Author Topic: Bullet Lube??? (Read 1042 times)

ButlerFord45 · « **on:** January 11, 2004, 02:38:08 AM »

I'm trying to get my stuff together, and just realized, I know nothing about bullet lubes for smokeless bullets. It'll be for 45acp, 45 Colt, 357 mag, and 38 special, to be used in a mix of pistol and rifle. Anyone have recomendations?

jgalar · « **Reply #1 on:** January 11, 2004, 03:32:33 AM »

I use the Lee tumble lube for rifle and handgun cast bullets and am very satisfied with the results. Just put some of your cast bullets in an old potato salad container, pour some of the goo on them and swirl them around. Drop them onto wax paper to dry. Very economical also.

As cheap as the stuff is, it is worth a try. The bullets arent as pretty after using the Lee stuff compared to the normal in the groove lube, because the lube covers the entire bullet.

Cat Whisperer · « **Reply #2 on:** January 11, 2004, 07:21:36 AM »

Butler -

The world of bullet lubes is a large one. Alox 2138F has been one of the best lubes around since about the 1950's (NRA research). It is generally mixed 50/50 with beeswax to harden it a bit. Lee thins it a bit with mineral spirits or such to allow 'tumble lubing'.

From there, you have many many commercial and other special lubes with lots of variations. Felix has produced one of the most popular home-brew lubes that WORKS at elevated speeds ( http://www.castpics.net/RandD/felix_lube/felix_lube.htm ).

In addition you will find many many opinions of which is 'best' for individual applications.

Have fun researching!

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #3 on:** January 11, 2004, 08:45:34 AM »

store bought lubes i prefer javalina and lbt soft blue. Home made lubes you cant beat felix lube.

Flash · « **Reply #4 on:** January 11, 2004, 10:17:41 AM »

Dang Jgalar, we agree again! The liquid alox from Lee is my only choice. I don't even size my bullets and use the stuff for both rifle and pistol. If I want clean bullets, I dip them one at a time with tweezers into the alox and set them on wax paper. a little slower then the tumble method but much faster then the sizer/luber.

Castaway · « **Reply #5 on:** January 11, 2004, 10:31:49 AM »

At one time, I put my bullets in a plastic container, added Lee Alox, shook them up and then placed them on waxed paper, base down. An old guy at the range told me his secret, and I've been doing it now for 6 years. In the evening, put bullets in container, add alox, shake. Next morning, shake again, get home from work that evening and shake again. Never saw a bit differernce in how they shoot and it sure cut my sticky finger time down. As an aside, the old guy has the only tatoo I'd ever want to have, "RANGER" on his right shoulder. Vet from WWII. He was with Darby when he met his demise in Italy.

Pat Marlin · « **Reply #6 on:** January 31, 2004, 08:51:45 PM »

Castaway...

Does that mean you don't set the bullets on the wax paper. You just continue to shake until they are dry?, or even when they're dry, you keep shaking to spead the dryed alox further?

Please explain in a little more detail.

I like Lee sizers, and I'm trying to avoid investing in another exspensive lube system.

And will mica keep the alox lube from sticking to dies?

Thanks

Pat

Tallyman · « **Reply #7 on:** March 10, 2004, 02:08:12 PM »

Lee Alox works great on cast rifle bullets, but if I want to push velocities a little or have a slightly rough bore, I add a dab of automotive lithium grease on the base of each bullet before seating into the cartridge. I also use a grape sized wad of polyester fiber (pillow stuffing) over the powder charge by rolling it in my fingers, squeezing it down to pea size and tamping it into the case with a wooden dowl. The lithium grease leaves a thin coating in the bore and wipes out with a patch or two of Hoppes.

Another trick I use, for quality and safety purposes, is to put a small "O" ring on the dowl and set the depth of the wad on the first reload. Each subsequent load should be the same height on the dowel as indicated by the "O" ring.

For best accuracy I seat my bullets out so that I feel a little resistance on bolt closure as the bullet engages the rifling (but check for feeding problems if the cartridge is too long, like on the Winchester 94 30/30.)

Most of my rifles are bolt action and I load them single shot, so it is not usually a problem for me.

I have also found that H110 is a superior cast bullet powder if you are looking for accuracy. Start about 10% below 2400 loads and work up for the most accurate load.

Leftoverdj · « **Reply #8 on:** March 10, 2004, 04:35:22 PM »

For the calibers you mention. with the exception of top .357 loads, Rooster Jacket is worth considering. It's another dip/tumble lube, but much less messy and sticky than Liquid Alox. It dries to a hard waxy surface like found on .22s. A half gallon cost me $25 including shipping and looks like a lifetime supply. I have not wrung it out looking for lube failure but it works fine to a bit over 1000 fps in pistols. I put a few down a Handi barrel at around 1300 fps and got no leading.

On the higher velocity stuff, I am using LA or FWFL. The prices of commercial lube have gotten ridiculous.