Another LBT Mold Question

[chris623]

Has anyone had Veral make a mold for their .357 SA Revolver?  I've been using "store-bought" long enough and think it may be time to treat my Blackhawk to some good "vittles".  I don't shoot heavy loads, just moderate target loads.

[Fowler]

What's your question? He makes the finest mold on the market in my opinion and while I don't have a 357 mile from him I have 32 to 50 cal molds from him and they are all great molds. I will say, especially for smaller calibers to buy the 4 cavity mold option over the 2, they will make a pile of bullets in a hurry.

[chris623]

I just didn't know if anyone was having good luck with a .357 mold he'd made. I don't shoot enough to need a 4 cavity mold, I don't think. You say he makes the finest mold on the market.............................what makes them the finest? I'm new to casting, so that's a newbie question, for sure.

[Fowler]

Dec 6, 2015 21:15:37 GMT -5 chris623 said:

I just didn't know if anyone was having good luck with a .357 mold he'd made. I don't shoot enough to need a 4 cavity mold, I don't think. You say he makes the finest mold on the market.............................what makes them the finest? I'm new to casting, so that's a newbie question, for sure.

The price difference between a 2 cavity and a 4 cavity mold is $35 I think, well worth it for the time savings in the long run. I have a pile of 2 cavity molds that I wish were 4 cavity molds.

As far a quality most of his molds are WFN or LFN (by far my preference) and the design of the bullets shape and his venting of the molds makes the bullets fall from the mold so easy when you open the mold. Also his venting is so good casting a bad bullet is unusual, I'd say 98% of the bullets I cast with these molds are good bullet (once the molds hot) and I am extremely picky about bullets having to be perfect or they go back in the pot.

If you want a accurate bullet get a LFN design, the WFN design cuts a bit bigger hole and some say is superior for hunting but they are a lot trickier to get to shoot accurate. I have never had a LFN bullet that wasn't extremely accurate but I only have 20 or so of his molds to judge from, just not a 35 caliber one.

[sixshot]

I also favor LBT moulds over all others, with Ballasticast being a close second. Verl has been making moulds longer than most of us have been living. I also agree on the 4 cavity, expecially for handgun shooting, you won't regret it! Get a 160-180 gr. LFN plain base, no need for a gas check unless you are shooting a 357 Maximum (my opinion) powder coat them & buy a Lee sizer die so you don't have to buy a Lube sizer & you're ready to load. You will be very happy with an LBT mould & buy one of his casting manuals while you're at it, its the Bible of cast bullet shooting. A few other folks have copied his material & sold it.

Dick

[chris623]

Thanks, Guys. I'm already headed down the rabbit hole. I have his book.............have read it, and have been communicating with him via e-mail. I figured he's either on the top of the hill of cast mold gurus or he's full of hot air. At the cost of his molds, I would hate to spend the money and then have nothing really to show for it. I do know he's been doing this kind of work since God made Adam and Eve............except for a short Gooberment vacation. (don't know the reason for the trip, though)

Can any of you speak to an improvement in accuracy because of changing over to his bullets? I'm not even the least bit interested in hunting with this bullet. This is strictly for paper killin' and plinkin' fun. So I'd imagine an LFN would be the direction I'd go.

[Fowler]

Veral's government vacation was from a difference of philosophy's and the government won out.

Handguns, and really all guns are about consistency, every bullet must be exactly the same and then the load, gun, shooting technique and so forth must be perfectly uniform. Veral's mild simply make the most consistent bullets if any molds I have ever used (Mihas are equal but a whole different program). If you weight the bullets after casting they rarely vary more then a couple tenths of a grain, as consistent as I find factory jacketed bullets to be or better. Also his LFN design tend to be well balanced, they hold their accuracy at long range better than just about any other bullet I have tried. WFN bullets always fall off accuracy wise at some distance, sometimes 25 yards sometimes 100 yards+ but what the degregation of accuracy tells you is the bullet is not perfectly stable and eventually the instability will take over and the bullet will start to do unpredictable things.

No all of his molds are not perfect, but I have yet to have a LFN design from him disappoint.

[chris623]

"Veral's gov't vacation was from a difference of philosophy and the gov't won out" is the answer I get from everyone I ask. I'm just curious what that difference was.

Thanks for the "review" of his molds. I imagine an LFN is what I'm looking for.

[singleaction]

Dec 7, 2015 9:43:21 GMT -5 chris623 said:

"Veral's gov't vacation was from a difference of philosophy and the gov't won out" is the answer I get from everyone I ask. I'm just curious what that difference was.

Thanks for the "review" of his molds. I imagine an LFN is what I'm looking for.

I heard tax evasion. While I think the income tax was unconstitutionally implemented, I think not paying your taxes is a very poor decision, no matter what your principled beliefs are. The government is going to get theirs eventually, even if it's in the form of pounds of flesh.

[Snyd]

Buy the LBT and don't look back. You won't regret it.

[chris623]

Dec 8, 2015 2:01:34 GMT -5 Snyd said:

Buy the LBT and don't look back. You won't regret it.

I'm going to do just that.  Thanks.