What Size Does a Lee .356 9mm Boolit Mold Drop Your Boolits?

[daddyseal]

Do yours drop them a couple thousands over .356, please?

[Wally]

I have the Lee 120 TC 9mm that I just bought new....357~.3575". Pushing through a .358" sizer die there is just a bit of a drag --it will not fall through. Also have their 102 RN---casts out at .360" with WW metal.

[DeanWinchester]

I have a TC tumble lube 120 that drops .356 dead on but drops 130g with aircooled WW's.

I don't size. Just tumble and load.

[daddyseal]

I have the Lee 120 TC 9mm that I just bought new....357~.3575". Pushing through a .358" sizer die there is just a bit of a drag --it will not fall through. Also have their 102 RN---casts out at .360" with WW metal.

Mine is a Lee 6-Cavity Bullet Mold 356-125-2R 9mm

[fecmech]

I have a 6 cav 120TC that drops .358 with WW+2% sn

[MtGun44]

I have two - double and 6 cav, both drop about .3585 to .359 with wwt alloy.

Bill

[daddyseal]

I have a 6 cav 120TC that drops .358 with WW+2% sn

I'm unable to get ww.
What is sn, please?

I get my lead from shooting range berms...should that be much different?

[H.Callahan]

Sn = Tin

[daddyseal]

Sn = Tin

thanks~

[JIMinPHX]

If you need a mold to drop a few thousandths larger, then look up beagleing here on the board with the search function. It is the practice of putting a small piece of aluminum flue tape between the mold blocks so that they will not close all the way. It works.

It is also possible to make a mold cavity a little bigger by polishing it out. Several methods have been documented here on the board. The most popular seems to be spinning a cast boolit in the cavity with a little fine abrasive paste.

[Larry Gibson]

Mine also drop at .358 - .359 with COWWs + 2 % tin. Plain COWWs can cast .001 - ..2 smaller if the if the alloy has next to no tin in it, if the alloy temp is not hot enough, if the mould is not hot enough, if the fill pressure is to low or slow, if the sprue is not made large enough and if the distance from spout to sprue plate is too great along with a few other essoteric things.

Larry Gibson

[9-toes]

My Lee 356-120 TC drops'em at .358 at 125grains with AC WW.

[MtGun44]

Larry makes a good point. I often ignore the fact that I add some tin as needed for good
fill out, so when I say "AC WWt alloy" it may very well have 1% or so added tin. I'll have
to keep that in mind for future comments that I make.

Bill

[30CAL-TEXAN]

My 6cav 356-125-2R drops .3575-.358 with air cooled range scrap + 1 or 2% tin added. I probably add a little too much tin but they sure do come out with a shine!

I run mine through a .358 die in the lubrisizer.

[fstreed]

I just got a new .356-120-TC double cavity and I just measured a few boolits cast from 9 1/2 pts. WW and 1/2 pt. foundry type, water dropped. They measured .3598 on the bottom band and .360 on the top band. I size to .358 for my Ruger P-85.

This is, incidentally, the ugliest Lee mold I have ever seen out of the box. I was shocked when I first opened it. The sprue plate looks like it was cut with a cold chisel. and the bottom of the blocks look like they were free hand ground by a hung over drunk on Monday morning. But it casts real nice. The boolits are concentric, they drop well from the mold, and all the surfaces that count are well machined. I think I'll keep it.

[338RemUltraMag]

My 6 cavity drops at .360 or .359 but it depends on what cavity I measure

[daddyseal]

My 6 cavity drops at .360 or .359 but it depends on what cavity I measure

Excellent...Thank You, friend~

[daddyseal]

My 6cav 356-125-2R drops .3575-.358 with air cooled range scrap + 1 or 2% tin added. I probably add a little too much tin but they sure do come out with a shine!

I run mine through a .358 die in the lubrisizer.
Thank You, fellow Texan!
That's what I plan to do too~