Lee MOLD DC 452-255-RF

[JackAubrey]

This mould is used to cast for .45 acp and .45 long colts. If I am not mistaken, it is .452 diameter. I use .451 balls in my Pietta Colt Army. Could I use this mould with pure lead to cast a conical for my revolver? Is there some mystical reason a bullet mould for a centerfire revolver would not work for a BP revolver? Thanks for the advice in advance! JA

 

[AZbpBurner]

Cast a bunch, then try to seat them. You'll quickly find that most conicals are difficult to load straight. Lee does make a conical revolver mold with a rebated base, smaller diameter to fit straight into the cylinder, for easier loading.

 

[JackAubrey]

Ah I see, thank you for the advice! I was just trying to find a RNFP bullet. Best regards, JA

 

[TNGhost]

No mystical reason. I use a wadcutter designed for .38 special in a Classic Ethan Allen pepperbox all the time.

If they fit in front of the loading ram, they should work. They do take some care in getting them in straight, works better with a loading stand.

 

[AZbpBurner]

the .38 wadcutters have a longer bearing surface, so they will load 'straighter' just because of the bullet length. The .45 RN's don't have as much bearing surface, so they are easier to stuff into the chamber slightly cocked.

I've also used some of the Lee conicals made for the Ruger Old Army, and also some .36 cal conicals cast from an old brass mold. Both had the reduced diameter heel, but it was still easy to load them crooked.

Roundballs do what I want them to so I didn't pursue it any further.

 

[roadgrader]

You could load them backwards. It is easier to get them strait. Stacey

 

[TNGhost]

I took a look at the mold he is speaking of and it has a rather long bearing surface, a short meplat and a flat point. I would think it would load straight once you got it started.

My concern was it fitting in the loading area ahead of the ram. Don't know if the flat point would help or hinder with the end of the ram being cupped. I was thinking that with a loading stand,you could use a flat piece of metal, across the face of the rammer to get the boolit started. The flat to flat even aiding in starting the bullet straight.

I have a couple of different Lee .45 molds, a 190 SWC and a 230 RN. I just tried the SWC and as I remembered, it won't fit ahead of the ram in the loading port of either a Remington '58 or Colt '60. IIRCC the RN won't either. I couldn't find a loose RN just now to try, as I had toyed with this idea once but have not followed through with the loading stand, which would be they way to go in order to use them.

 

[Patocazador]

I load those bullets in my ROA. They are hard to load straight. I use a lubed fiber wad (thin) under them and they are fairly accurate with 30 gr. of 3F. I killed a crippled deer with this combo from ~40 yds. One shot through the lungs did it. He ran about 50 yards and fell over.

Round balls are more accurate at 35 yards.

 

[rodwha]

You could resize the base of a modern bullet to work. I've read of a few guys doing this and it working well.

Kaido has Lee modify that 255 grn bullet for cap and ball guns. He charges $50/100 + shipping or something like $85 for a mold.

I went to Accurate Molds and had custom bullets made to my specifications. I have a 195 grn WFN that's just 0.460" long, and a 170 grn WFN that's just 0.400" long. I had to modify the loading window to seat them in my Pietta Remington NMA. These give the same group sizes as a ball in my ROA and NMA (has the faster 1:16" twist).

 

[AZbpBurner]

Years back a member posted some old info about revolver loads that Sam Colt recommended. When you get past the dram weight and number of balls per pound, it's clear he intended his guns to be used with roundbals. Subsequently the Army, notorious for brilliant ideas of their own wanted conicals. I've tried the .36 cal conicals cast from an old brass mold & they never worked well enough to continue using them. In fact, I had a bunch of them I had cast around 40 years ago & remembered why I still had them - because I never got around to throwing them back into the lead pot.

A lot of time & effort is spent trying to make conicals work - I tried the Lee for the ROA and another .45 ACP 220 gr. bullet & neither were as accurate in any of my guns as were RBs.

If someone had a scheme for conicals or OTRB (Other Than Round Balls)that reliable worked, I'd be willing to try again. But I've got little dedication invest $85-100 to get a a mold.

 

[rodwha]

I find it strange that the faster twist of the ROA (or any other) wouldn't do as well with conicals as that's what the twist is used for these days.

As I had read this all too often when I was designing my conicals I figured making them around the length of a ball ought to keep that in check, and it seemed to have worked out rather well, though I am no match shooter and shoot offhand at 15 yds. The difference between the ball and conicals is negligible, but maybe it shows up more from a rest and/or better shooter than I. I can say that my 15 yd groups are generally better than the average guy with his bottom feeder at 7 yds, but by no means am I a pistolero.

 

[nkbj]

After making my own bullets as a youngun to be able to afford the hobby I consider percussion revolvers to be the kind that don't need brass.
I size the rear 2/3's or 3/4's of the bullet to slip into the chamber. That way you shear off lead just like with a round ball or the old fashioned "conical" bullets that the army wanted the punch through cloths with.
These are for my 1858 that's converted to .40 bore.


This is the Lee 195 grain SWC mold.

 

[nkbj]

This here is an experiment done with the .44 Model 1858.

 

[excess650]

My only C&B is a Uberti made 1858 that I bought new about 15 years ago. I WANTED a Colt 1861 Navy, or a Pocket Police, but after handling every revolver in the shop, bought the "less pretty" :wink: 1858 Remington clone. It was better fit than most new revolvers that I've handled, so got the nod for build quality.

At the range I loaded it with as much Swiss fffg that would fit and still seat a .454" RB or Lyman 450229 (hollow based), sealed the chambers with Wonder Lube, and proceeded to shoot ragged hole groups at 25 yards. I saw no difference in group size between the conical and RB.

That particular bullet (450229) was designed for the .44 C&B with a smaller base band and hollow base. They slip right into the cylinder so are started straight. I seem to recall them being about 175gr, and I was able to load about 35gr fffg Swiss. It is a relatively short conical.

 

[rodwha]

Here's a pic of my 195 grn conical with a .457" RB sandwiched next to my 170 grn conical.