Lee Alternative

[army_doc]

I am looking for an alternative to the Lee Precision 6 cavity 9mm mold. A few of my guns do not like 356 diameter lead bullets. They keyhole about 3 out of 20 round but when I use a 358 TC sized to 357 it solves the problem. So I am looking for a 358-360 125-135ish round nose 5 cavity or more bullet mold.

I am most likely going to go with Arsenal Molds but I was wanting to know if anyone knew of another one with more cavity that would fit the bill.
I would just use a 2-4 cavity mold but I am a competitive shooter and shoot about 1000 rounds a month and would like to not have to spend hours a week at the smelter.
Any information that ya'all can give me would me very appreciated

[megasupermagnum]

Not a round nose, but a round nose flat point. The Lee 358-125-RF comes in a 6 cavity, and feeds good in the only 9mm I tried it in.

[Bookworm]

I shoot that same 358-125-RF from several different 9's. It feeds and functions in all of them beautifully, but I did have to fiddle with OAL to get one length that would chamber in all.

Accuracy is very good, and Lee has a 6-cav mold available.

[am44mag]

Have you tried shimming the mold with some aluminum tape? Just add small pieces around the cavities. Leave a little bit of a gap between the edge of the cavity and the edge of the tape though. A single layer should be enough. It's a cheap solution that many here have found success doing. There's a thread that describes how to do it and the results. I'll see if I can dig it up for you.

[am44mag]

Found it. It's usually done with 2 cav molds, but it might work with a 6 cav. Aluminum tape is relatively cheap so it's not that big of a risk.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?117331-Mould-Enlargement-%93beagling%94

http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/MoldMods/BDE.pdf

[GhostHawk]

That is my vote also. I had 2 9mm's keyholing badly with the Lee .356 124.

I feed both with those .358 125 rnfp as cast. No sizing. Alloy is roughly 50% COWW and 50% range scrap or soft lead with 1% tin/pewter added.

They come out .359-.3595 and keyholing was gone. Groups got very tight and consistent.
I lube mine with BLL.

[Pine Baron]

Another vote for the 358-125-RF, pc'd and sized to .358. I use a 38 S&W case expander to get them into the 9MM case and seat them ,IIRC, to 1.125. These work in all 3 of my pistols and Hi Point carbine.

[Grmps]

army_doc - welcome to CB. If you decided to start casting to save money, forget it. You won't, you'll just shoot more.

another option is you could get into Powder Coating an easy way to increase diameter and avoid messy lubes
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?184-Coatings-and-Alternatives
I've cast and coated a bunch of 356-125 2R and shot them in both 9mm and 38/357


Casting boolits (lead bullets) properly is a science, once you know the basics, not a hard science.
There is a lot of good information on CB. The Google search (top right of every forum page) is a gateway to all the knowledge on this forum. IF you can’t find your answer there ask the question (Please be as detailed as possible, pictures help http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?344661-Capturing-amp-Posting-screen-shots I would be very surprised if there wasn’t someone on this forum that could answer ANY (firearm related) question you might have)
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm
1. Boolits need to be cast .0005 to .003 (normally .002) over the slugged diameter of your barrel for accuracy and to avoid leading. If the fit is wrong nothing else will work right.
a. slugging a barrel (it is safer to use a brass rod or a steel rod with a couple of coats of tape to avoid damaging your barrel http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSlug.htm
b. chamber casting https://www.brownells.com/guntech/cerrosafe/detail.htm?lid=10614
or pound casting http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?356251-Pound-Cast-instructions-(for-rifle-chamber)
2. the right alloy needs to be used for the velocity and purpose of the boolit (don’t fall into the trap of going with too hard an alloy
Economical way to easily test lead hardness
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?355056-Easier-pencil-lead-hardness-testing
https://i.imgur.com/TGUQsIe.jpg
Some alloys harden over time
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_3_alloySelectionMetallurgy.ht m
different alloy’s different end sizes
https://i.imgur.com/emuBC2T.png?1
Lead alloy calculator
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=45784&d=1341560870
3. velocity the bullet needs to be pushed hard/fast enough to get the proper spin, have the proper velocity to accurately reach the target but not so hard as to be dangerous or strip the lead off in the grooves instead of spinning the boolit..
The boolit needs to be the right weight for the riffling/twist rate of your barrel
Powders range from fast to slow, you need to choose the right powder for your barrel length & application.
Loading manuals list the best powders for certain calibers and boolit weights.
NEVER use any posted noncommercial load data without first checking commercial load data to see if falls in the safe parameter for your firearm!! There are several firearms out there that can handle much higher pressures than others!!
Link to free online load data
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?337910-CB-load-data-online-sources

[army_doc]

I have tried the 125 rnfp bullets And they have worked well in some of my guns but I own about 10 different 9 mm and I'm looking for something that will function in all of them I think I'm just going to go with an arsenal mold they make a 5 cavity 359 round nose when I get it I'll let y'all know how it worked out

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I would bet the NOE 358 128 SWC would work in all your guns. It is the one that I went to when I had troublesome Ruger 9e that wouldn't chamber any Lee boolits from the molds I have. BUT, I would also recommend Arsenal for a custom mold...they are great to work with, I ordered a custom lightweight 41 Mag SWC from them in a 5 cav mold, great price and great product.

[Freightman]

I use the .358 mold and size to .358 after PC works great in my 9mm's

[mdi]

Your finished bullet diameter can vary with alloy and casting temperature. My soft "mystery metal" running about 12-13 BHN drops at .358"+ from my Lee 125 RNFP. Perhaps you can experiment to get larger bullets (key holing often comes from undersize bullets).

I have used it in 5 guns, just sized a bit differently. Two of my 9mms get .357" and one gets .358". My 38 Specials get .357" and my 357 Magnum gets .358". My 9mms usually get my soft "Speed Green and my 357 Magnum gets C-Red and sometimes my 38 Specials get 45-45-10 or Speed Green. No key holing or leading...