I haven't been really happy for a while with my Lee group buy Keith style mould. It has issues with the alignment pins walking and at times I get bullets fatter from one end of the mould than the other. It also drops a bullet at almost .436, way too fat.
I bought a new 4 cav NOE HG503 mould. It is so much better. It will need a small bevel filed on the top of the blocks to improve venting but bullets drop easily and very round.
This is an as cast and sized bullet from the new mould. The bullets drop right at .432, perfect for sizing to .4315 for my revolver. The sizer barely touches the bands. Almost no effort was required.
Sorry the photo is a bit blurry but you can see the difference in the bullet bases after sizing. The one on the left is the Lee GB bullet, the right in the NOE bullet. You can see the marks left by the sizing punch on the one of the left, the one on the right bears no marks at all. I have to think the base damage on the Lee bullet isn't conducive too good accuracy. It also leaves a slight finning on the bottom of the rear band as the sized metal is displaced. Again, not conducive to top accuracy.
Here are the two bullets. Left is the NOE, right is the Lee. Front band on the NOE is wider as is the middle band. Lube groove on the NOE is also narrower, a feature I don't mind at all. With a good lube I don't need that much.
I can't wait to get out and shoot some from the new mould. Confidence will be improve as the bullets are of a far better quality.
I bought a new 4 cav NOE HG503 mould. It is so much better. It will need a small bevel filed on the top of the blocks to improve venting but bullets drop easily and very round.
This is an as cast and sized bullet from the new mould. The bullets drop right at .432, perfect for sizing to .4315 for my revolver. The sizer barely touches the bands. Almost no effort was required.
Sorry the photo is a bit blurry but you can see the difference in the bullet bases after sizing. The one on the left is the Lee GB bullet, the right in the NOE bullet. You can see the marks left by the sizing punch on the one of the left, the one on the right bears no marks at all. I have to think the base damage on the Lee bullet isn't conducive too good accuracy. It also leaves a slight finning on the bottom of the rear band as the sized metal is displaced. Again, not conducive to top accuracy.
Here are the two bullets. Left is the NOE, right is the Lee. Front band on the NOE is wider as is the middle band. Lube groove on the NOE is also narrower, a feature I don't mind at all. With a good lube I don't need that much.
I can't wait to get out and shoot some from the new mould. Confidence will be improve as the bullets are of a far better quality.