Bullet casting

[S1M]

I'm looking to start bullet casting mainly for a 9mm lever release and I've looked at a lee bullet mould it's a 356-125-2R has anyone had experience with casting bullets with this mould and or would there be something better to run through a 9mm lever release it will be for short range target shooting?

Thanks

[dodgyrog]

I can't say that Lee would be my first choice for a mould! Lyman and RCBS double cavity moulds would get you going but NOE from the USA would be the best.
You'll need other good equipment as well - I suggest you read a few articles on the subject and look at YouTube - there's some good (and bad) films on there to look at.
Don't forget you will need to get good lead - range lead is usually fine cut 1/2 and 1/2 with plumbers pipes and sheet lead from the local scrappy.
Boolit lube can be bought but making it is quite possible too - research that on YouTube as well

[S1M]

Ok thanks I'll have a look through YouTube

[dromia]

This has also been well covered on here and with more authority than a lot of the guff on you tube, so a search of this site will give you much of what you need.

Lee moulds are a pig in a poke as they have no effective quality control, on one hand lee moulds are cheap so that if casting isn't for you then you haven't invested much, on the other had the chances of having a good experience with a new lee mould is less than 50-50 so it might put you off casting. Also Lee moulds tend to drop undersize.

A quality mould from NOE, Accurate and the like will definitely be preferable as then you can concentrate on the process rather than wrestling with a cheap mould as well as learning to cast at the same time.

Your money your choice.

[g-p-c]

Did you make any progress, S1M?
I've been casting for 35 years and still have a couple of Lee moulds (e.g. round ball for my cap-and-ball 44), but have settled on Lyman, RCBS and Accurate Molds (sic). Where possible, I go for the highest cavity count I can afford. Four of my Lyman moulds are 4 cavity (two 357s, a 44 and a 45), and these really speed up the process.
Using, for example, my four cavity Lyman 158 RFN and my Accurate Molds 5 cavity mould, I can cast 600 bullets an hour. I fill a mould and put it down to cool, fill the other and put it down. I then empty the first mould, refill and so on.

So if you develop your interest in casting further, then don't be frustrated by the time it takes. Bigger moulds help to maximise your time when you feel you can justify the cost.

[FredB]

I think I must have samples of every make of mould in common use. A good Lee mould is a good mould, but there is a chance of getting a bad one and they are rubbish. I have a dozen of so Lee moulds, one 44 calibre was bought in the 1980s and is still going strong. The comment about them casting undersize should be taken seriously, especially if you are casting round balls.
The method of indexing the two blocks together has changed in recent years: I only have one example of the new system and it is excellent.
If you can afford it, go for Accurate,
Fred