Lubing 50 cal Maxi Balls

[miestro_jerry]

I shoot a T/C Grey Hawk and can cast my own bullets for it, but I was wondering about lubing the grooves on these bullets. This is a 50 cal bore.

I was thinking about maybe a 1/2 piece of PVC, lube the grooves and then push it through the PVC. How does this sound?

I am open to suggestions.

Thanks,

Jerry

[Rattus58]

I'd lube it by hand - A
cook up your lube in a pan and drop the bullets into it standing up till it cools - B
Or....

Get a 50 caliber lubrisizer ... :)... C

Aloha.... :cool:

[lonewolf5347]

purchase a 50 cal. powder re-loader I think there green in color
lube the conical and send three the tube to get rid of excess lube

[jonk]

I have that issue with all minie balls as well. I WANT to lube them before I leave for the range. I've not found a happy medium yet. Generally what I do is put them rightside up in a cat food tin and pour crisco over them (melted) until to the top lube groove, then put the cat food can in a plastic bag once the crisco has hardened and pull them out one by one as needed. Works fine on a moderately warm day but that crisco hardens pretty well in winter.

I often use Bore Butter as well, and just fill the skirt... but that won't do on Maxis.

[mooman76]

Someone used to sell a luber like that, I believe it was T/C but it had a soft plastic tbe you put the bullets in and another tube connected like a T connecter and a plunger to push the soft lube around the bullet as you pushed them through. I figure they didn't sell well enough and they stopped making them. Another idea is to take a butter tub to the range with you and put some lube and bullets in it and swirle it around like LLA. Kind of messy but gets the jub done.

[Blkpwdrbuff]

Hey guys, I bought a .512 dia sizer die and put WLL BPCR lube in my Lyman 4500.
With the Lyman 191 nose punch works like a dream. It's large enough it doesn't "size" the maxi-balls but it fills lube groove completely full! It beats the heck out of panlubing and punching the bullets out of the lube after, in my next to worthless opinion.
Blkpwdrbuff:castmine:

[Yance]

Someone used to sell a luber like that, I believe it was T/C but it had a soft plastic tbe you put the bullets in and another tube connected like a T connecter and a plunger to push the soft lube around the bullet as you pushed them through. I figure they didn't sell well enough and they stopped making them. Another idea is to take a butter tub to the range with you and put some lube and bullets in it and swirle it around like LLA. Kind of messy but gets the jub done.

TC used to make a "Pre Luber" for .45, .50, and .54 Cal Maxi's. It screws onto your tube of Maxi-Lube and you push the Maxis through it. After pushing the second Maxi in, the first one is aligned with the lube hole and you just squeeze the tube. Push a third one in and the first one drops out the other side.

These were turning up on e-prey pretty regularly a while back. I have found a few in older "real" gunshops where they've been hanging on a pegboard hook for several years.

http://tinyurl.com/399uqu

[freedom475]

Put Bore Butter and just a very little bit (too much and the lube will crack) of bee's wax in a plastic speer boolit box. Pop it in the microwave for 1min. , stand maxi's in the lube and let cool. When Totally cooled use a 50BMG with rim cut off to stamp the boolits from the lube........Repeat:Fire:

[S.B.]

You must remember, that the only part of T/Cs maxi balls that touches the bore of your rifle is the top band, don't you? Then the base upsets(undulates?) upon iginition of powder. So, most of the bullet actually floats on lube. Won't this help the bullet to tip while inserting it in bore? I'd just go ahead and smear it on.
After thought: how does the lube effect the powder? Cause some to not burn?
Steve

[fouronesix]

Don't know what you have in mind for the Grey Hawk but I assume it's 48" twist and will be used for hunting.

Here's what works for me in a 50 cal 48" twist shooting Maxiballs.

