Lyman #515141 vs. Lee #515-450F Opinions?

[Huvius]

I am looking at grease groove molds that I can use in my 500BPE and 577/500BPE rifles.
Both Lee and Lyman have .50cal molds in the 425-450gr range which look very similar. Lyman 515141 and Lee 515-450F.
I won't be casting a ton of them and I have been happy with the aluminum Lee molds in the past and they have the benefit of being a two cavity mold.

My question is, is there any appreciable difference in the finished bullet to warrant the 3X price premium for the Lyman mold?

[dubber123]

For what it's worth, I have a 50-70 Govt barrel for one of my T/C Contenders. I bought several molds, including some $140 each 2 cavity ones. The LEE 450 gr. will outshoot them all. It has almost nothing for a meplat, making it less than ideal for a hunting boolit in my opinion, but that is the only detraction to me.

[13Echo]

I have both the Lee and the Lyman moulds. The Lee casts a hair over 0.415" and the Lyman just under 0.412". In my 1868 Springfield the Lee shoots very well but the Lyman tumbles. Even with soft alloy (31:1) the Lyman won't bump up to fill the grooves. In my friends Shiloh though the Lyman does very well but not really any better than the Lee. Never the less, in the never ending search for perfection in cast bullets I just recently acquired the NOE version of the same bullet with the hollow base pins. Beautiful mould. Haven't tried it yet though. For your use the Lee should be perfectly adequate.

Jerry Liles

Jerry Liles

[MT Chambers]

They will tumble if they are .100" or so undersized, my best accuracy is from Lyman's 515142, which is heavier with a good sized flat point.

[Huvius]

Thanks for the input.
I just picked up a Lyman on EBay.
Will see how it works out. I know most have found success with this bullet in the BPE rifles so here's hopin... Will let you all know.