45 acp mold

[hickfu]

I am looking for a mold for my 1911 and XD 45, I am thinking of a 230gr truncated cone boolit, Here is my dilemma.... what are the pro's and con's of the tumble lube vs. the conventional lube groove?

I am so used to pan lubing but I am open to tumble lubing..... If I did get the TL version, do I wipe off the lube from the cone after they are loaded?

What lubes are people using for their 45acp rounds, TL and conventional lube

EDIT: the boolit molds I have been looking at are the Lee, with the CL version I can use a PatMarlin PB GC but the TL version doesnt have the flat base for a GC just in case I wanted to use one.



Doc

[Lead Fred]

I use the same lube for everything thats fired under 1800 fps.

1 lb bee's wax
1 lb lard
8 oz STP

I use a plain base 228 gr RN boolit, .030 veggie wad, and a wisp of filler

Just like my 45/70s

[USAFrox]

45 ACP is so slow that I'm not sure why you'd want to use a gas check. So far all I've used is Recluse's 45/45/10 tumble lube. Don't worry about wiping off the nose of the bullets (unless the look just bothers you). If you do it right, there won't be much there to notice. So far I've just used the Lee 230 gr tumble lube RN, in a 6-banger.

[PuppetZ]

Take the boolit you prefer. The lube groove style doesn't matter. I load the 452-230-1R and the TL452-230-2R and had great sucess with both style, tumble lubed with 45-45-10. It's just so much faster than fiddling with all those boolits to pan lube.

[Shiloh]

I tumble lube my altered LEE clone of the H&G 68 with alox. No issues at all. Looking forward to trying Recluse's 45-45-10 mix.
Low velocity, low pressure 45 ACP shoot soft lead well.

Shiloh

[45-70 Chevroner]

45 ACP is so slow that I'm not sure why you'd want to use a gas check. So far all I've used is Recluse's 45/45/10 tumble lube. Don't worry about wiping off the nose of the bullets (unless the look just bothers you). If you do it right, there won't be much there to notice. So far I've just used the Lee 230 gr tumble lube RN, in a 6-banger.

Second the Lee 230 TL RN in sixbanger I have two of them and they make piles of boolits in no time. I use it in my two Vaqueros 45 colt. A coat of 50-50 LLAlox and Mineral spirits is all that is needed. 6 grs. of Bulleyes is about 700 fps in my Vaqueros, about like a 45 auto. I would not mess with GC's in a 45 auto, there not needed.

[prs]

I am the odd man out. Of four boolit styles I cast for 45ACP, ALL leaded heavily in both of my Ruger SR1911 pistols when using either straight Lee Liquid Alox or Recluse's famous modification. I would lightly tumble lube, let dry a couple of days, then size, then lube again letting it dry again. This always worked in other pistols for me, but not these. The Lee bevel based conventional lube TC 230 grain probably leaded a little less in that method, but it was a heavy leader at that. With NRA 50:50 lube, all three of the conventional lube boolits will shoot adinfinitum without leading. So, I lube in lube sizer for the 45 autos. It may have been my loading technique, but it may have to do with the abrupt change from chamber to rifling in that particular brand of 1911.

prs

[MtGun44]

H&G 68, Lyman 452460 are top choices. NRA 50-50 has never let me down. LBT soft blue is
also really good. GC on 45 ACP would be like t*ts on a bull - useless.

Bill

[valhalla]

Having purchased the same Lee 230 grn RN mold with tumble lube grooves because it was only mold I could buy here in South Africa, I decided to size and lubricate with Lyman 450.

At first I was very worried it would lead badly with casts from wheelweights. Lubricant in the grooves appeared miniscule in comparison with ordinary bullet one or two conventional grooves.

Apprehension was unfounded. The leading in barrel did not seem too much. Did however notice some recovered bullets feature a little pigtail on the base, as if they obdurated too much or too little. Was using commercially available lube, mostly Lee, as many of ingredients for super lubes you guys talk about are difficult to source here.

Did find the design accurate and it feeds superbly through both Gold Cup and "parts special" .45 ACP's I own.

[trixter]

I cast and shoot Lee TL 200 SWC. I cast, let them age for about a month then, tumble them in Lee Liquid Alox, dry them on wax-papered cookie sheets for at least 24 hours and then run them through Lee push-through sizer and then coat and tumble them 1 more time. I store them in Costco Nut Jars with desiccant packet till needed. They cut beautiful holes in paper with 4.2 gr Bullseye. No leading.

[Shiloh]

I like the 4.2 gr. of Bullseye myself. Taken them up to 5 gr. backed to 4.5 and settled on 4.2 gr. Run them as light as 3.8 gr of Bullseye.

Shiloh

[geargnasher]

The TC is a good choice for the plastic autos with no throats. SWCs or anything with a sharp shoulder can be bad, shearing and smearing lead when engraving. The TCs and ball copies self-guide better and can be seated to pilot in the bore when chambered, reducing chances of shearing off one side of the front band when launched.

I have both the TL 230TC and the regular grooved one, my guns like them both, but I'd choose the one with the real groove if I were to buy again because it can be tumble-lubed or grease-lubed, no matter.

Gear

[Pb2au]

I am currently enjoying success with Lee's 230 grain RN, conventional lube mold. It casts well and feeds very well in my Kimber compact with fine accuracy. I using Lyman Super-moly lube.

[Foto Joe]

I use the Lee 452-228 1R TL for both 45 Colt and 45acp and I love 'em. Casting from COWW's and lubing with 45-45-10 works with no leading. In my opinion if you've got the inclination to wipe off the excess lube from the boolit, you've used too much. My other favorite is the Lee 452-160 RF which is a tack driver in my Gvt. 1911 but not so much in a Compact/Officers model, I'm still working on a load that prints good for that one.

Although I'm rather new to this particular science of cast boolits from what has sunk into my brain thus I've found that at least in my case, leading is more a function of boolit size than lube characteristics. Since Lee molds are relatively inexpensive even if you find that it doesn't work for you you're only out twenty bucks or so.

[azrednek]

45 ACP is so slow that I'm not sure why you'd want to use a gas check. .

I'm in 100% agreement. I have an older Lyman single cavity mould that is a copy of the 230gr hardball but is cut fort a gas check. I've shot a few hundred of the gas checked version and compared the results to the non gas checked version. The gas check in 45ACP does absolutely nothing to improve shot to shot accuracy or eliminate leading. All the gas checked version does is add expense, take additional time and as far as I'm concerned adding the gas check to 45ACP is just a nuisance.

The gas checked 225-230 RN has performed well for me in 45 Colt Ruger Only loads and does add a slight improvement to the accuracy but it is simply a waste of time and effort in 45ACP.

[dudel]

I like the Lee 230gr TC TL design. No problems here with it. Cranks out a pile of boolits in no time at all. For the longest time, I didn't even bother to size them. Just TL with the Lee ALOX, dry them and done. Too much ALOX will leave the boolits with a brown film looking sorta nasty. That's a tip to cut back on the ALOX. If you get the right amount, they'll have a slight goldish hue to them.

I like the TC well enough to get the RN. It works fine also.

Haven't bothered with GC. Can't see the need at the velocities I load 45 GAP and ACP. Plus, those suckers are getting expensive! (if you can find them)