Lee Loader

Nice looking!

I cast some 358-200 RF and 452-200 RF .
New moulds .
The 358s drop at 206 gr and a huge . 362x366 .
The 452s drop at 218 gr and a nominal .454x455. These are for now for all of the 45s and the 45-70 paper patched.

So shiny

RBHarter wrote:The 358s drop at 206 gr and a huge . 362x366

Yikes, might have to try casting at a cooler temperature might help with both diameter and concentricity.

First run still kind of feeling these out . The pot is running 710-735 . It's not so bad , I have an old 38 S&W that would like to have a .364 .

I suspect a little pin hang on the alignment pins as the Sage Outdoors checks fit just a fraction tighter than on the NOE XCB bullet . The sizing at .360 is clean all around and doesn't destroy the grooves .

Not today, but last week I cast the Lee C358-200-RF and NOE SC360-230-FN for use in my Win M94 35/30-30. I cast with my 60/40 mix of linotype and wheelweights and both molds where dropping usable bullets immediately. Unfortunately, the NOE bullet isn't going to fit my application but it appears that the Lee will be near perfect for my needs.



The bullets dropped very near .359" and I used a Lee push through sizer to seat the gas check and will leave them be. I lubed them with White Label's 2500+ on my Lyman 4500 using a .359" die in it. The alloy produced a BHN of 21.

Can I ask why the Lee sizer to install GC then the 4500 anyway? I like to learn new to me stuff.

GasGuzzler wrote:Can I ask why the Lee sizer to install GC then the 4500 anyway? I like to learn new to me stuff.

Just preference. I like the Lee push through sizers for sizing and absolutely dislike the 4500 in that role. The 4500's gas check installer is ridiculous. I do like how the 4500 lubes and use is strictly for that.

I did not know there was a 4500 GC installer. I just use the sizer dies to put the GC on.

GasGuzzler wrote:I did not know there was a 4500 GC installer. I just use the sizer dies to put the GC on.

Yeah, sure enough.
Remember that Lyman designed this lube-sizer for their gas checks that they manufactured, not the Hornady checks. The instructions were written with their snap on fit in mind.

The Lyman checks were slip on checks with a uniform thickness; they did not have the crimping lip as the Hornady does. When a Hornady check snaps on a shank with finger pressure, it is on, but it is not seated until it is crimped on. The Hornady checks get thicker at the lip, and this is what gets pressed into the lead of the bullet's check shank forming the crimp as the outside is uninformed to diameter. It was normal for Lyman checks to depart the bullet in flight, something is wrong if the Hornady checks depart.

The first paragraph of the instructions covers their checks in most cases but the last four paragraphs should be followed for installing Hornady checks.

Lyman no longer manufactures their checks, they sell Hornady checks, and I think that is why they came up with the tool to help perform the crimp. Also, notice that the next to the last paragraph of the instructions state that gas check installation and lube/sizing are two different steps.
Here's a bullet that could not get past the lip of the check during base seating a check. I think that push through sizers, nose first, produces the truest bullet. If the gas check did not seat square, it is because the ogive of the bullet is out of round and that is a bullet that should be rejected.