new lee 380 boolit

[enoch59]

How are you guys lubing these bullets ? I use a LAM11 and they didn't seem to hold much lubricant in the grooves. I also have a slight problem with the pins that hold the mold onto the handles. One side pin was slightly protruding on the mold itself with an ever so slight crack. I called Lee and the tech told me that it shouldn't be a problem. After molding over one thousand bullets in the past week or so I noticed that the handles were kinda weak and that once hot started to weep a bit. All I had to do was just push down on the mold when I was done to straighten it out again. Lastly I am getting about one in every six or eight units that have some over pour on the base to the point that they wont fit into my .355 sizer die. I did come up with a system to lube these critters. Here's what it looks like. I mounted a straight edge from an old tri-square to the right of my LAM which I use to clean off the lube from bottom of the bullets and two old wire brushes mounted vertically to clean the tools that I use to keep the base of the sizer die clean from lube seeping in. I then double dip the bullets into the sizer with a five count per dip which loads up the lube to the point that it almost smears from one groove to the other. I wish they would have just one large lube groove. I'm sending mine back to Lee and asking if they can do that because I'm not set up with Alox and I'm not wanting to either. It sounds like a pain to deal with a multi-day system. Anyway by keeping my lube just so in warmth I was able to get a good lube joint to the bullets and they shoot great. Hi-Velocity gave me his formula for loading them and it works like a charm. They are down right tack drivers. I'm getting great results out to 25 yards. My only problem now is where in the heck can I get some Win 231 ?

[Garyshome]

Dog gone it. Now I have to get one too!

[GabbyM]

Well enoch59:

First don’t worry about having enough lube.
Second a .355” size die is on the small side. Being the jacketed bullet diameter. It will work with a proper sized 9mm bore. I size all my 9mm to .357” and the sloppy chambers my pistols have chamber them easily. Larger die would reduce he amount of sizing you are doing. But you’ll also get more smoke at firing line as the extra diameter of lube will be squeezed out then purged and turned into smoke. But so what. If they are working for you I’d say not to overly complicate your life with change.

On your lube sizer routine. You lost me a bit. With the push pull sizers. It’s always a balancing act between lube heat/viscosity/pressure applied on the lube screw. Having a dell time at the bottom of the stoke is something I’ve never tried. Have tried double stroking and that about always results in lube under the bullet. I’d suggest deleting the dwell time and double stroke then play with setting heat and lube pressure to get a fast one stroke fill.

[GabbyM]

This is a great 9mm bullet. It's a Ranch Dog improvement over the Lyman 100 grain TCFP.
I sent in some samples of my bullets from the rare Lyman mold to a fellow we finally had to just toss out of here since he was such a jerk. But we had some copy molds made. Ranch Dog improved upon the design. Some fluke with the Lyman design is they had a tendency to form air pockets. Mine works after I converted it to a machine caste mold. This new RD shape is high end stuff. Lee picked it up and we are lucky for that. Shallow lube groves are not a bad thing. There's plenty of grease. Mold fill out is easier. Stability is better as more bullet weight is on the outside edge.

I wrote a few stories on how the Federal 100 gain TCFP soft nose as used by the ISP was what got the super 9 stared in law enforcement. I personally prefer the 124gr TCFP in a 9x19. However the 100 grain TCFP s used by the Illinois State Police is what put the 9x19 on the map. Then after adoption the idiots loaded a 147 grain bullet then declared the round inadequate. suppose if they'd of received a 7.62mm NATO round after half century of success they'd of loaded a 250 grain bullet then determined the round unusable.

TCFP punches twice the size hole in clay as a RN. It's all you need. No hollow point required unless you want to have piss poor penetration.

[enoch59]

Well enoch59:

First don’t worry about having enough lube.
Second a .355” size die is on the small side. Being the jacketed bullet diameter. It will work with a proper sized 9mm bore. I size all my 9mm to .357” and the sloppy chambers my pistols have chamber them easily. Larger die would reduce he amount of sizing you are doing. But you’ll also get more smoke at firing line as the extra diameter of lube will be squeezed out then purged and turned into smoke. But so what. If they are working for you I’d say not to overly complicate your life with change.

