LEE 40 Smith and Wesson 145 grain vs 175 grain TL vs 175 TC bullet?

[hatman1793]

LEE makes three 40S&W molds. A two (2) cavity 145 SWC, & two (6) cavity 175 grain molds, one a tumble lube (TL) mold, the other a truncated cone forty.
I would prefer the lighter 145 bullet but it cannot compete with the two six cavity molds for production volume.

My question is about the two 6 cavity molds. Some TL molds offer excellent bullets, some don’t...

Is the 175 TL bullet any good? Is it better or worse than the 175 TC? Preferences?
Thoughts?

 

[Snider shooter]

I have two 6 cavity 175 gr moulds. One tumble lube and one grease groove. They both work excellent out to 50 meters. I don’t see any reason to go to a lighter bullet.

 

[hatman1793]

The reason lighter bullets are better in 40S&W is to minimize the snappieness that is inherent in 180 grain 40’s.
The recoil from 180 grain 40S&W cartridges is not far off 45acp. 200 grain 45’s have the edge over 180 40’s.
Going to a much lighter 40 bullet turns 40 into 9mm recoil.

 

[Snider shooter]

The reason lighter bullets are better in 40S&W is to minimize the snappieness that is inherent in 180 grain 40’s.
The recoil from 180 grain 40S&W cartridges is not far off 45acp. 200 grain 45’s have the edge over 180 40’s.
Going to a much lighter 40 bullet turns 40 into 9mm recoil.

I bought my CZ 75 B because I wanted the power of the 40s/w. If want to shoot a 9 m/m I will get it out. I don’t see the point in downloading a pistol except for wadcutters in my 38’s or 44 rem mag. I don’t find the recoil of the 40 hard to handle.

 

[BattleRife]

The tumble lube bullets leaded up my pistol pretty badly. Apparently it's common with the .40. I shoot conventionally lubed bullets now, with carnauba red, and it's better, though still not perfect.

 

[Snider shooter]

Drop the tumble lube bullets from the mould into a bucket of water. Hardens them up to about 27 bnh. They don’t lead my barrel and I shoot max loads.

 

[ted_dent]

I don’t find the recoil of the 40 hard to handle.

You will notice the recoil much more with a 40 S&W Glock than you will with an all steel CZ 75, especially with zippy loads. And not everyone can afford the luxury of guns in both calibres.

 

[DANS40X]

I've casted thousands of the Lee 175gr TL & 175greaser variety over the last 10+ years for plinking purposes out of 40 & 10mm.

Cavities have been lapped to .402" w/ linotype projectiles for better sizing/fit.

I tumble lube in my Alox blend & greasers w/ my lube blend.

I cast them at 18Bhn & haven't had any issues running them thru my SIG P226's/229's & S&W 610,1006's,1076.

 

[hatman1793]

My question is the suitability of LEE’s 175 TL bullet vs their 175 TC bullet. Which is better? Many reloaders go to lighter-than-standard bullets for untold varieties of reasons. Why not?
Dropping cast bullets in a pail of water only hardens the surface by 1-2 BNH. Go view FortuneCookie45LC’s video on it. Besides extra hard lead is not an issue if you powder coat your castings.

 

[DANS40X]

Op,
Depending on one's equipment.
Lee states that their molds are manufactured so the projectiles do not need to be sized,just tumble lubed in ALOX.

Water quenching & composition of alloy will predict Bhn hardness along w/ diameter & weight variances.

A few percent of arsenic & heat treating will make projectiles hard w/o breakage issues.