Author Topic: What type of hard lube to use? (Read 1039 times)

KSR · « **on:** March 13, 2004, 01:40:47 AM »

I just started casting recently and have decided to try hard lube so that
I can cast, size, lube a bunch of bullets then load them whenever needed.
What type of hard lube would you all recomend for 25-20, 32-20, 357, 44
mag, 45 Colt all loaded with smokeless at cowboy velocities. ie slooowww
In pistols and rifles.
Thanks In Advance.

frank405 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 13, 2004, 05:56:00 AM »

hard lube is one of the worst products foisted on the shooters. do not use any kind of hard lube, it will not lube your barrel and will lead like all the rest of the hard cast hard lubed bullets sold out there. LBT or Perfect lube are the two that I will use.

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #2 on:** March 13, 2004, 11:43:51 PM »

I agree totally i wouldnt use any kind of hard lube. I use either lbt blue or javalina for commercial lubes and i have more bullets stored then probably anyone short or a manufature! What ive come to use the most is felix lube which is a real soft lube firmed up just a bit by adding about 1/4 magma hard blue lube to it. It stores fine. If your real picky about your stored bullets then stack them in boxes.

KSR · « **Reply #3 on:** March 14, 2004, 08:56:49 AM »

Thanks guys. By the way Lloyd I am a picky son of a gun so I guess boxes it is.
:grin:

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #4 on:** March 14, 2004, 11:16:16 AM »

I use to box all mine too but i have so many it just became to much work. My buddy teases me all the time he tells me some day my pole barn is going to end up in China!

Quote from: KSR

Thanks guys. By the way Lloyd I am a picky son of a gun so I guess boxes it is.
:grin:

KSR · « **Reply #5 on:** March 14, 2004, 07:58:16 PM »

I have about 600 lbs of lead now and am looking for more. So far I am
doing pretty good, it was all free even the wheel weights from the local
tire shop.
I am getting back into Cowboy Shooting after a five year absence and
decided if I was going to shoot as much as I am wanting to that I better
start casting my own bullets. So far I have only cast 200 25-20's and
465 44's but next weekend I plan on doing a quite a few more.
It sounds like everyone likes soft lubes better so I guess I will have to
give it a shot that way first.
I used to shot a lot of Bull X bullets and I was sure they were hard lubed
and I never had any leading problems except for a light amount in one
pistol.

Thanks Again.

Shootingamigo · « **Reply #6 on:** March 16, 2004, 03:22:37 AM »

I use Lyman Orange Magic hard lube with great success. I am not sure why hard lubes aren't received here with better results. I have been casting a long while and never had a problem with the Orange Magic or any hard lube for that matter. I am not sure why anyone would waste time making their own. Seems to be the "Long Way 'round the Barn" like most advise here. But I enjoy the chuckles here concerning casting and such. If you go to the web sites for the various makers of lube they give the temps for melting points. I heard shoe polish and foot powder works well! LOL

Joe

KSR · « **Reply #7 on:** March 16, 2004, 11:54:49 PM »

Thank You Amigo, I never had any real problems with the commercial
bullets that I bought that were hard lubed. It is nice to know that someone
has success with a hard lube.
I just loaded 350 44's with black moly lube(it was what my friend had)
and they are kinda messy. I am waiting in my Lyman 4500 and heater
to arrive then I will have to do some experimenting of my own I guess.

Once again Thank You to everyone.

The Shrink · « **Reply #8 on:** March 17, 2004, 01:27:08 AM »

Amigo

Realize most of us here are inveterate tinkerers and wouldn't be happy with something we haven't made or at least tweaked! It's the personality, not the objective need.

Wayne the Shrink

Shootingamigo · « **Reply #9 on:** March 17, 2004, 03:02:53 AM »

I never thought of it that way but it adds up. In thinking about your statement I agree. But the most alarming aspect here is that new people to casting are overwhelmed as it is. They lay out good money for alloy and equipment and have no real sense as to why. As questions arise they ask for advise and at times the solution seems to bring up more questions than solutions. The "Long way 'round the barn" solutions confuse these people and I wonder how many stay with casting after a few months. Just my opinion here.
Joe

KSR · « **Reply #10 on:** March 17, 2004, 10:04:07 AM »

Hey Amigo, I am going to HAVE TO stick with casting awhile just to get
my moneys worth out of the cost of molds, I already bought the
25-20, 32-20, 38, 44, and 45 Cowboy molds from RCBS.
I imagine I am with it to stay, I already like messing with everything
else gun related so I might as well cast my own too.
By the way has anyone here ever made a complete cartridge? Case,
powder, primer and bullet.(all made by you, not any bought parts)
Been toying with the idea of making one complete round all by myself.