On your lube sizer routine. You lost me a bit. With the push pull sizers. It’s always a balancing act between lube heat/viscosity/pressure applied on the lube screw. Having a dell time at the bottom of the stoke is something I’ve never tried. Have tried double stroking and that about always results in lube under the bullet. I’d suggest deleting the dwell time and double stroke then play with setting heat and lube pressure to get a fast one stroke fill.

Thank you so much for the advise. I have both a 356 and 357 sizer dies so I'll give the 357 a try and see what happens. I've been toying with an idea of putting a small plate between my Lyman Heater and the press to cool down the lube. The heater is just way too much so I spend time turning it on and then off looking for that perfect temp that fills groove but doesn't get sloppy. I sure appreciate the help. Enoch.

[FergusonTO35]

Just ordered one, gonna give it a try in my 9's. If I'm not mistaken this is a tumble lube design? If it drops at .357 that would be very nice. Also gives me a reason to go buy a new Glock 42- got a new $20.00 mold, might as well throw in a $460.00 pistol to go with it!

[dkf]

Yes tumble lube design.

[gefiltephish]

Thank you so much for the advise. I have both a 356 and 357 sizer dies so I'll give the 357 a try and see what happens. I've been toying with an idea of putting a small plate between my Lyman Heater and the press to cool down the lube. The heater is just way too much so I spend time turning it on and then off looking for that perfect temp that fills groove but doesn't get sloppy. I sure appreciate the help. Enoch.

I have no idea of the draw for a lyman heater but...for my set up I rigged up an electrical box with a receptacle and a dimmer switch. Plugged the heater into the receptacle and control the heat with the dimmer. I'm using a 50w glue on crankcase heater though.

[cattleskinner]

Well I finally shot a fifteen of these through the new glock and there was no leading. If you try to load from a full magazine using the slide release, the slide will hang up on the feed ramp. There was no issues if slingshotting the slide. I only shot them at 7 yds in the barn, but it is still an inch or two groups at that range. The Unique load I used worked well also, a bit of flame out the end of the barrel in low light however. The rifling in the barrel is a bit different than the usual glock, in that the edges if the lands have a sharp line running the length. More shooting to come to test further.

[dkf]

If you have a G42 it has been having issues with the slide hanging up with multiple types of ammo.

[FergusonTO35]

That's good if the 42 has rifling of a more cast boolit friendly style. I have examined a few Glocks that visually appeared to be standard rifling. Does it appear to have good case support around the feed ramp?

[dualsport]

I'm not familiar with the Taurus 380 used in the Ranch Dog load data. I have a Bersa and it loves the original RD design. Very accurate and clean. How does the Bersa compare strength wise with the Taurus? Isn't the Bersa a Walther knock-off?

[zxcvbob]

Where are y'all seeing this new mold on Lee's web site? I sure can't find it! Thanks.

http://leeprecision.com/bullet-casti...mold-6-cavity/

[dkf]

zxcvbob, it is under "2014 New Products".

http://leeprecision.com/2014-new-products/

I'm not familiar with the Taurus 380 used in the Ranch Dog load data. I have a Bersa and it loves the original RD design. Very accurate and clean. How does the Bersa compare strength wise with the Taurus? Isn't the Bersa a Walther knock-off?

The taurus TCP is similar to the Ruger LCP. The Bersa is similar to the Walther.

