Oversized lee mold, or is this okay?

[jbrown]

I've got a 6 cavity TL401-175-SWC - 40 S&W (401 Diameter) 175 Grain Tumble lube mold. I'm casting using approx hardball (#2) alloy. The boolits look good, but the sizes kinda worry me a bit.

The leading shoulder diameter measures out at .407-.408, with the inside of the grooves being .398-.399. These are the first boolits I've cast, and I'm a bit nervous about shooting something .007 oversized. :s

Lee's documentation says I 'may' be able to shoot them as-is with alox lube, assuming the rounds chamber properly (which they seem to, but are a bit 'sticky' sometimes)

Anyone have experience with this before?

[mpmarty]

If I may ask, what are you measuring with? I have that mold and it drops perfect .401 - .4015 boolits all day long.

[Cloudpeak]

I like to run all of my bullets (9mm, 38 & 45) through the Lee push through sizer dies. Occasionally, especially with Lee 6 cavity molds, I've encountered oversized bullets. The push through's are low cost and fast and, for me, there's something to be said for uniformity.

[Phat Man Mike]

I like to run all of my bullets (9mm, 38 & 45) through the Lee push through sizer dies. Occasionally, especially with Lee 6 cavity molds, I've encountered oversized bullets. The push through's are low cost and fast and, for me, there's something to be said for uniformity.

1+ to what he said! that's how I've been doing mine! :D

[runfiverun]

i doubt you'll be able to chamber those.
if you do resize you won't have any lube grooves left.
if it's just the front drive band you need to relook your mold over.
hold it up to the light, check for burrs on the contact points,those kinds of things.
if it's a 6 cav make sure you aren't using the hangle as a thumb rest while casting that will make some goofy boolits.
you now know everything about lee molds i do except how to make them make good boolits.
i don't have any so thats all the help i'll be.

[jbrown]

I've measured them with two different mitutoyo calipers - they are accuarate to half a ten-thousandth, and I zero them before so I think they are fine.

The front driving band is the biggest part, and I haven't been able to fine a bullet it drops that is smaller than .405 there. I've looked for burrs and the like, and haven't really seen any yet.

I field stripped my xd-40 and tried to slug the barrel with one. After a ton of pounding it finally got through enough to engrave on the rifling (was doing it breech first of course to avoid mangling the crown), and the lube grooves were squished to almost non-existence.

When you say it drops 'perfect .400-.401' are you measuring on the leading driving band, on the lube grooves??

[d_striker]

Lee has been having qc issues with this mold. I had the exact same problem with this mold and so have many others.

Check out this thread. There is an email from lee regarding this mold toward the bottom.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=69110&highlight=Dilemma

[mpmarty]

When you say it drops 'perfect .400-.401' are you measuring on the leading driving band, on the lube grooves?? I measure the largest part of the boolit which is usually the base driving band(s).

I use a 0-1" brown and sharp micrometer to measure diameters. Only use calipers to measure overall length of loaded rounds.

[fatelk]

I have the same mold, and it casts .405". I have cast a bunch of bullets, and have a .401 sizer coming assuming it will be fine to size .405 down to .401. Is this too far for a TL boolit?

After reading the thread that that link goes to, it sounds like there are a bunch of these out there and Lee is aware of it. I just sent an undersized 6 cavity .45 mold back; I'm thinking that I should have put these .40 molds in the box with them.

[243winxb]

I'm casting using approx hardball (#2) alloy. Lee moulds are regulated using 10 parts lead to 1 part tin. Antimony will make the bullet diameter larger and harder.
diameter measures out at .407-.408, Any time the bullet drops more than .003" over the diameter marked on the mould with the correct alloy, the mould is defective and needs to be returned.

[snuffy]

I have a 6 banger for the 401-175 TC. It drops them right at .401 using #2 alloy,(approx.). Great mold, makes a pile of boolits in a hurry, loaded as-cast, they shoot great from my factory glock.

Now on another note, I recently bought a 9mm TL-156-2R. It drops boolits that are .362! I run a few through a .356 lee push-through sizer, the TL grooves are still visible, but not very deep. I'm sure that lee would replace it, but I'm wondering if those might shoot well. I don't own a 9, my buddy wanted to make some RN boolits, so I got it for him. Sounds like lee is under pressure to produce more, quaility is slipping. Now some will say it never existed,,,---.

[sqlbullet]

Mine drops them .401-.402 regular as rain as long as I do my part.

[HammerMTB]

I have the same mold, and it casts .405". I have cast a bunch of bullets, and have a .401 sizer coming assuming it will be fine to size .405 down to .401. Is this too far for a TL boolit?


I have the same boolit in a conventional lube groove, and it makes boos .404-.405. They size to .401 in the Lee push thru nicely. I've polished my push thru die to a mirror finish, and don't need to lube before sizing. I then LLA lube them before use. It seems as simple as I can make lots of .40 cal boolits, and I have coffee cans full of them.

[Ajax]

i thought you wanted the mould to be a little bigger. Is that too big to resize?

[runfiverun]

a thou or two oversized is not a problem but much more than that and you start raising the pressures, deforming the boolit too much,wiping out the bands on sizing,deforming the bases when sizing,and will have chambering problems in some guns.
now if your brass is sizing down a boolit, the larger casting can be used to make it up.