I was thinking of getting a Lee mould becuase they are cheap, I have ran out of gun money and the sizing die for my sizer is $40. I will be casting for a 45-70 Handi rifle with a groove diameter of .457. I have not done a chamber cast to get a measurement on the throat. I am thinking that the bullet will need to be .459. The Lee 45 caliber moulds say they are .457. What diameter do they really cast? I am using 92% lead 2% tin 6% antimony.

Sean my two 45's arrived 458+ and up to 459+. One of them I lapped to 460+ very easily. These the 340 and 405 gr bullets.

I also have the 340 grain and 405 grain plain base moulds and they both drop 'em at just over .459, with the 340 model being the fatter. I cast them with wheel weights and shoot them tumble lubed and unsized in my .457 Marlin barrel with no problems. In my rifle, the 405 grainer is more accurate.

Sean, Lee offers 459-405 HB. I'm plumb tickled with mine. I had to lap 457-405 HP out to get good results. That may have been because I like the Frankfurt Arsenal mould release agent which makes bullets drop maybe a thou small.

Sean, For what it's worth, my two Lee ".457" molds, #457-340-F and 459-405-HB both cast larger than .459". The HB one is a gem and is particularly accurate with BP or Pyro. loads in my .45-70 Marlin (with Microgroove rifling no less!). ...Maven

I like the 405 HB too. Has anyone here hunted with this bullet? I am not pushing mine very fast, what have you seen for the maximum velocity ?