reduced smoke lube?

[ninteen11]

hi all.
i do alot of IPSC shooting and it gets quiet costly practicing with copper heads.i have also been practicing with lead bullets and find that calling ur shots using lead far more difficult... i have been casting 180gr swc(to bring down the costs) and been lubing them with the lube bought in stores..i have also tried various lube mixes,beeswax,alox,parafin waxs,motor greases....damn...even crayons!!:???: ..my question..is there a lube mix i can make that reduces the smoke by +/- 50%..?...granted there will always be smoke but surely there must be waxes.greases and oils on the market that one can mix that have high flash points?..afterall,it is the lube burning thats being left behind the bullet while the powder is burning,the higher the flash point.the less smoke?
alex.

[ANeat]

I would try some of the Lars red carnuba. If youre getting a lot of smoke you might try a different powder. Do your loads smoke much with the jacketed bullets?

Adam

[grumpy one]

I only shoot rifles, but I never see any smoke unless I've overloaded the lube and cooked it (that is, too much pressure). I see smoke then all right, and lousy groups too.

The suggestion of trying a high quality lube is worth following - if the problem is lube failure it should at least help.

[44man]

I shoot very hot loads with Felix and Lar's red lube and I never notice any smoke. The worst offenders seem to contain Alox.

[Ricochet]

Alox does smoke a lot. So does White Lightning.

I like the smell of Alox smoke.

[Bullshop]

Tried speed green?
BIC/BS

[ninteen11]

i am using a faster burning smokless power which doesnt smoke with jacketed bullets,its the fastest we have here in our country,S121 from denel. not sure what propelants i can compare them to thats for sales in your country...using 5.4gr and a 180 gr..i kind of figured the faster the powder,the less the burn time down the barrel,..it has seem to have made a difference..
i have checked out the web site that sells speed green,will look into that futher. i got to agree,alox??? mmm:roll:
will also look into the other lubes mentioned,tnx
what about synthetic lubes,would those work? ie synthetic beeswax and a range of other synth greases?

this evening i was at the factory where they manufacture monolithic solid copper rifle rounds on cnc for export mainly,they coat their bullets a molly coating powder,they say lead can also coated, BUT the powder costs $130 per kg,will do about 45000 rounds,their bullets arnt cheap...

[tomf52]

The one lube that I got almost no smoke with was the Johnson's Paste Wax when applied lightly. However, when applied lightly I did get some minor leading. Perhaps you may want to play with it and will find a thickness of application that will serve you OK.

[Diamond-City-Bob]

I'm using Felix lube with a couple three Maker's Mark wax seals thrown in, .45 colt at about 900-1100fps with no noticable smoke. The same loads with alox smoked worse than a crankheads beater pickup.

[Forester]

hi all.
i do alot of IPSC shooting and it gets quiet costly practicing with copper heads.i have also been practicing with lead bullets and find that calling ur shots using lead far more difficult... i have been casting 180gr swc(to bring down the costs) and been lubing them with the lube bought in stores..i have also tried various lube mixes,beeswax,alox,parafin waxs,motor greases....damn...even crayons!!:???: ..my question..is there a lube mix i can make that reduces the smoke by +/- 50%..?...granted there will always be smoke but surely there must be waxes.greases and oils on the market that one can mix that have high flash points?..afterall,it is the lube burning thats being left behind the bullet while the powder is burning,the higher the flash point.the less smoke?
alex.

Not trying to criticize or call you out, but the right way to call your shots is based on what you see the sights do, not the holes in the paper. If you are looking through the smoke for holes in the paper you are giving away a lot of time. (my 2c.) If on the other hand, you are creating so much smoke you can’t watch your sights rise you definitely have a problem.

Regardless- IPSC/IDPA loads are a pain when they smoke a lot. I made some improvement in mine by switching to a slightly slower powder.

I use Thompson’s Blue Angel lube. It is a hard lube and I get virtually no leading of the barrel with air cooled wheel weight 200gr LSWCs in .45ACP.

[ninteen11]

tnx for the reply's gents...i think i have allot of looking into about lubes and that should keep me busy..
i agree with u forester,looking through the smoke to see where the shots have gone is a total waste of time in a match,fortunately i dont use lead for matches..
its all about sight picture and follow through..shooting a max of 9 rounds from one position,(according to course design in IPSC) at targets at 3,7 and 10m through an apeture or a 2m pipe can be tricky with lead and smoke..its more the confined spaces that bug me with lead bullets..tnx all again 4 the input
alex

[Forester]

i agree with u forester,looking through the smoke to see where the shots have gone is a total waste of time in a match,fortunately i dont use lead for matches..
its all about sight picture and follow through..shooting a max of 9 rounds from one position,(according to course design in IPSC) at targets at 3,7 and 10m through an apeture or a 2m pipe can be tricky with lead and smoke..its more the confined spaces that bug me with lead bullets..tnx all again 4 the input
alex

Ahh, much clearer to me now. FWIW, I do shoot lead in matches but I favor IDPA so not many pipes to shoot through. With the Blue Angel lube though I don't get much or any more smoke than I did with plated bullets.

[Lloyd Smale]

I shoot cast in competition too and use felix and have found it to be a smokey lube. It works though so i use it. Check with Lars and try his red corduba lube it seems to be alot less smokey and works great too.