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View Full Version : Am I running out of lube?



JDL
09-05-2007, 03:42 PM
I'm using a 225 grain air cooled WW boolit in my BLR .358 powered with 40.5 grains of 4895. It shoots about 2 MOA but, I noticed lead smears near the muzzle and wondered if maybe there was insufficient lube. It wasn't difficult to remove, just 2 dozen passes with brush and dry patch out. I haven't noticed this with my RCBS 35-200 FN with same powder charge, approx. the same amount of lube, although it is 23 BHN and the nose doesn't ride the lands as tightly as the 225 grain does. Think it's a lube problem, too soft for the speed, or ambient temp problem? Being that this is my hunting load and I probably will never shoot more than 3 shots during a hunt, maybe I'm picking too many nits. :-) -JDL

black44hawk
09-05-2007, 05:04 PM
I sympathize with your sentiment. A little lead is not necessarily accuracy robbing. But there may be some easy solutions: a bullet coating laquer (like lee's) over a lubed bullet may help. You seem to want to avoid making the bullet too hard (water quenching). Sure a softer bullet may expand more readily, but a 35 cal bullet will make an ample entance and exit.

Bass Ackward
09-05-2007, 08:39 PM
Change to a pistol primer and watch it disappear.

ReAX222
09-05-2007, 08:51 PM
What difference will a pistol primer make in leading that it doesn't in velocity? forgive my ignorance, but that is a very intresting solution.

Bass Ackward
09-06-2007, 07:05 AM
What difference will a pistol primer make in leading that it doesn't in velocity? forgive my ignorance, but that is a very intresting solution.


Don't read too much into that. It's a quick n easy swap that can have benefits.

He is shooting about 15 grains heavier bullet with the same load and his bullet is softer. Going to the pistol primer will cut the shot start pressure to about the equivalent of one or two grains of powder change without dropping his velocity materially in that cartridge. It can be all the difference to borderline loads .... or not.

felix
09-06-2007, 08:47 AM
ReAX222, it's always worth a try going to softer "firing" primers with loads having their boiler rooms full, when solving an instance like this. If that is out of the question, then the next slower powder in line should be tried instead. The objective is to keep the case full when possible. Typically, I change powders rather than change primers in cases that approach 2 inches in length. Changing powders is easy in this situation: leave the powder measure set as for the 4895 load, and then swap it with 4064, 4320 for the heavier boolit. Fine tune only when feeling necessary for the application. Naturally, changing the lead composition is the cat's meow, but that requires too much lead time. ... felix