LBT bullets in the Marlin
I've had a bunch of as cast LBT bulets in storage for I don't know how long . I remember after I had cast these , I had gas checked and lubed them and loaded a bunch of .357 magnum cases . So , since I had a bunch leftover and had a few minutes I thought why not try them in the thirty-eight special case ? From years ago I had a box that I had loaded using gas checks and Unique and it worked well in another carbine that I sold to a needy soul . This time it was off on an adventure of not using the gas check and see how it would work .
Well in the years the bullets have been sitting they are not all clean and shining examples anymore . So the I dea came to coat them with Johnson's paste wax before running them through the Star . I used about a teaspoon of wax per about fifty bullets and rolled them around untill coated . After drying they went nose first into the star with a .359" die using a wadcutter punch to shove them through and filled the one lube groove with LBT Blue . Now , no gas check expense and ready to load .
Several Federal thirty-eght cases later and using Universal clays starting at four grains and working up to four point five . I stopped at four point five because it cut a ragged hole using a full magazine at thirty yards . The four inch service revolver I was using to "buddy" with the carbine did OK too , it may have liked more velocity ..... I dunno .
It gave good feeding and accuracy and didn't lead using the fifty rounds I had loaded up to test . Velocity ? I dunno , I didn't feel like setting up the chronograph , pehaps later . At longer distance a little more powder may be needed but then if I need distance , I could use a .357 with a caseful of number nine to do the job . As long as it does well at thirty to fifty yards with good groups and no leading I think I could use it and be happy . Just fooling around though and this hundred eighty-five grain bullet is way heavier than I want to use . I guess I'll just hafta keep on fooling with the thirty-eight and see what turns up huh?
Jack
