I hate to ask this

[Franklin7x57]

I've got a 16" contender barrel in 45-70. I bought some 405 grain cast bullets and they shoot ok but they were 40 cents a piece. I will only shoot 100 rds a year or so, would a lee mold hold up for this amount of shooting? 95 rds would be at paper and hopefully 5 or less at whitetails, should I stick with a 405 grain or try a lighter bullet? My other molds are rcbs pistol molds and I like them but don't want to spend $70 for a 100 bullets are year.

[badgeredd]

I've got a 16" contender barrel in 45-70. I bought some 405 grain cast bullets and they shoot ok but they were 40 cents a piece. I will only shoot 100 rds a year or so, would a lee mold hold up for this amount of shooting? 95 rds would be at paper and hopefully 5 or less at whitetails, should I stick with a 405 grain or try a lighter bullet? My other molds are rcbs pistol molds and I like them but don't want to spend $70 for a 100 bullets are year.

It may take a little leementing but it seems to me that you would be far better off buying your mold. YES the Lee molds will hold up if you treat them with care. For what you're spending on 100 boolits you could buy the 405 and another mold and be able to experiment with the boolits much more. Kinda seems like a no-brainer to me.

Edd

[HeavyMetal]

A mold, cast iron pot for the stove and an RCBS ladle and your set!

Use the Lee push through sizer set up and pan lube with something like Lar's carnuba red and your good to go!

Might even consider a lighter boolt? I got the RCBS 300 grain for mine and it has a whole lot less recoil. 405's are nice if your after T-Rex. otherwise hard on my elbow.

[jhrosier]

Franklin,
Even if you cast only 500 boolits and then threw away the mould, the Lee mould would save you money. I have several Lee moulds that have cast 5000 or more boolits without any sign of immanent failure.
Like any other tool, the Lee mould will give good service and last a long time with proper care.

I'm saying this as a person who strongly favors Lyman/Ideal moulds.

If you are getting good results with the 405 gr boolit there is probably no compelling reason to change.
On the other hand, the Lee lould is inexpensive enough to warrant buying one on speculation.
If you cast a couple hundred boolits and then find that you don't like them, you can sell the mould here in the classifieds and it will probably sell in minutes if it is priced reasonable.

It looks like you just can't hardly loose.

Jack

[SmuvBoGa]

FWIW the last four Lee moulds I bought worked 100% - rubbed them over with an eraser & sprayed them (till wet) with "brake cleaner", let dry, then coated with mould prep from Rapine (a black graphite solution put on with a Q-tip) let dry & I'm casting. Takes maybe 30 mins to do the(above)"prep". At about $100.00 for the 4 moulds it is worth the gamble ... even if they don't work the "p.i.a." is high but NOT the $$ you put out.

JohnMc

[jhrosier]

BTW, if you just want to try a few before buying the mould, you might want to visit the boolit exchange subforum of selling and swapping and offer to trade some of your pistol boolits for some of the lighter 45 cal boolits.

Jack

[sqlbullet]

I, like others who have responded, have several Lee molds. All of them have cast at least 1,000 bullets, and several have counts closing in on 10,000.

Get one, wash it, let it heat up well, and it will drop fine bullets for you.

[jdgabbard]

My opinion on the subject is mixed. How much will you be shooting of other calibers? Because eventually you will be buying more equipment, and contrary to popular belief reloading doesn't save you money. Just let's you shoot more for your buck. If you're going to invest in this equipment, you will have some money out of pocket. But you'll have a running start at loading for many more of your rifles and handguns.

[Wayne Smith]

Be gentle with a Lee 2C mold and it will last longer than most here believe, especially if you use BullPlate lube. Bang it around and hit it with sticks and it will give up the ghost quickly. Your choice.

[docone31]

I have not been gentle with my Lee molds, and I see no sign of wear. I am talking a couple of thousand rounds.
I am not so sure of the sizeing die however. I paper patch and really down size.
I like Lee molds. I like the designs.
This one is a no brainer.

[jack19512]

would a lee mold hold up for this amount of shooting?







Yes it will.

[captain-03]

Yes it will.

Yes it will and then some!

[Franklin7x57]

Thanks. Ive been reloading for 35 years. I casted some for pistol back when I started reloading but didn't shoot enough to justify the time when I was young. Now I'm older have more time and a supply of about a 5 gal bucket a month of ww.
I've got a rcbs luber size and plan to use that, just need die and top punch

[will52100]

I personaly prefere Lee moulds to anything else I've used, mainly RCBS and Lyman. The aluminum lets you cast faster and is faster to break in and heat up. I should add when the Lee is working rite and I don't have to put some time Lee menting into it. I've got a 500 grain 45 mould that doen't work too well simply because it's at the limit of the size for the little double/single cavity block. The bigest tip is to use the Bull Plate lube for the sprue, and to read the Lee-menting thread. Lots of good info there on little things to clean up the occasional roughness. Though most of mine droped fine with just a little smokeing, some have had to have a little TLC.

Normaly what I do is to try out a new mould design with the double cavities and if I like it and want to cast a lot get one of the 6 bangers. There a lot better quality and should last even longer, and more importantly for pistol and leaver gun bullets will cast a pile in a short amount of time. But just about everything I've got is got over a 1000 rounds casted or more. The six bangers have anywhere from 5-10,000 casting through them.