Lee 575 500 Original mold help

[49FMarlin]

so i got me the above said mold,
cast a bunch of boolits, from normal temps to hot temps, on the lead and mold,
and I'm getting boolits at .571 and 572

these buggers drop right down the barrel and slide right out,,,NOT GOOD,,

1-is this a normal casting number from this mold or did i get an undersized one?


Ive taken the valve polishing grit to it, and now they cast to slide with a slight friction down the barrel
BUT now my grove edges are NOT nice and sharp, and somehow I've made the top of the boolit so it has a band where the sprue cuts it off,

ugly

need some recommendations

should i buy another mini mold and go at it again?
do the
Lyman molds cast as numbered?

thanks for any feedback

[Tackleberry41]

If you had said my NOE/Lyman etc was casting that undersize most would point you in a different direction. But Lee...they are a bit notorious for being hit or miss and generally undersize when they do miss. I have the .575 improved minie, I bought it to use as sabots in a 20ga. Its casting at .580, I do not have a sizer, but doubt its needed the way I use them. I bought a different .575 minie 500gr mold recently, they discontinued the flat faced 'improved'. That mold is casting right at .575.

I bought a new 50 cal REAL mold, and those bullets would simply drop down the barrel. I sent it back, they said it was me and returned it. I did nothing different than before and they cast right now. Maybe they gave me a different mold, didn't mark it.

[mooman76]

I have one and it comes in at .575. I have had it quite awhile. Lee moulds used to come in small sometimes but itseems they usually come out a little large rather than small. Contact Lee and they should replace it being that far off.

[mooman76]

You also might try cranking the heat up all the way. I noticed on the large BP moulds, the hotter they are, the bigger the bullets come out.

[JeffinNZ]

Paper patch them with 9lb cotton bond. That will take them up to near bore diameter. I PP my 40cal Minie from .396 to .402 and the rifle LOVES it.

[Tar Heel]

Mine casts at 0.5750" on the money. They are SUPPOSED to slide right down the barrel of an 1861 Springfield by design.

[dave951]

At the risk of getting flamed, your problem is this- LEE

Lee molds are built to a price point. I do have 3 Lee molds that I'd consider casting competition minies with but all 3 are the old "target" minie that looks like a giant, flat nosed wadcutter. Lee has discontinued it so I have one I use and 2 new/old stock for backups. All have been tested for boolit size and all drop right at 576. I got lucky on the Lee lottery. There are many other mold makers out there that make much better molds.

Molds can vary in the size boolit they cast depending on a number of factors- alloy, temps, where in the production run it was made. The last reason is the cherry used to cut the mold will wear over time and thus the size the mold actually casts can vary.

My other question is- what is your actual bore size and by that I mean have you measured it?

Another path to take before buying another mold is to get some minies from Pat Keboskey through Lodgewood. Order the size/style you need and verify it's the way to go in your gun, then go looking for a mold.

https://www.lodgewood.com/Bullets_c_7.html

[bedbugbilly]

You are casting with pure soft lead aren't you?