Lee .45 ACP boolits

[prickett]

Has anyone shot either the LEE 228 gr RN or LEE 230 gr TC in a Springfield XD and/or CZ97? I'm having a tough time finding a boolit that both guns like. I've tried the LEE 200 gr designs w/o much luck (neither like the SWC and the CZ jams with the too short RNFP).

I'm thinking the longer length of the 228/230 gr boolits will be better appreciated by the CZ. Can someone tell me the height of the driving bands of both the 228/230 gr boolits, as well as their overall height?

TIA

[geargnasher]

XD hates the 228-1R, throat virtually nonexistent, have to seat WAY deep in the case to make them chamber, then they don't want to feed. Basic problem is the nose base is too fat.

Same issue with 1911-style, but more of a feeding issue due to necessary short OAL to fit the fat nose in the mag, sometimes it jams against the hood halfway to battery. The other issue, and maybe a bigger one with 1911s is the fat nose base can prematurely trip the slide lock lever.

I have found the Lee 230 TC (NOT the TL version) to be a good general performer, easy to cast and load, and reliable in many guns, but it is not the most accurate. Since Lee didn't make a boolit design that I thought would work the best, I came up with my own ideas and, of course, I think it IS the best all-around .45 ACP autopistol boolit design. Interestingly, and unexpectedly, all the guns I've fired it in seem to agree, by a wide margin.

ACCURATEMOLDS 45-230L. I ordered mine .453" with Wheel Weights in brass and it casts .4535" light frost, .4543" shiny.
http://www.accuratemolds.com/img/bullets/detail/45-230L-D.png

Just my opinion and that of my particular guns, worth exactly what you paid for it!

Gear

[mpmarty]

I switched from the H&G 200 gr semi wad cutter to the lee 230gr TC tumble lube and it works just fine in my XD and in my Witness and 1911s as well. Make sure to seat it deep enough to chamber in the XD as mine had a short chamber and no leade at all.

[RobS]

The TC will work well in the XD and is a boolit I used for a very long time. The 228-1R does have a fat ogive which does have issues with the short XD throats. I loaded the 1R and it can be made to cycle without a hitch but the TC boolit was more accurate for my XD.

[tayous1]

I just bought the Lee 230 TL with OAL do you need to put these at to work in the XD?

[cheese1566]

I have the 230-TC in the lee. My basic Norinco 1911 45acp loves them as well as my brother-in-laws standard Glock. Never had a problem feeding in them and accuracy is good for 25 yard plinking, practice, steel, and bowling pins.

If you wish, I can send some samples. PM me if so.

[pdawg_shooter]

I use the TC/TL in all my ACPs, 3 Colts and 1 Sig. Works good in all of them. With my alloy the bullet drops right on .452 and 240gr. Not a typo, 240gr. but thats OK with me. I like heavy for caliber bullets. Load them over 8.3gr AA#5, same load for all my guns.

[RobS]

I just bought the Lee 230 TL with OAL do you need to put these at to work in the XD?

If you mean the Lee 230 grain TC TL design, there is also the Lee 230 grain RN TL design, I was loading the TC at 1.20" IIRC and sized at .452. Sizing them makes a difference as they'll go further into the short throat of the XD barrel vs an unsized (larger diameter) boolit. If unsized then I had to make sure to seat the booliits just at the shoulder of the ogive and front drive band (a slight bit shorter COAL) to ensure reliable feeding. Even though the mold drops boolits at let's say .452 not every one of them will be and the occasional one that is just .001 larger can give you problems.

[fredj338]

I just bought the Lee 230 TL with OAL do you need to put these at to work in the XD?
The XD hates the SWC design. My TAC will feed anything else though; TC, RN, RNFP. It will feed the Lee228 @ 1.230", your bbl may vary, just reduce your powder charge 0.1gr if you were loading to 1.250", gives about the same vel/pressure.

[Swede44mag]

I use the Lyman 4-Cavity Bullet Mold #452374 45 Caliber (452 Diameter) 225 Grain Round Nose Product #: 204749 Manufacturer #: 2670374 you can get this from MidwayUSA.

I have found they feed well in all the 1911 .45acp pistols I have had you might give them a try.

[Swede44mag]

XD hates the 228-1R, throat virtually nonexistent, have to seat WAY deep in the case to make them chamber, then they don't want to feed. Basic problem is the nose base is too fat.

Same issue with 1911-style, but more of a feeding issue due to necessary short OAL to fit the fat nose in the mag, sometimes it jams against the hood halfway to battery. The other issue, and maybe a bigger one with 1911s is the fat nose base can prematurely trip the slide lock lever.

