First Attempt at cast boolits

[rainydayman]

Ok so here goes I cast Lee 452-228-1R
I powder coated with HF Red using a HF electrostatic PC gun
Sized with a Lee .452 sizing die
Loaded Winchester 231 ball Powder at 4.8,5.0,and 5.2 grains 10 rounds
Fired From a Springfield XDM
Averaged 692fps, 723fps, and 7645 fps respectively
7 Rounds would not go into battery and I had to forcefully tug on the slide to remove
Grouping on the Rounds that did fire were very acceptable
Im looking for help figuring out why several rounds would not go into battery,

[RickinTN]

I'm taking a guess here, and I'm no semi-automatic handgun expert, but it looks like the one's pictured were dragging on the throat in your chamber. You might do a search on this site for "plunk test" and it could answer your questions.
Good Luck,
Rick

[Reddirt62]

Plunk test or a case gauge....strange but out of every 100 or so I will get one or two that won't gauge....everything same same but they won't gauge....haven't figured that one out yet. Most the time it ends up being too little crimp for me.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[gwpercle]

Springfields have a rather tight chamber , which is great for .451 , and these new guns don't have much throat. The chamber ends and the rifling begins. What's happening is two fold, That Lee bullet design is poor ( actually it sucks rocks) it was my first 45 acp mould and the only mould I ever sold, $2.00 at a yard sale and I was glad to be rid of it. It's just not right.
That said , I sized it to .451 , that helped. Then I kept seating the boolit deeper until it plunked cleanly into my old AMT Hardballer's barrel. I used a lower , starting charge, with it because it was a bit deep seated . I can't give you an OAL because back then we didn't measure stuff like that. I did used 5.2 grains of Unique. And make sure you have a proper crimp, any flare left on it will cause problems .
Sorry to bad mouth your mould but I went with it too and knowing what I know now, I would use the Lee 452-200-SWC or 452-230-TC.
I recently had a go round with a Springfield in 9 mm and that thing was mighty picky about boolit diameter and with the lack of a throat made getting a .357 sized cast boolit to feed and chamber a big pain. We tried 3 different Lee moulds before hitting on the right combo.

If you have trouble getting the Lee 452-228-1R to work properly , have the pistol throated or try another mould design. Being they only cost $20.00 it's easy to try another mould.
Good luck and welcome to the club.
Gary

[Cherokee]

Plunk test. I use the H&G style 200 SWC and the Lee 230 gr TC in my XDM, conventional lube. No problems. Chances are the exposed portion of your Lee bullet is too fat for the chamber/throat of the barrel.

[rainydayman]

I was Thinking of this mould to try on my .45 XDS and .45 XDM

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=41_151&products_id=953&osCsid=3ibhq2iadfno9m0mvh0g1g60r5

any thoughts ??

I will be powder coating

[runfiverun]

see that grey ring in the picture of the back of your barrel?
the ring on your boolits is coming from hitting right there.
it's a diameter thing from adding powder to them.

send the barrel to Doug guy while you got it out of the frame and he will fix it.

[rainydayman]

Just did plunk test on a round loaded to 1.220" and it fit perfectly. I'm going to try another batch at 1.220" rather then 1.275" Also I'm interested on feed back on that mould I was looking at. I was lurking here when I got started and wish I had just registered and asked before buying stuff. I like shooting steel so if someone can point me in the right direction for a mould for my xds and xdm in .45 and a xds and lc9 in 9mm that would be so much appreciated.

[Plate plinker]

Plunk test or a case gauge....strange but out of every 100 or so I will get one or two that won't gauge....everything same same but they won't gauge....haven't figured that one out yet. Most the time it ends up being too little crimp for me.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
I get that too, but it is usually because the rim has been beaten by the extractors or ejectors of the guns. So the brass has bumps or burrs.

Also most my old brass had been run in a Thompson, not sure how hard it was on brass but it came from a buddy.

[rainydayman]

Springfields have a rather tight chamber , which is great for .451 , and these new guns don't have much throat. The chamber ends and the rifling begins. What's happening is two fold, That Lee bullet design is poor ( actually it sucks rocks) it was my first 45 acp mould and the only mould I ever sold, $2.00 at a yard sale and I was glad to be rid of it. It's just not right.
That said , I sized it to .451 , that helped. Then I kept seating the boolit deeper until it plunked cleanly into my old AMT Hardballer's barrel. I used a lower , starting charge, with it because it was a bit deep seated . I can't give you an OAL because back then we didn't measure stuff like that. I did used 5.2 grains of Unique. And make sure you have a proper crimp, any flare left on it will cause problems .
Sorry to bad mouth your mould but I went with it too and knowing what I know now, I would use the Lee 452-200-SWC or 452-230-TC.
I recently had a go round with a Springfield in 9 mm and that thing was mighty picky about boolit diameter and with the lack of a throat made getting a .357 sized cast boolit to feed and chamber a big pain. We tried 3 different Lee moulds before hitting on the right combo.

