Author Topic: hand lubing cast bullets (Read 3219 times)

diddy · « **on:** December 07, 2002, 06:29:52 AM »

I am wanting to use 50 cal. 250 grain R.E.A.L cast bullet using a 2 cavity Lee bullet mold. and would like to know if anyone can tell me how to hand lube these bullets. I wrote the Lee Mold company and they said Not to resize the bullets because they are a selfcleaning bullet. I ordered some Alox that coats the bullets but it dont soften the fouling. I am new to hand lubing, Could anyone Please help me out. I am thinking about using Black Powder Gold lube.

KING · « **Reply #1 on:** December 07, 2002, 09:26:21 AM »

DIDDY...When i get some mzl bullets that are not lubed,i just kinda pack it inna grooves...I have not used that GOLD LUBE u are talking about,so i dont know how hard it is,but it should smear in ok if its for bp..i think the trick is to get enough in there for it to do its purpose....Hope that helps a little...king......

yella hammer · « **Reply #2 on:** December 09, 2002, 07:07:16 PM »

In my dabblings with large cast lubing, well all my cast lubing, I pack the grooves with lube and then push the bullets through a piece of pipe that is close in diameter to the bullet. This shaves off the excess lube. For example I use a piece of an easton aluminum arrow I cut with a small pipe cutter for thirty cal. Makes it look like they have been through an lube sizer. Just takes a little time which is fine with me because I don't shoot a large volume of these. :wink:

diddy · « **Reply #3 on:** December 12, 2002, 09:21:50 AM »

I want to thank each of you guy's for posting your responce. I feel you have gave me a start in the right direction. I just got my bullet mold and have'nt casted any yet. I am new to black powder and appreciate the advice. Just did'nt want to foul up my rifle. I have plenty of both,Wheel waits and pure Lead. My intension is to use straight W/W. Is that a Bad idea? Im not into Target,just Hunting. I just thought wheel waits wouldnt lead the barrel as easy. I would like to hear from any that has tried this?

Gunny · « **Reply #4 on:** December 20, 2002, 12:03:22 PM »

Diddy,
Have you tried to pan lube these bullets? This is a lot easier than trying to HAND lube. The process is easy and also the lube is tempered in the process of pan lubing and this makes the lube work MUCH better. If you are interested post a response and I will be happy to go over the process.
Gunny

diddy · « **Reply #5 on:** December 20, 2002, 12:56:56 PM »

GUNNY I havent tried pan lubing. I have been tring to find out how before I do it. I havent casted any bullets yet, its been to cold outside and I dont have a garage.Im not sure to lube just a few or if several could be lubed and stored in a container.I have been tring to read what I can find about it but it is starting to get confusing. Some say use Pure Lead and others say Never use pure lead. I would appreciate any HELP. THANKS

Lead pot · « **Reply #6 on:** December 20, 2002, 02:11:05 PM »

You can have a lube sizing Die honed out I had one turned out to .54 for my old percussion Sharps.that is about the bigest you can go.I cant think of his name right off the top of my head but he is down in Texas.HE will turn down any die,mine was a Star.When I come up with his name I will post it Lp.

Lead pot · « **Reply #7 on:** December 20, 2002, 02:35:46 PM »

Diddy>the name is stillwell www.stillwelltool.com .If you dont want to size mesure the bullet and make it .001 bigger so it just lubes.Lp.

diddy · « **Reply #8 on:** December 21, 2002, 03:51:06 AM »

Wayne The Shrink
It sounds good. I can get the Crisco and Bees Wax,but where do I find the Lanolin and the Lubeguard? Would also like to know if you would reccomend using a wad after the powder to keep the lube from contaminating the powder when hunting?

diddy · « **Reply #9 on:** December 21, 2002, 05:07:24 AM »

Lead Pot, The link you sent is dead. I cant get it to open. I will surf the net to see if I can find something.
THANKS

diddy · « **Reply #10 on:** December 23, 2002, 02:03:09 AM »

When I wrote the Lee Bullet Mold CO. they said pour a powder charge in the bore and put a lubed cast bullet in next. This may be fine if a person is target shooting, but if you are Hunting all day, Could the Lube contaminate the powder charge. Would it be best to use a Wad when hunting or would a wad change the way it was shooting without a wad?

