Lbt .358-180-fn

[lotech]

Anyone have experience using the LBT .358-180-FN plain base in the .357 Magnum? I've had this mould for about thirty years or longer, but haven't used it in a long time. I'm going to cast a few bullets and give them a try soon using #2400 powder. As I recall, this bullet shot reasonably well in the .357, though I never could get any accuracy with it in .38 Special.

[Pereira]

No experience with that mold, but I shoot MB's 180gr pugnose with 11.4 grs of 2400 in my Rossi M92, and colt King Cobra.
Very well I might say.

RP

[lotech]

No experience with that mold, but I shoot MB's 180gr pugnose with 11.4 grs of 2400 in my Rossi M92, and colt King Cobra.
Very well I might say.

RP

What's MB?

[dannyd]

Missouri Bullets

[lotech]

Thank you; I'm far from knowledgeable regarding commercial cast bullets.

[dannyd]

They are a great company and if I didn't like casting more than anything else; I would buy all my bullets from them. I use the NOE version of that bullet and it shoots great out of my rifles.

[earlmck]

That LBT boolit with a stiff charge of H110 has been my main load in the Ruger gp100 for close to 30 years now. Good 'un.

[El Bibliotecario]

This may be an apples v oranges comparison, but I recently loaded some Hunter 190 grain flatnose bullets, essentially the same profile as the subject MO bullet, and achieved excellent accuracy with 4.5 grains of Red Dot--an admittedly mild load and arguably not the best powder choice for .357, but which suited my purpose.

I add my positive comments about dealing with Missouri Bullets.

[lotech]

The comments are appreciated. Apparently, the original LBT version is not very popular. However, the others mentioned may shoot just as well. My original .357 load with the LBT design was 12 grs. #2400, for a muzzle velocity of around 1100 fps or thereabouts from a 6" barrel.

[MT Gianni]

Veral designed his bullets to be pushed fast. I am not sure a medium speed 38 special would stabilize it.

[Jack Stanley]

I use that bullet in the magnum and in .38 . It works well going fast or slow for me .

Jack

[hc18flyer]

I have the NOE version for my .357 Maximum rifle. I have yet to take a whitetail with it, too many other choices, not enough chances to shoot! I really like the looks of the LBT designs. hc18flyer

[gwpercle]

Anyone have experience using the LBT .358-180-FN plain base in the .357 Magnum? I've had this mould for about thirty years or longer, but haven't used it in a long time. I'm going to cast a few bullets and give them a try soon using #2400 powder. As I recall, this bullet shot reasonably well in the .357, though I never could get any accuracy with it in .38 Special.

I don't like to rush into projects either ... but , 30 years ... that's not rushing .

The boolit works a lot better in rifles than handguns . In my 357 magnum Ruger Blackhawk I could never get the accuracy I wanted ... In the RBH at least the 180 gr. boolit just doesn't want to completely stabilize . A 357 Magnum Rifle might be a whole different story .
For 38 special/ 357 magnum and 2" , 4" and 6 1/2" barrels ... I believe 170 and 160 grain boolits are as heavy as my revolvers like to accurately shoot ... my favorite wieght is a 160 gr. , seems to give the best accuracy ,
I tried the 180 gr. boolit but not exhaustively ... it may be able to work ,,,I just don't know the secrete !
Gary

[lotech]

I don't like to rush into projects either ... but , 30 years ... that's not rushing .

The boolit works a lot better in rifles than handguns . In my 357 magnum Ruger Blackhawk I could never get the accuracy I wanted ... In the RBH at least the 180 gr. boolit just doesn't want to completely stabilize . A 357 Magnum Rifle might be a whole different story .
For 38 special/ 357 magnum and 2" , 4" and 6 1/2" barrels ... I believe 170 and 160 grain boolits are as heavy as my revolvers like to accurately shoot ... my favorite wieght is a 160 gr. , seems to give the best accuracy ,
I tried the 180 gr. boolit but not exhaustively ... it may be able to work ,,,I just don't know the secrete !
Gary

I've used the LBT .358-180-FN mould a good bit, but it was a long time ago. My favorite bullet for .38 Special or .357 is also one of about 160 grains. I've used mostly the H&G #51 SWC design for many years and it works well. Just thought I'd try the LBT again, even if it's a little heavy. Another LBT design that might be ideal and of a better weight for the .38 or .357 is the .358-160-FN, but I've not tried that one.

[Maven]

lotech, I used to own that mould and had little trouble hitting clay birds on our 100 yd. berm with my Ruger BH (4.5" bbl., open sights, butt rested in rear rifle bag). I sized them to .359" and used between 10.0 & 10.5gr. WC 820 (AA #9) and standard SP primers. Hope this helps you and others.

[lotech]

lotech, I used to own that mould and had little trouble hitting clay birds on our 100 yd. berm with my Ruger BH (4.5" bbl., open sights, butt rested in rear rifle bag). I sized them to .359" and used between 10.0 & 10.5gr. WC 820 (AA #9) and standard SP primers. Hope this helps you and others.

Just got back from the range; fired a few rounds of the .358-180-FN loaded with 12 and 12.5 grs. #2400 in a 6" Model 27 and a 4" Model 28. Shot well, but I'll need to do a comparison with the H&G #51 and #2400. I used a slightly softer bullet today, about 10 BHN instead of the usual 13-14 BHN. No leading, so I guess I've been using a bullet harder than necessary all these years.