Lee 124gr TL TC in 38/357 ?

[Motor]

Has anyone used the "9mm" 124gr TL TC in 38/357 revolves. Mine drop big plus I powder coat so sizing .358" is not a problem. In fact I shoot them .358" from my 9mm.

I'm just looking for some hands on from someone who has tried them in 38/357. How did they work for you. Thanks.

Motor

[gpidaho]

Motor: They work great in my 357s. I shoot the 9mm boolits sized 358 in all my 9s and 357s also for plinking rounds the Lee 125gr.RN works great in my 35Rem. any of the Lee 9s (124RN, 120Tc and 125RN) with 7.5gr TiteGroup will work very well in the 35 giving 1600fps+ The 124 is my favorite of the 120s. Gp

[Maximumbob54]

If you got one that drops big then it would seem you got a rare bird. I remember coming here several years back reading they all seem to drop skinny bullets that cause terrible leading. I ended up buying the regular lube groove version and have loaded those in .38's so I see no reason why if yours are sized right they couldn't be used in a .357 either.

[gpidaho]

MB54: Mine are all 6 cav. Lee's. Each drop .357-.358. With Powder coat the moulds are closer to too large than small. The 6cavs. rain pretty boolits and I don't know why I bought so many 2cavs. before I gave them a try. Gp

[Motor]

I must have strange one. Its a 2 cavity. I use lead/linotype. This mould has always dropped at least .358" often bigger. I have to keep a close eye on it too while casting because it is prone to get slightly missaligned and not close properly. After one session I found a bunch that were .360" even slightly bigger oppisite of the parting lines. At that time I didn't have a size die. I made a dummy round with one of the bigger ones and it passed the "plunk test" in my 9mm so I loaded them light and used them. They actually shot as good as any other.

My latest 2 Lee moulds, a .410 TL TC and a 440gr .501" both drop small. The .501" is so bad I have to use the heavy "600 MPH" tape on one face even powder coating to get them to size .501"

Thanks for the feed back. Seated to crimp in the last groove the 124s end up 1.470" in 38spl. I just hope they are not too hard for the light 38spl loads. I cast these before I started powder coating and for the 9mm using A-Lox they needed to be around 15bhn.

Motor

[Maximumbob54]

I have the lee 401-175-tc which is pretty much the .40SW version of the OP's 9mm mold and swear by that mold for all my .40SW and 10mm shooting 99% of the time. I've always found it odd that mold drops them just fine and the 9mm mold drops them so skinny. However, they have to be seated just right or the COAL seems to be a very tight fit in a Glock mag when the coating is done.

[fecmech]

Has anyone used the "9mm" 124gr TL TC in 38/357
I have used literally thousands of the Lee 121 lube groove version in my .38's and .357 rifles. It is THE most accurate bullet in my S&W K-38 bar none! Consistently groups under 2"@ 50 yds with that gun and in both my Rossi rifles it averages 3"@ 100 yds. Using Bullseye loads of 4.2-4.5 grs I get 1000 fps out of the pistol and about 1250 fps out of the rifles. The TL version is essentially the same bullet and should work as well. They look a little strange in .38/.357 cases but they shoot great.

[Bullwolf]

Has anyone used the "9mm" 124gr TL TC in 38/357 revolves. Mine drop big plus I powder coat so sizing .358" is not a problem. In fact I shoot them .358" from my 9mm.

I'm just looking for some hands on from someone who has tried them in 38/357. How did they work for you. Thanks.

Motor

While not the Lee TC, I have shot the Lyman 356402 TC boolit in both 9mm, and in 38/357 Magnum with no problems.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=121601&d=1415769058

Of the two, I prefer the Lee 9mm RN TL boolit in 38 Spl. (TL356-124-2R)

The image below has 50 Lee TL356-124-2R 9mm TL boolits loaded in 38 Spl cases, alongside 50 Lyman 358311 - also loaded in 38 Special cases. Both sized at .358

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=52571&d=1311909165

My Lee 9mm TL Round Nose mould (Lee TL356-124-2R) work quite well in 38 Special, as it casts large .358/.359 from Linotype. The Lee TL356-124-2R boolit shoots nice in 38 special out of a couple of my revolvers, over a mild charge of Red Dot.



- Bullwolf