Surprise bullet mould

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got to go

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I went into WholeSale Sports today and noticed they had a bunch of new Lee bullets moulds on the shelf. I quickly looked through them and noticed .459 405 HB on the box. First thing I said to myself was WOW .459 I quickly stuffed the box in with my other "Treasures" and continued on my way. When I got home I opened the box and looked at the mould. OH, it's a single cavity, Oh Well. Next I noticed it looked like a HP, COOL. Then I noticed the HP was in the Wrong End, What The @^$@^&*&^^%## I've never heard of a HB bullet for a 45-70. Is this mould for a .45 cal muzzle loader or can it be used in the 45-70 at lower velocity, say 1200-1400 fps. ??? No problem returning it. Is it a Treasure or a Dud ???
 
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its meant for .45-70 and the code for it is .459-405-HB for a reason the HB stands for hollow base it will work no problem fit will always be the biggest factor with cast bullets
 
I never even thought about the HB. My mind went into Overload when I saw the .459 It was like that commercial on TV where the Woman looks at her bill and starts running for the car screaming "Start the Car, Start the Car, Start the Car" I read somewhere awhile ago that HB bullets shouldn't be shot with heavy loads because the thin skirt would melt leading to "Leading"
 
I was of the understanding that a hollow base bullet expands slightly upon firing thus creating a better seal and helps to prevent leading.
Maybe this also depends on how fast the bullet is driven ?
 
got to go said:
I never even thought about the HB. My mind went into Overload when I saw the .459 It was like that commercial on TV where the Woman looks at her bill and starts running for the car screaming "Start the Car, Start the Car, Start the Car" I read somewhere awhile ago that HB bullets shouldn't be shot with heavy loads because the thin skirt would melt leading to "Leading"
Click to expand...

that's with really thin skirts on minie balls this is thick and mostly there to add length to the bullet without adding the weight
 
I went in there on Tuesday evening looking for powder and found all of those molds and accessories too!
Was kinda shocked.
Wondering if they finally put out some more of the old Russell's stock that they had in the back or ordered stock for the shelf?
I bought a 6 cavity 124 gr RN 9mm mold and handles, so I can "mass produce" this winter and not have to buy lead bullets for next year.
Now if I could only get powder for it...
 
What is the nose profile, semi wadcutter, wadcutter?If it is a wadcutter,Seat that sucker upside down, like they do with .38 spl wadcutters.nasty hollow point.fantastic expansion.
 
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That hollow base bullet was made for the original sharps style rifles using black powder going about 1400 fps to 1800 fps. As the bullet is fired the base will expand slightly and fill the grooves in the rifling and enhance accuracy. I had no idea Lee started producing them again, I will have to go and stop by wholesale sports.
 
No, I was told on another forum that they shot really crappy. By the looks of it I don't think I would shoot it in anything with a tube magazine.
squirrelnuttz said:
What is the nose profile, semi wadcutter, wadcutter?If it is a wadcutter,Seat that sucker upside down, like they do with .38 spl wadcutters.nasty hollow point.fantastic expansion.
Click to expand...
 
I have two of those molds.

They are current production and have been common for at least the three years I've been casting.

FS Reloading (in the U.S) has them, along with most anything LEE. They do ship to Canada. Ebay is also your friend if you just want to order one or two molds at a time. This particular mold is on eBay semi-regularly.

I use this same 405 gr HB as my standard 45-70 bullet. Cast in wheel weights and quenched in ice water, I push them at just over 1900 fps our of my Marlin 1895 CB, and they group right around an honest inch. A real hammer for big game.

No idea why someone would be thinking they would not shoot well in a 45-70. I'm pretty sure Lee lists it as a 45-70 bullet, but not absolutely 1000% sure. EDIT - I just checked Lee's web site - this is listed as a 45-70 bullet, period.

Note on casting with this mold, your lead needs to be hotter than usual (and the mold pre-heated well) in order to properly fill the mold before you get any hardening, or you'll be re-melting lots of bullets with wrinkles. I use two of them, get everything heated up well and can produce nice bullets fairly quickly, once I realized I needed hotter lead than with most other molds.

Have fun :)
 
The hollow base expands on powder touch off and craves the rifling of your bore and makes a tighter seal going down the bore.
 
This is a slightly-oversize bullet designed for a .45-70 or a .45-90.

It also works rather well in a lot of Martinis, which tend to be a bit oversize.

It can be (and has been) sized down to a .446, in which guise it works very well in a .43 Mauser.

Good bullet: do 4 jobs for the price of 1 mould.
 
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