Who Shoots Lead

[The_Shadow]

The Remingtons I snagged were purchased by a fellow locally before "O" took office, he decided to quit loading large pistol, so he sold them, and I purchased them...yes Remington primers are good to go!  They were kept in Zip-loc bags and appear to still be fresh! LOL 

[Barry in IN]

I know this thread seems to have slowed down over a week ago, but I just joined, so...

I'm a caster.  I only have two 10mm moulds, but they have been sufficient so far.  I have a 4-cav H&G 315, which is a 200 grain TC (although they run around 208 or so from WWs) and the RCBS .40-180CM, which was meant for the .38-40 and casts about 185 from WWs.   I got that one with the plan of it doing double duty in 10mm and my .38-40 New Service, which it does.

Neither design is without problems. 
The H&G casts beautifully (shocker, I know) but those are some long bullets.  I thought of that mould when I saw pics of The Shadow's loooong RCBS 200 SWC earlier in the thread.  I have trouble with that 315 bulging thicker cases so they don't chamber in my Delta Elite.
The RCBS has that RCBS mould fault- it's only a two cavity.   Other than that, I like the shape, with a big wide flat meplat, which is different from RCBS's drawings make it look. 

I swapped another caster some bullets from my H&G for some Lee 175 TCs.  That's the only three cast bullets I've used in 10mm.

I'd like to try the RCBS 170 SWC or the Saeco 045 (also a 170 SWC).   The thing is, I'd like to use the SWCs in IDPA and that calls for more bullets than I'd like to make from a two-cav mould.  That makes it hard to go with the RCBS.  The Saeco is made in 3- and 4-cavity, but... well, I've never even heard of anyone using that Saeco mould, so I hate risking over $150 on a mould that I know nothing about, even from others using it. 
Come to think of it, I don't know if I've heard of anyone using any Saeco .40/10mm mould. 
Anyone?

[Yondering]

Never used a Saeco 10mm mold myself.

That Lee 175 TC mold is a good one, especially once you ream out the bevel base to make them plain base (mine drop about 180gr this way). $40 for the Lee 6 cavity in one of these is pretty hard to beat; I'd recommend getting one if you haven't already, that would be the ticket for IDPA.

You're right about that 200 TC being a long bullet. Too long to be really good in the 10mm IMO.

[sqlbullet]

The price of Saeco molds has always made Lee's custom 6 cavity look good to me.  We have discussed doing a group by on a 200 grain 6 cavity mold to spread around the cost of the set-up charge.

I thought NOE cataloged a 6 cavity 200 grain WFN in 10mm, but it isn't on the site at this time.

I have a Mountain Mold 205 grain WFN that I do like, but again, only two cavities.  Spend a lot of time at the pot for only a small pile of bullets.

I have the Lee 6 cavity 175 gr SWC TL mold as well.  It was my first.  I have cast a bunch of bullets with that mold.  My Para conversion won't feed them though if the COL gets over 1.250".  I have to load them to 1.245" and check them carefully if I want 100% reliability with them.

[475/480]

 Last week I ordered a  Aluminum 5 cavity- .402-200gr WFNPB (model # 200C) mould from accurate molds ($ 149). I should have it in about 2 weeks now. When it gets here I will cast up  50 extra and send some to sqlbullet to test in his guns if that sounds good to sqlbullet (I will PM you).
The Lee 175 TC will not consistently cycle in my STI or Caspian 10MM 's, even at the shortest OAL of 1.245".
In my G20SF it will run at 1.245" OAL and shoots pretty good at 15 yards at about 1100 fps, but its a Glock it should cycle anything.


Sean

[Yondering]

I have the Lee 6 cavity 175 gr SWC TL mold as well.

Just for clarification, the mold I was recommending above is not the tumble lube version. I'm using the TC bullet with the single lube groove, and the bevel base removed. I've pushed them to 1400 fps with plain base gas checks with good results and no leading, and 1500 fps in a carbine.

[Yondering]

Last week I ordered a  Aluminum 5 cavity- .402-200gr WFNPB (model # 200G) mould from accurate molds ($ 149).

Did you order the 41-200G and spec it at .402" and plain base, or did you mean the 40-200C, with two lube grooves? I'd be interested in trying some of those, if you want to swap some bullets. I have a very short 220gr WFN Mountain Mold, and a bunch of 220gr WFN .41's that size down to .401" real well.

