Question about TL boolits.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Has any one tried the Lee TL boolit for the 40 S&W and what success did you have? I have a friend that wants to get into casting and wants to go the cheapest way he can. I personally have used TL boolits in 38 special and have had good success with the loads I use. A revolver is a different animal than the 40. I don't own a 40 S&W so that was the reason for the question.

[lonewelder]

Works great for me.lee tl mold

[YunGun]

I started casting & loading for the .40S&W using the Lee TL401-175gr & have been pretty satisfied with my results.
Being new to both casting & reloading at the time my expectations were pretty low, but I managed to turn out a pile of decent boolits in relatively short order.

I can't really compare with any other (non-TL) bullet profiles however, as that's currently the only .40cal mould I have. I would venture a guess that your friend will be well served by starting out with one of those; IMO they're great starting moulds as you're not out much money if you decide not to pursue casting, drop it or otherwise screw it up while learning, but they will create serviceable projectiles while you decide whether or not you want to invest in other, more expensive moulds, etc.

[petroid]

I am pretty new to casting and this is the exact boolit I started with. I learned a lot of things. Firstly, FIT is king. It can't be emphasized enough. The boolit has to fit the chamber/throat very well for this to work. This has to happen not just after casting but after lubing, sizing, loading and firing. 40 S&W is a high pressure round. As such, the brass is thick and unforgiving. Seating the boolit can swage down a properly sized boolit to an undersized boolit which will cause extreme leading. The barrel should be slugged (a couple of times for consistency's sake) with soft lead and measured accurately with a micrometer. Boolits should be sized .001" over the groove diameter of the slug. The brass needs to be expanded deeply enough and wide enough to accept the boolit without squeezing it down upon seating. I use lee dies and the powder thru expander plug doesn't expand wide enough or deep enough. I had a custom expander plug made my a member here that expands deeper and is .401 OD. That gives an expanded case of .399 ID after brass spring back. Perfect for seating .401" boolits with .002" neck tension. Expand the case mouth so that the boolit will start with finger pressure. Taper crimp lightly in a separate step. Do NOT use a Lee factory crimp die. It will swage down the brass and the seated boolit. Taper crimp just enough that the round will drop in the chamber using the kerplunk test. Geargnasher and others have many informative threads on this. That mold works well for me but others have had more success with the TC conventional lube groove mold. All boolits can be tumble lubed, so don't limit your search to just TL molds. Look around and you will learn a lot. I sure did... Good Luck!

[runfiverun]

you can tumble lube a regular boolit too.

[Lefty Red]

I used the LEE TL in my G35 with a Lone Wolf barrel. Also with my daughter's G19 with the LW barrel.

They casted and shot great as is. TLed with Alox.

I did use Lee's FCDs with the 40 and 9mm and never had a issue. Loaded to Power Factor for IDPA.

Lefty

[Little Big Oz]

I use the Lee TL401-175 in a Ruger SR40. I've used COWW and isotope lead, unsized, lubed with 45/45/10. Powder is Blue Dot. No leading to speak of, pretty accurate. Also used in a Ruger KP944 that I traded off with the same results. Almost seemed too easy. I wish my SR9c was that simple.

[45-70 Chevroner]

you can tumble lube a regular boolit too.
Yes I knew that, but was just wondering. According to the stats in midways catalog the Lee TL boolits generally run .001 larger than the regular Lee boolits, and I thought that might serve him better, but who knows. It will be a starting point though.
Thanks everyone.