Tl256-50-rf

[rmatchell]

I picked up this mold from the closeout section on Lee's site and haven't had much luck with it. I use coww with tin added I would say my cull rate is about 60%. I might just be to picky. Anybody else use this mold?

[HORNET]

That's not very much lead going into the blocks to heat them each cycle. You might want to look into getting a hot plate to preheat the mold to ~400° and then cast fast. Is this a 2 cavity or a 6 banger? IIRC, that was a Ranch Dog design for the .25 ACP. You probably ought to check the diameters regarding your intended usage.

[rmatchell]

It is the 6 cavity, and I use a hotplate. I have loaded anything yet still have to slug the barrel and get the sizing die. I can get the nose to fill out almost always. Just have a hard time getting a good base and lube groves.

[runfiverun]

for the short stubby boolits i like to hit the edge of the sprew divot and let the alloy swirl in the holes.
or let it run in from the front as i move the mold along the bottom pour.
making sure i get a lot of alloy on the sprue plate itself.
this lets air escape and also heats the sprue cutter up, helping the bottom of the mold fill better.
i can then adjust how much i get on the plate as i go.

[evan price]

I bought the same mold, it drops too big for the 25 auto which is what I wanted it for. I figure for a 25-20 or a gallery load for 25-06 or something it might work better.

You need to get the mold very hot and drop very hot lead to get it to cast anything acceptable. There's not enough lead in the mold to get it up to temp and hold it there.

[rbuck351]

I also bought that same mold. It said it cast oversize at .258 and it does. I am getting maybe 70% good bullets by preheating it with a propane tourch and casting fast with hot WW. I bought it to use for my 25/20 and my 256Win but I can't get it to shoot well at all whether fast or slow. I have an old Swag-O-Matic and have made a .2595 die for it. It swages the boolit into a straight sided thing with a rounded top. I have yet to shoot these. I also inserted gas checks on some to see what affect that has. I think the sides of the boolit are just too short to work in anything for accuracy.
Is anyone getting any accuracy with this thing in 25/20 or 256Win?

[Poygan]

I bought a two cavity mold from Ranch Dog on Ebay. No problems casting but I sized at .252 for the first reloading and had excessive leading. The second batch will be tested today but I dipped them in alox and loaded without sizing. The .252 sizing almost totally eliminated the lube grooves with the tumble lube design which I suspect gave the leading.

[9.3X62AL]

No experience with this mould in particular, but the Lyman #257420 (FN, GC, 72 grainer) needs heat to produce decent boolits. Mine is the 2-cavity steel-block, and both pre-heating and hot alloy are aggravation-reducers.

[rmatchell]

I tried some new alloy I got from Graffs last time I drove up there I think it is 16/1. Cast about 30 or so then added about half a pound of 60/40. After letting it heat up again they started coming out good.

[Poygan]

The boolits dipped in alox and loaded without sizing worked much better. Minimal leading with WWs. So, this boolit works well in my Beretta 950. YMMV,