Lee 457-340-F or 457-405-F

[Jackalope]

Has anyone tried these in a .45 LRH for grease groove bullets?

I already have a .452 sizer and wouldn't mind having a bullet I could shoot in a sabot in my .50 cal or GR in my .45 LRH.

 

[Idaholewis]

I don’t have either of those bullets, But i have looked them over, i would place a LARGE bet that either of those bullets would shoot STELLAR in our .45 LRH Barrels, Lube them, Push them through your Sizer, Load your Rifle and Go I wouldn’t hesitate on either of those Molds, I have shot LOTS of bullets right in that Size Range, and They Shot AWESOME in my 45 LRH
The Only reason I don’t have either of those is i am not a fan of Lee Molds, I prefer a Steel mold. Most of mine are either Custom Accurate molds, Lyman, RCBS, and Buffalo Arms.

 

[Jackalope]

I don’t have either of those bullets, But i have looked them over, i would place a LARGE bet that either of those bullets would shoot STELLAR in our .45 LRH Barrels, Lube them, Push them through your Sizer, Load your Rifle and Go I wouldn’t hesitate on either of those Molds, I have shot LOTS of bullets right in that Size Range, and They Shot AWESOME in my 45 LRH
The Only reason I don’t have either of those is i am not a fan of Lee Molds, I prefer a Steel mold. Most of mine are either Custom Accurate molds, Lyman, RCBS, and Buffalo Arms.

I might pick up the 340 gr mold. My only worry is how shallow the lube grooves are.

I need to get a hardness tester some time as well.

 

[Idaholewis]

I might pick up the 340 gr mold. My only worry is how shallow the lube grooves are.

I need to get a hardness tester some time as well.

I don’t see any problem with the Groove Depth of that bullet? I have a BUNCH of .457-.459 Molds that i size down as far as .449 to “Bore Ride” For Target Shooting in my Rice .45 Cal, But .451-452 is More Common. Some molds/bullets have deeper grooves than others, So far I haven’t found a bullet in 45 that wouldn’t carry enough lube, It doesn’t take as much as you might think, A Maxi Ball is RIDICULOUS, they are Lube HOGS, and it’s simply unnecessary, I have found excess lube Spackled on my Targets From Maxi Balls. My Lyman 292 Grain Bullet has Shallow Grooves, I was concerned about it not carrying enough Lube? But The little bullet shoots STELLAR, and Zero Leading in my Barrel, That tells me it’s carrying enough Lube Use a .50 Cal 1/8” Wool Felt Wad in your .45 For the Extra Seal, The oversize Wad fills the Rifling Grooves good, I believe this helps prevent Gasses from escaping up along side the Bullet Through the Grooves upon firing before the Bullet has “Bumped up” and Filled the Grooves, I cannot prove this, But my Targets tell me the Oversize Wads work well

A Lead Hardness tester is a nice tool to own, But in all honesty I rarely use mine, I buy certified Alloy, and Lead From Buffalo Arms. It’s stil nice to have the ability to test unknown stuff. If you plan to PP the 2 molds you got from me, I definitely advise you know the Hardness, If you get a little to Hard with those you will have problems

 

[edmehlig]

I might pick up the 340 gr mold. My only worry is how shallow the lube grooves are.

If you are looking at the 340gr mold you may want to consider the Lyman 330gr HP Gould mold. My mold casts bullets that weigh around 346gr using pure lead. A few of us here use this bullet and love it. The deer my grandkids have harvested with it even with a load as little as 50gr of 777-3F at 50 yds died where they were standing.

 

[Jackalope]

If you are looking at the 340gr mold you may want to consider the Lyman 330gr HP Gould mold. My mold casts bullets that weigh around 346gr using pure lead. A few of us here use this bullet and love it. The deer my grandkids have harvested with it even with a load as little as 50gr of 777-3F at 50 yds died where they were standing.

I have coveted that mold for many years, and it has been on my mind.