Ron LeClear · « **Reply #11 on:** December 23, 2002, 05:01:37 AM »

Diddy
I loaded a T/C Hawkin with a patch and ball over FF Black powder and the patch was heavy with T/C borebutter.
I kept it loader for two years (didn't see a Deer while hunting) until I shot it at the range....it shot just like it was loaded then....no hang fire or any other problem.
I don't know what it would do with that "black powder substitute" but with just old BLACK it works great.

Ron

diddy · « **Reply #12 on:** December 23, 2002, 10:02:32 AM »

Ron LeClear Thanks for the reply. Below is a link that shows The type bullet mold I bought, the 4th one the R.E.A.L in a 250 grain. The base is made to where it wont dent as easy but the bullet design prevent using a patch. I have a in-line and thought if I clean the lube off the base up to the first bottom groove I might be okay or just use a wad. here is a link to show you the bullet type;

http://www.leeprecision.com/catalog/browse.cgi?1040673937.1184=blackpow.html

Just copy and paste in your address bar. Thanks again

diddy · « **Reply #13 on:** December 25, 2002, 02:30:30 AM »

The two things I would like to know is if lubed bullets over a period of time cause misfires AND when should a person use wad's? I would appreciate any help. THANKS

KING · « **Reply #14 on:** December 25, 2002, 02:54:05 PM »

:-D I have never had a lubed projo cause a misfire in any of my mzl. But then again I never leave one loaded for any lenght of time. Top do so is a very unsafe practice to get into. The longest I have EVER left on loaded was about two days. Even if not seeing deer I always either shoot it clear,or use a bullet puller to remove the charge from the rifle. I will use a wad infront of the powder once in awhile when I am attempting to work up a load for a gun. Tos see what is working best and what combination is best. I use a felt wad infront of my powder on my Tryon rifle all of the time when using it as a hunting arm. For target I generally dont.,along with informal plinking. A wad will protect the base of the bullet,or patch ,depending on what u are using in your rifle. I have one side by side rifle that shoots the best when I have a wonder wad over the powder. By the beest I mean about one inch shaved off of the group that does not use a wad. King :grin:

diddy · « **Reply #15 on:** December 26, 2002, 07:29:59 AM »

KING, Thanks. I try to be safe. The only time I have a Cap on it is when I'm Hunting. It comes off when I get back to the truck. As for leaving it charged I leave it in the truck locked at home. I don't know if the Sulfur in the powder has ever damaged anyone's rifle but don't want to take a chance on it. Like you said, maybe it would pay me to shoot a few with and a few without wads to see how it shoots.I may just use wads when hunting.I just got my Inline October of this year and everything is new to me. I really appreciate you and everyone else's info to help me understand this a little better. I would rather ask than learn from a mistake. many thanks

jh45gun · « **Reply #16 on:** June 08, 2003, 06:46:04 PM »

I made a mixture of bees wax and bore butter about half and half to lube my real bullets. I dipped them in the melted mixture and put on wax paper to cool. I used a fork to dip them in the mixture worked fine.

The Shrink · « **Reply #17 on:** June 09, 2003, 02:27:47 AM »

Diddy

Lubeguard is an automotive product, you can get it at a NAPA store. The Lanolin I found through an internet search, it was a cosmetic supply company who had their lanolin on sale. I bought enough to last a while, and when I need more I'll do another search and see if I can't find another sale!

I wouldn't worry about the lube bothering the powder, but if you are curious, load up your gun with powder and lubed REAL a week before you go to the range and see what happens. I might do this three or four times in a row. I'll bet you never have to pull the REAL! I would also carefully check if these week old shots were impacting at the same point as newly loaded rounds. Did the lube degrade the powder enough to change the impact point? I would doubt it, but would probably want to verify it for myself.

