LEE hollow point

[bishopgrandpa]

LEE's new catalog shows a picture of a hollow point mold and their surplus page shows 14 452-228-1R hollow point molds for $17. Are they going to do HP's now or is this a one shot deal?

[versifier]

They say they're still making them, however, if you try to find any, no one has them. I happen to have one of those moulds and it is a great one. Buy it quickly before someone else does, you will not regret it. (If you buy it and don't like it, PM me, I'll give you what you paid for it - an extra one wouldn't hurt.)

[bishopgrandpa]

Ordered one this morning along with a four hole press for $55. I asked about HP'S and could not get the girl to talk about them. The pix on page 28 of their new catalog shows a different confiquration than the .452 they have on the surplus page. Will have to wait them out I guess.

[Curly James]

I purchased a couple of these molds this week also. The best information I can get from LEE is that they no longer manufacture hp molds and these are probably surplus. I have no experience with a hp mold but have cast LEE hollow base mini balls for my muzzleloaders. I have a 1911 and a S&W 625 revolver and I'm interested in how this boolit will perform in my 45s. Does anybody (Versifier?) have any experience with the Lee style of hp molds and any tips on casting with them? I figure they will have to be ran hot to keep the pin heated up enough to turn out decent boolits. I will keep an eye on the surplus page from now on.

[rebliss]

We had a similar discussion here a few months back about the Lee HP moulds.

I would like to own one if for no other reason than to be able to cast HPs if I so desire. However, I don't have a use for a .45 ACP cast hollow-point; I prefer SWCs for target shooting, and carry only factory ammo for defense. A nice .44mag, .357 mag, or even rifle boolit for hunting would be very useful!

Let us know how they cast when you can!

[txbirdman]

I don't have one of those moulds but have used of that belongs to a friend. I shot it into a 5 gallon bucket of water with a phone book in the bottom using this bullet cast with 50% pure lead 50% wheel weights and it expanded to .90 inches retaining nearly it's entire original weight. I was amazed by the performance. It does however lead a little in my Combat Commander so I use it sparingly.
(Sorry I hit the wrong key, it expanded to a little over .70 inches)

[MacGregor]

try some carnuba red lube on it... I KNOW, it sounds crazy, but it worked WONDERS for my dad's super redhawk...

[versifier]

Curly James,
I use that boolit in two different ways. In my 1911's it gets cast fairly hot of ww with a little 50/50 solder added. Other than running at a slow production rate, it is a great boolit and, as noted, expands very well. I use it in carry loads. I also love this one cast of pure lead and loaded in a sabot in my .54 cal m/l. It is the most accurate sabot-clad boolit/bullet I have ever tried.

rebliss,
There's a .358 SWC GC version that I use in .38's and .357mags cast from ww, again with a tad bit of 50/50 solder added. Good expansion even at low velocities, and great performance and accuracy in really hot loads out of the Contender. I use it for small and medium game and for carry loads. Again, they have a very slow rate of production, but when the temperture is kept up - both pot and mould - there are very few rejects. (With the .45RNHP, there are no rejects at all, even using pure lead.)

I'm very happy with both moulds and I wouldn't think of selling either one.

[Curly James]

My mold arrived several days ago and due to the holiday breaks I managed to cast a few of these Lee hps for my .45s. First off, Versifier, you were right on the money, ran the pot a little hot and once the mold got up to temp they seemed to drop out fine. You do have to take a little more care and attention while casting these, but they look like ( to quote Buckshot) a "very boolity boolit" once lubed and loaded. They weighed out at 215 grains and measured 451 as they fell from the mold. This made the sizing and lubing job a breeze. With my favorite .45 ACP load of 5.5 grains of Unique and a WW LPP with mixed cases, I was able to easily get groups in the 3 to 4 inch range offhand at 20 yards with my Springfield 1911 and in the S&W 625 they would do half that with a bit of a rest. That is beyond my normal abilities and because of that I spent a couple of hours today making another run of these to try and do a little more testing of expansion/penetration abilities.
I have to admit though, using the single cavity mold after making a run of the Lee 358 rnfp in my six cavity mold, was mindbending in the difference. Those HPs just didn't seem to pile up as fast and i felt like I would never get a hundred or so cast up to load and test.
Bishopgrandpa, you had one on the way also, have you had a chance to try it out yet?

[IcerUSA]

Where are you finding these things ? I can't find that one at all :(

[bishopgrandpa]

Lee surplus or "closeout" page and they lasted less than two days. You have to check every day because they are constantly updating what they have.

[bishopgrandpa]

To answer the question - They cast fine and have them lubed and loaded but haven't been to the range yet. Will let you know.

[IcerUSA]

Thanks for the reply, thought I looked yesterday at that page, must have missed it hehe