Lee 452-255-rf ??

[hylander]

Gun: Ruger New Vaquero .45 Colt.
Mold: LEE 452-255-RF

Questions:
1: What is the proper seating depth for this bullet.
2:Why does every LEE mold I buy drop small ?, other brands of molds I use drop right were they are suppose to.
This one drops .4505 to .451, they slide right through my .452 sizer barely touched.

[Love Life]

1. To the crimp groove
2. They don't all drop small. Your mould might be out of spec.

[hylander]

1. To the crimp groove
2. They don't all drop small. Your mould might be out of spec.

Thanks I will seat to the groove.
This is my 5th LEE mold of different types, all have dropped small. Good bullets, just small.

[Love Life]

Dang. Batting zero on the moulds! Have you contacted Lee about it yet?

[jonp]

Mine tend to drop a little large. Some I just cast from a 358140 SWC dropped .359-.3595.

As with comment #2, there is a crimp groove and that is always a good place to start. Did you miss it?

[hylander]

Dang. Batting zero on the moulds! Have you contacted Lee about it yet?

Sure did, they said they have no clue why and they have never cast a bullet with their molds because they are not allowed to have lead in the facility.
They completely blew me off, offered no solution and said oh' well.
I sent emails on another item and never got a reply.
I am done with LEE molds and their CS. I still use some of their stuff, don't know why.

[GoodOlBoy]

yeah I would contact lee and ask them to replace it with a slightly oversized mold

Richard

[Love Life]

Did you order them direct from Lee or through a place like Midway USA? If through a place like Midway USA, then you might be able to get them replaced as a defective product.

Lee moulds are a poop shoot. When they are good...they are GOOD!! Rain bullets at good diameters, but when they suck...they really suck.

I really like that bullet and shot it a bunch out of my 454 Casull.

[Outer Rondacker]

I have the same mould. Its about four years old and mine cast small also. I have tape on the inside to keep it a bit larger. That was a trick from a guy here I think his name is Manny c or something. I keep telling myself I am going to open it up with the polish but have yet to do it.

[DougGuy]

The mold can be lapped, or "beagled" to get it to drop bigger. Do a search on beagling, it was an interesting thread.

NOE makes an "improved" version of this 255gr RF boolit, we were just discussing it earlier in the week I think you may have weighed in on the same thread.

O/T but in reference to the forcing cone tooling we were talknig about, you might come out ahead renting the kit from 4D rentals. It's an $80 up front deposit but you get it back. http://www.4-dproducts.com/

[salvadore]

My Lee casts to .453 that I use in a carbine. I own a NOE twin with GC and hollow point, if it casts larger than the Lee I will try it in my Colt SAA. I like the design and the Lee is acceptably accurate in the carbine.

[Cornbread]

Get the NOE improved version of that mold and it will drop at least .454 with straight COWW. That's what I did and I have never regretted it as it shoots amazing in 45 ACP (revolver), 45 Colt, and 454 Casull. It's worth the cost.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/AndyTheCornbread/NOE_255gr_RNFP_PB_zpsda1f2e06.jpg

[spfd1903]

I have cast a lot of boolits from the two cavity version of the Lee 452-255-RF. I have alternated between 10:1 and 20:1 alloy. Consistent drops at .453. Have you tried these alloys? Just got the six cavity version, but have not used it yet. I better check the new mold for boolit diameter.

[hylander]

Get the NOE improved version of that mold and it will drop at least .454 with straight COWW. That's what I did and I have never regretted it as it shoots amazing in 45 ACP (revolver), 45 Colt, and 454 Casull. It's worth the cost.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/AndyTheCornbread/NOE_255gr_RNFP_PB_zpsda1f2e06.jpg

That's the one I want but they are out of stock.
Or this one http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=41&products_id=752

[Cornbread]

How do you tell if they are out of stock? I looked at the page for the one I have: http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=41&products_id=747

and I couldn't find anything about out of stock. Do they post it somewhere or am I just missing it on that page?

They have a 4 cavity one of it too:
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=41&products_id=163

That one I have no experience with though as I only have the two cavity mold.

[DougGuy]

hylander or Cornbread, when y'all get these molds up and running, I would maybe like to trade some of my cylinder and or barrel work (or buy outright) for some samples of this RF boolit in 20:1 or 50/50+2% with Felix or other soft lube. I may need .454" or as dropped, will know when I get the new Uberti and slug it sometime later this week.

