Lee 32 cal maxi mold

[Fastleo]

I have a t/c Cherokee in 32 and I’d like to play with it with maxi balls. What can I expect out of the gun and are these Lee molds worth it.

Andy

[swheeler]

I didn't know Lee made a 32 maxi mold.:oops:

[Fastleo]

Yup 6 cavity 55.00 on track of the wolf

[swheeler]

Thanks I'll look, maybe a 36 cal to replace the single cavity TC

[dondiego]

My .32 Crockett shoots them well as does my .32 pistol. I have yet to try them in my .32 Cherokee. I need a .36 Maxi as well.

[Fastleo]

My .32 Crockett shoots them well as does my .32 pistol. I have yet to try them in my .32 Cherokee. I need a .36 Maxi as well.

How do they compare to the original mold? Do you cast them pure lead?

[dondiego]

I don't have an original mold, nor have I ever seen or shot any originals. I do cast in pure lead.

[Squeeze]

I have the lee, but have shot some from the TC mold. IIRC they are clones. I know the weights were the same ~.107-108 grain. The lee is a decent mold, I just dont see the need for a 6 banger mold for muzzleloader. It shoots decent enough in all my .32's load development just seems to get more finicky the slower the twist. Im a believer in the 48 twist is too slow for the .32 cal. (I consider the TC 1-30 twist as the benchmark for a .32 on almost all levels) The typical formulas and figures kind of get skewed way down at the small end of the sprectrum. I like to use a sagebrush veg wad with pretty much all my conical shooting. I cast them in (what I call) pure lead, or soft. Pretty sure track sells them in both 32, .36

[yeahbub]

Both maxi's and REALs often benefit from being cloth-patched over the base driving band. In rifles which seem to produce only indifferent accuracy with them, the culprit is often leakage somewhere along its travel down the bore.

I'm not sure what the .32's dimensions are, but it might be a candidate for sizing and paper patching in the ML, and/or cat sneeze loads in a .30 if cast of WW's.

[NoZombies]

The designs are slightly different between the TC mold and the Lee, but they were close enough that I sold the TC mold after testing the mines from the Lee. I found no measurable difference in accuracy between the two.

[Fastleo]

The designs are slightly different between the TC mold and the Lee, but they were close enough that I sold the TC mold after testing the mines from the Lee. I found no measurable difference in accuracy between the two.


What are you lubing with? I’m definitely going to order one in my next totw order. Also what are you using for a range rod. I ordered a stainless one from totw. I’m no comfortable using it as it’s dang near the same dimensions as the bore and I don’t want to damage this Cherokee

[quail4jake]

Cherokee! My lord, that's a rifle that takes me back in the day. I bought a new T/C Cherokee in 1984 for almost $150 (a lot of money then) and mounted a brass 4X single refraction telescope on it to shoot squirrels. The objective lens clouded over with fouling every time I fired it and the .32 bore was difficult to manage with a patched ball but mounting Williams fire sights and using a well lubed maxi ball made it shoot real good. I never did kill any squirrels with it but I gave it to a friend who was hungry and he regularly shot squirrels, rabbits, cats and anything else to feed his family and all he used was a pellet of #1 buck with a cleaning patch chewed well and 25 gr FFFg! Meanwhile, I went back to shooting squirrels on the fly with my A.H.Fox "skysweeper" and filled the crock pot that way. My friend still has that little rifle and their children are all grown and out of the house, he and his wife still eat squirrel and I'd rather eat roast shoe leather than gray rodent!
A 5/16" hickory dowel sanded smooth and finished with tung oil with a file handle on one end and a rammer/jag tip glued and pinned firmly on the other makes a great range rod, difficult to use a bore guide that small and a wooden rod wiped clean won't significantly wear the muzzle for the first 25,000 rounds (no fiberglass, please). Lube well and apply gentle pressure to seat the ball, those skinny little sticks break easy...that's why my smallest muzzle loader is cal..50 now, little bores are more difficult. Still a lot of fun!
Anyway, I think I still have the T/C .32 maxi mold and I'll be glad to send it to you if I can find it. If I do find it and get it to you I can honestly claim that nothing cast in that mold ever took a life but really tore up tree bark a few inches behind many a squirrel a long time ago. PM me if you're interested and I'll look for the mold.

[Fastleo]

Great idea for the ram rod. I’d love to have the mold if you find it. Pm sent

[NoZombies]

What are you lubing with? I’m definitely going to order one in my next totw order. Also what are you using for a range rod. I ordered a stainless one from totw. I’m no comfortable using it as it’s dang near the same dimensions as the bore and I don’t want to damage this Cherokee

I apologize if I misled, I didn't shoot them in a Cherokee, but in another .32 muzzle loader. I was using 50/50 beeswax and vaseline, and I was using a hickory ramrod that came with the rifle.

[Fastleo]

Do you just pan lube?

[swamp]

Do you just pan lube?

I do. Tallow/beeswax.
swamp

[NoZombies]

I do generally pan lube for Minies.