 

[Jackalope]

I don’t see any problem with the Groove Depth of that bullet? I have a BUNCH of .457-.459 Molds that i size down as far as .449 to “Bore Ride” For Target Shooting in my Rice .45 Cal, But .451-452 is More Common. Some molds/bullets have deeper grooves than others, So far I haven’t found a bullet in 45 that wouldn’t carry enough lube, It doesn’t take as much as you might think, A Maxi Ball is RIDICULOUS, they are Lube HOGS, and it’s simply unnecessary, I have found excess lube Spackled on my Targets From Maxi Balls. My Lyman 292 Grain Bullet has Shallow Grooves, I was concerned about it not carrying enough Lube? But The little bullet shoots STELLAR, and Zero Leading in my Barrel, That tells me it’s carrying enough Lube Use a .50 Cal 1/8” Wool Felt Wad in your .45 For the Extra Seal, The oversize Wad fills the Rifling Grooves good, I believe this helps prevent Gasses from escaping up along side the Bullet Through the Grooves upon firing before the Bullet has “Bumped up” and Filled the Grooves, I cannot prove this, But my Targets tell me the Oversize Wads work well

A Lead Hardness tester is a nice tool to own, But in all honesty I rarely use mine, I buy certified Alloy, and Lead From Buffalo Arms. It’s stil nice to have the ability to test unknown stuff. If you plan to PP the 2 molds you got from me, I definitely advise you know the Hardness, If you get a little to Hard with those you will have problems

I due plan on PP the molds I got from you, but figured I could kill two birds with one stone with getting a bullet I could GG and shoot out of a sabot.

My lead has come from old junk yard sheet lead and diving weights. I mainly use it to pour fishing jigs.

 

[edmehlig]

I don't think you would regret it. GRIN

 

[Jackalope]

I don't think you would regret it. GRIN

It is on sale at Midway USA.

 

[edmehlig]

Not a bad price!

 

[GM54-120]

Lyman 457122 is the best "dont beat me senseless" deer bullet ive ever shot. You can even have it converted to a flat point.

 

[Jackalope]

Lyman 457122 is the best "dont beat me senseless" deer bullet ive ever shot. You can even have it converted to a flat point.

How about Elk?

 

[Idaholewis]

How about Elk?

If it were legal here to hunt Elk with a .45 that is Precisely what i would be hunting with! Here in Idaho we have a .50 Cal Minimum Restriction on Elk, .40 for Deer

I would prefer my Solid Gould instead of the Hollow Point for Elk, As for Bullet Weight, it’s plenty Enough Hammer for Elk! There would be no hesitations here if i could legally use a .45 Cal

 

[Underclocked]

Lee .457-405 mold. Cast of near pure lead then sized through a .451 sizing die with a mallet and dowel. White Model 98 in .451

Lee .457-405 sized to .451

• Underclocked
• Aug 25, 2019

fired from a White Model 98 .451. 100 yards. Cast from near pure lead in a Lee mold then...

 

[Jackalope]

I ended up getting the Lee 457-340gr mold. With my lead it comes out at 356gr. Hopefully I can get them finished up with sizing and lube, and get out and see how they shoot.

 

[Idaholewis]

I ended up getting the Lee 457-340gr mold. With my lead it comes out at 356gr. Hopefully I can get them finished up with sizing and lube, and get out and see how they shoot.

Sounds good! Lets see pics, what they look like? I have never seen that Bullet?

 

[Jackalope]

I found a roughly 2gr difference between the front & back cavity. Front cavity is right around 356 the rear cavity is around 358. I cast up a bunch and found +/- .5 gr off of 356 was the sweet spot.

 

[Idaholewis]

View attachment 6796 I found a roughly 2gr difference between the front & back cavity. Front cavity is right around 356 the rear cavity is around 358. I cast up a bunch and found +/- .5 gr off of 356 was the sweet spot.

It’s a GOOD Looking bullet for sure! Keep us posted on your Results with it

The slight weight variance between the 2 Cavities is normal, Sometimes they will be identical, But in most of my experience with 2 Cavity Molds they will Vary slightly. The Bigger the Bullet, usually the bigger the variance. 99% of my Molds are Single Cavity, The very Few Double Cavity Molds i own are Lighter weight, Such as my .445, and .495 Roundball Molds, They throw identical Weights

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I found a roughly 2gr difference between the front & back cavity. Front cavity is right around 356 the rear cavity is around 358. I cast up a bunch and found +/- .5 gr off of 356 was the sweet spot.

Looks very much like the gould. I like it.

 

[edmehlig]

But not as good as the Gould bullet?
Personally I wouldn’t know as I haven’t harvested anything with them. But 3 out of 4 of my grandsons have and they love it! The 4th one had an opportunity this year but felt the doe was small and decided to let her get bigger.