Rooster Jacket range report

[imashooter2]

Well, I finally got a chance to get to the range with some of this stuff. The load was my hoped-to-be IPSC load consisting of a Lee 452-228-1R over 4.1 of Bullseye. Using commercial cast, this same load makes a 176 power factor at 766 fps average. I didn't chronograph the loads today, just shot to check accuracy and to see how the lube held up.

First the pros... The RJ is fast and easy to put on. Lubed bullets are very clean to handle. They produce significantly less smoke in rapid fire than conventionally lubed. They shot every bit as accurately as the commercial and to the same point of aim.

The con... Significant leading the length of the barrel after only 100 shots. Much more leading than I have experienced from 5 or 6 times that many shots in the past. It was heaviest in the inch in front of the throat and tapered off towards the muzzle.

I guess I will try a double application next and see what happens then.

[fecmech]

I've used it for indoor target loads with the Saeco 185, Lyman 200 and 225 rn all running in the 700-750fps range with no build up over a couple hundred rounds. I used a double application right at the start. It did not fare as well on my .38 wadcutters though, I got forcing cone leading pretty quick. Since I got my Star sizer I don't mess with it anymore. Using the Magma hard lube I only get slightly more smoke than with the Rooster jacket and only handle the bullet once. Nick

[imashooter2]

I've priced the Star. A fine machine and I may yet be forced into the market, but I haven't given up hope of getting out on the cheap. I still have 15.75 ounces of the RJ that's already paid for. I may as well play with it.:)

[imashooter2]

Well, I have another couple hundred with a double application ready to load.

Fecmech, how did you apply the stuff? My first ones were swirled in a bowl like I do for Lee liquid alox. These were done in a plastic bag, sort of squishing them back and forth.

[flinchnjerk]

Imashooter2

Get a 6" dia. funnel. Place a piece of screen door screen in the bottom (fabric works; metal's better), to keep a boolit from plugging up the outlet. Load the funnel with boolits to about 1" below the lip. Place the funnel over a 1/2 gallon jug. Pour the RJ over the boolits in the funnel...quickly, so that the boolits are flooded. After the RJ drains from the funnel into the lower jug ( only takes a couple of seconds) dump the boolits out onto whatever drying surface that you use (I have some old stove and fridge racks onto which I've wired some 1/4" galvanized mesh). Repeat (remembering each time to put the piece of screen back into the funnel...dang, this growing old will be the death of me). When you've done about 60% of the boolits that you want to lube, place the funnel over the RJ bottle and lube with the RJ that's in the secondary jug.
Yeah, RJ makes for a clean handling boolit, and yeah, it's cheap, but as a lube one might as well pi....uh, spit on the boolits. 155 gr .45 ACP, 800 fps, ferocious leading, all the way down the barrel. Terribly smokey, leaves the gun filthy.

[Leftoverdj]

That's odd. I've run several hundred .32 S&W Long WC lubed with a single coat of RJ through a Benelli autoloader at about 900 fps without any visible leading. I tumbled them in a bowl and set them upright to dry.

One possible difference is that I use the Lee TL WC mould.

[fecmech]

imashooter--I did mine in a plastic bag like you smooshing them around with my hand on the outside of the bag. I then dumped them on a 1/4" mesh hardware cloth standing them on their bases to dry. Like I said since I got the Star I don't mess with the Rooster jacket, too time consuming. Nick

[imashooter2]

Well guys, I've got a hundred of these double lubed samples loaded and ready for testing Sunday. As I was loading the first few, it appeared that some of the lube might be being scraped off so I put a little more bell on the rest of the cases.

I have never tried these bullets conventionally lubed, so I decided to shoot 50 pieces lubed with Lar's Carnauba Red first. If I get no leading with them (and I'm expecting I won't), I'll swab out the barrel and shoot 100 of the RJ. If nothing else, I'll settle whether I have a lube problem or something different to chase.

Edit to add: I don't stand them on their bases to dry like you Gentlemen did... kind of defeats the whole fast and easy thing. If I have to handle them individually, I'm going to be in the market for a Star.

[Leftoverdj]

If you don't want to stand them on their bases, a double coat seems to be in order. Fresh RJ is pretty liquid, and seems to bleed off from contact points. Might be worth making up a screen to dry them on.

I've pretty much gone to Johnson's Paste Wax tumbled onto bullets warm enough to melt the wax. Those don't need to be set upright.

[imashooter2]

Success!

Shot the 50 Carnauba Red rounds and checked. No leading as expected. Cleaned the barrel and reassembled. Shot 100 of the RJ boolits and came on home. Put a ham in the oven and then down to the basement for inspection. Ran an Ed's Red patch down the barrel to clean out the soot, followed with a dry patch and took a look... Very minor flecked leading in the first inch of the tube. Ran a brush 5 strokes, sent down a patch on a jag and she's clean as a whistle. I can live with that!

Further experiments will focus on better application. First up is to make a hardware cloth frame to minimize contact points while drying as Leftoverdj suggests.

Then I'll need to see how it works for my ICORE loads...

[andrew375]

I've been using similar stuff for a long while, with tens of thousands of .45 and .44 bullets being lubed with minimum effort.

My procedure is to lay out about 500 bullets on a sheet of heavy gauge polythene sheet roughly 3' x 2'. Sprinkle the lube over the bullets, enough to just wet them. Then I gather up the corners of the sheet and roll the bullets back and forth to wet the bullets all over. Then I put the sheet back on the ground, spread the bullets back out so they are not piled up and leave to dry. Whilst drying I'll go out and repeat the above procedure of rolling the bullet in the sheet, that way lube that is drying on the sheet gets put back on to the bullets. Add more lube at any time if you think there isn't enough or more bullets if you've added too much.

I find about two tablespoons full will lube 500 .44, 250gr. SWCs.

Two things to watch out for:

I found the lube flakes off the bullet nose during seating and builds up on the seater punch. The indication this is happening is that OAL is being reduced. The build up is easily removed with a quick twirl of a screw driver blade.

First few shots though a barrel where a different lube has been used will go to a wildly different point of impact. The same goes when switching back to a conventional lube without cleaning the barrel first.
:drinks: