Just started and I have a few questions

[brow_tines]

I'm using Lee tumble tube bullets, I'm cast 175 grain 40 s&w and 158 grain 38 and water quenching.


1. Does everyone lube/resize/then lube again ?
2. What lube does everyone prefer lla/rooster jacket/or the lla 45/45/10 mix?
3. How long do ya let the lube dry before resizing/loading ?
4. Do ya stand the bullets up to dry?
5. Can I just buy a resizer for the 9 mm and just run my 38 boolits thru it to make 9mm?

Thanks

[MtGun44]

Why water quenching? Too hard is a common problem and you are taking extra time
and effort to make them harder. In my experience, there is no need for anything
harder than air cooled wwt alloy for any handgun application.

The "harder is better" mentality is the most enduring fallacy in this hobby.

As to the rest of it, I will leave it to folks that us the TL system.

Bill

[sisiphunter]

1 No...sometimes no sizing required........slug your barrel
2 Tried lla, didn't really like it, bought a lube sizer and also do panlubing
3. Overnight....a little faster with a fan running on them and low humidity
4 doesn't matter.mtried both no difference on paper, only look better
5. That depends....slug you barrel. I can run 38 BOOLITS in my 9mm but it slugs a bit big at .3575". You have to watch chamber size. I still size my 9mm BOOLITS to 357 and they get a little springback from sizing. Otherwise my chamber won't accept them. I generally get some leading in this bore because I have to size so small and the bore looks like a sewer pipe....but hey it works well enough. Now using 9mm in a 38 may work, likely not....again slug your barrel. Youare looking for a BOOLITS +.001" to groove diameter....

Hope this helps a little. Matt

[sisiphunter]

And +1 on no water quench. I used to we everything I cast, and I am using a 50/50 of we and range scrap. Now I air cool everything. Harder BOOLITS led to more problems. Stopped the water and bingo they work a lot better and this is in numerous rifle and pistol calibers.

[onesonek]

[QUOTE=brow_tines;1685683]I'm using Lee tumble tube bullets, I'm cast 175 grain 40 s&w and 158 grain 38 and water quenching.

I don't water quench also,,, but I heat treat if I find I need or want it. However the more I play around, the less I find it is necessary for my needs.

1. Does everyone lube/resize/then lube again ?
I don't know about everyone, but I do

2. What lube does everyone prefer lla/rooster jacket/or the lla 45/45/10 mix?
Personally I have found 45-45-10 very versatile, and have used it at a variety of velocities and pressures

3. How long do ya let the lube dry before resizing/loading ?
Depends on temp., and humidity, but I found 15-20 mins. works here

4. Do ya stand the bullets up to dry?
I stood them up at first, now I don't, and see know diffference in how the shoot

5. Can I just buy a resizer for the 9 mm and just run my 38 boolits thru it to make 9mm?
I haven't loaded for either of these rounds, but it entirely depends on the throats in my opinion,,,, as of now.
I would say no, as it would seem to me the throats would be different, but maybe not???? I buy push-thru's on the small side, then hone them out to about .0005-.001" under throat. The touchy part about that, is not having a sizer the is not too out of round to begin with.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I'm using Lee tumble tube bullets, I'm cast 175 grain 40 s&w and 158 grain 38 and water quenching.

1. Does everyone lube/resize/then lube again ?
I do, unless I am lucky enough to have a boolit drop from the mold the correct size and they are fairly uniform, My Lee TL 40 cal mold drops them .4015 I don't size those and just give them one coat of TL.

2. What lube does everyone prefer lla/rooster jacket/or the lla 45/45/10 mix?
45-45-10

3. How long do ya let the lube dry before resizing/loading ?
I heat the boolits and TL lube in the bowl when I lube them.
I dump them out on wax paper, them are dry enough to load in 15 minutes.

4. Do ya stand the bullets up to dry?
NOPE

5. Can I just buy a resizer for the 9 mm and just run my 38 boolits thru it to make 9mm?
I do that with a Lee non-TL 358 125 RF boolit, it is my favorite PB 9mm boolit.
But to be honest, I run these through a lubesizer and lube with a beeswax based lube.
Thanks

I hope this helps,
Jon

[rintinglen]

I used LLA for years but have since graduated to the Recluse formula 45/45/10 for lubing all my low velocity stuff because it dries so fast. Set the coated boolits out in the sun, let 'em dry and in the time it takes to change calibers on my old Dillon 450b, there ready to use. I use the white label Xlox at full strength on magnum, and rifle boolits.