80 gr FFF real blackpowder (recently been using Wano)
clean between shots
50 cal Maxiballs cast of pure lead from single cavity T/C mold
.050" card wad (1/2" arch punch from whatever dense cardboard is handy)
apply Crisco to grooves with finger
regular or mag CCI#11 cap
medium width front blade, aperture rear

1) pour powder
2) seat card wad with light pressure
3) seat Maxi with firm but not excessive pressure

The above is the most accurate hunting load I've found- plenty for normal big game with the muzzle velocity of Maxi at about 1400 fps +/- . My 1970s TC Hawken 50 shoots .5" circular groups at 50 yards with that load consistently. When I got my first T/C Hawken 50 in about 1974 I set out to find the most accurate and effective hunting load using the then new Maxiball. I mounted a scope on that rifle and tried many combinations. The above recipe is what I settled on. Then I was primarily using GOEX but recently have been using mostly Wano. I can't tell much difference except the Wano fouling seems a little softer.
Yes, the Crisco is just smeared into the grooves with a finger. I had to dig this target (3 shots @ 50 yds) out of a big pile of shot targets since I don't shoot the T/Cs much anymore.

[Junior1942]

Just stick your finger in the lube and smear it on the bullet. Put a felt or card wad 'twixt bullet and powder to keep lube out of the powder. Really. That's all you have to do.....

[Huntsman]

I posted this on another forum as to how I lubed my Maxi's;
"I just aquired a .54/ 430gr TC Maxi Ball mould and cast up some from pure lead. Now I've never fired a Maxi ball or Plains bullet from any of my muzzleloaders, just Lee REAL's and round ball so I dont know how they will shoot. And seeing what the Lyman and discontinued TC moulds sell for I was pretty excited to cast these up. So after I casted 2 doz of these I went to work with how to lube these up. I used a tin, fill with a mixture of TC Bore butter amd Lee Liquid Alox (75:25). Placed the Maxi balls in the tin, poured the heated mixture over to fill to the top lube band and let cool. I then used the conical holder portion of a TC quick load and slid it over the maxi ball to extract it out of the hardened lube and used to conical seater from the quick load to push it out and voila!!"
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/Jamie_MG/IMG01353-20121215-1256_zps39d91baa.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/Jamie_MG/IMG01347-20121214-1429_zps968a590c.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/Jamie_MG/IMG01350-20121214-1539_zps8edc1e1b.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/Jamie_MG/IMG01352-20121215-1134_zps60c724e7.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/Jamie_MG/IMG01357-20121215-1308_zpsca31fd4b.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/Jamie_MG/IMG01358-20121215-1309_zps59f8bd54.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/Jamie_MG/IMG01359-20121215-1310_zps7a68bceb.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/i375/Jamie_MG/IMG01356-20121215-1308_zps0545114f.jpg

[S.B.]

Just stick your finger in the lube and smear it on the bullet. Put a felt or card wad 'twixt bullet and powder to keep lube out of the powder. Really. That's all you have to do.....

How do you keep wad square/plumb with bore while seating it with ram rod or do you attach it to base of your bullets with some adheasive(a little lube perhaps)?
Steve

[fouronesix]

Don't know about how others do it, but a wad, even a fairly thin .050 card wad shown in the photos, cut with a 1/2" arch punch in a 50 cal bore is a friction fit. Push wad into muzzle, it will lay flat, ram down to powder with rod. It stays square/plumb to the bore all the way to the powder. It's not rocket science and the same method also applies to felt and cork wads.

[S.B.]

Thanx to all who've contributed to this thread. I maybe 65 but, I learned something today.
Steve

[millerwb]

I too learned several things in this thread. One is that one of the molds I recently bought was a TC Maxiball mold. Bought it and two Lee molds (490 RB and 250gr REAL) for $40 shipped. I am pleased as punch right now to identify the third mold.

[Huntsman]

Don't know about how others do it, but a wad, even a fairly thin .050 card wad shown in the photos, cut with a 1/2" arch punch in a 50 cal bore is a friction fit. Push wad into muzzle, it will lay flat, ram down to powder with rod. It stays square/plumb to the bore all the way to the powder. It's not rocket science and the same method also applies to felt and cork wads.


