decideing on a mold for a new 45 ACP is tough

[big jerr]

read till my eyes are bleeding on the question of the century being the "what's the best " , that said I have a 45 springfield mil spec on order ,know little except what ive read on these "new" fancy guns , I'm a sass shooter and want to try the wild bunch thing and the only shure thing I know is a # 68 swc 200 gr seams a favorite BUT I'm a lee man meaning I'm quite satisfied with all my LEE reloading equip. and molds considering the cost and what I get for my $ .
So talk is the LEE # 68 swc 200 gr. clone is not a true copy , some say it don't feed in some guns .my problem is I only want to BUY one bullet mold for this caliber and this gun ,must be a 6 banger , would prefer 200 gr just to conserve my California lead supply, but if only buying problems I would consider a 225-230 gr ball type mold ..
That said can any say the LEE 452-200-swc 90310(6 banger) works good in there Springfield 45 acp and is worth a try ???

I do realize the gun well need to be broke -in , ramp ,ejecter ,and such polished before attempting to try any reloads !

PS looking in the LEE cat. I notice another 200 gr. swc called a TL452-200-swc 90379 , have not read much on this one ,could it be a better choice I wonder ,it has more of a ball head on it ? Jerr

[joesig]

I don't own a Springfield but I do use the TL452-200-SWC. Even bumping a large HP in it, it still fed fine. I like the ease of the tumble lube too.

[saphelps]

Check with Mi-Hec. I was looking for same and I sent him a PM. Happened to have 6-cav aluminum available (Bevel Base and Flat Base) and a brass 4-cav mold (FB). I've two of his other molds and they're very high quality. Mold is H&G #68 45 ACP LSWC.

[Bigslug]

I've done the homework for you. You want this one: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?255216-Feeding-Big-Meplats-in-1911-s-Continued-The-LBT-LFN&p=2951425#post2951425

Hits like a bus when run at hardball speeds and will feed in your Springfield (or your stock WWII gun) JUUUUST FINE without messing with anything. Pricier than a Lee and you get four holes, but drops so smooth you aren't wasting time on stuck slugs.

As to lead conservation: It's a .45! Buy a .32 if you're feeling metal-miserly.

[Lonegun1894]

I used to have the Lee 200gr SWC and used it in every .45 ACP I have had. Great bullet, but I have gone to the Mihec HP from a recent group buy. For what it's worth regarding the Lee not feeding in some guns, I had one it wouldn't feed well in, but if I seated the bullet a few thousandths of an inch deeper, it fed just fine, and the accuracy was still just as good in all the others, so I standardized on that load. So if it doesn't feed well in yours, try playing with OAL a bit and see if you can't get it to work.

[daengmei]

My 1911 Springfield doesn't miss a lick using the clone #68. Not sure who's mold these came from, I bought several hundred from this forum a couple years ago. I say clone because it doesn't completely match a #68's profile. No polishing needed for mine.

[country gent]

One thing to consider doing before buying your mould is test some diffrent cast bullets in your gun to see what feeds functions and what it likes accurcy wise and what you like. Buy a few in several diffrent wieght ranges and styles. 185, 200, 230 grn semi wadcutter, truncuated cone round nosed. Test these and get an idea whats working then look for that style mould or have a mould made.

[btroj]

Never had any feed issues in my Colt. Shot lots of the Lee 200 swc with no problems.

[montana_charlie]

One thing to consider doing before buying your mould is test some diffrent cast bullets in your gun to see what feeds functions and what it likes accurcy wise and what you like. Buy a few in several diffrent wieght ranges and styles. 185, 200, 230 grn semi wadcutter, truncuated cone round nosed. Test these and get an idea whats working then look for that style mould or have a mould made.
Isn't there a bullet exchange somewhere on this site where a person has the chance to try some designs before buying a mould?

I think I heard about the creation of such a section, but there are so many (now) that it's too time-consuming to keep track of all of them.

CM

[Dale53]

My favorite .45 ACP projectile is a Mihec mold for an H&G #68 flatbase (actually a #69 but no one seems to know it by that name). However, I have a six cavity Lee mold for their 230 gr Truncated Cone. The mold is not nearly as nice as my Mihec and NOE molds. However, in all fairness, it is really good enough. I size the bullets at .452" and set them up for my 1911's and they work just fine in my 625's, also. They load extremely well when using full moon clips for the revolvers, too.