I have found the Lee 230 TC (NOT the TL version) to be a good general performer, easy to cast and load, and reliable in many guns, but it is not the most accurate. Since Lee didn't make a boolit design that I thought would work the best, I came up with my own ideas and, of course, I think it IS the best all-around .45 ACP autopistol boolit design. Interestingly, and unexpectedly, all the guns I've fired it in seem to agree, by a wide margin.

ACCURATEMOLDS 45-230L. I ordered mine .453" with Wheel Weights in brass and it casts .4535" light frost, .4543" shiny.
http://www.accuratemolds.com/img/bullets/detail/45-230L-D.png

Just my opinion and that of my particular guns, worth exactly what you paid for it!

Gear

geargnasher: Good looking boolit if I get another 1911 I may have to have one made.

[Doby45]

Gear I bet you coulda got that one made as a nose pour. THAT would be awesome..

[tayous1]

OK thanks I think I miss read what mold I ordered it is

LEE MOLD 6 CAV TL452-230-2R. This should be good with the XD right?

[prickett]

Thanks for the replies guys! I do believe you saved me heaps of trouble trying to get the 230 RN to function. Sounds like the TC is the way to go.

Now I just need to decide between the TL and the conventional design.

[prickett]

XD hates the 228-1R, throat virtually nonexistent, have to seat WAY deep in the case to make them chamber, then they don't want to feed. Basic problem is the nose base is too fat.

Same issue with 1911-style, but more of a feeding issue due to necessary short OAL to fit the fat nose in the mag, sometimes it jams against the hood halfway to battery. The other issue, and maybe a bigger one with 1911s is the fat nose base can prematurely trip the slide lock lever.

I have found the Lee 230 TC (NOT the TL version) to be a good general performer, easy to cast and load, and reliable in many guns, but it is not the most accurate. Since Lee didn't make a boolit design that I thought would work the best, I came up with my own ideas and, of course, I think it IS the best all-around .45 ACP autopistol boolit design. Interestingly, and unexpectedly, all the guns I've fired it in seem to agree, by a wide margin.

ACCURATEMOLDS 45-230L. I ordered mine .453" with Wheel Weights in brass and it casts .4535" light frost, .4543" shiny.

Just my opinion and that of my particular guns, worth exactly what you paid for it!

Gear

That's a nice looking design. ALL molds should have a mandatory shoulder between the driving band(s) and ogive. Life would be MUCH simpler for us :-)

[geargnasher]

Gear I bet you coulda got that one made as a nose pour. THAT would be awesome..

Yes, it would be! I don't know if Tom can do nose-pours, especially with that small of a meplat. .180" is the smallest he can go and still get his tools in there (he starts every cavity by punching a .180 hole to the bottom and CNC lathe-bores it out from there), not sure if he can work from the inside out, but I might ask him sometime.

BTW, I based this design on the Lee TL-230-2R which I liked very much and had 100% feeding success in many guns, but not such good success with liquid Alox or 45/45/10 due to the weak driving bands, gas-cutting, etc. I asked Tom to design a similar boolit with two REAL lube grooves, three driving bands and a FLAT BASE, and trim even a bit more off the ogive. The nose profile fits 1911 magazines like a glove when seated to almost flush the top band in the case.

I keep mentioning this design not to brag on myself, but to share that this design happens to be ideally balanced, easy to lube in a base-first sizer (with only one row of holes, plug the rest, center the holes on the middle band and there is plenty of hole overlap to fill both grooves at once and vent air out the top and bottom), is easy to cast well, feeds in everything I've shot it in including Glock, XDM, SA1911, Kimber 1911, Ria 1911, and MP45, and is EXACTLY the correct weight for most stock .45 autos (230 grains on the money with the mould cut to make .453" boolits with wheel-weight alloy).

There are plenty of designs that will work, you just have to find what works for your particular guns, applications, and likes.

Gear

[bigboredad]

save yourself man save yourself ha just kidding go with the conventional lube grooves even if you plan on using LLA. I had the tumble lube version a gave it away here. Before I got a lubing machine the only way to keep it from leading was to pan lube and with a tl bullet that is a total nightmare. If you ever plan to get yourself one of the several types of lubing presses you will be much happier with regular grease grooves on that bullet as well

[pdawg_shooter]

I have 5 TL bullet molds. Lube with 45/45/10 and have no leading problems. This includes full power loads in .357 and 44mag.

[geargnasher]

These last two posts are a perfect example of how what works at your house might not work at mine. It is folly to pronounce the TL mould a bad design, just as it is to say that liquid Alox or concoctions containing it don't work. It all depends on the components uses, the tools used, the gun's personality, and the Human Factor, meaning the nut behind the press handle. I have several guns that HATE tumble lube, but work with TL designs lubed with Felix lube. SOME of those same guns will shoot conventional boolits with 45/45/10, but not all will. It just depends, everyone try to keep an open mind.

Gear