The Shrink · « **Reply #11 on:** March 18, 2004, 01:03:28 AM »

Amigo

"By the way has anyone here ever made a complete cartridge? Case,
powder, primer and bullet.(all made by you, not any bought parts)
Been toying with the idea of making one complete round all by myself." (KSR)

I couldn't have proven my point better! Thank you, KSR!

KSR

I can't imagine the equipment needed to draw and form the case, and as a teenager I made my own black powder, but drew the line at making a single base nitrocellouse powder 'cause I knew I wasn't, am not, and never will be, enough of a chemist to understand what I'm doing and thus will never be able to do it to my standards of safety. Just the thought of mixing up some priming material scares the heck out of me. I'm not afraid to admit my limitations. (But I sure can write a sentence! Hemmingway I'm not.)

Even Black Powder turns out to be much more complicated than I originally thought, read some of the Mad Monk's work. I'm thoroughly intimidated.

That's one place I won't go, curious or not.

Wayne the Shrink

KSR · « **Reply #12 on:** March 19, 2004, 08:25:41 PM »

Hey Shrink, your welcome.

I have just toyed with the thought a little, don't know if I would ever try to
make one either.

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #13 on:** March 19, 2004, 10:55:05 PM »

If that were the case id have never started reloading. The first time i took an animal with my own handloads I was hooked. Same thing when i took my first with my cast bullets. If you looked at the economics Im sure with the outlay in equipment and materials i have i could have bought alot o blazer ammo. But its the pride of making your own and its my hobby and the ammout of shooting that i do now i couldnt afford to buy ammo or even bullets to do it. Right now with reloading casting making my own lube and shooting alot of surplus powder I can go out and spend a day of shooting for practically nothing. ALot of it though is the hobby I probably have over 250000 bullet casted in the barn and you can ask a few guys that have been there that if anything thats an big underestimate. I cast for fun its relaxing for me and making my own lube is just another part of it and i go through probably a stick a week on average so it does help that i can make it for less the $1 a stick instead of buying it for $3 and in my opinion its a better lube to boot.

Quote from: Shootingamigo

I use Lyman Orange Magic hard lube with great success. I am not sure why hard lubes aren't received here with better results. I have been casting a long while and never had a problem with the Orange Magic or any hard lube for that matter. I am not sure why anyone would waste time making their own. Seems to be the "Long Way 'round the Barn" like most advise here. But I enjoy the chuckles here concerning casting and such. If you go to the web sites for the various makers of lube they give the temps for melting points. I heard shoe polish and foot powder works well! LOL

Joe

sundogg1911 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 22, 2004, 09:27:43 AM »

I use Rooser Red Zambini. If your sizer/luber has a heater on it, it'll work great. i've tried many and thats what works best for me.
:roll:

KSR · « **Reply #15 on:** March 23, 2004, 07:17:26 PM »

Thanks Sundogg, I have a Lyman with the heater so I might have to give
the Rooster a try.

haroldclark · « **Reply #16 on:** March 23, 2004, 07:32:19 PM »

KSR,

I have been casting and lubing bullets for 30 years and I'm still going strong. I have tried every type of new stuff that comes out and finally settled on Javelina 50% Alox and 50% Beeswax. Keep it simple.

I run cast 25s out of a 25-06 at 2245 fps with no leading. That is the fastest one, but I run others at 2000 plus feet per second and no problems.

Hard Lube::::::: I buy a lot of Oregon Trail Bullets with some type of hard blue lube and green stuff. To give you an idea of how well I like it: I pour the bullets in a shallow pan and with a propane torch, I head them until the lube runs off. Then I re-lube them in a Saeco or Star machine with Javelina Lube.

I drop the newly lubed bullets on a slanted shallow box with a rag sprinkled with Motor-Mica. That keeps them from being quite so sticky when I load them. Works like a charm.

I really prefer to cast my own and I have better accuracy with my own for long range, but I shoot a lot of OTBCs for short stuff.

Harold Clark

sundogg1911 · « **Reply #17 on:** March 24, 2004, 05:42:41 AM »

I'm kind of curious as to why so many people don't like hard lubes.
With Rooster Red I get no leading at all. I do cast mostly for pistol and keep velocities at 1200 fps or under, but I also cast for 30-30 and shoot at around 1800 fps and have never had a problem. I do most of my casting in the cold months so that I can spend more time at the range in the warm months, and I had too many problems storing sticky bullets. I also reuse my bullet containers, and they stay a lot cleaner with hard lubed bullets.