dia. of lee bullet

[porthos]

can anyone that uses the lee 9mm 356-147tc mold tell me what diameter the bullet casts for them??

 

[JustJim]

Which individual mould? Of the three I've owned, they cast at .355, .356, and .357. Same alloy (same lot!), same setup, cast the same day.

Bummer was that Inglis had a .358 bullet seat, and none of them shot as well as I thought they should.

 

[Bret4207]

Gonna depend n your alloy among other things.

 

[porthos]

i understand about alloys used. just want to know what diameter guys are getting from this mold??

 

[JonB]

Porthos, Honestly it's a coin toss with Lee.
I had a older Lee 2 cav 356-120-TC that I liked so much (it dropped .358 bullets), that I bought a new 6 cav of the same mold. The 6 cav dropped .3555" bullets, I wasn't happy, as my guns prefer .357" for size. I ordered another 6 cav mold, because I am just that way, and Lee molds are cheap. Guess what, that one dropped .360" bullets.

 

[porthos]

the reason for the question is that i want .357 to use in a sig 210.

 

[porthos]

you are right JohnB; with the price of lee molds; i'll keep buying until i get the size that i want. then sell what is left over. maybe i'll get lucky the first time

 

[Mainiac]

the reason for the question is that i want .357 to use in a sig 210.

Mp makes a 147 (rcbs copy),,,shoots unreal good in my 210,,,.357 diameter from ww,s weigh 152gr.
8 cavity for around 75-80 bucks,,,1 of the easiest molds ive ever used.

 

[Bret4207]

Not trying to be difficult Porthos, it's just that between different alloys and Lee's not so "spot on" machining it's a crap shoot. Sorry guy.

 

[Tomme boy]

@CWLONGSHOT has this mold. Maybe he can chime in.

 

[Ben]

Roll the dice.............................

 

[Brad]

A diameter difference of .001 between moulds is not uncommon. Certainly not with Lee moulds.

 

[Glaciers]

Undersized molds are perfect for Powder Coating.

 

[porthos]

i see no purpose in powder coating.

 

[Glaciers]

Besides being a lubricant replacement it can bump the bullet diameter up by .001 to.003. Just might make the mold you have work.

 

[fiver]

yep John beat me to it.
it surely doesn't save me any time, but i can store a bucket of bullet until infinity, or the Sun sucks the Earth in when it goes red giant in 4 billion years.
plus,,, is i don't have to... if i don't have to.
if i get my bullets the right diameter from the mold [or i lap out the mold] then I can just tumble lube or size-lube,, any of the different methods all get sized one way or the other.

 

[RBHarter]

I had one that was .358 in the old blocks 20 yrs ago .

 

[porthos]

i use bens liquid lube on pistol bullets. and on lubed rifle bullets; i put them in plastic trays. still see no reason for powder coating; unless you like pretty colors

 

[GSPguy]

I just casted some a couple days ago using a Lyman #2 alloy out of the Lee 146 gr mold. I am getting 355 to 357 out of the bullets as I spin them in the calipers. I am using a six cavity mold. I have a P210 target that I plan to try them in. I bought the mold to load up subsonic 9s out of a 10 in AR. I hopes this helps.

 

[KeithB]

You gotta understand that a manufacturing tolerance of +/- .001" from the nominal size for a low cost mold such as Lee wouldn't be unusual. Combine that with different alloys and as others have implied it's a crap shoot.

I bought a two cavity Lee 358-125RF that dropped bullets that were perfect for my 9mm HiPower. I liked it so much I bought a six cavity version. The nose diameter was .002" larger and when loaded it wouldn't chamber fully at the OAL established by the other mold's bullets.

Not getting down on Lee molds, just be aware that they are liable to vary some in both shape and size from mold to mold.