[zxcvbob]

Thanks, that does look like a good one. Very similar to the Winchester White Box ammo that i like to carry (when I carry a .380 instead of a .38 Special)

[enoch59]

I've shot a few hundred of these Lee 95gr.bullets since I got the mold a few weeks ago. I am shooting them in my Iver Pony in .380 with a load of 3.2gr,.of Win 231. This load was offered to me by Hi-Velocity ( thank you John ) and shoots perfectly. The second is in my CZ PO-1 in 9mm with a load of 4.1gr. of Bullseye and is equally as accurate as the .380 load. I'm using Bullseye instead of Win 231 in the 9mm cause I have several more pounds of it and I am just about out of the 231. I tried using several different powders in each caliber and different weights before coming to these conclusions. Both of these loads are well within limits of the load books and are safe in my weapons and should be safe in others (I am not guaranteeing anything). This bullet is now the only one I am using in my 380 loads and will be my mainstay in 9mm too. I sure wish I had bought a six gang mold instead of a two but hey I can get one another time when I have the dough. I wanted to offer these loads to all of you for helping me so much as a new member.Enoch.

[gefiltephish]

I bought this mold when it first came out from Lee (dkf's suggestion). I got it for my wife's Sig 238. To make a long story short, I've been having feeding problems with this bullet in this gun. But then, so far this gun doesn't like anything that is not ball. Over the past 2 months or so I've tried numerous adjustments to get it to work, but so far it's not going so well. First I had sized 'em to .358, then to .357. All drop test just fine. Now I have some made up @ .356 but haven't gotten to the range the last 2 weeks. The .356 SEEMS to work better by hand, but I will try to confirm this at the range this weekend. I"m trying to get this to work with PC, but plain cast seems to feed slightly better than PC'd.

I suspect the problem is really the very anemic OEM recoil spring. That weak spring may be great for the lady's and ball ammo, but I fully expect this sucker to eat the bullets I make for it. I contacted Wolff about stronger spring(s) and they said they plan to do so, but it is not currently on the schedule. Ugh. If others who have this gun would like a stronger spring, I suggest pestering Wolff about it asap. BTW, a 938 spring has a smaller id and won't fit over the 238's guide rod.

[enoch59]

I have no idea of the draw for a lyman heater but...for my set up I rigged up an electrical box with a receptacle and a dimmer switch. Plugged the heater into the receptacle and control the heat with the dimmer. I'm using a 50w glue on crankcase heater though.

gelfiltephish, I've been chewing on your idea of using a dimmer to help control heat to my Lyman heater. I found myself at a second hand tool supply today and I picked up a Skylark S-600P slide dimmer with on/off switch ( 600 W Max 120 VAC, 60 Hz-5A ). It has two wire leads one hot and one neutral. Can you tell me if this is sufficient for use in this application and if so can you make a suggestion to me as to how I might wire it ? I've been in the building field for a very long time but never in the electrical side of it. Any help would surely be appreciated. Thank you, Enoch. PS. What is 50W glue ?

[gefiltephish]

gelfiltephish, I've been chewing on your idea of using a dimmer to help control heat to my Lyman heater. I found myself at a second hand tool supply today and I picked up a Skylark S-600P slide dimmer with on/off switch ( 600 W Max 120 VAC, 60 Hz-5A ). It has two wire leads one hot and one neutral. Can you tell me if this is sufficient for use in this application and if so can you make a suggestion to me as to how I might wire it ? I've been in the building field for a very long time but never in the electrical side of it. Any help would surely be appreciated. Thank you, Enoch. PS. What is 50W glue ?

Sounds about right to me, but I'm not an electrician. As I pointed out, I'm not familiar with the Lyman heater so don't know how many watts, but I doubt it's over 600.

Read it like this: ...50w(att) glue-on crankcase heater... I got this one, but I don't recall paying that rediculous amount for shipping! More likely I ordered a bunch of stuff together and got free shipping. I stuck it to 1/2" steel plate 'cause that's what I had on hand. Works great.

[enoch59]

Sounds about right to me, but I'm not an electrician. As I pointed out, I'm not familiar with the Lyman heater so don't know how many watts, but I doubt it's over 600.

Read it like this: ...50w(att) glue-on crankcase heater... I got this one, but I don't recall paying that rediculous amount for shipping! More likely I ordered a bunch of stuff together and got free shipping. I stuck it to 1/2" steel plate 'cause that's what I had on hand. Works great.

10/4, I understand. Thank you ! Enoch.