Anyone Using Lee Molds For Making BP Bullets

[traditional man]

I see LEE has the following molds for BP.
Conical Cap
Minie Bullet
REAL Bullet
Round Ball

The price seems like a deal for me starting out.

I am looking at molds for the 45cal, 50cal, 54cal, 58cal and I hope to find a cheap .32cal or .36cal BP someday.

 

[majg1234]

yep use a Lee for my 40 cal rifle and my 62 cal smoothie. no complaints from me.The molds are alum and as a result have a few "quirks" and must be used and handled differently than molds made of other materials. But overall I'm happy with them and the price is good.I'm sure others will share their ideas soon

 

[traditional man]

Thank you, I am new at this BP thing, I'm just going to order a few RB now to play an will get into casting my own. Looks to be a LOT cheaper an adds up quickly.

 

[mark/wi]

Those are what I use and they work fine. Mark

 

[nkbj]

I see LEE has the following molds for BP.
Conical Cap
Minie Bullet
REAL Bullet
Round Ball

I use all of the above. And, have had a few problems with Lee equipment. And when I complained they did double back flips trying to make it right.

 

[pargent]

+ 1

 

[ohio ramrod]

I have used some Lee molds for several thousand pours with no problems. I find that for round balls you can buy a mold and cast 400 balls for about the same price as buying four hundred already cast and have the mold left for future use! :idunno:

 

[George T.]

I have cast many a bullet and round ball from Lee molds. I have never had any more problems with than my Lymans. However I treat them a bit more gentle than the steel molds. I soot them with a candle and you need to go a bit slower as they get real hot pretty quick. I try to avoid heavy frost finish especially on the bullets. Geo. T.

 

[cruiser96]

look at track of the wolves. they are cheaper. just bought a .454 and a .445 from them. bought my first from cabelas for my 50 cal. lot of fun moulding my own.

 

[fraungie]

same here all my molds are lee never had a problem. That .58 minnie will empty your pot in a hurry. I just got a .36 from track of the wolf. I cast outside only. It is fun just keep the calibers straight some are pretty close.

 

[fraungie]

You dont have to cast that many today. 100 balls run $16.00 in our store a mold is 19.99 from track of the wolf.

 

[capt_turk]

I've got a couple of Lee round ball molds. They work great. Just be sure to lube them with some spray silicone.

 

[hanshi]

I use Lee molds to cast ball for the majority of my MLs and they are excellent molds. I also have a number of Lee molds for smokeless handgun rounds. While I would never give up my Lyman, Saeco, RCBS, J. Tanner or even my T/C molds, Any new ones I buy will still be Lee.

 

[larry wv]

They work great. :thumbsup:

 

[M. De Land]

I use Lee molds for all my mini's and round balls. I really like the small spru's. When I tumble them the spru's all but disappear.
I have several high end molds from Paul Jones and Steve Brooks costing nearly 200.00 each when postage is added but for muzzle loading conicals and round balls I still feel Lee molds are tops. MD

 

[sidelock]

I have been using Lee molds for about 40 years. They have worked great for me. Just follow directions. :thumbsup:

 

[JJCASTINGS]

Look on Midway USA for decent prices on the Lee molds. I cast RB and Improved Minie with the lee molds. No problems. A good lube to lightly coat the sprue plate and hinge point, the mold alignment pins,etc is 2 cycle oil. Very little needed. Dip a Q tip into the oil then squeeze it out before apply it to the mold. Do all the prep that is in the instructions except use the 2C oil, and for personnel use, you will not wear out a mold. I did drill and pin the handles onm the 2 cavity molds.

As far as quality of the molds, I used there 6 cavity molds for 45acp. 9mm, and 38 to cast 15 to 20 thousand bullets total per month. I started doing this when I retired but was selling bullets on eBay years back. Sold bullets for 6 years. Sold so many bullets that I used the profits to buy a 19 foot Starcraft 120hp I/O for use on Lake Erie.

Still use the same molds for my own use now.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Like most folks, the low price of Lee moulds dictates that we use them. I have some Lyman moulds and prefer them. But most I use are Lee and they are satisfactory once you develop your own casting rythm and have the heat right. They are different animules than iron Lymans and take some getting used to.
As for yer original question. I have cast the bullets designed for the Ruger Old Army with success. I used the hollow point model. Not because I believe it will expand better or anything like that. But, because the bullets drop out of the mould easier with the pin holding them away from the blocks.
If yer budget dictates Lee moulds, go fer it.

 

[traditional man]

Another noob? Do you size your bullets with a sizer.
Thanks

 

[Rifleman1776]

Another noob? Do you size your bullets with a sizer.
Thanks

No need. I did lube but when loading into a C&B revolver any oversize lead will just shave off and get 'sized' as it seats. I don't recall this happening as the bullet is designed for that particular gun.
BTW, I felt the bullet gave no advantage. It took up space that could be used for more powder. Meaning a round ball and heavier charge was a more potent projectile than the bullet. Gimmik.