Lee 6 Cavity Disappointment

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Sharps '74

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Recently I bought four Lee 6 cavity moulds, one of them the 200 gr .452 RNFP.

I powdered coated them, ran them thru' the Lee .452 sizer (they miked .452) and loaded them in my .45 ACP brass. They were taper crimped in the crimp groove.

They would not feed in any of the five 1911s in this household, all of them with factory throated, polished feed ramps.

They were an extremely tight fit, preventing the slide from going into battery.

Wassamata my mould?
 
Fat nose made more fat by coating. Can you seat deeper without them becoming a wadcutter load?

Try some without powder coating using alox or conventional lube. If that's not what you want to do it might not be a very useful mold for you.
 
I also have lee 6 cavity molds and PC the bullets, and size to 452, and I have no chambering problems, and 1 of my 1911's has a match chamber.
I load a lot of pc bullets in 9mm, 40, and 45 with no problems. When I size 452, they mike at exactly 452. I cannot explain with any certainty what is going on with your loaded rounds. I am assuming that if you do the plunk test with a 45ACP barrel, the round will not chamber completely. If I was in this predicament, I would try a 451 sizer, and/or find brass that has a thinner sidewalls. I will also say I had difficulty years ago with a 230 grain 45ACP FP bullet feeding in my 1911's. I concluded the loaded round was too short. I switched to 200 grain SWC and 230 grain RN to solve the problem.
 
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vagrantviking said:
Fat nose made more fat by coating. Can you seat deeper without them becoming a wadcutter load?

Try some without powder coating using alox or conventional lube. If that's not what you want to do it might not be a very useful mold for you.
Click to expand...

Seating them LONGER might help and it's worth a try.
 
kelseyscooter1 said:
I also have lee 6 cavity molds and PC the bullets, and size to 452, and I have no chambering problems, and 1 of my 1911's has a match chamber.
I load a lot of pc bullets in 9mm, 40, and 45 with no problems. When I size 452, they mike at exactly 452. I cannot explain with any certainty what is going on with your loaded rounds. I am assuming that if you do the plunk test with a 45ACP barrel, the round will not chamber completely. If I was in this predicament, I would try a 451 sizer, and/or find brass that has a thinner sidewalls. I will also say I had difficulty years ago with a 230 grain 45ACP FP bullet feeding in my 1911's. I concluded the loaded round was too short. I switched to 200 grain SWC and 230 grain RN to solve the problem.
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I did NOT try the 'plunk' test, assuming that the rds would feed.

The bullets miked .452 after sizing, powder coating notwithstanding.

The loaded rds mike .470 at the case mouth after taper crimping.

The guns on hand feed 200 gr SWCs and 230 RN of any configuration just fine.

I think it's a matter of OAL.
 
Sharps '74 said:
Seating them LONGER might help and it's worth a try.
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Could do. Depends on where it's binding.
If the sized diameter is 452 it shouldn't be swelling the case to bind in the chamber. A 200gr shouldn't be so long as to seat so deep it reaches where the brass starts to get thicker.

With coating the problem is often that the part of the nose that would normally fit in the taper of the throat or bore is now wider farther up so the bullet hits sooner than it would otherwise. A rifle bullet with a bore riding nose can be particularly problematic. NOE actually makes a sizing setup for sizing just the nose.
 
I think you nailed it!

I did the 'plunk' test using a Bar-Sto barrel for my Gold Cup and the barrel from one of my Commanders. Only 1/4 of the rds passed the 'plunk' test, and those just barely.

I think the PC on the bullet ogive was enough to cause the problem.

Next batch I put thru' my Lyman sizer/luber.
 
Both my CZs and all my 1911s require a shorter OAL with every LEE mold I have tried with powder coating so far. It seems to be a pretty common thing.
 
No got a chamber gauge, just other 1911 barrels.

It's hard to imagine seating the Lee 200 RNFP any deeper if you use the crimping groove. I don't think that would meet specs for minimum OAL.
 
Sharps '74 said:
No got a chamber gauge, just other 1911 barrels.

It's hard to imagine seating the Lee 200 RNFP any deeper if you use the crimping groove. I don't think that would meet specs for minimum OAL.
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You can seat to whatever you like as long as you develop your load around it. Your crimp groove doesn't matter, those are for roll crimps when loaded in .45 colt... Your taper crimp die will crimp regardless of where the groove is. I am well under typical OAL for my .45 loads and it hasn't affected me in any way. Function is 100% and accuracy is great.
 
If your rounds are failing the plunk test, you need to fix this. I have never run into a situation where PC on the bullet ogive caused a problem. you mentioned a bar sto barrel, which are normally cut to minimum chamber specs. With my bar sto barrels, I have to be particular with the head stamp I use in order to pass the plunk test. I suspect sizing to .451 would solve your problem, and/or being particular about the brass you use.
 
hatman1793 said:
LEE makes 3 six cavity 45acp molds:

1. 452-200-SWC, #90310
2. 452-200-RF, #90697
3. TL-452-SWC, # 90379

Which one did you buy?
Click to expand...

LEE only makes one mold that could be described as a .452 200grn RNFP. It sure looks like it was meant more for .45 colt than .45 ACP. I went for the 230 TC myself, works well in both .45 ACP and Colt.
 
hatman1793 said:
LEE makes 3 six cavity 45acp molds:

1. 452-200-SWC, #90310
2. 452-200-RF, #90697
3. TL-452-SWC, # 90379

Which one did you buy?
Click to expand...

I will chip in here, just sayin'
1. 452-200-SWC, #90310
This is a take off of the Hensley & Gibbs 68 mold. Well known for good functioning in most all 1911's. It was designed to duplicate the geometry of the 230 grain ball round. said another way, it should function in any 1911 that will cycle 230 grain lead rounds and/or 230 grain grain fmj rounds. This bullet cuts nice clean .45 holes in targets, and raises hell with critters. Would also make a decent self defence round. My personal favorite!
 
B said:
Then don't load any short ogive JHPs..? What has that got to do with anything? Your problem and solution have been laid out for you.
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OK, I'll spell it out for you ....

If a 1911 won't reliably feed a short "ash tray" HP, why would it feed a similar short FN bullet any better?

Thanks for your condescending comment.
 
B said:
LEE only makes one mold that could be described as a .452 200grn RNFP. It sure looks like it was meant more for .45 colt than .45 ACP. I went for the 230 TC myself, works well in both .45 ACP and Colt.
Click to expand...

I bought the 452-200-RF. Looks like a 230 RN with the nose cut off to a wide meplat.

I'm going to order a Lee 6 cavity 200 SWC.
 
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