lube on cast bullets

[chester]

Does the hard lube found on most factory cast bullets do any good. I have recovered numerous factory cast bullets at my local range and most if not all of the lube is still there.

So if the lube is not being used why do I need to lube my cast bullets for Cowboy action shooting. I shoot smokeless. and do not go over 900 fps.

I have some beeswax can this be melted and poured into my star lube sizer or should I mix it with something first

Thanks
chester

[dakotashooter2]

You just discovered why many people cast their own.The main reason hard lube is used in commercial cast bullets is convenience. It is just to difficult to handle and package bullets with soft sticky lube. Hard lubes do have there place but it is generally NOT in hard cast commercial bullets. which leads to another point. Many or most commercial bullets are sized too small and cast from too hard an alloy. That combination often leads to "lead city" . A properly sized and properly lubed the bullet of moderate hardness will expand in the bore preventing the gases from escaping around it and causing leading. Even that statement may be oversimplifying it.

[sgtt]

dakotashooter2..........when are hard lubes appropriate?  I find no use for them.

[WD45]

I was going to take some of these and roll em in liquid alox and see how they work with the red stuff still there.. Anybody else try this ?

[Leftoverdj]

Does the hard lube found on most factory cast bullets do any good. I have recovered numerous factory cast bullets at my local range and most if not all of the lube is still there.

So if the lube is not being used why do I need to lube my cast bullets for Cowboy action shooting. I shoot smokeless. and do not go over 900 fps.

I have some beeswax can this be melted and poured into my star lube sizer or should I mix it with something first

Thanks
chester

Mix it with lithium based water pump grease and just a bit of paraffin to stiffen. Pound of beeswax, pound of grease and an eighth to a quarter pound of paraffin are the proportions. Two pounds of lube will last a loooooong time.

[LAH]

To test lube vs no lube remove lube from six bullets. After firing six rounds with lube and checking the bore, etc. and fire the six without lube and check again. This simple test will provide your answer.

[rob_helms]

When I use factory made cast bullets I always use Lee Liquid Alox thinned a little with mineral spirits. It works well for me. It really makes a difference in rifles.

[Larry Gibson]

chester

As mentioned the hard wax lubes on most commercial bullets is there for the convenience of the manufacturers.  All, both pistol and rifle bullets from numerous manufaturers, lead the bore.  I usually wash the lube off the bullets with Coleman fuel and relube with Javeline in a Lyman 450.  I do not try to salvage the wax lube at all.  Once lubed with the Javilina accuracy also improves.

However, I also have used Lee's Liquid Alox on them and they work fine then up to 1200-1400 fps without any leading.  With the Lee I have not found it necessary to wash the wax lube off.  

Larry Gibson

[haroldclark]

Hey Larry,
How many times can you re-use the Coleman fuel to wash bullets?

I have been using a 1 inch X 8" square aluminum pan and a propane bottle torch to remove the factory lube.  I cover the bottom of the pan with bullets and put a flame directly on the bullets in the pan.  Rolling them around by shaking the pan and all the lube is gone in seconds.  I pour out the warm bullets, wipe the warm wax junk out of the bottom and start over.

Then I relube them with Javelina 50/50 and put a gas check on at the same time.  They work very well in my guns.

I have a French 1935 MAS that likes the factory lubed bullets.  It is the only one, though.

I can't recall if I have tried Lee Lube on top of the factory lube.  That sounds easy enough.  I shoot a 30-30 contender with factory bullets that have been relubed and it is going 1466 fps.  Maybe, the Lee Alox will work with that gun.  The other lead shooters are running 1600 to 2200 fps.

Harold Clark

[sgtt]

It would seem a whole lot easier to order the bullets not lubed.

[Lloyd Smale]

heres my take on the lube thing. Does hard lube work? yes and no. Lube has two functions first to seal the barrel from blowby and second to put down a layer of lubricant in your barrel. I would guess that hard lube is better then nothing at sealing the barrel but doesnt do much for lubing the barrel. Would i go through the bother of removing it and relubing. No at the velocites your shooting you dont need to bother unless your getting severe leading. Lee Alox works good but is a mess and attracts dirt like a magnet. I only use it in .38s that i mass produce and stick in coffee cans and bring to the range like that. If you put a few in your pocket or drop them on the ground they will no doubt pick up dirt and i dont want sand in my barrel. IF you want lube recomendations. For commercail lubes id try to find some lbt blue soft and if not id go back to Javalina. I havent bought lube in quite some time as its easy to make. Best recipe ive found is for felix lube. It works great but can be a little soft for storage. So what ive come to use is a mix of 2/3 felix lube and 1/3 magma blue hard lube. It works great and looks just like lbt blue. Some guys mix paraphin in with the felix to harden it but wax is not a lubricant just a carrior for the lubricant and i figure if i have to harden it why not use something that is also a lubricant. Weve dont a little experimenting with different lube for accuracy and have come to the conclusion that any good lube does well what we look for is consistancy in recovered bullets You want bullets that either have no lube (preferably) left in them or all of the lube left in them. What you dont want is a bullet that is full one time and half empty another. If the lube is still all in the bullet its obviously not lubing your barrel. As John Linebaugh states use the hard cranon lubes for your kids colaring books and stick with a good soft lube.

[LAH]

We have customers order bullets without lube quite often. This allows them to size and lube how and with what they like. Before we started casting commercially I did the same.

I shoot bullets made from 9 BHN alloy and lubed with LBT Blue Soft. This works great in most sixguns with pressures @ 13,000 to 25,000 psi. John Linebaugh uses wheelweight bullets for 30,000 psi loads and they will certainly work if the bullet fits the gun.

We use hard lube so we can bulk pack our bullets. The hard lube we use is IMHO the best hard lube out there. If I felt something was better we would buy it. Very little price difference in lube purchased in bulk so there's no reason NOT to change if something better comes along.

I find hard lube works best in magnum type loads. The less pressure the less well it works. Your mileage may differ.

We sell quite a few bullets with LBT Blue Soft but you have to charge extra because of the time spent stacking the bullets and using dividers in the boxes. Then you worry about bullets reaching mid Texas on Friday and sitting in a mail box in the July sun till Monday. HEE....HEE My hats off the Judy and Veral though because it is a good lube.