Lee 358-125-RF

[RobS]

There are two variations of this mold from what I gather. The older version which is what I understand to be pictured on the Lee as well as other websites http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1288660825.5928=/html/catalog/bullmol2.html and then the newer version that was designed later which more so resembles the 358-158-RF.

My question is does anyone have a picture of a bullet that comes from the current mold design as to clarify which design is being produced? Or even a close up picture of the mold cavities of the current design would work.

Thanks,

Rob

[starreloader]

Is there a difference in design of the 38-125RF?

Both of my 6 cav moulds are the same as pictured on the Lee website... I got these both from Lee back in April of this year... Moulds cast very good boolits, no problems at all with these 2 moulds

[Springfield]

It looks like this.

[prickett]

There are two variations of this mold from what I gather. The older version which is what I understand to be pictured on the Lee as well as other websites http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1288660825.5928=/html/catalog/bullmol2.html and then the newer version that was designed later which more so resembles the 358-158-RF.

My question is does anyone have a picture of a bullet that comes from the current mold design as to clarify which design is being produced? Or even a close up picture of the mold cavities of the current design would work.

Thanks,

Rob

There are some pictures in this thread: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=88701

[crabo]

It's a great boolit.

[Ranch Dog]

You didn't mention which "38" you are working with but I really enjoy the 380 Auto and came up with a TL358-125-RF, a tumble lubed, heavy bullet for full framed pistols. It is a bit different than the Lee offering with little longer nose to fit the 380 Auto and larger meplat for self defense consideration.

http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/store/images/TL358125RF.jpg

The magazine constraints of most compacts and all sub-compacts do not allow the large bullet use so I also worked on a 100-grain version, the TL358-100-RF, for those pistols. Here they both are, big and little, with a factory JHP round in between.

http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/TL358125RF/Images/380_Auto_Fat_Boy.jpg

[crabo]

R Dog, it looks like that is a pb boolit? No GC?

[Doby45]

It is for a 380, I don't think a GC would be necessary. ;)

[crabo]

It is for a 380, I don't think a GC would be necessary. ;)

I was thinking about other applications.

[Ranch Dog]

R Dog, it looks like that is a pb boolit? No GC?

Yeah, I know it's out of character for me but not needed here. I did decide to gas check my TL356-135-RF, 9mm Luger bullet. Of course, it pops out of the barrel at twice the pressure of the 380 Auto. Here are my two .356 bullets. More than likely, I will only inventory the gas checked bullet. Plain base designs are a dime a dozen as they say.

http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/store/images/TL356135RF.jpg http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/store/images/TLC356135RF.jpg

I do know what you are thinking, 357 Mag in a Marlin rifle?

[alamogunr]

I bought the Lee 358-125RF about a month ago with the intent to use it to work up loads for my two sons 9mm's. The mold I got drops a boolet like the photo in post #3. Haven't done much development yet but it does function in both guns. Not a hiccup in about 100 rounds.

John
W.TN

[dualsport]

I have the 100 gr. version coming from RD. It will be used primarily in a large frame .380, even though I could use the heavier version in my Bersa. It's for my daughters to shoot, who are recoil sensitive. I figure if the practice ammo is mild they will practice more and get better acquainted with the gun. I'm also going to try it in my 9mm, for a light load. You can really crank out a lot of boolits with that pb TL design, for pennies. And yes, of course I'll have to launch it from my Marlin .357.

[Ranch Dog]

The beauty of the TL358-125-RF is that it gives the 380 Auto a Hatcher Index greater than that of the 9mm Luger with a 115 FMJ. The 9mm is considered, by many, the minimum for self defense use but the heavy cast bullet in a 380 Auto changes that.

[RobS]

The 358-125-RF mold from MidwayUSA came in for my dad today and is the design that springfield has up in post #3. It is a two cavity mold, not a six, so there may still be old stock possibly of the 6 cavity floating around. I thought I would post up what is current.

[JIMinPHX]

The beauty of the TL358-125-RF is that it gives the 380 Auto a Hatcher Index greater than that of the 9mm Luger with a 115 FMJ. The 9mm is considered, by many, the minimum for self defense use but the heavy cast bullet in a 380 Auto changes that.

What do you use for load data with a heavy .380?

[dualsport]

The beauty of the TL358-125-RF is that it gives the 380 Auto a Hatcher Index greater than that of the 9mm Luger with a 115 FMJ. The 9mm is considered, by many, the minimum for self defense use but the heavy cast bullet in a 380 Auto changes that.