What's more important to the original poster, the Lee 230 gr TC (conventional lube groove) feeds well in several 1911's I have tried them in. They have a nice wide flat meplat that should greatly increase their terminal effect, also.

FWIW
Dale53

[big jerr]

thanks to all for input and direction , though still undecided as the NOE 5 slugger looks good in the #68 clone its out of stock , and the ni-hec mold I cant find ,is this a private party or a company ? any how I really like the exchange Idea and am contemplating buying some premade bullets in 250 quantities or even 100's and mess with different shapes though that still would no help on the issue of the LEE mold of the #68 clone since I don't think any of the premades are lee's ... any how a lot of food for thought ,thanks again Jerry

[RobS]

MiHec or MP molds

http://www.mp-molds.com/

[big jerr]

Thanks for the link but they appear to be out of stock also , looks like some patience on my part is in order .... Thanks again jerr

[Good Cheer]

big jerr,
Just my two cents.
I'm leery of vehicles without sticks and hand guns without cylinders. Reliability trumps.
So, for a 45ACP I went for a mold that just flat works. A round nose of standard ball weight and a big hollow point.
It always goes bang and mushrooms.
It's the old Lyman gas check design that I got for nothing in the early eighties (3 for $10) when they had a sale on out of tolerance blocks. The cherry barely went deeper than normal.
The hollow point makes it 225 grains. The weight makes it expand and penetrate. Having a few thousand of the original Ideal brass gas checks for the old mold helps too.

[JohnH]

My go to 45 boolit is the Lee 230-2R-TL. My RIA has not ever hiccupped on that boolit, regardless of boolit or slide velocity. I've run it as mild as 3.5 grains of Green Dot and full pressure Blue Dot loads. Thee boolit feeds wonderfully and shoots better than I can hold. IN SASS Wild Bunch where you are banging steel for points, a gun that runs is more important than saving a bit of lead. I've tried the Lee 200 SWC and also have the Lyman 452460. Neither fed 100% in my RIA with conventional lubes (wax or liquid alox) The 452460 was 100% when I experimented with powder coating, but I find 45-45-10 to deliver minimal fuss lubing. Shake, pour out, 5-6 hours later put 'em a container (I like old butter tubs) and they are ready to shoot.

[RobS]

Thanks for the link but they appear to be out of stock also , looks like some patience on my part is in order .... Thanks again jerr

Just email or PM MiHec to see what he has.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?5623-MiHec

[Boogieman]

I just got a 2 cavity Leer. 200gr. H&G style mold. It was right on for dia.& less than .001"out of round. It was a replacement for one I bought used & wore out. It feeds 100% out of both of my Colts. Also tried the Lee 200gr. TL it would not feed. this boolit ,the RCBS 200gr.& Lyman's 452460 are shorter and can not be loaded long enough to feed well in 1911s. The H&G style was made to feed in them loaded to 1.240 - 1.255". I ordered the mold from Titan Reloading and had it in 3 days.

[Horace]

Right now I`ll go with NOE molds.

Horace

[big jerr]

robs & johnh , I well consider on both , drop a email in the morn & and leaning to the Idea of the 230 ball though not sure on the TL design prefer lube grooves BUT still use 45-45-10 or pan lube ... I don't want to deal with hick-ups period...thanks Guys, Jerry

[bobthenailer]

My Springfield 1911 loaded in 45 acp does not miss a beat using the Saeco #068 , there version of the famous HG 68 and neither did the maybe 8 other 1911 45 acp pistols i used it in as well as 3 other 45 acp auto's that were not on the 1911 platform.

I have several moulds for a 45 acp a Saeco 170gr swc , 200gr swc, 215gr fn swc , and a RCBS 230 gr rn

[RobS]

If you are thinking of custom then here is Accurate Molds HG#68:
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=45-200H-D.png
http://www.accuratemolds.com/img/bullets/detail/45-200H-D.png

I personally don't like a stepped or shouldered front drive band for auto boolits. I had Tom at Accurate molds draw up a solid that is close to the MiHec 452374 HP mold. It is here:
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=45-230V-D.png
http://www.accuratemolds.com/img/bullets/detail/45-230V-D.png

There are several people who have this mold too and it is a close resemblance to the Lyman 452374 but of course without the complete round nose: http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=45-230M-D.png
http://www.accuratemolds.com/img/bullets/detail/45-230M-D.png
This is another design which carries a nice standard "ball" type ogive however does have stepped front drive band: http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=45-230LL-D.png
http://www.accuratemolds.com/img/bullets/detail/45-230LL-D.png

There are tons of other designs in the catalog and you can also have Tom draw you up something different. He is quick to reply to email etc. and customer service along with mold quality is excellent.