[hylander]

Cornbread: When you add it to your cart it show's out of stock.

DougGuy: I would be happy to trade for some Cylinder work, I know I will need my Vaquero's cylinder Throats opened up.
I'm going to call NOE in the morning to see if the mold will be in stock soon.
I also cast a very nice NOE 312299 bullet with a great lube if any interest, I can size .309 or .311
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=378

[High Desert Hunter]

I wish NOE would cut these at .453, sizing the .454s to .452 has caused me some grief. I have their big 355 for my 454 Casull, great bullet, but a pain to size.

[Cornbread]

I just saw this morning that the 265gr version went on sale today at NOE: http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?products_id=1620

If you don't mind going 10gr heavier with a bigger forward driving band, this might be a good time to pick up that mold.

[x101airborne]

Is your alloy as close to what Lee says they used to be accurate?
A lot more to it than just mold size.

[35 Whelen]

Gun: Ruger New Vaquero .45 Colt.
Mold: LEE 452-255-RF

Questions:
1: What is the proper seating depth for this bullet.
2:Why does every LEE mold I buy drop small ?, other brands of molds I use drop right were they are suppose to.
This one drops .4505 to .451, they slide right through my .452 sizer barely touched.

1: Like everyone else said, to the crimp groove.
2: Same reason that the last Lee mould I bought, which was the same as yours, right out of the box had cavities that were misaligned. I worked on the alignment pins and got that corrected, but now one of the pins falls out. I bought the mould expecting problems, but I've learned my lesson (again).

Another to consider that is on sale is this one: http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?products_id=1622 A custom, in stock 4-cavity mould for $78.20. How do you beat that??? Mine should be here any day. It's described as a WFN, but the nose profile is very similar to that of the Lee 255 gr. RFN.

35W

[nitro-express]

Casting bullets is a recent hobby. Was met with more than my share of obstacles, IMHO, but I persevered. I used 1 of my LEE molds and didn't touch any of my other molds until I got it to work without galling and such other nonsense. My routine for a new mold is pretty simple. Clean it thoroughly, brakes-clean or similar. Then I remove the sprue plate. On that mold half I bevel the edge and take a bit off the top, so the edge slopes up to the cavities. I then polish the top of the mold. I also bevel the other side the same. This ensures that the sprue plate will sit flat over the cavities. Nothing stupid on metal removal, all you need is a 0.001". On the 2 cavity molds, the sprue plate needs lots of work. It has to be flat and smooth, the pour holes need to smooth and sharp as well. I sometimes heat and oil quench, sometimes just blue, sometimes just leave them. On a 2 cavity the top of the mold galls at the least bit of provocation. The 6 cavity mold has an anodized aluminum sprue plate, any work on it will pretty much ruin it. Use as issued. The top of the mold halves needs to be polished, smooth as you can make it.

My latest LEE is a 452-255-RF, a 6 cavity, as I refuse to cast with those crappy 2 cavity molds anymore unless they don't make a 6. For lube I use 2 stroke oil, sparingly, and reapply after casting a 10# pot, or 2.

My alloy is just COWW, and a bit of tin, and a bit of lino if it's too soft. I like about BHN 14 to 15. This alloy is nothing special, just what I have or can make. It seems to cast nicely at about 650 °F, and I cool the mold if the bullets start to frost. I weigh each one and cull the light ones. My keepers are between 253 and 256. Any wrinkly ones get tossed even if they passed the weighing. I get the most consistent results if the spout and mold are in contact. I warm the mold by casting from about an inch with lots of puddling. It heats up fast, and I'm making good bullets after about 3 test runs. I check for gassing and rub off any oil that has migrated close to the cavities. On this last mold one, perhaps two of the sprue holes has a burr, I just let it break in as I don't want to screw with the anodizing.

Anyways, the bullets come out at least 452. I run them through a 451 sized and on most, every surface is touched. The bore on my Uberti Win 73 has a small(ish) bore/groove and it does not lead. I only run the bullets at 850 fps, so not really approaching any limits.

So far I've cast over 500 bullets and the mold is holding up OK.

https://i.imgur.com/C5HXdFr.jpg

The top seems to be holding up well enough.

https://i.imgur.com/CiMIHZx.jpg

And the sprue plate seems to be contacting fairly evenly.

https://i.imgur.com/4sIJpE1.jpg

The bullets will do for the guns I shoot.

Nitro