I use some 28 gauge over powder wads that I bought from TOTW. I soak them in O.O. & beeswax. These look very similar to your card board cut outs.
They seem to do the trick and way cheaper than the felt wads that are caliber specific.

[fouronesix]

Even felt is not so expensive if bulk is purchased as off color or seconds from Duro-felt. It's punched out with the same arch punch. Duro-felt is shooter friendly and are good folks to deal with. The same applies to cork if you can find flat sheets of it for cheap. I use the hard card wad for the Maxi in muzzleloaders but have found in a few instances that a felt wad can help accuracy in certain PRB loads.... if I want to take the time to get the very highest level of accuracy with a roundball. But it's not a universal rule as sometimes the felt doesn't seem to make any difference.
http://www.durofelt.com/products.html

[S.B.]

Even felt is not so expensive if bulk is purchased as off color or seconds from Duro-felt. It's punched out with the same arch punch. Duro-felt is shooter friendly and are good folks to deal with. The same applies to cork if you can find flat sheets of it for cheap. I use the hard card wad for the Maxi in muzzleloaders but have found in a few instances that a felt wad can help accuracy in certain PRB loads.... if I want to take the time to get the very highest level of accuracy with a roundball. But it's not a universal rule as sometimes the felt doesn't seem to make any difference.
http://www.durofelt.com/products.html

PRB? I thought we were talking about maxi ball loads? How do you equate round ball technologyy to this? Apples and oranges?
Steve

[fouronesix]

S.B.,
HUH? Didn't think it was too confusing since the previous poster brought up felt wads. I simply added I use a card wad primarily for conicals and a felt wad for some PRBs. And pointed out a possibly less expensive source for felt. Some conical shooters do use a felt wad. And some shooters add lube to the felt as a source of lube for the load. Not too difficult to understand is it?

Or, to the direct point and question of the OP.... I apply lube to the grooves by smearing it on with a finger. I use cheap, universally available Crisco for whatever that's worth.

[Ohio Rusty]

I always filled the lube grooves with lube and wrapped the lubed boolit in wax paper and twisted both ends. When I needed a second shot, I tore off the flat base end of the wax paper and squeezed the lubed maxi-ball out of the wax paper into the end of the barrel, and rammed 'er home.
Easy to carry, no mess and no cost.
Ohio Rusty ><>

[S.B.]

Pointed Round Balls?, PRBs?
Steve

[Larry Gibson]

I lube the bottom groove only with my own lube of beeswax & olive oil at a 5/4 mix. I pour the lube into an empty "1000 Plus Bore Butter" tube and use the old TC "luber" for such (photo); the red is the .50 cal and the green is the .45 cal. Kneading the tube or soaking in hot water for 5-10 minutes lets me lube the Maxi's very easily and w/o mess. The Maxi is pushed into the luber until the desired groove is lined up and then the tube is squeezed. Additional bullets pushed in to lube push the lubed Maxi forward and out.....no muss, no fuss. Too bad TC quit making them (Made 45, 50 and 54s).

Other photo shows 6 shots (1st down the barrel and then 5 from the speed loaders) at 100 yards w/o cleaning between shots. Maxi's are cast of 16-1 alloy to take the 1570 fps generated by 90 gr (V) Triple 7 FFFG out of the TC Blk Mtn Magnum. I also use a felt wad under the Maxi. It is soaked in the same lube and sticks to the bottom of the Maxi in the speed loaders. Expansion is excellent as is penetration on deer and elk with through and through most often

Larry Gibson

[Huntsman]

Pointed Round Balls?, PRBs?
Steve

"Patched round ball"

[S.B.]

Thank you Huntsman. My own ignorance never fails to amaze me. Those darn acronyms get me every time. Just getting too old for this, I guess.
Steve