Tumble lube in a rifle

[SGD]

I have never used the Lee tumble lube bullets. How fast can you shoot them out of a rifle? I have a Browning 53 chambered in 32-20 and was thinking about getting the TL314-90-SWC and using a few grains of Titegroup. How well will this combination work? I really don't want to spend over $100 on a new mold and sizing die. I am also considering getting some of the Hornady swaged 90 SWC bullets. Thanks.

[dk17hmr]

Shouldnt have a problem pushing them to full power 32-20 loads.
Just coat them a few times with LLA and than maybe a coat of Johnsons Paste Wax.

I tumble lube my bullets for my 500 S&W but use gaschecks also, I push those to those at close to 1800FPS.

[Ole]

I have used the .44 265 grain ranch dog design in my Marlin 1894. Granted that is a gas check design, but I didn't notice any leading.

No chrono data, but they should have been going around 1800 in my rifle.

[selmerfan]

I'm shooting Ranch Dogs TL 190 gr. .358" through my .357 Max. No problem with leading, great accuracy.

[EDK]

I like TITEGROUP in my 357 and 44 VAQUEROS and MARLIN Cowboy rifles. Even trying it with reduced loads in my 30/30 Cowboy rifle and 311041 PB.

The TLC 432 265 boolit from RANCH DOG, tumble lubed and then dipped in LLA with a gas check, actually cleans the barrels on my guns...removing residual lead from other loads.

Get a tumble lube boolit mould and a LEE press mounted sizer and LLA. All you need unless you're a high volume shooter...then go to a STAR and conventional moulds in 4 or 6 cavity.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:

[jonk]

I've shot everything up to 30-06 with LLA tumble lube. I find it works as well as anything else out to about 1600 fps or so. After that while I've never had horrible leading, there is a bit and accuracy drops off.

My standard plinker load for any of the 30 cal or similar cartridges runs about 1450 fps and while I often still use a lubesizer the tumble lube works just as well for that application. The only exception to this was with a horribly and wonderfully long 33" barrel on one gun. Ran out of lube.

So your 32-20 should do just fine.

[Leftoverdj]

Ain't the LLA that's the limit. It's the plain base bullet. You may be OK with the .32-20, or you may need to avoid top loads. Depends on the rifle, but the tipping point for me has been between 1200 and 1400 fps when accuracy falls off.

I would expect it to be lower than that with the Hornady bullets. They are dead soft. I'd give them a coat of LLA, as well. I've shot them in a CZ 527 in 7.62x39, and they made a decent squirrel load, but I don't recall chonographing it.

[SGD]

Thanks for the info. I think i will try out the lee mold. These will just be low velocity plinkers.

[KCSO]

I use a Lee T/L in my 38-40 all the time and I push them to 1500 plus.

[Jack Stanley]

You have a Browning 53 ?..... That is such a neat bullet launcher ! I've only seen two of them and one was for sale , I thought I was the only one actually using one .

I haven't tried the Liquid alox in it . Right now the load of choice is a H&G number 67 with two point seven grains of bullseye . Great accuracy , plinker , etc....

Jack

[TAWILDCATT]

the 32/20 was made for the 1873 winchester and the colt SA,it was not a hot round.I shot them in my 73 win with win tools and mold.I shoot lees 312-160 tl with 13 gr of red dot in my 06 at 1680ft no leading. using WW. :coffee:[smilie=1:

[Rodfac]

I'm using Lyman's #429215 GC in a .44 Magnum Marlin 336 with the much maligned "Micro-Groove" rifling and getting 1" gps at 50 yds with a peep sight and 62 yo eyes. With a 4x Leupold "Alaskan" scope the groups shrink down to 3/4" again at 50 yds. Using that bullet and 8.0 gr of Win 231 and a Hornady GC I get a chrono'd 1250 fps. I've also used up to 8.5 gr of Win 231 with same boolit for 1350 fps and no leading. The gas check helps tho. Lee's Liquid works extremely well with the above prescriptions and is quick to boot. No sizing with the 429215 GC which drops at .433+ and fits the oversize bore of the Marlin to a tee. I was mildly surprised to find that LLA was usable with Lyman's large grooves. I wipe the boolit noses off after loading to prevent any contamination of the magazine tube, follower or the lifting mechanism.

In the .32-20 with a 1919 vintage Winchester 92 rifle, I like Lyman's 311008, sized .312" with 9.0 gr of SR 4759 or 7.o gr of Blue Dot. With Win 231, 4.4 gr or 3.3 gr of Bullseye do nicely. (Less than 1.5" @ 50 yds with open sights.) These were lubed in a Lyman 450 with the NRA 50/50 formula lube. Gotta try the LLA tho...it's so easy. Sorry, no chrono readings for the above.

Again in .32-20, Lyman's 311316 gc sized .312" does well with 7.0 gr of Blue Dot or 4.4 of Win 231.

Haven't tried any of the .32-20 loads using Lee Liquid Alox as yet, but I plan to. My molds drop those two particular boolits very close to .312" as cast so I think it could work.

Incidentally, both boolits for the .32-20 and the loads listed are quite good in a 1938 S&W hand ejector with pristine barrel. Its hog wallow rear notch and thumbnail type front sight leave much to be desired, but the trigger pull is excellent and it will produce 1.5" gps at 25 yds on demand...with the sights blackened with a match.

HTH's Rodfac PS: Every load I've listed here was assembled with Winchester pistol primers. Ignition has not been a problem, and in the rifle, pressures are low enough that the harder cup of a rifle primer is not necessary.

[superior]

I've pushed tl-312-1602r's up to 2000 fps in my 303Brit with no leading at all just tumble lubing in LLA. I've done the same with lthium grease/parrafin, 50/50 and got the same results with slightly larger groups-still not a sign of lead. Gas-checked water-dropped ww.

[Larry Gibson]

I have never used the Lee tumble lube bullets. How fast can you shoot them out of a rifle? I have a Browning 53 chambered in 32-20 and was thinking about getting the TL314-90-SWC and using a few grains of Titegroup. How well will this combination work? I really don't want to spend over $100 on a new mold and sizing die. I am also considering getting some of the Hornady swaged 90 SWC bullets. Thanks.

I shoot that very Lee TL314-90-SWC out of almost every .30 and .31 cal rifle I have. I also shoot gobs of them out of my .32S&WL and .32 H&R.

For use in rifles I tumble lube them as cast and then size .314. I push them through the Lee sizer base first to keep the base square. .314 does well in all of my .31s. For use in .30s I will then run the .314 sized bullets through a .311 Lee sizer, again base first. The lube on them keeps the grooves intact so they are swiped off and relubing is not necessary. The Hornady 90 gr .32 cal swaged SWC is a good commercial duplicate.

I load them over 2.7 to 3.2 gr of Bullseye (depends on case capacity) in the 7.62x39, 30-30, .308CBC, .308W, 7.62x54R, 7.65 Argie, .303 Brit, and 30-06. I keep the velocity in the 800-900 fps range for best accuracy. In the .32S&W and .32 H&R I load 3.2 gr of Bullseye in both. The .32 S&WL with 3" barrel runs 925 fps and the .32 H&R runs 1020 fps from the 6.5" barrel of the Ruger SS.

I have run TL bullets out of the .357, 41 and 44 magnums up through 1200 fps with reasonable success. I also have tumble lubed regular GC'd bullets and driven them to 2000 fps with very good success.

Larry Gibson