Oregon Trail "True Shot" Bullets

[Tar Heel]

I received my 30 Cal, 170gr RNFP GC .309 bullets from Oregon Trail last week and noticed that unlike the photo on their web site, my bullets were missing lubricant in the bottom lube groove. Common sense tells me that a trip down a 32" barrel will necessitate all the bullet lubricant one can muster. OT informed me via email that "we don't lube that groove anymore." Has anyone had any experience shooting these bullets in 30 caliber long guns with no bullet lube in the bottom groove?

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[Love Life]

The bottom groove or the top of the gas check shank? Both of the LUBE grooves look filled to me.

[Tar Heel]

The bottom groove or the top of the gas check shank? Both of the LUBE grooves look filled to me.

One in the same.

[osteodoc08]

Load em and shoot em. If any leading, dont use them anymore.

[Tatume]

The bottom groove or the top of the gas check shank? Both of the LUBE grooves look filled to me.

Correct. Both lube grooves are filled with lube. There is no need to put lube in the space in the gas check heel; nor is there any harm in doing so.

[Tar Heel]

Correct. Both lube grooves are filled with lube. There is no need to put lube in the space in the gas check heel; nor is there any harm in doing so.

Do you have any actual experience with this? I have never seen one unlubed there.

[Tar Heel]

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[Love Life]

That is not a lube groove. I'm not how oregon trail pulled it off, but all of my gas checked bullets get lube on the gas check shank whether I want it there or not. Talk about really trying to save company money!!

[cbrick]

They are using Star lubri-sizers and only put lube where they want it. Many of my checked boolits don't put or get lube there either, no biggie though, it makes no difference one way or the other. It could be a way of carrying a small bit more lube but it ain't much and won't be the cause of leading or not leading. If you get leading with this boolit it's pretty doubtful it's a lube problem.

If your using an in & out lubri-sizer you have no choice but to get lube above the check but again, it's unimportant and sure nothing to loose sleep over.

Rick

[376Steyr]

Base-first, down and up, sizers like the RCBS and Lyman will automatically put lube there, whether you want it or not. Sizers like the Star will only squirt lube into the grooves you select. There is a school of thought that the space in front of the gas check should intentionally be left open, to allow the check to shove crud in front of it as it goes down the barrel.

[Tar Heel]

Thanks for the input all.....I appreciate the feedback.

[MT Chambers]

I always set my Star dies to lube that groove as well, I like a lot of lube.

[runfiverun]

I'm still [after all the testing I have done] amazed at how little lube can be used in comparison with how much lead is in contact with the barrel.
if I were shooting this boolit at 1700-1900 fps I'd only lube one of the grooves or go a bit slicker and only lube the area above the gas check.
as it is I'd just go with the wax they put in there.

[Jupiter7]

I'd be more worried about lube quality than that little quantity above check.

[RickinTN]

I think I remember these bullets are shipped without the gas check installed and it is installed by the end-user? This being the case they probably leave it open to make installing the gas check easier?
Rick

[Walter Laich]

You could probably pan lube to fill it if you feel the need. That way you won't have to buy anything but the lube.

[Tar Heel]

Thanks guys. This is my first foray into rifle/cast boolits and I have simply assumed that mo-lube is better lube for a 30 inch tube. Having cast and loaded for handguns for 30+ years I bring a jaded perspective into the rifle family. I'm looking forward to shooting the long guns with cast boolits and welcome all your expertise on the subject.

[Love Life]

My favorite lube for rifle bullets is 95% copper and 5% zinc.

[Tar Heel]

My favorite lube for rifle bullets is 95% copper and 5% zinc.

Me too! I'm not even wasting time casting for the 1/4 bore!

[Love Life]

All joking aside, when you start casting your own I would try out speed green or Lotak from the Bull shop.

[Tar Heel]

Well I got impatient and decided to load a few rounds to evaluate seating depth, propellant charge weight, COAL, and such. This actually is a great opportunity to tap into some older supplies I have had on-hand since before 1994. The H4895 has a price tag of $13.95 and that was from a more expensive store in Warrenton Virginia. These will do until my Lyman M-Die arrives to make a perfect seating platform. I'll actually chrono these to see how the loading manual data correlates to real life.

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