30xcb molds in stock at NOE

[Rally]

I clean them with dish washing liquid and hot water from a coffee maker, then heat cycle them a couple times and clean again the last time with alcohol and a toothbrush. Spin all my hp pins now before ever even casting just to smooth them up some. I have to store all my moulds oiled or they will rust. It’s just wet here, even with a dehumidifier going.

 

[Reloader762]

Well I just wash my molds no matte the mfg. and run them though a couple heat cycles before I start casting. I've only had one mold I had to trash and that was Lee 38 Special wad cutter mold that was serious out of round an undersized, other than that I can say anything bad about any of the molds I have from NOE, Arsenal, Accurate, Lee or Lyman. They all seem to cast good accurate bullet for all my handgun and rifle shooting needs at the ranges I shoot at.

This $20 Lee .312" 185 gr. RN mold is one of my favorites and it shoots great in both my Mosin and SKS rifles.

 

[Ian]

Lee Precision has really gotten their act together in the last few years regarding moulds. I never had much trouble with the old-style blocks of either configuration but they are even better now than ever. The only real shortcoming of the contemporary two-cavity moulds is fixed in five minutes with a drill, tap, and 8x32 set screw.

 

[Reloader762]

The only real shortcoming of the contemporary two-cavity moulds is fixed in five minutes with a drill, tap, and 8x32 set screw.

I really need to do that to all my Lee molds I have a couple of the old style molds that the sprue plate screw tends to loosen up after a long casting secession. I have I think around fourteen or so Lee molds so I need to make up a jig to hold the molds in place and do them all at the same time.

 

[462]

Even Lee's new design mould blocks, with the left-hand threaded screw, require a set screw.

 

[quicksylver]

IMHO if you are planing to shoot these out of a 1-10 twist your're not missing anything by not having one,there are a lot better shooting bullets out there.... it does like 1-12 better but again IMO there's a lot of hype associated with this bullet, it's the only design I have bought that grossly under performs my expectations

 

[waco]

IMHO if you are planing to shoot these out of a 1-10 twist your're not missing anything by not having one,there are a lot better shooting bullets out there.... it does like 1-12 better but again IMO there's a lot of hype associated with this bullet, it's the only design I have bought that grossly under performs my expectations

2600+FPS out of a 1:10 twist .308 with 2MOA accuracy out to 500 yards. What’s not to like?

 

[fiver]

it's a matter of not using the wrong alloy for the design.

 

[Ian]

Or the wrong powder.

 

[Reloader762]

I just want to say how much I appreciate each an ever one of you on this forum and all the help and learning that has graced these threads. I hope that in none of my threads or anything I have posted has ever offended any one of you in any way, shape or form, if so none was intended.

I can't really say what it is but ever since I came across the 30 XCB design I've always want one of those molds, heck I didn't even have a rifle to shoot in it at the time, still don't have much of one now but it been shooting the Lee 170 FP really well. I missed the boat twice when they were available because I didn't have the money at the time. You know how it is when your on a limited budget when you have some spending money and noting is in stock then when it is the money has to go some wheres else.

I'm about as unconventional as it comes to bullet casting, reloading and shooting, I gather all the information I can, us that with what I have to work with and push it to its limits. So far it's worked out pretty well.

 

[Ian]

I'm about as unconventional as it comes to bullet casting, reloading and shooting, I gather all the information I can, us that with what I have to work with and push it to its limits. So far it's worked out pretty well.

Welcome to the club, Ronnie!

 

[fiver]

you'd have to go preeeetty far out of bounds to offend me.
like probably to places most wouldn't even think of going.

a comment on a website is just opinion, hopefully [probably] one formed through experience or from observation of others experiences. [preferably the former rather than the latter]
pretty hard to get all worked up about something like that, unless it's a repeat, repeat, rinse, wash, repeat of nonsense, without further efforts other then repeating the same 'tests' over and over again to try and prove your [one single] point.

 

[Ben]

Lee Precision has really gotten their act together in the last few years regarding moulds. I never had much trouble with the old-style blocks of either configuration but they are even better now than ever. The only real shortcoming of the contemporary two-cavity moulds is fixed in five minutes with a drill, tap, and 8x32 set screw.

VERY TRUE !