If you have trouble getting the Lee 452-228-1R to work properly , have the pistol throated or try another mould design. Being they only cost $20.00 it's easy to try another mould.
Good luck and welcome to the club.
Gary


What did you wind up with for the 9mm XDS? I'm looking for a mould for that as well. Thanks so much

[popper]

My 9mm CDs likes the 35-135s with WST. 100% reliable and accurate.

[Yodogsandman]

Quit powder coating them and just tumble lube. Your powder coating is uneven and too thick.

[Wayne Smith]

If you still have the problem without powder coat definitely do a search for DougGuy's posts. You will send your barrel to him once you read what he does.

[dmccord]

192043If you are going to powder coat look at this NOE design. Its designed for a coated bullet. I load it and shoot it and it works good for me. They fall out of the mold.
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=84_464&products_id=670&osCsid=3ibhq2iadfno9m0mvh0g1g60r5


I was Thinking of this mould to try on my .45 XDS and .45 XDM

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=41_151&products_id=953&osCsid=3ibhq2iadfno9m0mvh0g1g60r5

any thoughts ??

I will be powder coating

[LakeviewBulldog]

I was Thinking of this mould to try on my .45 XDS and .45 XDM

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=41_151&products_id=953&osCsid=3ibhq2iadfno9m0mvh0g1g60r5
any thoughts ??

I will be powder coating

I have that mold for XDM, it works great. I seat those to about 1.160" and have no issues. The HP pins can be a bit tricky to use and it casts slower than a non HP mold. I also bought the flat sided mold for coating from NOE and the boolits absolutely rain out of that thing. That would be my first choice if you are committed to powder coating and want a good mold to knock out some boolits. They are kind of hidden on the site so I will post you a link to check out http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=84_464&osCsid=a1m12tdc4n25rsa8r267qgii00

[gwpercle]

What did you wind up with for the 9mm XDS? I'm looking for a mould for that as well. Thanks so much

The 9 mm XDS liked the Lee 356-120-TC best. It drops from the 2 cavity mould right at .357 , a trip through the .357 lube/sizer die just lubricates it with little sizing required. Easy as you please . This design has a tiny bevel base , just enough to help load but not enough to be a lube pain. I like this boolit in 9 mm.
I also ordered a NOE mould. 358-124-TC-GC. Cast of a softish alloy it drops .359, getting it sized down to .357 is a bit of a job. My thought was to load these at 1000 to 1200 fps with the soft alloy and the gas check would help eliminate leading.....which it does, they are just tough to size down to .357.
I discovered that when sized .358 , they are as accurate as all git-out in hot 357 magnum loads and in 38 special +P. Another member has had excellent accuracy with them in a 357 magnum lever action rifle.
The problem with 9mm can be boolit size, tight throats, and powder coating just adds to the diameter.
All of my boolits were conventional lube groove and lubed with Lithi-Bee soft lube, the NOE had gas checks installed.
That 45 NOE mould you were looking at sure has a wide nose and wicked hollow point, but I have no experience with it, maybe another member has one and would send you some test samples.
I can send you some of the 9mm Lee 356-120-TC and/or the NOE 358-124-TC-GC , all are sized .357 , lubed with lithi-bee and gas checked (NOE), if you want to try before you buy !
Just send me a PM with a address.
Gary

[BNE]

see that grey ring in the picture of the back of your barrel?
the ring on your boolits is coming from hitting right there.
it's a diameter thing from adding powder to them.

send the barrel to Doug guy while you got it out of the frame and he will fix it.

Good Advice,
Just sent my barrel to Dougguy. It was back in my hands within one week and it "plunks" most boolits it would not before I sent it. Accuracy is great. (It was great before also.)

[DSRichert]

Do you size before or after you PC

Sent from my LG-K330 using Tapatalk

[obssd1958]

do you size before or after you pc



yes!!!!

[obssd1958]

Actually, all smarta$$ answers aside, it depends on what you start out with for diameter, and what you need to end up with.
If your mould drops a boolit at .359 and you need it at .360, you would only size it after you powder coat.
However, if it drops a boolit at .360 and you need it to end up at .357 (for a 9mm), you might want to size it both before and after.

[rainydayman]

As stated this was my first attempt so any and all suggestions are welcome I did read almost the whole hundred and so page powder coat thread I sized after powder coating with these i'm going to try and pop off some of the ones that I seated deeper today see how that goes they did pass the plunk test