40 S&W suggestions

[taco650]

Anyone have any mold recommendations for the .40 S&W? I'll be loading for a Glock 27. I've read all about the DON'T SHOOT CAST IN GLOCK STOCK BARRELS so don't turn this thread into more of that.:evil:

I like Lee molds and will even try the TL versions if they're given high marks by enough responders.

Which feeds better, Truncated Cone or RN?

Lube/sizing/hardness-blend suggestions are welcome too.

:):):)

[Trapperscott]

Taco, I have the LEE 6 CAV MOLD 401-175 TC and I like it. It dropped at .401 with ACWW. My glock 22 slugs at .401, and I got leading right off the bat. A short session of Leementing it and it drops at .4025-.403 out of all six cavities. I run it thru a star size die that has been opened up to .4023 and use bens red for lube.

I get good accuracy and no leading with moderate loads.

I am just getting started PC'ing some 45acp bullets, and so far I'm sold on it. Just haven't done any in 40 yet, but I will soon.

Scott

[rattletrap1970]

I have a Tanfoglio EAA Witness Match and I have found it to be a very comfotable, accurate and reliable pistol in all respects and it shoots exceedingly well with cast boolits. Also, for about $225 a piece you can get caliber conversions to use on the same frame. .22, 9mm, .45ACP, etc.

[Oreo]

The lee molds will cast a bunch of boolits for cheap but if you're the type to spend the extra coin for top quality tools then there are some better options from MP Molds. I recommend sending a pm to Mihec to ask if there are any 402-190 molds left. (about $165) They are brass, 4-cavity, hollow point molds. The boolit design is a wide meplate round flat nose, with cramer hollow point pins.

[Caliboose]

I am very interested in this thread. I just bought the Lee 401-175 mold and have learned to like it. I only have a .401 size die to work with so I will experiment with alloys instead of larger diameter cast. On a related issue, I looked at Lee's web site to check out the 'Bulge Buster' and their warning about shooting brass that came from the Glock scared me a little. I am loading for a Springfield, but the weakened case still concerns me. I have no intention oh hijacking this thread, but I would like to know if anyone has knowledge or experience related the this issue.

[AggieEE]

+1 on the Lee 401-175 standard lube groove. I've had no leading yet in a Glock 22. As to the bulge buster, I would say you'll be OK just don't try to run +P loads.

[taco650]

+1 on the Lee 401-175 standard lube groove. I've had no leading yet in a Glock 22. As to the bulge buster, I would say you'll be OK just don't try to run +P loads.

I've looked at this mold and wondered how it fed. I've also read here several places that size is a big factor in leading, even more so than lead blend, hardness or lube type. On using bulged cases, my G17 ate range brass that was resized with standard RCBS 9mm dies no problem. However, I didn't use that ammo in any other brand of pistol.

Anyone have experience with 38-40 boolits in the 40 S&W?

[MTtimberline]

This one!
88778
It's a dream to cast with once you get it figured out.

[Cottonpicker]

FYI-I use the LEE .401 175gr TL401-175 SWC 6 cav mold,unsized,tumble lubed with LEE Alox for Glock 22 stock barrel and SIG 226.Load 5.3gr UNIQUE and seat to 1.10".Runs good and easy to use.Have shot hundreds of rounds thru Glock&Sig w/only slight leading & clean with ChoreBoy on bronze brush when necessary.Very satisfied w/this setup and doesn't cost a bunch of $.

[taco650]

This one!
88778
It's a dream to cast with once you get it figured out.

Looks beautiful and has several options. Bet its a high dollar unit. What do you have to "figure out"?

[taco650]

FYI-I use the LEE .401 175gr TL401-175 SWC 6 cav mold,unsized,tumble lubed with LEE Alox for Glock 22 stock barrel and SIG 226.Load 5.3gr UNIQUE and seat to 1.10".Runs good and easy to use.Have shot hundreds of rounds thru Glock&Sig w/only slight leading & clean with ChoreBoy on bronze brush when necessary.Very satisfied w/this setup and doesn't cost a bunch of $.

Do you get good accuracy with this load?

[Cottonpicker]

Yes,I generally shoot TXDPS B-27 Target/Qualification(50rds).Very accurate & with SWC makes clean easy to see holes in target.I use LEE Deluxe 4 Die Pistol Set to load.

[Garyshome]

LEE 6 CAV MOLD 401-175 TC. In my glock 23.