[475/480]

Did you order the 41-200G and spec it at .402" and plain base, or did you mean the 40-200C, with two lube grooves? I'd be interested in trying some of those, if you want to swap some bullets. I have a very short 220gr WFN Mountain Mold, and a bunch of 220gr WFN .41's that size down to .401" real well.
[/quote]

The 40-200C w/2 lube grooves and spec'd at .402 and yes the Lee 6 cavity I have is the  175 TCBB  single lube groove version. When the mould comes in I will get you some.


Sean

[The_Shadow]

Barry in IN, I have a Saeco two cavity mould for 44Mag which is a TC design at it doesn't cast very well.  Hard to get clean sharp  edges... it could be the mix & temp but I try it from time to time. 

What are the length of the bullets from the H&G 315 mold?  The Speer SWC 200's are 0.7135" and so far I don't get case bulges with those I have tried.

[cwlongshot]

Just a observation...
I bought one 6 cav mould once... I never was satisfied with bullet quality,  Keeping temps constant, filling out the moulds... I found it annoying and sold it off. Now I only buy one or two cavity moulds.

Any simular problems?

CW

[Yondering]

Just a observation...
I bought one 6 cav mould once... I never was satisfied with bullet quality,  Keeping temps constant, filling out the moulds... I found it annoying and sold it off. Now I only buy one or two cavity moulds.

Any simular problems?

CW

No, just the opposite. Lee's 6 cavity molds are much better quality than their 2-cavity, and most of mine are as good or better than my Lyman and RCBS molds. Temp and mold fillout has not been an issue; I normally get good bullets by the 2nd or 3rd cast with my 6-cavity Lee molds.

Let me guess though - you probably ladle pour, and don't smoke your molds?

[cwlongshot]

Just a observation...
I bought one 6 cav mould once... I never was satisfied with bullet quality,  Keeping temps constant, filling out the moulds... I found it annoying and sold it off. Now I only buy one or two cavity moulds.

Any simular problems?

CW

No, just the opposite. Lee's 6 cavity molds are much better quality than their 2-cavity, and most of mine are as good or better than my Lyman and RCBS molds. Temp and mold fillout has not been an issue; I normally get good bullets by the 2nd or 3rd cast with my 6-cavity Lee molds.

Let me guess though - you probably ladle pour, and don't smoke your molds?

Nope.

Lee bottom pour 10# pot. I rarely need to smoke the mould.

I haven't owned a Lee 6 cav but I do have a Lee 2 cav .50 cal mould thats been a good performer. Most of my moulds are Lyman but I have a old Gibbs I think... 525G Spitzer 459 single cav. and a H&G 200 SWC 452

CW

[sqlbullet]

I too have found the six cavity molds from Lee to be far superior.  I don't smoke them either.  But I do heat them extra hot.  I find best results come from my lee molds when I heat them to unusably frosty for the first few bullets and then let them cool to nice shiny/barely frosty.

When I try to heat them by casting the wrinkles just never seem to stop.

A brisk cadence is needed as well, especially if you are casting in an unheated garage in the winter.

[siberian505]

I am shooting two RCBS molds, or the bullets from them...........RCBS 40/180 which weighs 191 grains and the 38/40 180 grain CM which weighs 184. Either is accurate, the CM bullet may be my choice for a do all bullet. I like the meplat like BarryIN and seems to feed well. The 200 grain mold offerings seem to me to be too long for enough WC 820. Very intersted in 480/475's mold from Accurate. We need pictures when you get some cast please.

[Barry in IN]

Barry in IN, I have a Saeco two cavity mould for 44Mag which is a TC design at it doesn't cast very well.  Hard to get clean sharp  edges... it could be the mix & temp but I try it from time to time. 

What are the length of the bullets from the H&G 315 mold?  The Speer SWC 200's are 0.7135" and so far I don't get case bulges with those I have tried.

I have a Saeco 428 (.44 240 TC) and it has to be kept hot to make decent looking bullets.   I like the shape though, because it loads slick and smooth into chambers and magazine tubes.
Edit- I was thinking about it, and realized that of the dozen or more Saeco moulds I have, only that #428 and the #301 (.30 cal 196 grain) are this picky.  The others are noteworthy in that they cast fine at most temps, so I can jump right in when I'm casting something else.  The 428 needs hot alloy, and the 301 needs hot alloy, a pressure fill, and maybe the right moon stage.  The rest don't care as long as the alloy is liquid. 


I'll measure some 315s tomorrow.  We just got back from an emergency run to the vet with the new pup.   I doubt it's that long, though.  But then, I have to keep OAL on the short side to get them in my Delta mags, which is part of the bulging.