Lee mold for 45/70

[brstevns]

I am sure this has been asked before but what is your favorite Lee mold for the 45/70. This would be for a marlin 1895GG. If you seen some of my post I have tired to find a Lyman 462560 mold with no luck , so asked about using the lee 500gr. Seems this bullet is to long for feeding. I already have a Lee 340gr but was looking for something heavier. What about the lee 405 HB or their 450 gr.

[44wcf]

I realize you are asking about the Lee mold, but I am going to throw this out anyway.
I have the Magma engineering 405 bevel base double cavity and it is great in my marlin lever gun.
Sure the Magma costs more (alot more) but it will last 2 or 3 life times where the Lee
maybe a year or 2.
And I do use a lot of Lee molds. This is just something to think about.
If you want I could send you a few made from the Magma mold?
44wcf

[stubshaft]

I don't use Lee molds for my 45/70's. I shoot the RCBS 405 or the RD 425.

[calkar]

I have been shooting all three cowboy silhouette games for six years now. Mostly useing lee molds (six and two cavity) .357, .30, and .44 cals. they have molded many thousand boolits and are just as good if not better than day one. Its all in how you treat them.

[45-70 Chevroner]

I hope I don't rinkle any foreheads here, as for 44wcf's statement about the Lee molds lasting only a year or two is false. I have a number of Lee molds and some of them are at least 25 years old and I have cast 1000's upon 1000's of boolits with each of them. I have a six cavity mold in 45 caliber that I use for the cowboy shoots and I know that I have cast at least 15,000 boolits with it. I am quite sure that my lyman molds will out last the lee molds but I would not bet money on it. If you are hard on molds none of them will last very long.

[MikeS]

Considering that Lee moulds are made from a softer alloy of aluminum than is used by most of the custom mould makers, and that aluminum in general is softer than iron/steel/brass, it only stands to reason that if you treat your moulds rough in general (but well within what an iron/steel/brass mould can handle) that the Lee moulds won't hold up. However if you treat them right there's no reason they can't last a long time. And the best thing about Lee moulds, if it doesn't last as long as you expected, you can buy another one cheap enough! In fact if you still have the old worn out one, you can send it back to Lee (assuming they still make the design), and get a new one for half price! But even that offer has it's limitations, the half off is off of Lee's price, which is full retail, and often places like Midsouth/Midway/Grafs sells them much cheaper, so it might pay to just get another one from one of the online sellers.

[mpmarty]

I've used LEE molds since the early seventies and have cast thousands of boolits in them. I've never worn one out. The best for my 45/70 seems to be the Ranch Dog designs made by LEE in both 425 and 350 grains.

[nanuk]

pm sent

[Tatume]

Like several others who responded, I've been using Lee molds for many years now and they continue to perform well. For the Marlin Guide Gun I highly recommend the Lee 457-405-F. The bullets are medium heavy, and shoot very accurately. Lee molds are the best bargain in the bullet-casting industry.

[10x]

Like several others who responded, I've been using Lee molds for many years now and they continue to perform well. For the Marlin Guide Gun I highly recommend the Lee 457-405-F. The bullets are medium heavy, and shoot very accurately. Lee molds are the best bargain in the bullet-casting industry.

It seems that when you buy a specific mold from lee now the bullet cast will be very close to the lee mold you bought in 1971 - unlike some of the molds produced over the years by other companies.

[fredj338]

I tried the 340gr in my GG, feeds fine, but couldn't really get it to shoot well. I had better luck w/ the RCBS 325gr (casts closer to 340gr). It may be a sizing issue for me, the Lee casts a bit small so beagling is in order & another test.

[btroj]

Lee mould + Marlin 45-70 = Ranch Dog.

The 350 and 425 are both very good bullets. I size mine in my Star and they come out fine. You would have to look long and hard to find a reason not to use one of them.

[725]

+1 for Ranch Dog. By far the best.

[Longwood]

I tried the 340gr in my GG, feeds fine, but couldn't really get it to shoot well. I had better luck w/ the RCBS 325gr (casts closer to 340gr). It may be a sizing issue for me, the Lee casts a bit small so beagling is in order & another test.


I Have been casting bullet for over 30 year and lapping for even more.

I have never heard the word "Beagling" before coming on this site.

It is not in my Webster's.

Why do people here use this confusing word and, again, why?

[Keyston44]

I really like the Lee 457-405-F. They drop at 459 and shoot great out of my Guide Gun. For $20 I don't think you can beat it.
I also use the Ranch Dog 425-460 but this isn't a $20 mold.

Key

[btroj]

I Have been casting bullet for over 30 year and lapping for even more.

I have never heard the word "Beagling" before coming on this site.

It is not in my Webster's.

Why do people here use this confusing word and, again, why?

Beagling is called tha because the idea was "perfected" , tested, and proven by a member here who happen to use the handle BEAGLE. Hence, beagling.

I was skeptical of this when I first heard of it but it works. Quite well too.

[Grandpas50AE]

To the OP, I have a Marlin 1895 made in the late 60's early seventies (low serial number) from shortly after they started making 1895's again. I never did find a 500gr. boolit it would stabilize well, J or cast, but anything around 400gr. seemed to work really well. I have done some very nice shooting with it, and my older brother has shot many cloverleafs at 100 yds with it using both cast and J boolits in that weight range. At 100 yards, the 400gr. boolits will cloverleaf, the 500's will tumble every time regardless of light or heavy load.

To be fair, the newer guns may have a different twist rate, but mine will not shoot 500gr. + worth a poot.

[1Shirt]

Have shot all sorts of weights, and in general find the 385-405 to be the best all around weights. Do have the lee 340 gr. and it is an eas cast, and is a good plinker blt. For that matter, so is a single round ball and they are cheap to shoot w/no recoil to speak of and over just a few grains of unique.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[brstevns]

Thanks to (nanuk) I have a Lyman 462560 coming my way. Has anyone loaded this bullet for the marlin GG?

[45-70 Chevroner]

According to the Lyman listing and thier Mold numbers, The 462560 # may be a little to large in diameter. The first three numbers indicate the diameter of the as cast boolit. The actual diameter will depend on your alloy. I have several Lyman Molds in 45-70 and with WW and 1% tin will usually drop at .459 from any one of them. All of my 45-70 molds start with the number 457. I can't find that number (462560) in any of my catalogs or on the internet. That number must be an old out dated number or I'm just not finding it.

[stubert]

That mold 462560 is going to be tooooo long for a Marlin.

[brstevns]

That mold 462560 is going to be tooooo long for a Marlin.

Not if seated deep

[nanuk]

and perhaps sized a bit....

it was designed for the .458WinMag, which I have never heard anyone say had a large bore/groove diameter...

You'll just have to see what it drops at. I never did cast from it.

if it bulges the case too much when seated deep, maybe you can load it backwards for a HUGE wadcutter....

[brstevns]

and perhaps sized a bit....

it was designed for the .458WinMag, which I have never heard anyone say had a large bore/groove diameter...

You'll just have to see what it drops at. I never did cast from it.

if it bulges the case too much when seated deep, maybe you can load it backwards for a HUGE wadcutter....

Hi nanuk, thanks again. we will both see how it works.