Load data?

[CWLONGSHOT]

Measure the LEE. That bugger is small! Making matters worse its only .308/.309 in ONE THIN SPOT!!
Mine now shoot well enough to be satisfactory to me. Before I increased dia by removing boat tail they was useless to me.
If you would like to try I will happily send ya some of my modified to try. Just PM me and we work out particulars.
CW

 

[L Ross]

I have a friend with a BO upper. He bought that Lee 230 grain mould in 6 cav and asked me if I'd cast some up for him. When I had a pile I measured them and wondered what on earth the insides of a BO neck and throat looked like.

I would really like it if the gun manufacturers, the mould manufacturers, the powder makers, and die makers would actually consult with some knowledgeable people at the consumer end of things.

I recall my old Lyman book with photos of Thompson, Keith, Loverin, and others next to the articles on their bullet designs. How nice it would be if some of the hard earned knowledge was actually utilized by the industry.

My guess is that true aficionados are such a small segment of the market, and the average consumer eagerly gobbles up the slop served them like hounds in a kennel, that there is no incentive to provide better products.

And then there are bone headed/wrong headed blunders like Winchester's .350 legend, and this goofy Lee 230 mould that completely baffle me.

 

[STIHL]

@L Ross i agree with you. At one time I figured what the heck, 20 dollars, for a mold, you can’t go wrong. Well this is partially true. Granted I have 20-25 Lee molds, and most of them have had bullets loaded and shot and have functioned well for me. The fact of the matter is, you get what you pay for. If you want top of the line, you by an Accurate, LBT, NOE, etc. the big names Lee Lyman RCBS they build a one size fits most mold and it either works for you or it doesn’t. That’s my feeling on it anyway. Not knocking on the big names. I’ve got a bunch of molds made by them. Think the next molds I buy will be something I really want and I’ll just order it from Tom and wait the wait to get a Cadillac. Actually had my eye on the Ranch Dog clone for a while now.

I get home tonight after I finish my afternoon work at home I’ll make a test measure of 5 random as cast and see what the numbers look like, seeing as every mold is different.

 

[popper]

I shoot a 170 RD clone from my 10" sub(~850) with 2400, lots of fun, no recoil. Running it up to 1400 fps was good too. Good for close hogs and 2 legged. Otherwise I have no use for subs. Take the BT out of the Lee and PC, maybe work OK. I did notice ALL the hodgdon BO recipes call for srmp. Tried it with 2400 in my 16" CVA SS and it cleaned up all the junk in the barrel.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

@L Ross i agree with you. At one time I figured what the heck, 20 dollars, for a mold, you can’t go wrong. Well this is partially true. Granted I have 20-25 Lee molds, and most of them have had bullets loaded and shot and have functioned well for me. The fact of the matter is, you get what you pay for. If you want top of the line, you by an Accurate, LBT, NOE, etc. the big names Lee Lyman RCBS they build a one size fits most mold and it either works for you or it doesn’t. That’s my feeling on it anyway. Not knocking on the big names. I’ve got a bunch of molds made by them. Think the next molds I buy will be something I really want and I’ll just order it from Tom and wait the wait to get a Cadillac. Actually had my eye on the Ranch Dog clone for a while now.

I get home tonight after I finish my afternoon work at home I’ll make a test measure of 5 random as cast and see what the numbers look like, seeing as every mold is different.

I have this 170 RD mold too. If you would like some of those to try as well just PM me.
CW

 

[STIHL]

Here’s how mine measure out. Bottom drive band is plenty fat. Front band, skinny, will get maybe .003 with PC unless I double coat it. I ain’t doubling up if I don’t have too. If they will hold 2-4 inches at 100 that’s good enough for banging steel.

 

[fiver]

you got a big one.
mine barely made 309 where yours is 311, then it tapers down like a loverign design.
not a killer for me after some lapping [to nearly 310]
since,,, well,,, since what I explained above it works well in the AAC and the ruger? it takes about anything 30 caliber with room to spare.

 

[STIHL]

Yea I’d really like the front band up just a hair, but it is actually not bad, and should shoot fairly well. I ran out of gas tonight and just didnt feel like coating any tonight. Mississippi heat and cutting and stacking firewood will take it out of you. Going to attempt to get around to it tomorrow.

 

[STIHL]

Coming back around to this thought. Those bullets I measured have grown quite a bit, they were over 3 years old. I’ve got to cast several more up, ran out and have more cases to load. I’m going to measure them as cast and see I bet they are small like you guys are describing yours. I will find out in the next couple weeks.

 

[STIHL]

I measured a couple as cast that were still warm, and they come out to exactly .311 on the base band and .305 on the front band. I just got lucky and got a good one I guess.

 

[ChestnutLouie]

I got a recipe from Lee to use with their 230grain and it works pretty well. 16” barrel, pistol length gas