Paste wax by itself ?

[Jack Stanley]

I have this bullet mold that casts just about right without sizing and I wondered about lubing it with Johnsons paste wax alone . I am wondering if anyone here has done this and tried it in carbine length barrels .

The brinell hardness of the bullets is seven and I don't ecpect to drive them real fast . Do you think that a thousand or eleven hundred feet per second would be to much for a heavy dose of wax ?

I've tried coats of liquid Alox and the paste wax and in bulk it still get messy all over . With other bullets I've used a coat of wax before sizing and then a shot of lube into a groove . With that system anything exposed is easily cleaned in just a few minutes of tumbling and the ammo looks great and feeds superb .

Thanks , Jack

[35remington]

At mild velocities the JPW alone will work fine. At lower velocities a moderate amount of lube is quite appropriate, and your idea is very reasonable.

FWIW, at low velocities I find that filled lube grooves often overlubricate the bullet and cause flyers and first shot impact problems from a cold barrel - even a fouled cold barrel. The JPW is often a cure for this. Light amounts of the various lubes work better than a large amount of lube at low(er) speeds IME.

You could call this planned use of yours the perfect niche use of JPW. That's just how I use it, and it makes excellent hunting ammo for my small game 25-20 loads. The hard wax does not pick up grit or dirt like LLA does. BTW, my small game loads run from 1050 to 1300 fps through 20 to 22 inch barrels depending upon caliber.

I'm quite satified with JPW in that type of application.

[Boerrancher]

To give you an idea of what JPW is capable of if all other factors are right, I shoot a 50/50 mix of range scrap and WW's out of my 03A3 and I push them around 2500 fps. (2485 to 2510) I have yet to clean any lead out of my bore in nearly 500 rounds. This particular rifle at those velocities shoots the Lee C309-180-R into 3/4 of an inch groups at 100 yds. But with that said, JPW is most effective with all firearms at velocities of 1300 fps and under.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[runfiverun]

i mix mine 4 parts jpw and one part b-wax. mixed in the microwave [watch the fumes coming out]
then use about a third of what you think you need and swirl around and round in a clear cup with a lid it will fill the grooves and you can see it doing so, then i just let it sit and dry or shoot a bit damp.
i have run it up to 2300 in the 30-30 and to full speed in my 25-20.
i think the melying it takes the solvents out as it dries to a semi hard lube. but works well even after hardening.
i wonder if a bit of lanolin would help the long term state.

[Jack Stanley]

From the looks of things , I may be able to run velicities to the planned thirty-eight special loads right at service velocity . :-D I'm thinking hundred sixty ( or so ) grain bullets at eight-fifty in the four inch revolver and maybe what ,....a thousand out of the Marlin carbine .

I think maybe I'll try a little of the stuff straight out of the can without the microwave and see what happens . If it works out with excellent accuracy and no leading this could be just what I'm looking for . I may have to round up every thirty-eight case I have and get them corked .......... I don't think I'll celebrate until I try it though [smilie=1:

Jack