Lee 6 cavity 9mm TC- this one any good?

[Case Stuffer]

http://leeprecision.com/mold-6-cav-356-120-tc.html

So a couple of years ago I purchased the other Lee TC .356 mold ,the one with the micro-groves designed for tumble lubing and like many others found that it likes to tumble out of the barrel also.

These days I powder coat and even this does not prevent the in-flight tumbling. My Lee 6 cavity RN 125gr http://leeprecision.com/6-cavity-356-125-2r.html. non-micro rove Boolits perform great but I really do not care for RM Boolits all that much even though I have shot tens of thousands of them over the years.

[RKJ]

I've got it and while it hasn't seen a lot of use, I haven't noticed any keyholing or signs of tumbling from a HP.

[Boolit_Head]

I just picked it up. Casts nice, still getting used to it since it is my first 6 banger mold. Have not made it to the range with it yet.

[Garyshome]

Have you slugged the barrel? First thing I check when it's tumbling. Actually I slugged all the pistol barrels before I cast for them.

[Case Stuffer]

Have you slugged the barrel? First thing I check when it's tumbling. Actually I slugged all the pistol barrels before I cast for them.


Barrel Slugged at 0.3552 with a pair of Starreet digitial read out mikes used by someone with over 50years experience as a Tool & Die Maker.Boolits powder coated and sized to 0.357 , loaded rounds pulled and Boolits had not been shaved or deformed by loading process. The Lee TC 124gr. micro lube is the only Bullet cast or otherwise which I have inflight tumble / key holing issue with in my 30 plus years of casting. There have been numerious threads here on problem with this mold or rather the Boolit from it. At under 20feet it is fine ,at 40 feet it keyhols and at 75 feet r more it may mis a 24" sq. target and the ones that hit go thru sideways .

I have tried Lee Alox, 45/45 / 10 and now Power Coating , alloys from Brinell 10 to 18 ( I have a Saeco Lead Hardness Tester).

[Case Stuffer]

While re-reading some of the TC micro grove issue post I ran across this one

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?105010-Lee-Tumble-Lube-Truncated-Cone-9-mm&p=1166212&viewfull=1#post1166212

and this post

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?105010-Lee-Tumble-Lube-Truncated-Cone-9-mm&p=1165432&viewfull=1#post1165432

It seems the mold I asked about is liked by some here so I will order one and hope for the best.
Thanks for everyone's input.

[rsrocket1]

Please send me your mold.

I will pay shipping. I have both the Lee 356-120-TC conventional lube groove mold and the Lee TL356-124-2R and they both work great in my M&P40 converted to 9 and M&P Shield 9. They drop on the button at 0.356" and after powder coating, they are 0.360". They glide through the Lee 0.356" push through sizer to a precise 0.356" and the TL design tends to come out with a completely filled-in flat drive area. I have to size them to 0.356" because the S&W barrels have a tight 0.356" throat (0.3545" groove). The bullets shoot great < 2" at 10 yards and I can regularly hit clay pigeons on the 50 yard berm. Zero leading, just some fouling in the chamber side of the barrel. It cleans off with one pass of the bore snake.

I do use a Lee 38 S&W powder through expanding plug in the PTX die. It prevents swaging of the bullet as it is seated.

[Case Stuffer]

I agree the 38 S&W thru power expander stopped the in case swaging problem but the key holing remains. Perhaps I need to go to a slower burning power as it seems it worked for some. I am using HS-6 and used WW231 in the past.

[rsrocket1]

I usually load Unique, but have successfully used Red Dot, e3 and 800X (but that powder is a pain to load because the flakes are about as big as hockey pucks!).

[tazman]

The mold you linked to in the OP is the one everyone uses and likes so well. It feeds well and shoots accurately in just about everything. I have used it tumble lubed and powder coated with equally good results. If there was one boolit mold that Lee came up with that was a winner, it was that one.
The tumble lubed design doesn't work well fort a lot of people. They have the exact problem you describe.

[Case Stuffer]

Deleted ,guess I was having a senior moment.

[gwpercle]

I have this mould, 120 grain TC in a double cavity version and like it a lot. The double cavity drops them .3575, perfect for running thru a .357 sizing die. I use it in a Walther P 38 of WWII vintage. I was worried about the "beveled" base, but it is so slight it does not gather any lube under it, you do have to adjust your sizing die to the right height of course. Others have posted the 6 cavity moulds drop them .356, so it's success will depend on your guns barrel dimensions.
Gary

[MtGun44]

3356-120 TC conventional lube is a superb 9mm boolit at .357 to .358 diam.
Air cooled wwts works great for me with NRA 50-50 conventional lube.

[Cherokee]

356120 TC lube grooves is THE bullet in 99% of my 9mm loads. Over 30,000 fired in several 9's without any problem. HS6 is my most used powder with 231 and WST as backups.

[Case Stuffer]

This 356 ,120 gr. TC 6 cavity Lee is working out well. I powder coat ,size to .357 load on top of 5.9gr.of HS-6 COL 1.070" which means 0.240" of Boolit in the case. No excess pressure signs even when using Federal SP primers which are the softest ones I know of. Ejection is extremely close to same as mixed 125 gr. factory and re-manufactured ammo and point of impact is close enough to same.

I spent more time cleaning and recleaning this mold than any other I have ever used over years and I have to run the pot around 750F according to the Dial on the RCBS Pro Melt. This is 50 to 75F higher than my other 9cav. Lee molds. Yes I know the dial is not 100 percent accurate and I have a PID with a 4" SS K probe on order. My lead thermometer is missing in action and a new one cost almost as much as a PID.

Fourty rounds down range at up to 60 feet and they all made nice round holes with no signs of key holing.

THanks for all the positive reply on this mold and I look forward to cast and sending thousands downrange.