Weight and diameter deviation Lee molds.

[dagger dog]

Is it common for Lee aluminum molds to drop much heavier and larger diameter bullets that the specs.? In such as Lees 452-255 FP it droppped .454" and 267 gr. with an alloy mix of 9# wheel weights and 1# 50/50 solder (Lymans #2 Alloy)?

The only deviation from instructions was I water quenched. The oversize was taken care of by my sizer, but 12 grs in weight seems a little much, this was an average of 100 bullets. Could I add tin or lino to bring the weight into line?:violin:

Thanks in advance for any help.

[stubshaft]

You could add lino but it would make the diameter larger. My Lee 501/440 casts boolits at .503" and 479gr.. personally I wouldn't worry too much about it. I have very few factory molds that cast at their listed weight.

[mooman76]

I myself wouldn't worry about the weight difference. It's probably because they are dropping a little large. Make sure your mould is closing good. A little spec of lead or something will keep the mould from closing all the way but like I said it's not that big a deal and better to drop large than too small.

[sagacious]

My LEE 452-255-RF mold casts a little heavy. With the alloys I use, it drops at 260 to 266 grains. I don't give it any concern.

A bullet that consistently weighs a few grains over "spec" will not cause any kind of safety problem during reloading/firing. The extra few grains of bullet weight don't make any material difference. But, this is one of the reasons to always start at the lower recommended charge weight when developing a reload recipe.

Casting at .454" is not a worry either. That's only an additional two thousandth's of an inch over .452". Perhaps the ideal size might be for the mold to drop at .453" and you size to .452"..... but you're only a thousandth past that. Not a problem. Your as-cast diameter sounds pretty good actually.

The LEE 452-255-RF has relatively small lube grooves. As long as your resizing does not obliterate the grooves, you're perfectly fine. New casters are generally very conscious of bullet weight discrepancies, for understandable reasons. Such slight weight discrepancies are just part of the "real-world" of reloading.

The instruction sheet that comes with the LEE 6-cavity molds states that, "All bullet weights for LEE molds are given using a one-to-ten lead/tin mix, except Round Balls and Minies." I do not use 1-10 alloy, but I find that some of my LEE molds cast to exact weight and size with pure linotype alloy, so... that leads us back to the real-world, where actual bullet weight varies.

Not also that LEE does not specify that one must use 1-10 alloy. The instructions say that many alloys will work, or can be made to work. This reflects the fact that various casters will inevitably use various alloys, simply because different reload recipes and different guns will require bullets of different hardness-- and as-cast weight varies with hardness.

Best of luck. :drinks:

[jmsj]

Dagger dog,
I just got that same mold yesterday, haven't cast any with yet. But your results are what I am hoping for !!

[dagger dog]

Had to take a few of those 267 gr. LEE 252 255 RF's down to the sinkhole and see how they shot. I don't have a bench down there so I can't sand bag for accuracy, but was able to keep them in a small enough group that they show promise shooting free hand.

I tumble lubed them and pushed them through the .452" sizer die. Roll crimped them into a trimmed and flared case behind a stiff load of 2400 and a LP primer. I checked to see if the sized bullet would stay in the throats of the Blackhaks cylinder and they do.

I think I will reduce the charge of powder because I had some unburnt powder showing while extracting the cases, none show any over pressure signs, and most dropped free of the cylinder.

I have a Chrony chrono and will eventually run some of these RF's through to see where they
clock, in the Rugers 4 5/8th" bbl.

jmsj,
Hey bud!

You will like the results, that mold drops a pretty bullet for the .45 Colt and it is impressive when loaded into some shiny brass. Have fun!

[jmsj]

dagger dog,
Thanks for the heads up.
What type of primers behind that load of 2400?
I Have a Ruger Vaquero/Bisley with a 4 5/8" barrel. I use 20.0 grains of 2400 and a Winchester WLP primer under a store bought 255gr. RNFP. The WLP are supposed to be able to be used as a standard or magnum primer. This load doesn't leave any unburnt powder and is accurate in my Ruger ( 1" @25yds off of pistol rest).
Good luck with your load development. jmsj

[Shiloh]

If they are going to vary, I prefer them to be on the larger side rather than vice versa.
I have two that are heavy.

I got a new 6 banger LEE 140 that drops at .359+ with high percentage range scrap.
Probably be bigger with higher percentage antimony in the alloy. Drops at 142 gr.
Not enough difference to worry about.

Shiloh