lee 356 120 TC

guzma393 · Feb 11, 2021

Impulse bought a lee 6 cavity 356 120 TC. Anyone use this bullet mold? I been waiting for this mold to come back in stock for a while now. I heard it's a great mold and bought it since it's a pretty cheap mold compared to other 9mm molds and I really like the lee sprue plate lever release system for fast casting. In stock in midway and probably not going to last a day or two [EDIT] I was very wrong in my assessment, SOLD OUT IN MINUTES.

Archeryrob · Feb 11, 2021

I got the two cavity and casted a bunch with it. F'ed mine all up rushing it and not letting the lead cool enough. Now I got to clean it up. Just got to powder caot them and stuff some IF I can ever buy SPP'ers.

Did you buy the handles too for the 6 mold? 2 comes with handle 6 is an extra part.

PowPow · Feb 11, 2021

guzma393 said:
Impulse bought a lee 6 cavity 356 120 TC. Anyone use this bullet mold?

I do. Don't forget to get a handle set for it, since they don't come with the mold. I like the bullet weight and design. I use 50/50 alox & beeswax with it, since I was given a ton of that lube.

guzma393 · Feb 11, 2021

Yeah, I got a pair of handles from casting 300 blkout supers with a lee 312/160gn 6 cav. I bought this mold because I really like the sprue cam lever release lee employs on their 6 cav molds.

I currently cast with an noe 359/129 tc 5 cavity mold dropping at 127 with the alloy I'm using. It works decent, but I hate whacking the sprue plate along a 2x4 (I find it easier than using a mallet) and the alignment pins like to seize, causing some minor finning when not lubed periodically, but the pins seam to free up the more it is being used so I guess there is a break in.

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PowPow · Feb 11, 2021

Yep. The less you bang your mold, the happier you'll both be. :lol2:

guzma393 · Feb 11, 2021

PowPow said:
Yep. The less you bang your mold, the happier you'll both be. 2:

I know my neighbors will be happier too, haha

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Melnic · Feb 12, 2021

IF someone sold after market sprue plates that were thicker and stronger for a Lee, I would buy them.
I'll be investing in 6 cavity molds when the opportunity arises and they have them.
My last molding session with a 6 cavity mold was great.
My Lyman molds never have the problems of the Lee molds. some of it is me and much of it often is the sprue plate getting bent.
I"ve started to add set screws drilling and tapping from the side for the Lee molds advised by another forum member cause its when it gets loose that things start to go bad.
If you tap it with a dowel, the angle you tap it can also screw things up.
I"m finding with my lead PID controller and keeping my mold the right temp, I don't need to do anything other than use my hands and the bullets drop easier also.
Only thing about the 6 cavity it seems is getting it warmed up. Dipping in the lead seems like the heating up is not really even. I'm going to have to hot plate it the way others have recommended. I have a little portable hot plate I use for warming and dipping my minie balls into the BP lead I'll use.

PowPow · Feb 13, 2021

Melnic said:
Only thing about the 6 cavity it seems is getting it warmed up. Dipping in the lead seems like the heating up is not really even. I'm going to have to hot plate it the way others have recommended. I have a little portable hot plate I use for warming and dipping my minie balls into the BP lead I'll use.

I use a hot plate with mine. Works well.

guzma393 · Feb 14, 2021

Looks like a hotplate is the next thing I'll look for in a thrift store along with my pewter runs.

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John from MD · Feb 15, 2021

guzma393 said:
Impulse bought a lee 6 cavity 356 120 TC. Anyone use this bullet mold? I been waiting for this mold to come back in stock for a while now. I heard it's a great mold and bought it since it's a pretty cheap mold compared to other 9mm molds and I really like the lee sprue plate lever release system for fast casting. In stock in midway and probably not going to last a day or two [EDIT] I was very wrong in my assessment, SOLD OUT IN MINUTES.

I have shot a few thousand of them both PC and XLOX lubed. I load them with 4.2 WW231 and they work just fine. Check a round in your chamber for OAL before loading a bunch. Some 9mm have no lead and the shoulder of this TC bullet will not allow it to chamber.

guzma393 · Feb 19, 2021

Mold came in today and I gave it a good cleaning. Casted ~150 bullets and they all dropped easy even without sooting it with a butane lighter. I then powdercoated and sized them to .356". Final outcome is a 125gn projectile with WW alloy. Loaded a few and found them to plunk at around 1.080" OAL. Bullets came out wrinkled, but probably because I didn't get the mold as hot as I could due to the cold weather, but bullets are coming out to exactly .356" with powdercoating adding another .002". Overall, i'm happy with this mold. I just gotta see how they shoot.

John from MD · Feb 19, 2021

FWIW, if you practice drills between 7 and 15 yards, don't cull your bullets unless they feel "thin" going through the sizing die. The reason is, they will probably strike withing an inch or two of your best bullets when shooting at that range. When shooting Bullseye or long range rifle, you need perfect bullets. For IDPA, USPSA and personal protection drills, almost anything will do.

Too many people remelt bullets when they don't have to just because they don't look exactly perfect.

guzma393 · Feb 19, 2021

John from MD said:
FWIW, if you practice drills between 7 and 15 yards, don't cull your bullets unless they feel "thin" going through the sizing die. The reason is, they will probably strike withing an inch or two of your best bullets when shooting at that range. When shooting Bullseye or long range rifle, you need perfect bullets. For IDPA, USPSA and personal protection drills, almost anything will do.

Too many people remelt bullets when they don't have to just because they don't look exactly perfect.

My powder coated casts come out looking like factory second bullets as I don't sort and stand up my bullets when I bake them, resulting in some sticking onto each other and chipping up the powder coat when being separated.

They are not the prettiest things, but functional nevertheless.

guzma393 · Mar 6, 2021

Final update on this, mold is holding well and wrinkles have finally disappeared. Heating it up on a hotplate is the way to go. After ~1500 casts, bullets are starting to stick a bit but are still able to shake off, even when smoked with a butane lighter. Probably just need to re-wash the mold. They are dropping at exactly .356, and the PC coat unsized mics at .358; could possible use these in my 38/357s. Resizes fine, and noticed that the base of the bullets have a slight bevel, which is ideal when running a bullet feeder on a progressive.

Range report, I've started loading these longer at 1.09" OAL to replicate the same seating depth engagement surface distance on commercial BBI 125 grain casts. They don't quite "plunk" right in, but they feed flawlessly and seem to shoot more accurate than COAL 1.08" ones (rings a 6" steel target at 25 yards fairly well); loaded with 3.9 grains of TG, little crimp added, and shot out of a VP9. Overall, I'm happy with this mold, and is a suitable replacement for my 5 cavity NOE 359/129 PB mold.

John from MD · Mar 6, 2021

Good job.

lee 356 120 TC

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