[RobS]

I found a post that describes a bit of a difference between the Lee 200 SWC regular lube groove and a HG #68
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?6228-Lee-45auto-230gr-TL-mold-good-or-bad&p=219258&viewfull=1#post219258

If you are looking at the Lee 230-2R TL that one carries an ogive that better resembles a typical "Ball" profile.
Another good read on things:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?138838-Lee-45-pistol-bullet-shape

[flyingrhino]

The lee 200 grn SWC is just fine. It's not a "true" #68 clone but it is close enough. Wilson Combat recommends that bullet. They say they have seen the best accuracy and reliability with that one. I've been shooting it for years. To get past the issue of "nose dive" that a previous poster mentioned I recommend the Wilson ETM mags. Wilson recommends the H&G #68 200gr L-SWC OAL 1.250, .468" taper crimp for maximum reliability. They give a recommended OAL range of 1.240-1.260. I load 1.250-1.255 and they feed like a charm in my Kimbers and my Springfield Ultra Compact.

[bangerjim]

I cast, load, and shoot darned near every 45 cal slug Lee makes a mold for in my 1911 45ACP's. All designs work once you figure out how to do it. The 200 is great. Had big problems early on. No "plop" test passage.

Now I size all my ACP slugs to .451 and use a Lee factory crimp to GENTLY (key word) bring the case back into factory spec so it will chamber perfectly. You will have to experiment around with individual OAL's, but I have found some for my guns that work perfectly every time. No swaged lead, smooth case, perfect cycling every time!

BTW............I powder coat all my boolits for all cals. Works GREAT!

banger

[Elkins45]

All of my 45's love the 200 grain tumble lube bullet. Feeds great and is super accurate, plus you can just tumble them and be done.

[3leggedturtle]

Dont know how closely the laser-cast 200gr RNFP is to the Lee mold, but it shot and fed great thru my S-A Mil-Spec with Clays. Not near as close as I thought it was, but is a great boolit in all my 45ACP and Colt rifles and pistols

[gwpercle]

I have been using the Lyman #452460 in my 45's almost to the exclusion of everything else for years. I picked up a 45 acp revolver and decided it was time to branch out...been looking also.
Just ordered a Lee 452-230-TC 2-cavity. The 230 grain weight and that flat point look good, the truncated cone design should work in both semi-auto and revolver.
But moulds are addictive, you can't have just one....that's no fun! That Lyman was going to be my only needed mould, and was for a few years ( I am up to 5 now)....but there are just so many interesting designs out there , having only one would be like having one pair of shoes!
Gary

[Dave C.]

I laugh every time I see the phrase "almost an H&G#68" I own two real 8 cavity H&G #68 bevel base moulds and believe me they are NOT the same. They both feed and shoot very well but they are NOT the same!

Dave C.

[Lonegun1894]

I laugh every time I see the phrase "almost an H&G#68" I own two real 8 cavity H&G #68 bevel base moulds and believe me they are NOT the same. They both feed and shoot very well but they are NOT the same!

Dave C.

Now that is interesting, at least it is to me. Any chance you might have photos of the molds, or maybe bullets of each? If not, would you mind describing the difference between them? Sorry, always heard or designs changing over time, but this is the first I remember reading of the H&G #68 not being standardized. Thank you very much, and I hope I'm not being a pest.

[Boolit_Head]

I am very happy with my NOE 230gr HP, that no one has mentioned it is surprising.

[Char-Gar]

read till my eyes are bleeding on the question of the century being the "what's the best " , that said I have a 45 springfield mil spec on order ,know little except what ive read on these "new" fancy guns , I'm a sass shooter and want to try the wild bunch thing and the only shure thing I know is a # 68 swc 200 gr seams a favorite BUT I'm a lee man meaning I'm quite satisfied with all my LEE reloading equip. and molds considering the cost and what I get for my $ .
So talk is the LEE # 68 swc 200 gr. clone is not a true copy , some say it don't feed in some guns .my problem is I only want to BUY one bullet mold for this caliber and this gun ,must be a 6 banger , would prefer 200 gr just to conserve my California lead supply, but if only buying problems I would consider a 225-230 gr ball type mold ..
That said can any say the LEE 452-200-swc 90310(6 banger) works good in there Springfield 45 acp and is worth a try ???