PS Take Gunny up on his offer, he knows this stuff.

diddy · « **Reply #18 on:** June 13, 2003, 03:42:44 AM »

:-D I just want to take the time to THANK each of you that gave advice. It has helped me out a great deal and I truly appreciate the help. This gives me many options and a place to start. MANY THANKS to all.

Blackhawk44 · « **Reply #19 on:** July 17, 2003, 02:33:00 PM »

On Lee REAL's I first dump some in sandwich bag with a LITTLE Liquid Alox and about a tablespoon of rubbing alcohol then roll them around for a very thin coat of alox. Pour onto wax paper/tin foil to let dry. When dry, wipe on T/C Bore Butter with you finger, stand to let dry. When dry, repeat once or twice over several days. The alox is thin enough to not turn to tar, seems to keep leading from gathering near the muzzle and helps the Bore Butter cling. Enough clings to be useful for hunting, maybe not sustained fire on the range. Keep in unzipped sandwich bag in your possibles bag. When loading, pour powder then follow with Ox Yoke Wonder Wad that has had a pretty good smear of Bore Butter on one side then allowed to soak in while you were lubing bullets. I always leave the Butter side up so as not to contaminate powder when hunting. The heat of ignition seems to make the Butter flow just fine. My old CVA Frontier Rifle will consistantly do 3" benchrest 3 shot groups at 100 yds with open sights. Only trouble is, I'm getting to where I can't.

Johm D M · « **Reply #20 on:** July 20, 2003, 08:40:02 AM »

You might try straight crisco as a lube or a commercial muzzleloader lube as well as a homemade and see what groups best in your gun all else being equal. I would be more worried about the powder pickling up moisture and an unequal MV or partial ignition with a loaded uncapped percussion gun. Gianni.

Thomas Krupinski · « **Reply #21 on:** July 20, 2003, 12:22:06 PM »

Diddy,

I have a few of those Lee REAL moulds in .50 and .54. What we do is lube the groves with T/C Bore Butter by squirting it from the tube into the groves just before loading either into the barrel or a speed loader.

Crisco will work also but I have found it fouls just a bit more.

Our testing of the REALS has resulted in some very good groups with different twists and different lengths of bullets.

I cast mine from a soft lead roofing sheets. They seem to fill out the bore well and there is really no leading apparent. I also cast and shoot T/C Maxiballs and MaxiHunters. On those I was able to get some of the old T/C plastic Prelubers which fit on the end of the Bore Butter tubes. You squirt the bore butter in with the bullet in the middle of the T tube and it fills out the groves.

These work really well for the Maxiballs and MaxiHunters especially in cooler weather. However for the REALS they don't work as neatly, the Bore Butter seems to pass the groves and can be messy.

diddy · « **Reply #22 on:** July 21, 2003, 02:11:01 AM »

Thanks GUY's. Where my problem came up was when I changed from Pyrodex powder to the tripple 7. I really like the tripple 7, it cleans up very easy, no bad smell, and I can use 10% less and have the same charge as 100 grains of Pyrodex.
Using pure lead and the powder burning hoter, I was concerned about leading. I wrote the tripple 7 powder company and their responce was to use a smokeless bullet lube with pure lead cast bullets.
To use a Sabbot bullet,primer, and powder charge was close to a dollar a shot. That is where I decided to cast my own and try my luck. I set off to find a bullet lube I could use with blackpowser or smokeless. I found a recipie and made up a batch and lubed a few bullets But havent tryed them yet.
It looks like I may need to get rid of my hunt equipment. I was born and raised next door to 400 acer river bottom farm and always hunted & fished there. But the guy that owns it now, seems like is going to put a stop to all of that. I will go talk to the man and take it from there.
Thanks again Guy's for all the HELP.