200 gr cast bullets from a Lee Mold for Vaquero 45 LC

[Cheyenne Ranger]

I just got back from my initial shooting of my new Vaqueros.  Getting into CAS.  
I was worried that the Lee molds only have a very narrow lube groove when compaired to the Lyman 250 gr monster.  Not to worry.  The barrel was as clean as when I started.
Didn't go over 850 fps and am using (up) Bullseye, 5.0--6.0 grains for this test.  Setteled on 5.2 to start--will see after a month or two.  Lube is Thompson's Blue Angle--use a heater with my 450 luber/sizer.

[deerhunter]

Try casting them hot so they frost, then just lubing them with Lee Liquid alox, and shooting them as cast with no sizing.  I have no problems with them in my .45acp and I am going about 800 fps with a 200 grain lead bullet.

[Cheyenne Ranger]

I've tried Alox several times but I keep getting a heavy coating that gums up my reloader.  Do you heat it or thin it with some solvent?
thanks
walt

[deerhunter]

I have used it on my 200 gr swc used in a .45acp, a 158gr swc used in .38 and .357, and a 255gr fp used in a .45colt.

I use a single stage RCBS rockchucker press, so I am positioning the bullets by hand, but the lube is hard and doesnt wipe off on anything.

On the 200gr and the 158 gr, I shoot as cast.  When I lube them, I put about 100 to 150 at a time into a round cardbord quart container, the kind that ice cream comes in.  I squirt in about a 2 inch long line over the top.  I do not heat or thin the lube, although I do use it in my garage, and in winter its really cold, you could try heating it by letting the bottle sit in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes, I might try it next time. But it works ok even in the cold.  

I gently tumble the lube on, this only puts on a really thin coating of lube.  I have found if I'm shooting 1000fps or less, this is enough.  After I tumble them well, I lay them out on a sheet of wax paper sitting them up on their bases.  this is the longest task.  Sitting each one up on its base.  In winter I set a lamp with a 60 watt bulb about a foot over them to keep them warm over night to dry.  the next day I put them in the tuperware container I store them in.

The 255gr I use in the .45 Colt I size.  these are used in a hot load about 1150 fps so I also give them a second coat of lube.  I give them a light coat of lube like the first batch.  After they dry the next day I pump them thru the simple lee .452 sizer.  After that I lube them again the same way with another light coat.  They come out looking a slight golden color.  After they dry over night, they are fine.  After shooting 100 rounds of this, I find only a slight streak of leading in the barrel.  With the other slower loads, I get no leading at all.  The .45colt is fired in a RugerBlackhawk with a 45/8 bbl, and is not a pleasant load to fire a lot, even with rubber pachmyr grips.

I think if you put a thick coat on all at once, they do not dry thouroughly, and might be causing your problem.  Try using a really light coat.  When I use it, it looks like it is not going to be enough, but a little really does cover a lot of bullets.  

The Lee manul says that some users of this lube heat it by sitting the bottle in a cup of hot water.  And some actually thin it with something that I cannot remember right now.  I am in work right now, I will look it up in the manual tonite and post what they use here.

I hope this helps.

[deerhunter]

Hi Walt,

I was pouring over my manual and couldnt find the section that i mentioned.  Then i remembered that I read that on the Lee Precision website under the FAQ section.  I am attaching the link and the writup.

Basicly it says not to over lube or they wont dry.  And you can thin it with paint thinner.  And for tacky bullets, dust them with powdered graphite.  Good Luck


http://www.leeprecision.com/faq/index.cgi

Liquid Alox application

Best results in applying liquid alox are when the alox is heated before applying, or thinned with paint thinner. This makes it flow more easily, and results in a more even coat. One technique is to boil water and pour it into a coffee mug, and then drop the bottle of liquid alox into the mug for about five minutes.

Place your freshly cast bullets into something about the size of a Cool Whip bowl and drop a few drops of liquid Alox on the bullets. Mix the bullets around until they are all coated. Lay the freshly coated bullets on some wax paper to dry. Liquid alox will usually dry enough overnight to reload the next day, depending upon the humidity. Tacky bullets can be dusted with powdered graphite. Once properly lubricated, the shelf life of applied liquid Alox is indefinite.

If you subscribe to the "more is better" line of thought, your coated bullets may never dry. Don't go for a "golden" color but rather just a light varnish. If you discover that your bullets are sticky the next day, you can get by with using a little less the next time. Keep reducing until the "stickiness" is gone by the next day.

If you are sizing your cast bullets, it is necessary to lube them first. Because the sizer will remove some of the surface of a larger diameter bullet, you may need to re-lubricate the bullets after they have been sized.

Many of our bullets are of the "TL" or Tumble Lube design. These bullets have many shallow grooves that are perfect for allowing Liquid Alox to adhere to a great amount of surface. It has been reported that the accuracy of these bullets is high.

[lostchild]

I've used this bullet in a Blackhawk, a 1911 and a 45/410 with good results.  All I do is cast using the water quench method let dry then I put the bullets in a zip-lock bag add a little alox and roll them around in the bag.  I let them sit over night to dry then load as normal.  By the way you can reuse the bag untill it starts to leak.