Which bullet lube?

[Evil Dog]

Getting about time for me to think about ordering some bullet lube as I am down to 2 or 3 sticks of the Rooster Labs HVR. I only load 45 Long Colt and 38 Special now so am thinking along the lines of LBT, Carnuba Red or some of Jake's lube. http://www.jakesproducts.com/

I've heard a lot of good about all 3 of them and not much bad. Just wondering which you prefer... and why?

Thanks.

[Tom W.]

I like Lar's Carnauba Red, because it's cheap and works really well. And He didn't pay me to say this, either!

[missionary5155]

Why bother buying it.... 45 Colt and 38 special sure do not need much lube... unless you have an exotic rifle with a 38 inch barrel....
Melt up a bar of plain old canning parafin and add a golf ball size of axle grease.... I do think beeswax is more creamy but you might have to hunt beeswax. Do NOT do this in the kitchen... it does smell like your doing Q service on your M60A1 tank. If you want it thinner just add more axle grease. It works OK up to around 1250 in my 44-40 (10 gr Unique + 220 saeco) , my Colt 44-40 New service, my S&W 357 (160wc + 6-7 gr unique) and all my 38 revolvers. Before you plop the boolit into the case give it a quick pass on a papertowel laid flat nearby to be sure there is no glop on the boolit bottom to globber up the powder.

[EDK]

Lars makes good stuff. I have used the Carnuba, 2500, B-A-C, and 50/50....all good. I'm going back to 50/50 because I can use it cold and don't have to wait until it warms up. The hard lubes are not my choice. Most of my shooting is 38/357 and 44 Cowboy loads at about 900 FPS, so ALOX works fine. The Black Powder lube is just as good...if not better...than the competition in my 50/90 SHILOH SHARPS.

Check out his price compared to the other suppliers. Less than 1/2 the price; buy a few more to save on shipping; get the sticks in baggies and save a little more.

You might want to get an 8 oz bottle of his XLOX (LLA) and try dipping some boolits. I just started with the RANCH DOG 44s and they're working real well...actually remove leading with 5-to-10 rounds. The RD 359 190 is supposed to be available this week!

:Fire::cbpour::redneck:

[Larry Gibson]

Lars 50/50 or Javelina will suit your needs perfectly.

Larry Gibson

[bruce drake]

One word - Lars

I use the 50/50 and the Carnuaba Red. Both are excellent and the price is right.

Bruce

[Phil]

GROAN,

5155 you just had to dredge up memories of M60A1's didn't you? Now I'll spend countless nights dreaming of Fort Hood and M60A1's, M113's, M114's. M151's, M109's, M37B1's, Checkerboard Square, 124th Maint Bn. You just had to do that didn't you?

On lubes, I really like Carnauba Red, Speed Green, NRA Alox, and the old 50/50 paraffin and vaseline. I have three sizer/lubers with different lubes in them and play with different loads in a gun using lube as a variable until I get groups I really like.

Cheers,

Phil

[runfiverun]

jakes is fine too , if you have a heater for it. i have run iy up to bout 2200 in my rifles.
having said that i just drove over to glen's house and got 50 sticks of carnuba red.
however,.....i am mixing jakes,glens and 60/40 b wax alox and other stuff.
right now in equal proportions to make a nice hard/not sohard lube.
but i like to run off about 5-6,000 boolits at a time and they sit for some time before using.

so for your applications it loks like your sizer is gonna tell you which one to buy.

[Evil Dog]

SAECO sizer with a heater attached so I can use any of the conventional lubes. I've hearde that a lot of people like the lubes with moly in them... Jake's is the only one I've seen that specifically say it is included in the mix. LBT lubes are a bit more expensive but pretty much guarantee absolutely no leading. I was just cleaning my vintage K-38 and noticed that there was indeed some leading near the forcing cone. This is with moderate loads using 148gr wadcutters and 160gr round nose bullets. Of course they were all cast from pretty much straight wheelweight so that may have had something to do with it. All were sized to .3580 and lubed with Rooster Red HVR (yes, I know that is intended as a rifle lube but had a few dozen sticks given to me years back).

