320 Grain .50cal LEE REAL bullets

[CVA Fanboy]

Tired, tired of trying to catch a .490 or .495 round ball mold at a decent price. SO I was tripping through Dixie Gun Works, YUP OUT OF STOCK Ball molds, I did find a single Cavity LEE REAL bullet mold for .50 320 grain bullet with handles $36 shipping is included with that price. I have found 4 or so videos of the .50cal 250 round 2 on the larger .50 320 grain can anyone shed some more light? Thanks

 

[SurrywoodML]

I have both the 250 and the 320 R.E.A.L molds in 50 cal. The 250 shoots good in my CVA Bobcat and the 320 shot good in my previous TC Hawken, but my current Hawken is just so-so, I think the bore is just a fuzz larger on this one or the rifling lands are a touch shallower. I say that because when the rifling would engage on the old gun, it remained fairly tight after the bullet conformed to the rifling as I rammed it down, but it is really loose on the Hawken I have now. Also, the barrel has to have a 1 in 48 twist or better, because neither shoot worth a darn in my Traditions Penn Long rifle, which is 1 in 66. I have read here that some guys have really good luck with them

 

[mark1945]

I cast them in 50,54,and 58 cal they seem to do almost as good as round balls as far as accuracy goes.

 

[CVA Fanboy]

2-16-22 UPDATE Well got the R.E.A.L double, well I can say I am not at all disappointed thanks all

 

[Squint]

Tired, tired of trying to catch a .490 or .495 round ball mold at a decent price. SO I was tripping through Dixie Gun Works, YUP OUT OF STOCK Ball, I did find a single Cavity LEE REAL bullet mold for .50 320 grain bullet with handles $36 shipping is included with that price. I have found 4 or so videos of the .50cal 250 round 2 on the larger .50 320 grain can anyone shed some more light? Thanks

I ordered last week and just received today a lee round ball double mold in .495. They had it in stock, maybe they have more, I don't know but postage and all cost me about $35. I ordered it from Titan reloading in Wisconsin. I have used several Lee aluminum molds, and have fairly good luck with them. I weigh all my round balls or bullets and try to maintain one half grain under or one half over. When I used to load smokeless, I weighed a lot of bullets and some were That close and some weren't.
Squint

 

[Squint]

Well, I got a chance to try out that new Lee mold this afternoon but I started too quick with it and the lead wasn't quite hot enough so the first tries were rejects, but I wound up with a fair amount of balls that weigh right at 182 grains. I haven't bothered measuring one, that's probably about right for my 490 mold pretty much makes 177 grain round balls. I do think that a ball closer to bore diameter with a tight patch would be more accurate then have to use a thick patch. I probably won't find out for another month, I am a warm weather hunter or shooter and it's about 10 above right now. Supposed to be 16 below in three days.
When I find out, I will post my results.
Squint

 

[Greg_E]

You should always plan on dumping the first one or two results from a session. I'm down to about the first pour for rejects because I've been heating the molds on a hot plate and getting pretty close to operating temperature before starting. That's one thing about the Lee molds, they just work. Here's my scrap pile the last time I cast, one was from not paying attention and under filling. I'm also building a controller for the lead pot so it will hopefully hold a tighter temperature, my 420 pot swings about 50-75 degrees which is pretty wide to keep sizes consistent.



Edit: here is the haul from that session. 250 and 320 grain (320 not shown).

 

[HC]

The more you cast, the more you learn. I have cast thousands and still learning.

 

[CVA Fanboy]

MMM Yes Sir, had similar issues with .451 round ball, took a few castings to get the molds up to heat specs, I am liking the hot plate idea, I might have to check out the 2nd hand shops see what there is to find....

 

[Greg_E]

I bought a hot plate meant for beakers and flasks, about 2 or 3 inches in diameter. Cost me like $25 on ebay. I set it around 400 degrees F and set the mold up while the lead pot heats and if I need to take a break the mold goes back on the plate. I think I'm going to raise the temp closer to 450 next time.

This is the one I bought Barnstead Thermolyne Type 2300 Hot Plate | eBay

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I bought a hot plate meant for beakers and flasks, about 2 or 3 inches in diameter. Cost me like $25 on ebay. I set it around 400 degrees F and set the mold up while the lead pot heats and if I need to take a break the mold goes back on the plate. I think I'm going to raise the temp closer to 450 next time.

This is the one I bought Barnstead Thermolyne Type 2300 Hot Plate | eBay

That looks about perfect for mold heating. Too bad it only heats in celcius.

 

[Greg_E]

Mine is in freedom degrees, not that I feel all that free in NY. They might leave the extra zero off the end, I set mine at a little above the 40 line.

 

[CVA Fanboy]

I bought a hot plate meant for beakers and flasks, about 2 or 3 inches in diameter. Cost me like $25 on ebay. I set it around 400 degrees F and set the mold up while the lead pot heats and if I need to take a break the mold goes back on the plate. I think I'm going to raise the temp closer to 450 next time.

This is the one I bought Barnstead Thermolyne Type 2300 Hot Plate | eBay

Nice I gotta take a look thanks