What would the Hatcher Index be with the 100 grainer in a stout .380 like the Bersa?

[jameslovesjammie]

Old on the left, new on the right.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c129/jameslovesjammie/gun%20stuff/Casting%20Stuff/P1020606-1.jpg

[alamogunr]

I tumble lubed the first hundred or so of these boolets I loaded for 9mm. I would like to try conventional sizing and lubing now. The only .358 die I have is for my SAECO lubrisizer. Does anyone have a recommended top punch for the SAECO sizer?

John
W.TN

[Ugluk]

This thread just compelled me to order a six-cavity mould for this boolit.

Midwaysweden had them in stock, and I couldn't help myself when I saw that Lee now only sell the 2-cav version.. D*mn! I'm weak..

This should be the bees knees for my 9mm Luger Taurus.

[Roundnoser]

If used in a 9mm application, where is the best depth to seat the 358-125-RF bullet? (mouth of the casing above the crimp groove?) -- It has a really nice profile! -- I gotta get one!

[Wally]

I used both styles..the old style worked better in the 9mm but I like the new style better in the .38 Spl & the .357 magnum. This is one sweet bullet as it is very accurate. My guess is that the RNF self-centers on the forcing cone giving it intrinsic accuracy. In the .38 Spl with 3.5 grains of Bullsye you get 900 FPS MV. 6.0 grains of Bullseye in the .357 magnum gives you 1,200 FPS MV.

[Doby45]

3.5gr of Bullseye with that boolit will shoot the eyes outta flies. :)

[legi0n]

I use this bullet in 9mm seated case-mouth-in-line-with-the-crimp-groove
on top of 4.8 or 5 grains of Unique (1200 fps for the 5gr)

[dualsport]

Got a nice surprise today in the mail. My new 6 cav Ranch Dog mold is here! I can't wait to try it. It really looks good. The label on the box from Lee says "TLC358-100RF" I think that's a goof because it's a pb, not gc. Between this mold and my 358-125RF I think I'm set for some high production plinking loads. The RD 100 gr. has a larger meplat than the Lee 125. Should be interesting. I may even set up the old Lee progressive and go to town. Haven't touched it in 20 yrs.!
Roundnoser; check RDs website, there's cartridge dimensions there.

[JIMinPHX]

If used in a 9mm application, where is the best depth to seat the 358-125-RF bullet? (mouth of the casing above the crimp groove?) -- It has a really nice profile! -- I gotta get one!

In my experience, the best COAL for that boolit in a 9mm seems to vary from gun to gun. I generally try to seat it with the crimp groove just below the case mouth, but some guns doesn't like to feed at that length. It usually takes a little trial & error with a few dummy rounds to figure out where you need to start.

[jameslovesjammie]

In the .38 Spl with 3.5 grains of Bullsye you get 900 FPS MV. 6.0 grains of Bullseye in the .357 magnum gives you 1,200 FPS MV.

2.8 grains of Bullseye in .38 Special gives an AV of 677 fps in a 4 5/8" Blackhawk, combined with hardly any recoil. Any less powder and you really need a filler. I've also tried 2.5 and 2.2 grains, but 2/5 show a massive velocity drop from shot to shot.

[dualsport]

I tried out my new RD TL358-100RF mold. Just cleaned it with alcohol and went to it. After about 15 passes it was dropping perfect little boolits. No sticking. They are round, .360 with my alloy. They are consistent from each cavity and mine weigh 102 gr. Sure drain a 10 lb. pot fast. Between the boolits and the sprue that's over 1,000 gr. per pour coming out of the pot. I guess now I have an excuse to get a bigger pot. My Lee 10 lb. Production pot is 25 yrs. old and works great, maybe I'll try their 20. These little pills are going to be fun. Lots of possibilities for experimenting in anything with a .356-359 groove. I think I'll get one of RD's lube/sizer kits too. They're bigger than the standard offerings from Lee. You know I'm going to heat treat some of these little babies and launch them in a Marlin .357, see what happens. I now have a range of .357ish molds from 100 to 200 grs.! Maybe the RD 100 will make my Marlin into a ground squirrel fixer.

[Wally]

In my Marlin 1894C I used the Lee 102 RN in a .38 Spl case---4.0 grains of Red Dot gave me 1,030 FPS MV...great plinker load.