40 s&w boolits for a newbie

[slimpickins]

I am looking to start making my own .40 s&w boolits and am wondering on what type to go with I began looking to buy a tumble lube 6 cavity lee but now am wanting some more experienced input first. Are the TL boolits usually ok or do they really need to be sized first? I am going to have to locate a die and punch set for anything else and finding a good mold seems to be hard enough. I am curious about the bullet offerings by lee should I be looking for something different? I like using iron molds and seem to be more consistent with them over lee aluminum molds. So input would be appreciated. Im also in the market for a used mold and sizer, punch if you have an extra one you recommend or know where I can get one.

[Jumping Frog]

Well, I just cast my first boolits (ever) last weekend and then went and shot about 300 of them this weekend.

I used the Lee TL-401-175 6 cavity mould, with the Lee sizer and the liquid alox.

I've read some messages than complained about the Alox leaving things sticky, but I thought it worked out just fine.

I used to buy commercial cast boolits, and my own seemed to work every bit as well. The group sizes were comparable and I had no leading of the barrel.

[slimpickins]

Did you seem to have any trouble with shaving the bullet when seating? What kind of velocity were you pushing them too? Thanks just kinda seeing what others are trying to compare to what the load data ive found says?

[snaggdit]

My first boolits were using a Lee TC-401-175 two cavity. It dropped WW at .403 and 179-180gr. I used them as cast with LLA and they fired fine. Later, I slugged my barrel and found that my hi Point is .401. IIRC, .002 oversized is fine, with WW. Makes a good seal and I get no leading. I was using Accurate #5 and between 5.5 and 5.8gr. That was getting me ~850-900fps. Your mileage may vary. As I read posts, it seems LLA is fine to use on TL or lube groove boolits as well. As for shaving the boolit when loading, never a problem with the 40 s&w, but I did have that issue for a little while when I began loading my 9mm boolits. Found that with my Lee dies, seating the powder thru die (and case expander) a little lower widens the mouth of the casing a little more. Then the boolit sits just in the case mouth and I didn't have the shaving. You don't want to go too far, though. You will wear out the cases quickly. Just enough.

[HeavyMetal]

I got a Lee 145 grain 40 cal for a kid at work.

They don't make this in a six banger but I won't go into what I think of that!

The idea was to get the gun to shoot a little lower ( the gun shot high) and get some 357 type power out of it at the same time. Lee's manual shows I can get the baby into the mid to high 1300FPS range with no issues.

I'd take a hard look at that mold for a starter mold in the 40! You can still tumble lube this style boolit, the good thing is when you get tired of the LLA BS you can lube this one with a conventional lube sizer and not have to buy a second mold!

[slimpickins]

Thanks I hit the gun show this last weekend and picked up a couple boxes of commercial cast 145gr and 180gr for 50$ I thought it would get me by till i found a mold and sizer ect. and give me chance to test out the water in my 40 so any more suggestions would still be appreciated. Thanks from a newbie.

[lead slead]

slim I have cast a couple thousand of the 175 gr TL bullets. I don't size them. Just cast and water drop and then lube them. Im not looking for top notch accuracy just something to plink with. They do the job and are usually within 1gr of the stated 175 weight. I load up gold dots or hornady xtp bullets if I want to get serious. If you haven't started already get a stash of Wheel Weight lead. Melt it down in a different pot to keep the crud out of your casting pot. You may want to try rainier bullets too. Just a few bucks more but you don't have to mess with the lead.

[Leftoverdj]

The Lee TL bullets are usually OK as is but I size them anyway. I get rare, but predictable oversized casts maybe every 50-100 casts. It's just a fact of life that once in a while a spec of lead or crud will keep the mould from closing completely. I'd rather size than take a chance on getting a cartridge that won't chamber. The Lee sizer for under $15 does a good job and fits in your loading press.

As others have told you, bullets with conventional lube grooves may also be be TLed. I prefer that style because I can do them either way.

I'm a huge fan of the Lee Six Cavity moulds. Aluminum is in some ways easier to cast with, and it certainly is cheaper. You do have to adjust your technique if you are used to iron, but a session or two will take care of that. I've never worn one out, and I'm still using a 358-148- TL WC I bought the first year Lee made them.

[armyrat1970]

Did you seem to have any trouble with shaving the bullet when seating? What kind of velocity were you pushing them too? Thanks just kinda seeing what others are trying to compare to what the load data ive found says?

Hi slim. Get a Lee Universal Expanding die. You can bell the case mouth to accept the cast bullets with no shaving. Don't expand to much. Just a slight bell. Just enough to accept the bullet. You won't have any shaving problems.

