Best LEE mold for ROSSI '92 .357mag

[Jeff82]

I'd recommend the 158 RNFP. It's very accurate below 1,200 fps and easy to cast. With a plain base gas check it's very accurate above 1,200 fps. It's what I use for all of my 38-special and 357-magnum shooting. The 140grain SWC is very hard to cast and doesn't size down well. The lube grooves are really narrow and tend to deform during sizing. When I've cast them I use a 0.360 diameter sizing die, which limits the appeal of this bullet.

[P Flados]

Of the three in the poll, I voted for the RNFP with no hesitation.

On the other hand, for most shooting, I have gone with lighter to save lead. I have used both the Lee 120 TC and the 125 RNFP.

The 120 TC drops very easy and is overall great, except that it tends to be on the small side for diameter.

The 125 does not drop as smooth as most. It tends to hang up with the deep lube grooves. But it shoots great.

[Outer Rondacker]

158 RNFP gets my vote. I have the 158 SWC and can tell you it does not feed that well without some mods to the gun. If you want to save on lead just cast small round balls and make mouse farts. But they will need to be fed one at a time.

[robg]

158grwnfp shoots great with 7 gr of true blue in my trapper with out any leading .

[derek45]

Wow, I made this thread a long time ago.

I ended up with all 3 molds, and like the 158RNFP best and the 140gr least.

My favortite bullet for this lever action is the MBC 140 Zinger.

http://missouribullet.com/details.ph...y=10&keywords=



someday, I'll find a similar mold

[Outer Rondacker]

Derek45 feel out the group and see if you can get a group buy going on a lee. Its cheap simple. (The $175.00 setup and tooling fees will be waived on orders of 30 pieces or more.) You need to get 30 guys together. You just need to do the leg work on the shipping them out to each one of the guys. Depends on how bad you want this mould.

[derek45]

This would work....

http://arsenalmolds.com/products?pro...d=79&limit=100

[Outer Rondacker]

Looks like it will run 100 bucks with handles.

[fecmech]

This would work....

http://arsenalmolds.com/products?pro...d=79&limit=100

That is essentially the Lee 125 RF ( same dimensions)which casts approx. 131 grs from WW+2% tin. Much cheaper to buy the Lee 6 cav.

[Steve E]

I didn't see my choice in the poll so here it is,
I vote for the Lee 180 gr RF six cavity mold, it's not in their catalog but I got it in a group buy a few years ago. I got it for my 357 Maxi but have been shooting it in my 357 Mag also and it is very accurate in my 6 inch Ruger GP 100 Talo Edition and Uberti Baby Rolling Block.

Steve...........

[pastorcurtis]

The Rossi 92 is famous for its slow twist rate of 1:30. If you plug this into the calculators online (http://www.bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/), you'll find that you need a pretty short bullet going at a decent clip. **Don't rely on weight as a proxy for the length of the bullet.** For example, the differences in the length of the four Lee molds casting 158 grains makes a big difference in stability at 357 carbine velocities! The clear winner among those four designs is the 358-158-RF, which also had good reviews from a lot of people. That design maximizes weight in a length that the Rossi can easily stabilize at the velocity I was looking for (1800+).

Powder coating has been a revelation to me, and to many others, and allows me to hit those velocities easily. I'm casting in a pretty soft allow. A 3B Pencil will not scratch it, but a 2B Pencil will...so let's call it 10.5 BHN. They drop nice and fat from the Lee mold at .360 and 157-158 grains. I shake and bake powder coat with a TGIC free powder (Powder by The Pound Steel Blue RAL 5011-S) and stand the bullets up to cook. I then size them with a .360 Lee die (which started life as a .359 die before I used the sand paper, dowel and drill trick). Using H110 I get these up to 1830fps and around 2 MOA.

Just recently I started gas checking these with plain based sized aluminum gas checks from Sage Outdoors (~$30 shipped for 1000). They don't "click" in like a proper gas check on a proper gas checked bullet design - but a friendly tap with a soft mallet squares them up in the check just fine. I then push them through the .360 Lee sizing die base first. This works well with this bullet design's flat nose. You'd need the appropriate nose bushing for any other design. Or you might try the collet crimp die trick to seat them...because it does not work pushing them through the die nose first: you end up with a flange of aluminum on the circumference of the base. After the gas check is affixed, I shake and bake with the powder coat as narrated above and then resize to .360 nose first. I push these up to 1880 fps again with H110. Sub 2 MOA out of the Rossi 92 with a Steve's Gunz bolt mounted peep.

Pastor Curtis

[ddixie884]

This would work....

http://arsenalmolds.com/products?pro...d=79&limit=100

I like it, a lot........

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I have been having fun with the Lee 105 grain swc boolit. I powder coat them and push them at 1200 fps out of my 5" model 27. If I had a Rossi .357 I would definitely try some of those. What kind of groove diameter do those Rossis have?

[cabezaverde]

The RCBS 140 grain cowboy bullet should work well.

[DeadWoodDan]

I just started working on my R92 again and as usual I found out the hard way COAL is king for this rifle. I know this is getting off the original post but looking at the following molds. My requirements would be in the 150gr weight, GC, and traditional lube groove. I would want to push these hard for hunting purposes and prefer to use the .357 mag brass.

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop...1-5-cavity-gc/
https://noebulletmolds.com/site/prod...60-182-wfn-u2/

[MT Gianni]

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop...n-4-cavity-pb/
DWDan, this one does OK when spanked out of my 92.

[DeadWoodDan]

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop...n-4-cavity-pb/
DWDan, this one does OK when spanked out of my 92.

MT,
Can you share what powder? Also do you know fps? Doesn't look like that has a GC option. I find that strange...but still looking at and comparing. THANKS!

[MT Gianni]

I used data for a 158 gr SWC as it has more internal case capacity than that when loaded. Powder is WC820 surplus from the early 00's.

[derek45]

LEE 125 ( and SNS 130gr in red) works really well


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LEE 158 RNFP

[DeadWoodDan]

[QUOTE=derek45;5107441]LEE 125 ( and SNS 130gr in red) works really well

Can't go wrong with a SNS slug! Of course I am partial they are right down the road from me.
My main concern with anything above 130gr is can I push them fast enough out of the Rossi to get decent accuracy at 100yds?