Why I like LEE molds......

[WILCO]

Nice job Jerry!

[Lefty Red]

That mold is probably my best performing Lee design. I have the 2-cavity, and they drop easy and consistent, no muss no fuss. I think the bevel base helps things out, as far as boolit production. It doesnt seem to hurt accuracy, for me...but, just to tinker, i was kind of thinking of getting rid of the bevel portion

Do off center sprue cuts hurt accuracy?

I went through the large coffee can and I think I rejected about 100 bullets. I had culled inbetween pot fillings.
I think the camera distorted the off set spruce cut. I had a few tears, from the first batch, and those were rejected. But the cuts were pretty good.
Jerry

[Lefty Red]

After going through the coffee "can" again, I think what looks like off center cuts is just micro smears from me not allowing the spruce to cool enough on the first batch. That and the macro setting on my iPhone distorted a few.

[glockmeister]

Lefty Red, I like them mainly because they work and are reasonably priced. When I started casting I was a LEO, small town and family of six and went to college. Lee molds were all I could afford and they worked well. Got a bunch I've bought and some given to me and all cast good boolits. Take care, John.

[Rugerman]

Looks great. I think you talked me into this for my blackhawk.

[MBTcustom]

Best 6 cavity mold on the market. Sure does pile them up. Love me some Lee 6 hole action. I put their 6 cavity mold design right up there with their collet neck sizing die or the hand primer. Just freakin awesome.
And don't worry about your bases. For SD style training and getting trigger time, you can shoot those babies all day long and have a good time. If I want absolute perfection I have a custom made by NOE or accurate and take things a bit slower.
Now, go get you a Star sizer and a Dillon 550! You're going to have to start shooting more! LOL!

BTW, realize that you can lube those just fine with 45-45-10 lube. It works just fine on regular lube grooves.

[facetious]

I kind of like that style , I do not have one like that but do have four or five other Lee mold's plus two LBT's , one lyman and one RCBS. The aluminum mold's do cast nice. I two think that design would be nice to have in a 170 to 180gr dropping at .360. If I could have it my way it would have two crimp grooves like #358156 so that it could be seated long in a .38 case and a shank for a gas check long enough that it would form the last lube groove. Heck why couldn't thy offer it with or with out a gas check? May be some one could could have a talk with them and put the bug in there ear.

[GhostHawk]

You know how much you spend for 100 bullets with gas check? A lee Mold the same size costs less.

And I have the ability to change the alloy, use some metal tape to make the mold throw bigger, etc.

And the best part, the rest of the boolits after that first 100 are in effect free.

And THAT is why I like Lee molds.

[hanleyfan]

The only complaint I have had with Lee molds is with their GC molds the GC base is too small and the gas checks won't stay on unless you glue them or some other way. I have tried different manufactors of GC's and they all were too large. And yes they were the right size check for the caliber.

[Lefty Red]

Looks great. I think you talked me into this for my blackhawk.

I just picked up a 357M BH and I will let you know how they shoot. Have two or three OT shifts this week so It won't be til net week.
Jerry

[Lefty Red]

The only complaint I have had with Lee molds is with their GC molds the GC base is too small and the gas checks won't stay on unless you glue them or some other way. I have tried different manufactors of GC's and they all were too large. And yes they were the right size check for the caliber.

Same here!

[Lefty Red]

I was messing with a 6-Cavity mold in 148-WC this weekend. Didn't don't drop as smooth as the 158-RF. And the handle on the cam broke off, but I had a steel one I had ordered. LEE has been notified and they have me another on the way. I think the 148-WC just needs polished out and another 10 or more pounds of alloy in it, then it will be as smooth as the 158-RF.

Jerry

[Rugerman]

I was wondering how Lee's customer service was.

[GhostHawk]

The only complaint I have had with Lee molds is with their GC molds the GC base is too small and the gas checks won't stay on unless you glue them or some other way. I have tried different manufactors of GC's and they all were too large. And yes they were the right size check for the caliber.

They are designed to be "crimped" on by putting the gas check on the shank, then running the whole thing through a lee sizer die.
If the die is the same size as the mold (or near it) you won't hardly feel the lead going through. But you will feel the copper getting squeezed down to the correct size. And getting crimped onto the shank in the process.

With a correctly sized boolit and gas check you should need tools to take a gas check off a boolit. Fingers and fingernails alone won't do it.
They don't need to be glued, the mold is the correct size. Sounds like the gas check is the correct size. But they do have to be sized to stick.

Now I don't have an personal experience with anything other than my 30 cal checks.

But I have no problem with the ones I have. Both the Hornady .30 cal checks I started with. And the checks made by a member here. Both copper. The ones by the member here were about 2/3rds the price. Have a bit more of a rounded bottom edge, but size on, load and shoot just fine in both of my Mosin's and my SKS. (my old Yugo SKS is just WICKED with 185 gr boolits with gas checks. Last couple times out I was hitting quarter sized chunks of clay pigeon on the bunker 5 out of 5. It is shooting EXACTLY to point of aim at 50m.

I have gone through about 900 checks thus far and am very happy with them.

All 3 of my .30's slugged at .312. The SKS is perfectly happy with .311-.3115-.312 boolits.
The Mosin's have not showed any accuracy with those. So I found a way to get my lee mold to cast .314 instead of .312 and picked up a second .314 sizer. Checks can be hard to get on, often take a tap of a hammer to go fully on and flat. Once in place and sized they stay there.

Hope this helps.

[hanleyfan]

thats what I have done, I have run them through my .452 sizer for 45 colt and they still don't stay on. I have 4 Lee GC molds and they all have the same problem, I thought this was normal until I got a NOE GC mold and those boolits the check fit on snug and would crimp down when run through the sizer just fine.

[starmac]

My lee mold for 45 colt is just the opposite, you can't even get a gas check started on it.