I do realize the gun well need to be broke -in , ramp ,ejecter ,and such polished before attempting to try any reloads !

PS looking in the LEE cat. I notice another 200 gr. swc called a TL452-200-swc 90379 , have not read much on this one ,could it be a better choice I wonder ,it has more of a ball head on it ? Jerr

Jerr, I am not a fan of Lee bullet molds, but you seem to be happy with their products and want to stay with them, so I will keep my comments to Lee molds.

If I wanted to do, what you want to do, and wanted to use a Lee mold to do it, I would use one of the Lee 230 grain RN bullets. They make one for regular lube (452-228-1R) and another for tumble lube (TL452-230-2R).

Now here is some truth about cast bullet in the 45 ACP 1911 autopistol. The popular semi-wadcutters like H&G 68 and Lyman 452460 were designed for Bulleye shooting matches. The had a sharp shoulder to cut clean holes in targets and the weight was reduced somewhat from USGI ball to lower the recoil and make recovery faster for rapid fire shooting. They are good bullets and when pushed to full velocity (850 fps) make good all around target, field and defense bullets.

There are folks now looking for large meplat bullets for more "smack down" quick transfer of energy to the targets. This is fine IF YOU NEED a load that will do that. These bullets are not more accuracy and often will give feeding issues in some pistols. Unless they are needed, there is no much use in loading them. They are special purpose bullets.

The 230 grain RN bullet will feed in any 1911 pistol with zero problem, give accuracy as good as the target SWCs, but without the sharp hole in the target for scoring. If you don't need sharp holes in paper targets or a big meplat to put a hurting on flesh, blood and nerves, the old 230 RN will do the job as good or better than any other.

My experience in Cowboy shooting is limited, but I have done it enough to know the targets are not hard to knock down. Any 230 RN cast bullet run at speed that will give reliable function in your Springer will have more than enough pop to take those targets down with great authority.

[Rich/WIS]

Between my son, SIL, and myself we have put about 3K of the Lee 68 clone downrange with minimal problems in 3 different SA 1911's. Some other club members tried them in different 1911's and an S&W M&P and they fed and functioned without a hitch. Key issue is seating depth, once you solve that you are home free. I cast ours from a 6 banger, a 2 banger couldn't keep up with demand. Don't use any fancy alloy, just range lead. Tried them first with a 2 banger to be sure they would work, then milled the top of it down to remove the bevel base. No difference in feeding or accuracy, just a little less messy as no bevel to hold lube. If you go with the lighter loads you may want to replace the recoil spring with a lighter one to ensure function. Issue we have is slide barely comes back far enough to pick up the next round if the guns are really dirty and/or in need of lube.

[Alan in Vermont]

I have both the Lee 452-200-SWC and 452-230-TC and have a stash of Lyman 452374 RN. All three of those feed flawlessly in my Colt 1911A1.

[big jerr]

hey thanks GUYS , and char-gar like youre way of thinken ... that said being an impatient person I ordered the 6 bang lee # 90310 in a large 45 acp order inc dies,resiz ,mold , plastic boxes, etc ect .. and by the next day I was kicking my self for not getting the tl 230 2r as shipping was paid and it really meets my needs better , thank goodness for ebxx if I have a problem with the 200 swc its gone ! Again GREAT info I've really injoyed reading the responces Jerr

[Boogieman]

Between my son, SIL, and myself we have put about 3K of the Lee 68 clone downrange with minimal problems in 3 different SA 1911's. Some other club members tried them in different 1911's and an S&W M&P and they fed and functioned without a hitch. Key issue is seating depth, once you solve that you are home free. I cast ours from a 6 banger, a 2 banger couldn't keep up with demand. Don't use any fancy alloy, just range lead. Tried them first with a 2 banger to be sure they would work, then milled the top of it down to remove the bevel base. No difference in feeding or accuracy, just a little less messy as no bevel to hold lube. If you go with the lighter loads you may want to replace the recoil spring with a lighter one to ensure function. Issue we have is slide barely comes back far enough to pick up the next round if the guns are really dirty and/or in need of lube.
I had the problem of lub on the bevel base went to powder coating . It solved that & allowed me to use a softer alloy with out leading. I'm running 875+ fps Most 1911s feed at 1.250" but some short throated barrels won't at that OAL

[Shooternz]

I recently bought the NOE 230 RN H&G#34 clone four cavity mould I supply 3 other shooters with boolits all 4 pistols shoot extremely well with it not one malfunction so far in over 3000 rounds.