malpaismike
04-20-2009, 01:14 AM
I’m so proud!!!!!!!!!!!! Shot my first match yesterday with my first batch of boolits with my first-sorta-batch of lube in my first batch of pow—well, maybe not. Yup, boolits and lube were virgins. I found out two things: soft lube is only situationally-apparent; booits work, no matter what they look like.
Well, I didn’t shoot clean, but I haven' in 20 yr; trying’s the game, after all. Lube started out as bp c&b lube, but was too stiff—didn’t work, still stiff, at 90+ deg Phx local match; back to the mixing board. Took some and added more Crisco and olive oil—success. But, I didn’t do anything to all of it. After making a mess suitable for c&b, I made the rest into what, I believed, would work for biglube boolits.
I used 1” Cu left over from a plumbing project as a mold and 3/8” Al rod for axis. I happened to have Lucite from another project, so made top-and-bottom plates for a mold; thru-drilled for the rods, using 3/8” Forstner for the bottom for alignment. A ¼” all-thread rod and wingnut holds the fixture together, along with a rubber basket on the bottom. Filled, sitting overnite in late winter Sierra Vista makes 4 lube tubes; even if a little off-center, they feed my 4500 jes’ fine.
My first boolits were typical. Most were as the mold dude intended; if I did my part, the mold did its job. Of ~600 boolits, only about 6 went back to the pot due to mold line. I kept one that looks like a squirrel, just for giggles. Did I say the wind blows in SV? Toward the end of my session, I got gusts around my windbreak; result was some wrinkled boolit noses. Anything that got thru without fins got lubed. Mixing them between rifle and pistol, I can’t say any defects contributed to misses—they were all because of the nut behind the buttplate or the jerk on the trigger.
Altogether, I’m in hog heaven. I’m looking forward to throwing—and shooting—for .45-70 and .38-55. I’ll probably overcome my natural shyness and post pics of my setup. For the most part, I’m greatful for this forum. Thxnregards mm
Well, I didn’t shoot clean, but I haven' in 20 yr; trying’s the game, after all. Lube started out as bp c&b lube, but was too stiff—didn’t work, still stiff, at 90+ deg Phx local match; back to the mixing board. Took some and added more Crisco and olive oil—success. But, I didn’t do anything to all of it. After making a mess suitable for c&b, I made the rest into what, I believed, would work for biglube boolits.
I used 1” Cu left over from a plumbing project as a mold and 3/8” Al rod for axis. I happened to have Lucite from another project, so made top-and-bottom plates for a mold; thru-drilled for the rods, using 3/8” Forstner for the bottom for alignment. A ¼” all-thread rod and wingnut holds the fixture together, along with a rubber basket on the bottom. Filled, sitting overnite in late winter Sierra Vista makes 4 lube tubes; even if a little off-center, they feed my 4500 jes’ fine.
My first boolits were typical. Most were as the mold dude intended; if I did my part, the mold did its job. Of ~600 boolits, only about 6 went back to the pot due to mold line. I kept one that looks like a squirrel, just for giggles. Did I say the wind blows in SV? Toward the end of my session, I got gusts around my windbreak; result was some wrinkled boolit noses. Anything that got thru without fins got lubed. Mixing them between rifle and pistol, I can’t say any defects contributed to misses—they were all because of the nut behind the buttplate or the jerk on the trigger.
Altogether, I’m in hog heaven. I’m looking forward to throwing—and shooting—for .45-70 and .38-55. I’ll probably overcome my natural shyness and post pics of my setup. For the most part, I’m greatful for this forum. Thxnregards mm