Probably my best bet would be to order a couple sticks of each as samples and see which works best for me.

Living in the desert I still prefer the harder lubes as during the summer it is quite common for it to get well over 100 degrees for a lot of the summer. The softer lubes just don't hold up unless I keep them in a refrigerator (the wife doesn't like that at all).

[buck1]

LARs or Bullshops,and you cant go wrong...buck

[Chunky Monkey]

Is there a link to LARS. Is he the guy who only sells on ebay?

[Kraschenbirn]

I use Jake's Ceresin Purple for anything over 1200-1300 fps. Yeah, it takes a heated sizer to apply but I've yet to experience significant leading in any of the (rifle) calibers that I load with CBs...30-30, .308, 7.5x55, 303 Brit, and 8x57. For handguns, I'm a firm believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and stick with good ol' 50/50. A little messy and smokey but it works for me.

Bill

[cajun shooter]

Evil Dog, You might want to give the BAC a try for what you are loading. It's a mix of the 50-50 and carnuba red. They say it doesn't need a heater but I've found that when it gets low a little heat makes it flow better. I used LBT for a while and it's great but BAC works as well for alot less money. I shoot Sass with 45 colt and no leading. You can have leading with the wrong size bullet. I use straight ww for Sass with no problem.

[Heavy lead]

LARS BAC +1, link at bottom of page, inexpensive, doesn't lead, not messy, can't find a fault with it yet, except once in a while, when the basements cold, I have to heat the luber up with a hair dryer.

[twidget]

Another vote for BAC. It works great in my K-38.

[wlambert]

I use Lyman Orange Magic and like it a lot. One of my friends says that Magma Engineering lube is just as good and costs less.

[Tom Herman]

2 parts Parrafin Wax
2 parts Sheep Tallow (Dixie Gun Works)
1 part Beeswax

It's a classic, works well, and only costs about $5 a pound. It's practically identical to SPG, which runs over $30 a pound. I like frugal....

This lube works well in my .45 long Colts, .455 Webleys, .44 SPL and .38 SPLs in conjunction with my 50/50 wheel weight to lead cast boolits.

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[Shiloh]

Is there a link to LARS. Is he the guy who only sells on ebay?


http://www.lsstuff.com/lube/index.html

I like his products and use them exclusively. I especially like the B.A.C. been using it for about 18 months now.

Shiloh

[Green Frog]

I've been using Emmert's to pan lube and need something a little harder and less easy to rub off the large grooves of Minie balls. I know this is way off the original direction of this thread, but does anyone have a suggestion for a good lube for that application. I use a Lyman lubrisizer and a couple of Dell lube pumps when the occasion demands, but I need help with this specific application.

Thanks in Advance,
Green Frog

[epj]

I recently started using the BAC. Works really well from what I can tell. I got a "sampler" from Lars which has 4 different lubes. I'd like to use the Carnuba Red, but I don't have a heater. Maybe Santy will bring me one:mrgreen:. The BAC does fine without a heater and the resullting lubed bullets are not messy or sticky to handle. I have not tried the 50/50 or the 2500 that came with the set, but they also do not seem to be particularily sticky or messy. I am sizing .38, 9mm and .45's all fired at moderate velocitys. Leading has not been an issue.

[Duckiller]

epj a CHEAP hair drier ($10.00 at Walmart) works great for softening Carnuba Red. Takes about 10-15 minutes to heat up everything up then proceed to size and lube. Evey now and then give it a little blast of heat. Don't worry about the time or timeing. You will think it is getting too cool long before it does and the 2-3 minute blast of heat makes you feel better. Lubing in the heat of summer may not require extra heat. My casting and sizing is done in the late fall, winter and early spring to avoid heat.

[hydraulic]

Another vote for Lars' stuff. Especially BAC.

[Ken O]

I like Lar's Canabera Red. I haven't tried the BAC, so I can't comment on it.