Lee 125 gr. RF

[Ben]

Boy......am I a happy camper ! ! ! !

I took my Marlin 1894, CBC, 38 Spec. to the range. Fired 7 rounds at 50 yards into roughly a 3/4 " group ( + or - ) with the Lee 125 gr. RF bullet, sized .3575 ", using Wolf small pistol primers and a mild crimp. Powder charge was 5.5 grs. of Russian Unique ( Salute ).

I think this bullet is going to get a lot of use at my loading bench now !

[Cowboy T]

Oh, that's pretty. Not just the boolits, but the precision you got.

[Ben]

Cowboy T :

What is interesting about this is that I simply said " Ummm, .... I think I'll try 5.5 grs. of Russian Unique with this 125 gr. bullet ", I loaded a few " test rounds " and headed to the range.

Makes you wonder what it will do when you really begin to experiment with the bullet and different powders and powder charges ? ?

This was my 1st attempt at firing this particular bullet.

Ben

[Jeff H]

I have a small pile of those cast for me by a friend that I have not tried yet.
Looks like I should get on the ball and load some up.

"Russian Unique?"

[Ben]

Yes....Russian Unique. I bought three 5.4 pound containers of this stuff from Pat McDonald for $9.50 per pound about 4 - 5 yrs. ago. I wish now that I'd bought 100 of them. In my experience with this powder, I rate it among my favorites in the pistol propellant category.

Ben

[Jeff H]

Yes....Russian Unique. I bought three 5.4 pound containers of this stuff from Pat McDonald for $9.50 per pound about 4 - 5 yrs. ago. I wish now that I'd bought 100 of them. In my experience with this powder, I rate it among my favorites in the pistol propellant category.

Ben

Thank you, Ben. I haven't seen $9/# powder since mid-eighties for H414.

[Ben]

And we most likely won't be seeing anymore in the future either at that price.

Wish I had stashed back more of it.

Ben

[JIMinPHX]

That's an awfully nice result you got there Ben. That's a real nice rifle too. I've always wanted an 1894C. It's a classic.

As for powder price, I did see Green Dot at a local big box store the other day for around $16/lb, so things are starting to get a little more reasonable again.

[Ben]

Man thanks Jim,

I'm not rich, but I can afford $16.00. Yes, it does seem like ( at least around here ) that supply is catching up with demand. I walked into a gun shop the other day in Huntsville, they had 4 brands of primers, rifle , pistol, standard, magnum for $23.95 and had them stacked waist high on wood pallets. That is certainly an improvement over what we were seeing 2 yrs. ago.

In this 38 Spec. there would be a lot of fun for that $16 investment.

I was moving stuff around on my reloading bench the other day, I found a Hodgdon Powder Can. H - 4831 ( Surplus ) , a 1 lb . can, I had paid $1.75 in 1967 for the powder. I was shooting a hvy. barrel 98' Mauser in 30-06 shooting the Speer 130 gr. HP. I had killed over 100 ground hogs with that rifle, the Speer 130 gr. HP bullets and the H-4831 before I learned ( from a much more knowledgeable shooter than I ) that a 30-06 really wasn't a varmint rifle.............

Ben

[.357]

I sir am jealous of your Marlin and not rewishing I had not sold that 6 cavity I had, Did love that boolit for teaching new shooters and doing presentation drills with my J frames.

Good shooting!

.357

[Ben]

I'm certainly happy with this combination. ( The Marlin and the Lee 125 RF ). I've still got to try the 125 RF in my Colt Officer's Model Match, 38 Spec., but then again, I'm really going to be surprised if the bullet doesn't shoot well in the pistol also.

[JIMinPHX]

before I learned ( from a much more knowledgeable shooter than I ) that a 30-06 really wasn't a varmint rifle.............

Ben

He must have been related to the similarly knowledgeable gun shop clerk that told me that Remington didn't make their .22 cal sabot "accelerator" rounds in 30-06. :takinWiz:

I guess that I'll never be an eggs-pert because I don't know these things.

I later found that in addition to being able to buy loaded 06 sabot ammo from Remington, I could also buy the sabots themselves from E.A. Brown company. That opened up a whole new world of possibilities for legally varmint hunting with various .30 cal rifles.

[dualsport]

I got this one, it was my first new Lee 6 cav. mold. Works great, just cleaned it and went to town. No leementing required on my copy. If you like this one check out Ranch Dog's .380 and 9mm molds, more good stuff in the lighter side, weight wise.

[Ben]

dualsport :

Yes, I've noticed those " Lighter " ones. We are blessed today vs. 75 yrs. ago with the multitude of good molds that are available to us.

Knowledge is so easy shared now among cast bullet shooters. The internet has " linked " all of us together that have this common interest in a GREAT hobby.

Ben

[dualsport]

I've used this little Lee 125 so far in a 9mm Tanfoglio, 2 S&W .357s, and a Bersa .380. All have been satisfactory for first efforts. I am getting leading in the .357 chamber throats when using .38 brass, a problem I have to fix. I will try them in a Marlin 1894 soon. Along those lines, I got the Ranch Dog 100 gr. PB for .380s he sells in a 6 cav. Lee. QC seems excellent to me. The itty bitty pills have a much bigger meplat than the stock Lee 125. The RD design drops out at .360 from my mold, what I consider perfect for most uses in this caliber. The 100 gr. RDs run my Bersa flawlessly and are amazing in the accuracy department. The Bersa(Firestorm actually) likes the Lee 125 almost as much, functions 100% so far. I load them both below max by a bit. It sure is a pain in the butt though chasing brass from a auto.

[Ben]

LongPoint :

No changes here on this end of things.

Ben
________________________________

Dualsport :

Yes, .360" is a dia. that lets you size to your cylinder mouths , be they .359, 358 or .357. Like you say, it is nice when a mold drops them at a nice round .360".

Ben

[Ben]

LongPoint :

I fired my 358 Win. yesterday also.
272 gr. g/c NEI bullet at over 2,000 fps.

Not a spec. of lead in the bore.

My lever action Marlin 1894 was lead free also shooting the 125 gr. RF bullet.

That lube is some good stuff !

Ben

[6.5 mike]

Thanks for the pic's & info Ben. I just got a 2 cav for the Vaquero I picked up last month. Might have to look for a levergun to go with it now, .

[Ben]

6.5 mike

I like the idea of a " Coffee Can " full of ammo that is super accurate and can be fired from your lever action rifle or your revolver. The concept of a lever action rifle and a handgun firing the same cartridge has always appealed to me. Best thing about all this is that this ammo was loaded on a progressive. I can just about load it faster than I can shoot it. Great to spend your time shooting rather than sitting at a single hole press. Pistol rounds fired from a lever action rifle do have their advantages. I realize this isn't a 300 yard rifle, and maybe not even a 125 yard rifle, but at 50 yards, it is deadly.

These are the Lee 125 RF's sized .3575" and lubed. Ready to load.....

Tell me how these look ?

[fecmech]

6.5 mike

Pistol rounds fired from a lever action rifle do have their advantages. I realize this isn't a 300 yard rifle, and maybe not even a 125 yard rifle, but at 50 yards, it is deadly.

]

The light boolits in .357 will surprise you. I use the Lee 120 TC(9MM) in my Rossi .357 out to 200 yds with about the same load you are using (5.8 unique,5.3/231). Runs 1150 fps and averages about 3MOA all the way to 200. The only thing that's kept me from buying your mold is my 6 cav 120TC works so good. Stretch it out when you get the chance, I'd like to know if that boolit holds up as well at longer ranges.

PS. Load runs more like 1260 fps (a 158 with that runs 1150),I should not post from memory!