Mountain Molds Closed

[photomicftn]

Dan has decided to close up shop for good:



Happy for him, but a sad day for cast bullet designers.

[Gunslinger1911]

Oh, crap !!!
I have a couple custom Mountain Molds.
A huge 45 Colt boolet - 325g if I remember off the top of my head.
Against his better judgement Dan made me a weird 50 cal full wadcutter, he wasn't sure it would stabilize, one of my fav molds !
No, it doesn't stabilize at distance, but up close, it's a monster ! (95 % meplat I believe)
A sad day !

[MOA]

Sad. Too bad. But I sure can understand what retirement can represent after a long working career. Good for you. May you have a long and enjoyable retirement.

[rockrat]

I have a few of his moulds and enjoyed the quality he put out. Hope he enjoys retirement!!!

[lar45]

That is bad news, but I hope he has more time for hunting now.

[alamogunr]

I only have one of his molds. I bought it before he had customers designing their own. It is a 250 gr for the Model 71 Brownchester. I think that is the designation. I ordered it back when Veral was serving time for tax evasion. I don't hunt but have always admired the thought behind the Model 71

[Rainier]

Woot! for Dan - Boo! for us. He produced a fine mold.

[WILCO]

That's a crappy exit strategy.

[cwlongshot]

Happy for him. Sad for rest of us.

I have used but do not own any of his molds. Always thought I would should I need something specail. Guess that wasnt meant ta be.

Too bad in this climate he couldnt sell the company.

My god bless

CW

[jules]

Good for you Dan. Enjoy it while you still can.

[dverna]

That's a crappy exit strategy.

Not the way I would do it under normal conditions, but we do no know what else was behind the scene.

BTW, I have worried about other small companies (like MiHec) that could go belly up. This is not a business many people want to get into. I appreciate those guys who give us a great product at fair prices. My point is, if you want/need something, buy while they are producing. I have about 10 molds I have never used. But I have them. I will likely sell some off as I am moving to using a Master Caster but I had them if/when I needed them. I doubt I will lose much if anything. Far worse to want/need and not be able to get.

[beagle]

Hate to hear that. He made good moulds. Somewhere around in our group, AnthonyB, I think, has the original prototype mould he made. In brass or bronze as I recall. It made good bullets. Even the prototype made good bullets./beagle

[Green Frog]

I've said it before in different context, these have been golden times for mould buyers for about the last thirty years or so... any one of over a dozen makers would have been legendary any other time. Makers like Barnett, Darr, Welch and Hoch and others from the schuetzen game come to mind. The intersection of emerging technologies interest in a variety of shooting disciplines and talented artisans have made possible moulds of a quality and variety never dreamed of before. We've gotten spoiled and complacent, but if anything good (other than the great moulds that have been made recently) will come out of this, it's that we know it can be done and a whole generation of new mould makers is emerging. I kinda wish I could be around for the next 40-50 years to enjoy what comes next.

Green Frog

[45stomp]

Dan's molds are top shelf. I've used many, never had a bad one. Boolits from his molds have accounted for the vast majority of my game animals for many years. His service will be missed.

Best of luck going forward Dan.
Stomp

[engineer401]

It really is a shame for us. His molds outperformed most others for me. Most of those I know who retired were beyond ready for some time. I don't blame him a bit. We can always hope he can sell his business to someone who can keep the quality up.

[cas]

He announced it before this.
The "shut down" date coincides with the date his domain name expires.

[bobthenailer]

I bought two of his moulds ! top notch work!
Enjoy retirement DAN !

[megasupermagnum]

I must have got one of the very last molds he ever made. A 350 grain beast for the 44 magnum made about a month ago. I only own two of his molds. One a 220 grain 38 caliber, and this 350 grain 44 caliber. They both cast great, he really focused on what truly matters in a mold. Alignment, and sprue plate. One neat feature is instead of a standard 45 degree chamfer for the sprue hole like every other mold, Dan used some kind of a ball. It's not a huge difference, but I really like this. I should ask Tom at Accurate molds if he would try this.

[Wild Bill 7]

I’ll have to tell my friend that he is closed. He bought two cavity 50 cal mold for his S&W 500. This is a 700 grain mold. It is such a huge boolit. I powder coat the monster and size to 501. It’s a thing of beauty and a real handful when you touch on off.

[cowboy4evr]

Veral Smith @ LBT Molds is 80 yrs young . But the day is coming when he will quit . I probably have a dozen or so of his mold , all top quality . I will definitely miss him when he quits . Regards Paul