[plainsman456]

Look at NOE site they have some good molds.

[garym1a2]

I had the same issues in glock 22 with this mold. Sized .401 and heavy leaded after 50 rounds.
Not knowing how to fix it I brought a Storm lake barrel and that fixed it.


Taco, I have the LEE 6 CAV MOLD 401-175 TC and I like it. It dropped at .401 with ACWW. My glock 22 slugs at .401, and I got leading right off the bat. A short session of Leementing it and it drops at .4025-.403 out of all six cavities. I run it thru a star size die that has been opened up to .4023 and use bens red for lube.

I get good accuracy and no leading with moderate loads.

I am just getting started PC'ing some 45acp bullets, and so far I'm sold on it. Just haven't done any in 40 yet, but I will soon.

Scott

[taco650]

I had the same issues in glock 22 with this mold. Sized .401 and heavy leaded after 50 rounds.
Not knowing how to fix it I brought a Storm lake barrel and that fixed it.

Have thought of getting one of those or the Lone Wolf but they seem to always be sold out when I look for them.

[Oreo]

Looks beautiful and has several options. Bet its a high dollar unit. What do you have to "figure out"?

Thats the MP Molds 402-190 I mentioned. Its developing a bit of a cult following around here. Its about $165, so not cheap, but it is the final word on 40sw/10mm molds. The mold casts easy and the boolits shoot good. Terminal performance on gel and deer has been documented as very good. Accuracy is superb. The boolit cures cancer if you shoot it in the right spot.

Figuring out the mold- You have to assemble all those pins when it comes in the mail. Sometimes the locating pins work better if they're left a tad loose. Then there is learning a rhythm with the hp pins. Its not hard but its different and takes a while to get it down to a smooth rhythm.

[harley45]

I have both the above mentioned Lee and MP molds, The MP is without a doubt the final word in .40 cal boolits but it does have a learning curve. I only use mine now for special purpose .40 and 10mm loads. The Lee I bought to cast up boolits fast for plinking and target shooting. It excells for this purpose. Just my thoughts

[taco650]

My purposes for these boolits are for paper killing and general practice. The G27 is my "off-duty" gun and my dept does not provide practice ammo. I've got all the component to make ammo EXCEPT bullets and want to expand my casting habit. I think either of the Lee molds may be the way for me to go unless I can find a really good deal on a used higher-end mold.

[Ed_Shot]

For totally reliable feeding in my G22 w/LW barrel I cannot beat Lyman 401043. I drops at .404 dia. and 170 gr. I size to .401. The boolit is .603 long. Lyman calls for a COAL of 1.125 and I use 1.130 so I can see a hair of the first driving band above the case mouth. Great accuracy.

I've never seen a bad comment about it for 40 SW and I understand why.

[taco650]

A Lyman model? Have to check that out. Thanks.

[Bad Andy]

I also use the Lee 6 Cavity 401-175 in my Sig 229. The first round of Boolits I shot through it (50 rounds unlubed) the barrel was COATED with lead....Coated! I pan lubed my next batch with my lard concoction that I used for my muzzleloader and the barrel stays squeaky clean! However that process is time consuming and messy. I found Lee Allox the other day and will give that a go. I do not resize my boolits. Anyway...sounds good luck with the Glock.

[Oreo]

If you're not sizing your boolits to the bore proper then you can't say your results are representative in any way. Now, you may luck into good results but its still not representative.

[dreadpiraterobberts]

I am using the Lee 401-175 mold in a S&W 10mm 1006 with excellent results. With a moderate load of Winchester 231 pushing the bullet at 956fps, BHN 21 lead, sized 401, lubed with liquid alox, I am getting baseball size 10 round groups at 20yrds. Slight leading near the muzzle but not enough to ruin accuracy and it removes with a bronze brush and little effort. I also run the TL356-124RN out of a Glock 26 with a factory barrel with little issues. Have a Lone Wolf barrel for the Glock but haven't found I need it so far.
Still very new to casting with a harsh learning curve, but once in a while even a blind squirrel finds a nut. ;)

[Catshooter]

dreadpirate,

The leading near/at the end of the bore usually says 'not enough' or 'not good enough' lube. Since you're using the Lee liquid lube you might try a few boolits with two coats of it. See if that helps.

And welcome to the site.