Answering your questions:

1. I only double-coat boolits intended for use at high velocity

2. 45/45/10 for most applications.

3. Depends a lot on ambient temperatures and humidity levels. Pure LLA takes a long time, sometimes days, to dry to the point your fingers won't turn brown. If it's summertime, sometimes I leave em out in the sun on aluminum foil to expedite things. but when I'm not in a hurry, I leave them in the Folgers plastic Can while I am reloading something else, and every half hour, I tumble them to minimize run off and ensure all of them are well covered.

4. Never--why get messy if you don't have to?

5. No, not only no but hell no. Proper fit is the il ne plus ultra for cast boolit shooting. You can use poor alloys, or mediocre lubes. Your hardness can be mild to wild, but if your boolit fits your gun properly you can still get good results. But undersize boolits, or grossly oversize boolits, will gum up the works and you will be lucky to hit the broad side of a barn. Slug your guns, and then try to find a sizer that will give you boolits that are .001-.002 larger than that. I suspect that you'll end up with a .401 sizer for the 40, and a .358 for your 357, but YMMV.

By the way, don't think that TL designs are required for using LLA/Recluse. Tumble lubing works on any type of boolit, especially the old Louverin designs.

[ku4hx]

1. Yes I do ... sometimes; and dust with Motor Mics too.
2. That's highly shooter specific.
3. Depends on the season: Winter=overnight; here in the sunny South Summer= 2 to 3 hours. Always in my garage for both; sometimes overnight in Summer too.
4. No; pour 300-500 out into a cardboard drying tray and make sure all are on their side. I want to be positive the bases dry.
5. Depends; if both require the same size boolit then yes.

[mdi]

Lots of good answers so far so I can only add my T/L experience. I use a few different ways to lube my bullets, I like to experiment. Yesterday I lubed some boolits with Amsoil to see how it works in my .44 Puma. I don't like the looks of globby alox on my bullets so I use thinned alox (dries quicker) and stand them on end, or use 45-45-10. Reciently I've used Ranch Dog's method of dip lubing alox and seems to work pretty good (ain't shot any yet)http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/Tips/Alox/. When I size or install gaschecks, I use anything slippery within reach; mink oil, case lube, chapstick (cheap store brand), or water soluable grease. Alox used for sizing is pretty messy, so I use something I don't mind getting on my hands. I usually wait overnight for alox drying, but I ain't in a hurry...

[brow_tines]

Thanks for the info, so I don't need to water quench, so do you just drop the boolits in a aluminum type pan?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Thanks for the info, so I don't need to water quench, so do you just drop the boolits in a aluminum type pan?

I drop them on a dry terrycloth towel folded over once or twice.
a drop onto a hard surface can damage/deform a hot boolit.
Jon

[Echo]

I drop them on a dry terrycloth towel folded over once or twice.
a drop onto a hard surface can damage/deform a hot boolit.
Jon

+1 plus...

[dbarnhart]

I can't answer all your questions but:

1. Does everyone lube/resize/then lube again

If tumble lubing then yes.

2. What lube does everyone prefer lla/rooster jacket/or the lla 45/45/10 mix?

I've tried LLA and 45/45/10. I like 45/45/10 better. For me straight LLA is still tacky after it dries.

3. How long do ya let the lube dry before resizing/loading ?

Usually overnite

4. Do ya stand the bullets up to dry?

Nope

5. Can I just buy a resizer for the 9 mm and just run my 38 boolits thru it to make 9mm?

One thing about the Lyman/RCBS lub-sizers: they take more of your time than tumble lubing.

[Ole]

I water quench almost everything but dilute my WW's with equal weight of pure lead. Usually makes a bullet with a BHN around 16-18, which suits 95% of my plinking needs. (pistol and rifle)

[cf_coder]

1. I will usually use some homemade Dillon case lube (isopropl alcohol/lanolin) and jumble my boolits in a ziplock bag with a couple squirts of that stuff to size, then I ranch dip in 45/45/10.
2. 45/45/10 is what I use, though I'm going to try pan lubing once I get the ingredients together to make some of Felix's lube.
3. For the 45/45/10 it'll dry pretty quick, but I usually just leave it overnight anyway to make sure
4. Yes, I stand mine up as I ranch dip them. Use a modified case sized to 2 thousandths over boolit diameter to cut the left over lube off the boolit.
5. You can, but you need to think about overall length, seating depth of boolit, etc. There are a lot of variables. Have you seen the sticky on casting for 9mm?