 

[Tomme boy]

@Reloader762 a lot of the guys here are some of the best cast bullet shooters and tinkerers. Some have been kicked out of other forums because they did not go along with what certain others "expertise". Some people think it is all about the twist. That is just one variable.

There a lot of ways to skin a cat. And some of these guys wrote the books on how to do it. Like fiver said, alloy can play a huge factor on how fast you can push a bullet. If you don't have a good alloy it does not matter what bullet you are shooting. They ALL will fall off around the 2K fps.

 

[Ian]

The Holy Trinity of cast bullets is Fit, Alloy, and Powder. Each element has to be balanced to the others for the system to work. Change one thing and one or both of the others will likely need to be adjusted to compensate. Even changing bullet lubricants can require a re-work of the load.

If you cast the "XCB" bullet with air cooled ww and launch it out of a .30-'06 with 13 grains of Red Dot you're going to have problems. Switch to 38 grains of 3031 or 39.5 grains of H4350, seat it .020" off the lands, and it works. Or use a Barlow bullet that engraves well and you can use either Red Dot or 4350 with WW alloy, just not much over 1800 fps with accuracy due to fit and guidance issues. Use #2 alloy or linotype and you can use Red Dot or Unique and jam-fit the XCB bullet, again your velocity will be limited due to very abrupt and high pressure curves.

 

[Reloader762]

Cast up about 150 of the 30 XCB bullets this morning. I only had a limited amount of time today to work with these so there not what I would consider my best effort so I just coated about ten each using Super Durable Clear and Popping Silver Vein, quenched out of the toaster oven, gas checked and sized them to see how they would turn out. I cast a random set of sample during the casting process and after they cooled I measure and weighed each set. The bullets across the sampling weighed between 167.0 and 167.3 grs. Two bullets from the mold using my micrometer measured .311" while the third bullet measured .311.5" The powder coating added around .002" to the diameter before sizing. I'll probably coat half of the rest of the bullets tomorrow and lube size with 2500+ the other half for a side by side load comparison and let them set a couple weeks before I load and do some test shooting.

I like the Popping Silver Vein, it kinda gives the bullets some character.

 

[L Ross]

Cast up about 150 of the 30 XCB bullets this morning. I only had a limited amount of time today to work with these so there not what I would consider my best effort so I just coated about ten each using Super Durable Clear and Popping Silver Vein, quenched out of the toaster oven, gas checked and sized them to see how they would turn out. I cast a random set of sample during the casting process and after they cooled I measure and weighed each set. The bullets across the sampling weighed between 167.0 and 167.3 grs. Two bullets from the mold using my micrometer measured .311" while the third bullet measured .311.5" The powder coating added around .002" to the diameter before sizing. I'll probably coat half of the rest of the bullets tomorrow and lube size with 2500+ the other half for a side by side load comparison and let them set a couple weeks before I load and do some test shooting.

I like the Popping Silver Vein, it kinda gives the bullets some character.

I can't wait to hear the results of that test. I have been avoiding powder coating like the plague. Those bullets look great.

 

[Reloader762]

I can't wait to hear the results of that test. I have been avoiding powder coating like the plague. Those bullets look great.

Why so, it's just another way to lube a bullet and it not that hard if you just follow some basics that have proven to work and use a good powder to start with. The powder is probably the most expensive part starting out but you can get 3 1/3rd lb. color samples from Smoke over on Cast Boolits for the price of 1 single color an Eastwood has sales on occasion.

For equipment, I just use any old recycled #5 plastic container we use around the house that would normally go in the trash. My convection toaster oven which also came with a tray was a recycle from the thrift store for a few dollars. You can use parchment paper or non-stick Reynolds foil to line your tray with, others use silicone mats which ever you prefer. I like the foil best as I get more uses out of it that the parchment and when it gets some buildup from the powder I just throw it away an get a new piece.

I use the shake & Bake method along with some black air soft BB's or pony beads to kind of buffer the bullets, it's a personal preference whether to use them or not and I stand all my bullets up on their bases, others just shake off the excess powder and dump them on the baking sheet. Again it's justa personal choice as to how you want to coat your bullets.

 

[fiver]

using ww's ain't ya.
yours from the mold weigh about 1/2gr more than what mine do after checking and lubing.

 

[waco]

The last batch I cast using Lamar's 90/6/4 alloy weigh 162.2-162.5
My mold is from a different batch than Ronnie's. 5gr seems like a big difference.