Cat

[leeggen]

I use the Lee 401-145swc mould, with Alox.over AA-5 powder. Shoots pretty good and no leading. The more I shoot the better the barrel looks. Be sure to clean all the copper out or you might get some leading from that.
CD

[Iron Mike Golf]

+1 on Oreo's words. I shoot that boolit from both a Beretta M96 and an IMI Baby Desert Eagle (polygonal rifling on that one). I use the big pins, so I get 180 gr boolits.

The tricks to that mold are more about Cramer style HP molds, I think. A bit about maintaining a brass mold, too.

[dreadpiraterobberts]

Thanks for the welcome guys. Yeah, after a lot of reading I came to the same conclusion that it was not enough lube or not high enough quality. I am going to try a batch with 45/45/10 lube (Johnson's paste wax, LLA, and mineral spirits) to see if that improves things. I will also double check the barrel for any signs of copper fouling, then finally, possibly lower the BHN. of the bullets slightly to make sure they expand to fit the barrel. Finding the hardness of the lead as difficult to figure for a given load as getting quality boolits out of the mold. (likely best suited for a different section of this forum)

[fcvan]

When my wife bought me a Glock 22C I shot a lot of factory while building up my brass supply. My brother was also shooting factory through his 23 and 27 for quarterly off duty qualification. Before we knew it there was a half bucket of brass. I bought the Lee 401-145 SWC and the 401-175 TC molds. He doesn't like the SWC much so we pretty much use the TC mold.

In the past 5 years we've cast and loaded about 10k rounds, and fired something like 3k. Cast from range scrap they drop at about .402 and weigh 180 grains. I size to .401 and have lubed with Javalina, Rooster Red, some home made loob, and finally White Label BAC. The only leading issue I've ever had was in the compensator slots on the 22C. I'm sure there is some shaving there but it hasn't affected accuracy. 5 grains of Unique has been the load, period. Very accurate, very easy shooting.

Lately, I've been powder coating everything including the 401-175 TC boolit. In fact, I cast and PCd about 500 today. I like the reduced smoke of PCd boolits and like how I can bulk store PCd and sized boolits without worry of lube getting everywhere. I used a Lyman 450 for the past 27 years but have started using Lee push through dies for the PCd boolits. I like that I can watch football while sizing using a hand press. No muss, no fuss. Harbor Freight Flat Black boolits in bright shiny brass, it's a thing of beauty! Oh ya, the slick nature of the PCd boolit reduces boolit deformation on the feed ramp of my pistols. I rally like the profile of the TC boolit and the way it performs in my Glocks, my wife's Glock, my Brother's Glocks, and a buddy's Taurus 740 Slim. It's also my boolit of choice in the Vaquero 38-40.

[taco650]

fcvan,

Are you using a stock Glock barrel? Thanks for your input.

[fcvan]

I am using the stock Glock barrels in the 5 Glocks (brother, wife, mine) and Lone Wolf 9mm conversion barrels in the G22s and G23s. I had probably shot 2k through my G22 before I ever read that lead in Glocks causes Kabooms. I treated my Glocks like every other pistol I load for. Work up a load, make sure the boolit fit and lube is doing its job, and inspect the weapon at regular intervals to ensure leading isn't and issue.

I have only leaded up one gun. That was a S&W M57 8 3/8" loaded with soft lead pushed too fast, no gas check, RCBS green lube. I went back to Javalina, dropped the velocity to 1250 fps, and it never leaded up again. That was 26 years ago when I first got the M57. When I started loading the 40 S&W I treated it like my loads for 9mm and 45 ACP.

I never knew the Glock in 40 needed to be treated like a ticking bomb with lead. Btw, Glock says no reloads, not no lead loads as there are factory loads with lead projectiles. They are just doing the whole 'scared of their own shadow' lawyering that most companies like gun manufacturers and some reloading manuals seem to have been doing the past 20 or more years. Book loads seem reduced compared to older manuals for the same caliber.

The 40 has only been around 23 or so years. The Glock 40 and got a bad rap back when a certain company had a run of factory brass that was too thin at the web and case head. I know for a fact several local agencies will still not purchase ammo from that company even though the brass situation was corrected over 20 years ago. I also think Glock changed some of its specs with the Gen II to reduce some of the geometry regarding the feed ramp etc. I haven't found that in writing but was told that by Glock trained armorers. I have nothing to compare my gen IIIs to. Anyway, I shoot lead through factory barrels regardless of who makes the gun. I just make sure the loads I'm building work properly with each weapon as any gun can build dangerous pressures if leading is allowed to become a progressive obstruction.