357 magnum, which lee 6 cavity mould do you recommend?

[kryogen]

357 magnum, which lee 6 cavity mould do you recommend?
Which sizer?

Will be getting my S&W 357 magnum 686 plus 7 shot tomorrow.

What would be a good all around mould to use?
I use alox tumble lubing.

[Moonie]

I have a 125 but I had it prior to getting my 357. I would suggest one of the 6 cavity 158gr molds, my preference would be SWC.

[Hurricane]

I like 358-158-RF.

[kryogen]

what is the advantage of bullets with a flat vs the traditional rounded bullets?
I always tend to think that rounded bullets are better but there is probably something I do not know.

[Harter66]

Yep what they said.

[kryogen]

why RF or SWC vs the round nose?

[MT Gianni]

The meplat or flat on the front displaces tissue or paper cleanly by pushing a cone in front of it. The rn displaces tissue by sending it around it's nose. If you ever hunt with it the fn will put game down quicker with much less suffering. They are generally easier to scope on a target as the hole is cleaner. RN are generally easier to load and may be a touch more accurate.

[HeavyMetal]

Until recently Lee has not made a decent, in my Opinion, 357 boolit mold.

The "new" 125 and 158 RF would be the current exceptions and I would lean toward the 125 grain non tumble lube design.

If you want an SWC I wil suggest RCBS 150 KT design, sadly only available in a two cavity mold but great boolits!

Lyman has a close copy in a 4 banger but not sure of the number right off hand, Not sure if the Lyman 359429 will fit in the L frame but if it does it to is a good choice but a tad heavy for the caliber in my Opinion.

[kryogen]

whats the issue with the TL molds?

[jmort]

Either the 158 RF or SWC will work well. The RF has a decent meplat and is a good choice if you add or have a .357 lever gun. I like the TL designs and especially the Ranch Dog versions. Many like TLs and most do not. To each his own.

[MtGun44]

Lee 358 158 RF is a hum dinger.



Bill

[jmort]

"Lee 358 158 RF is a hum dinger"

Exactly, could not have put it better.

[Rainier]

The Lee TL 158gr SWC ain't too shabby in a pinch even out of a GP100
This from 7 yards with old eyes...

[khmer6]

Couldn't agree any more. I can cast them up in a quickness. They casted flawlessly from the first drop. I was expecting get some finicky Ness but was great.

[HeavyMetal]

I find tumble lube to be much to messy and slow to fill my needs in casting.

The whole ideas looks good on paper, I actually did some tumble lubing in the early 70's when Lee intro'd liquid alox, but in the end I found it lacking in both speed and ability to prevent leading. Many who use it here will do a double coating to keep leading to a minimum but in the end it's still time consuming ( I refer to dry times) and messy if you plan to do more than s handfull at a time.

This is a very short opinion on TL, others have posted longer and more descriptive threads, both Pro and Con, I'll end this by saying it simply wasn't my cup of tea nor did it do anything I couldn't do, and better, with a conventional lube sizer.

[Artful]

My question before I answer is are you going to push hard enough to want a gas check design?

Actually I will give a partial answer - to save my lead I use Lee's 105 grain SWC in 38's and 357 loading - so that's one mold I recommend - I also use it in 9mm's

[Airman Basic]

My question before I answer is are you going to push hard enough to want a gas check design?

Actually I will give a partial answer - to save my lead I use Lee's 105 grain SWC in 38's and 357 loading - so that's one mold I recommend - I also use it in 9mm's

Use the same boolit in the 140 grain flavor. Still save a little lead and more bearing surface makes me feel better. In revolvers and a Rossi lever. Fun.

[evan price]

My vote would be for 158-RF and a .358" sizer, However I do not own a 158-RF mold.

I do have the 105 & 150 SWC, and the 158-SWC-TL and they all do a good job. The TL molds do not require sizing (theoretically) and they do great at under 1000 fps with a single TL of ALOX. The 150-swc does better at higher speed than the TL designs.

[kryogen]

ok, will go for the 158 RF TL, because right now I just tumble lube.

[Cherokee]

Lee 358-158 RF non-TL is my choice @ .358; have cast and shot thousands of them and they are great in my 686 7 shot, GP100 and other 357's. I don't know how the TL version works but should be OK.