the seam and 90 degrees across the seams? If they are considerably larger across the seam, you should check for lead or other debris on the faces of the mold that touch each other.

I have a 6 cavity mold and the boolits drop out at .4015-.403 depending on the mix of alloy. Lately, I've been using a much higher concentration of pure lead and when using the sizer, I get very little resistance as the boolits go through, but they do get swaged down a tiny bit.

I orignially did what you did and bought the mold without the sizer. My first casts were with wheel weights/linotype which were way overkill (BHN18), but I go the ingots cheap and couldn't find any other lead sources. The boolits came out mostly on the .403 size. I like to load to 1.135" and that left 0.05" of the vertical part of the bullet sticking out of the case. The bullets met with resistance when closing the slide and some rounds needed the slide pushed in with both thumbs to close. Not wanting to shave lead in the chamber, I made some rounds where the cone seated flush with the case mouth (1.102" COL)and following a run through the FCD (crimp stem all the way up with no crimp action), the bullets fed and chambered with ease. A starting charge of 4.0g Bullseye ran these bullets great at 875fps. I worked this load up to 4.9g while waiting for the sizer to come in and got them up to 1000 fps with no problems.

I have since then sized all of the 401-175TC casts and tumble lubed them in Recluse's 45/45/10 formula and now seat them to 1.135"

If you shoot a lot of these, consider the 6 cavity mold and a Lee 4-20 bottom pour spout. I average 5-600/hour and a quick session can yield a lot of good bullets.