Author Topic: Lee moulds, which one for 44 mag super blackhawk (Read 872 times)

Sharps-Nut · « **on:** April 16, 2003, 07:54:11 AM »

Help? I have a good friend who owns a 44 ruger super blackhawk.. I got him into centerfire pistol shooting 5 years ago and he has been shooting commercial cast bullets for fun loads ever since. The other day he asked if I would try to find him a bullet bargin and I recommended he think about a lee mould and push thru sizer luber. The whole shooting match would only be 30.00 thru midway and he laready had lead and a pot from a former fishing hobby. Now for the question, did I do a bad thing? Are the lee aluminum mould very good. If you have had 44 lee mould experience which one would you recommend? I know nothing about the push thru sizer but lee seems to make economy minded yet very useable reloading goods. The lyman rig would be 100.00 and my buddy does not have that kind of money for a 50.00 mould and a 125.00 for sizer and dies. Will the lee stuff get him by? Are the push thru sizers worth owning, are they slow, do they last? I was really trying to expamd his horizons and save him money and hassels of trying to sniff out a bargin on bullets all the time. All advice appreciated folks with this equipment please respond and educate me on these products. I have been lucky eneogh to be able to use/cast with my dad for the past 10 years so I have not had to buy anything except for my bpcr hobby. Thank you in davance for the advice.

Thomas Krupinski · « **Reply #1 on:** April 16, 2003, 08:43:45 AM »

Although I do not have any Rugers in .44 Magnum, I do cast for a few .44 Magnum Contender barrels and a couple of S&W 629's.

My favorite is the Lee 2 cavity 310 grain .430 RF nose gas check cast from straight wheel weight material . I use this with the Hornady gas checks and the Lee .430 sizer and Lee Liquid Alox lube. I double lube them, once before seating the gas check and then after, just keeping the coats of lube light. I just loaded up a few hundred today with 13.0 grains of Aliant 2400.

For light loads I would recommend the tumble lube design, no gas check and lots of groves to catch the lube. Probably would not even need the sizer if he did not want to use a gas check design. I have a few of those sizers and they work very well and seat the Hornady gas check perfectly.

On the heaver bullets I cast them hot so they are frosted and hold the Liquid Alox even better. I have quite a few of the Lee aluminum moulds and they all work well for me. Because they are different than steel moulds you have to understand the differences. Read the instructions that come with them and follow them carefully and they are very efficient and easy to use. There is more specific information and suggestions on the Lee website.

He won't go wrong with that setup.

Leftoverdj · « **Reply #2 on:** April 16, 2003, 02:53:56 PM »

The Lee six cavity moulds are excellent. Their locating system is much better than the one used on the one and two cavity moulds and the camming sprue plate system is a jewel. The only reason I can think of to buy one of the smaller moulds is to cast hollow points. Lee's way of doing that is the best there is, too.

The Lee pushthrough sizing die is simply the best going unless you can afford a Star which your buddy can't. Liguid Alox has worked fine for all the pistols I have loaded for. (Roughly a medium wheelbarrow load of pistols.) Drawback is that it stays slighly tacky and you have to keep your ammo in plastic boxes or ziplock bags to avoid picking up grit.

No, I ain't a Lee sales rep. I have cussed the Pro 1000 and that damned so-called progressive shotgun loader until the plastic melted. (Plastic being much of both of them.) Just happens that moulds, sizing, and lubing are the things Lee does good. (Gimme half a day to spare and I will hold forth on what Lee does bad.)

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #3 on:** April 16, 2003, 11:18:42 PM »

I have to go another way I have a ton of lee molds and I use them alot. But If I was going to recomend a mold for a beginer Id say to anti up a little more$ and buy a rcbs mold. The lees can be a little tricky to cast with and some need attention before theyll cast good bullets. Plus I know that when I started I was a little rough on some of my molds and the lees wont take much abuse. For $50 you can buy a lyman and another $20 for a set of handles and theyll last a lifetime where the lees will were out eventualy. If you do a search for bullet molds on ebay theres lots of good buys out there on good used ones. Just my 2cents

Nobade · « **Reply #4 on:** April 17, 2003, 01:50:47 AM »

Yep, I just love my Lee 310gr. LBT style mould for the SBH. Mainly because it casts right at .433", perfect for most Ruger .44 cylinders. Gaschecked for full power loads or shot as-cast and tumble lubed for lighter ones it works well. Most of the time you'll need a lower rear sight or taller front though, SBH is set up for 240gr. bullets but it's tough to find one that casts large enough diameter to work.

Leftoverdj · « **Reply #5 on:** April 17, 2003, 05:03:13 AM »

Lloyd, my experience has been the opposite. Luck of the draw, I guess. The steel block moulds I have bought have been much more likely to be sticky in dropping bullets. And the ones that hang bullets keep right on doing so until I do something about it. Lee's and other aluminum block moulds have generally dropped easily right from the start. Even the few that did not improved with usage. My guess has been that the little burrs that cause bullets to hang wear away in aluminum but persist in steel.

One of the things I like about the Lee six cavities is that you don't have to bang the sprue plate with a stick. The major cause of mould damage is eliminated right there.

I've never worn a Lee mould out. The only major problem I ever had was the screw that holds the sprue plate broke on one and I buggered the job of getting it out and replacing it. I could and should have sent it back to Lee for repair or replacement. The other stuff I've run into has been really minor like replacing the handle hinge pin with a bolt or pinning a pin that holds the block to the handle back into place.

And the price gap is a huge one. $15 for a Lee 2 cavity with handles versus about $70 for Lyman or RCBS. I've been paying $25 for Lee six cavity blocks when the other brands are getting about twice that for a two cavity block.

Alice Cooper · « **Reply #6 on:** April 17, 2003, 05:35:42 AM »

ywep, those pins will fall out!on a new lee, one fell out in about an hour casting. i just check them really often now, and peen them in if need be...also, i got in the habit of turning my molds over and checking to be sure the halves are closed well, i just tap it lightly with the sprue stick to nudge the halves together...for the price, you can put up with a few quirks, and those bullets shoot fine!