[Bret4207]

I suggest doing what I'm doing for the 40S+W- Buy a couple of the inexpensive 2 cavity moulds of different types to try. I think Lee has 2 or 3 designs and I'm trying them and holding off on a 6 banger till I know which one I like better. And if you're just starting out I recommend starting with a single or double cavity mould rather than a 6 cav anyway.

[slimpickins]

I have the lee 3 die set for loading now and didnt seem to have an issue with shaving on either of the 145 or 180gr commercial bullets. I havent found a lee mold in stock anywhere I posted in the want to buy forum and havent heard from anyone yet several have come up for sale in the swappin and sellin but i dont get to check often enough and have missed out on them.. If anybody sees a mold or has one for sale let me know . I foudn a couple but I really cant justify spending 50+ on a lee mold right now until ive had a chance to shoot some of the loads ive already put up. Its been nasty this week and being in town I dont have the luxury of stepping out on the porch anymore to test a load. Boy I miss the good ole days.

[Leftoverdj]

I suggest doing what I'm doing for the 40S+W- Buy a couple of the inexpensive 2 cavity moulds of different types to try. I think Lee has 2 or 3 designs and I'm trying them and holding off on a 6 banger till I know which one I like better. And if you're just starting out I recommend starting with a single or double cavity mould rather than a 6 cav anyway.

Why would you blow half the cost of a set of six cavity blocks for a trial? If you buy three two cavities, you've spent more than one six would have cost you and still don't have the six.

[snaggdit]

Why would you blow half the cost of a set of six cavity blocks for a trial? If you buy three two cavities, you've spent more than one six would have cost you and still don't have the six.

Yeah, but once you factor in handles, three 2 cavs are the price of one 6 cav and now you have a variety. Besides, as us beginners start out, 2 cavs perform better with less rejects (confidence booster) and allow us to expand to our other calibers with less initial cost. After doing that and acquiring seven 2 cavs in different calibers, I just got (today) three Lee 6 cavs for my main calibers (.401, .356 and .452). Got them from a buddy who does lots of gun shows. He had them (and a few others) on Ebay, but when I expressed interest he pulled the ones I wanted and gave me all three for $100. Now I need to get some handles. Anyone? :roll:

Slimpickens, I would be fine with sending you 50 of the Lee 175 TC (lube groove) from WW if you want to try them. Unsized (drop at .403), unlubed, do what you want with them. PM me with your addy if you want some.

[Bret4207]

Why would you blow half the cost of a set of six cavity blocks for a trial? If you buy three two cavities, you've spent more than one six would have cost you and still don't have the six.

Because blowing 3X the money on a 6 banger I don't like is a waste. I'll try the 2 cavs till I find out which works best for me then buy the 6 cav and sell the 2 cav. A 2 cav is 4 less cavs to Leement also.

[superior]

I use the tl-401-175-swc for my Glock23. My Lee 3die carbide set let's me bell the case mouth slightly to avoid seating problems. My load of choice is straight ww (air cooled). I shoot them as cast sitting on 6.8grains of HS-6 and tumble lubed with 50/50 lithium axle grease/parffin. From the sitting position I can get 1.5 to 2 inch groups at 25 yards and have never seen leading in the bbl. Before I began casting, I fired 500 hornady 10mm 180 grain truncated cone boolits (no longer available) with no problems. They appeared to have been tumbled in LLA. I loaded the storebought boolits with 2.9 grains of bulleye and they were not as acurate as my homemade boolits with HS-6.

[sleeper1428]

You say that you're partial to iron molds so here's a suggestion on a very neat boolit mold for your 40S&W. It's the Lyman #401043 2-cavity mold which is, in fact, a 38/40 mold meant for use in rifles. I cast this boolit in hard ball (2-6-92) alloy and it consistently drops boolits that are just a hair over 0.401 in diameter, precisely the size that I want for my 2 pistols in 40S&W and my Glock 20 in 10mm. It's an ogive flatnose design with no crimping groove and it works fine when you seat it just deep enough to cover the forward most lube groove. I've never had a problem with it feeding properly in any of my pistols and it's at least as accurate as the other designs (TC and SWC) that I cast for 40 cal.

Here's a photo of that boolit (sized and lubed with the microfine mica rubbed off for the photo) and also a loaded round.

[camotruck]

Thanks for the pic sleeper and your PM. I now have more PM than Posts.

Mike

[lead slead]

I have shot a bullet similar to the 38-40 shown above that was commercial cast. It did a fine job in my M&P. I think the commercial cast bullet may have been from a saeco or rcbs mold and it had a crimp groove.