Lee conicals for .44 revolvers

[nick_1]

I recently bought the 220g .457 lee mold and found it impossible to load without completly mashing the bullet into the cylinder with a mallet on the bench. hard to get them straight but I essentually swaged them into the cylinder. completely mashed. even if it started crooked as heck I hammered it in there and reformed it to the cylinder. total PINTA but they actually shot pretty straight. Seemed like not a great plan though and arduous. lots of recoil and very high impact. I then ordered the 200g .450 mold. this one seems to work pretty good. The bottom band is .443 while the start of the conical is .450 they load really easily. Set nice and low in the cylinder and then seat easily with no shaving. I wish that shoulder was a bit tighter. .452 would be nice but they seem to work. I have shot about 50 of them. no backing out under recoil. accuracy seems about the same as RB but with very high impact point. I have a new front sight on order as the one on the gun was filed down for RB. Hoping the new sight will be tall enough. They hit a LOT harder than RB. really sends my steel flying. Makes it feel a lot more like modern power. nasty big soft slug.

 

[Sparkplug]

I use the Lee REAL .451 on top of a wad a 30 grains for my hunting load. They really pack a punch!

 

[Bad Karma]

I recently bought the 220g .457 lee mold and found it impossible to load without completly mashing the bullet into the cylinder with a mallet on the bench. hard to get them straight but I essentually swaged them into the cylinder. completely mashed. even if it started crooked as heck I hammered it in there and reformed it to the cylinder. total PINTA but they actually shot pretty straight. Seemed like not a great plan though and arduous. lots of recoil and very high impact. I then ordered the 200g .450 mold. this one seems to work pretty good. The bottom band is .443 while the start of the conical is .450 they load really easily. Set nice and low in the cylinder and then seat easily with no shaving. I wish that shoulder was a bit tighter. .452 would be nice but they seem to work. I have shot about 50 of them. no backing out under recoil. accuracy seems about the same as RB but with very high impact point. I have a new front sight on order as the one on the gun was filed down for RB. Hoping the new sight will be tall enough. They hit a LOT harder than RB. really sends my steel flying. Makes it feel a lot more like modern power. nasty big soft slug.

Is your gun an Uberti or Pietta?

 

[nick_1]

Pietta 1858

 

[Rifleman1776]

You should only use soft lead. If force is needed, don't do it.

 

[smokeum54]

I have the .450 lee, it does alright in my revolvers, still need to play with it more. I really like the lee REAL 200gr. On some of my revolvers the bottom ring needs a light push, then the second ring lines the bullet up straight.

They both shoot high but the REAL give better groups. Like you said, they do have a good thump to em, i can just squeeze 40 gr of 3f under them in my ruger. Little over 35 gr in my remy's. Been wanting to get a couple molds from accurate but haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[nick_1]

I use soft lead. The label on my mold is 450-200-1R so perhaps it is the Real? it does exactly what you said in my pietta cylinders. first ring fits in the cylinder and the 2nd ring straightens it out. I checked and it does load fine in the revolver but I usually load on the bench with my loader press. I find that to be much faster.
My new front sight was in my mail box when I got home from work today. wasted no time installing it. The new front sight makes it shoot low by about 6 inches @ 25yrds. I got my windage figured out just before I lost daylight. will work on the elevation the next chance I get. might not be until Monday after work but we will see. Just as it was getting dark I did a free hand cylinder. got a coupple of bullseyes and two 5inch steel plates at 10 yrds with a 12 oclock hold. it hits the steel twice as hard as .50cal RB. Very impressive!

 

[AlexB]

I had problems with those backing partway out the cylinder under recoil and jamming the cylinder.
The Kerrs from erasgone seat,shave a ring and stay in place.
Still like balls better though.

 

[nick_1]

so far I have not had any troubble with them backing out. I was disappointed that I wasted money on the .457 mold, I had allready ordered the .450 mold when I read about your experience with it. Then I found the link to the Kerr mold and wanted to order that but had allready ordered the Lee .450 and starting to feel pretty stupid about how much money I had into this. Then the Lee 200g showed up and I gave it a try. Unlike the lee .457 220g the 200g bullet dropped right into the cylinders and loaded perfectly. seems to shoot good and so far no problems . I have only shot about 100 of them. That will change. I have 196 of them on deck.

 

[Garbear34]

I recently bought the 220g .457 lee mold and found it impossible to load without completly mashing the bullet into the cylinder with a mallet on the bench. hard to get them straight but I essentually swaged them into the cylinder. completely mashed. even if it started crooked as heck I hammered it in there and reformed it to the cylinder. total PINTA but they actually shot pretty straight. Seemed like not a great plan though and arduous. lots of recoil and very high impact. I then ordered the 200g .450 mold. this one seems to work pretty good. The bottom band is .443 while the start of the conical is .450 they load really easily. Set nice and low in the cylinder and then seat easily with no shaving. I wish that shoulder was a bit tighter. .452 would be nice but they seem to work. I have shot about 50 of them. no backing out under recoil. accuracy seems about the same as RB but with very high impact point. I have a new front sight on order as the one on the gun was filed down for RB. Hoping the new sight will be tall enough. They hit a LOT harder than RB. really sends my steel flying. Makes it feel a lot more like modern power. nasty big soft slug.

I used those in my ruger old army no issues. Are they soft lead? I have 6 cavity round ball for the ruger old army. The 457 round ball 6 cavity for all my 44 piettas slightly harder to start on those but shoots awesome. I hae two era gone for the 44. The dowes .460 ruger likes those. The kerr not so much. But drops at .457.

 

[nick_1]

soft lead.

 

[smokeum54]

If its round nose then its the normal lee pistol conical. The REAL has a semi pointed tip, like a t/c maxi.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

The 220 grain .457" is intended for the Ruger Old Army. I use the 200 grain version in both my 1858 and 1860 with excellent results and easy loading. I find it load better than the heeled bullet and I can use more powder.