Grease on Bullet Base?

[smokemjoe]

I have always have been worried about the grease on the base of the bullet, Always wriped it off, But last night I loaded up the 41 swiss and put a pea size gob on the base of 5, loaded up with 12 grs. Unique, set the case in the loading nose down and the powder layed on top of the grease- bullet lub. I fired them today and it sounded like a full power load and it shot the same group as ones with the base cleaned off, Whats youall you think about this.?? I was shocked. Thanks for reading, Joe

[AZ-Stew]

More time + heat may make a difference. Overnight isn't much of a trial.

Regards,

Stew

[oneokie]

Storing loaded rounds nose down is supposed to reduce the likelyhood of fouling the powder or primer with lube.

[Calamity Jake]

I always wipe the base after sizing and don't worry about it.

[JSnover]

On my plain base boolits I haven't worried much about it. I do pick the lube out of my hollow bases.

[44man]

It depends on the lube used and conditions. Putting the loads in a hot car for a day or out in the sun can change things. Some lube will only soften while others turn to liquid.
I have always wanted to put a gob of different lube on a plastic tray, put it in my car and see what happens. :mrgreen:

[montana_charlie]

Even though the ball of lube didn't kill the charge, it may have been educational to use a chronograph to see how the velocity compared to some loads with no balls.
CM

[Down South]

I have always wanted to put a gob of different lube on a plastic tray, put it in my car and see what happens.
I remember reading a thread about someone doing just that last year and I don’t remember which lubes were tested. There were one or two lubes in the test that stayed solid.

I agree that boolits left in a hot place for extended lengths of time may be affected. I think that boolits stored nose down that some of the powder charge would be contaminated. Boolits stored nose up may get a contaminated primer. This is if the heat were enough to turn the lube back to a liquid.
I try to keep the bases clean.

[1Shirt]

I agree with 44Man. Think the key is heat over a period of time and the comp of the lube!
1Shirt!:coffee:

[HORNET]

As a reference, some testing I saw a few years ago claimed that passenger cabin space on many modern vehuicles will reach 140 degrees during the summer. IIRC, the melting point of beeswax is about 135 degrees. Some lubes will go liquid WAY below that....

[44man]

As a reference, some testing I saw a few years ago claimed that passenger cabin space on many modern vehuicles will reach 140 degrees during the summer. IIRC, the melting point of beeswax is about 135 degrees. Some lubes will go liquid WAY below that....
Very true but the use of stearate (spelling) or soap in lube can raise the melting point as well as allow a better blending of ingredients. Some lube can not be melted to pan lube, it burns before it melts.

[runfiverun]

iirc it was lars45 [glen] from whitelabel lube that threw a bunch of different lubes in bags and kept them on his dashboard in the sun for a week or so.
i know his red has a higher melting point than b-wax having melted both in a microwave.
there might be more to the malleable hard type lubes than meets the eye.:violin:

[Lloyd Smale]

I know ive had tumble lubed bullets deaden powder when stored for for long periods of time loaded.

[Tom W.]

How do you melt wax in the microwave? Is it due to the container getting warm? I've yet to be able to melt any...

[armyrat1970]

Lee lube does not degrade powder.

[jonk]

I take my rounds out to the range in a cooler with a block of ice on hot days. Otherwise stored in an air-conditioned house.

I never wipe lube off the bases.

[Char-Gar]

I have wiped the base of every cast bullet I have loaded for the past 50 years. I figure it must be well over a millon rounds. That is allot of wiping, but I will continue to do it. I live in a very hot climate and I have yet to have problems with the lube doing bad things to my loads.

I have been melting wax in a microwave for 20 years. Use a Pyrex measuring cup ( have a 1 quart and a 2 quart) and set the time for one minute. Reset for another minute and continue until there is a small glob of wax still solid. Then stir to melt that last bit. This way you make certain you don't over cook the wax.

It you don't use pyrex, you run a chance of breaking the glass container and having melted lube and wax all in the microwave. Yep...I have done it! That is when I invested in the large pyrex measuring cups.

[Lloyd Smale]

if your talking tumble lube ill bet everything i own that it does. Its happened to me more then once and when i pulled the bullets on some it was a clump of powder
Lee lube does not degrade powder.

[runfiverun]

pyrex works fine as does the stoneware type stuff.
the way charger said is how i do it too melt some stir melt somemore work it well then a final quick melt to liquify.

[armyrat1970]

if your talking tumble lube ill bet everything i own that it does. Its happened to me more then once and when i pulled the bullets on some it was a clump of powder

Haven't run into that problem yet Lloyd but I don't store my loaded cartridges nose down either. I will keep an eye on it though. Thanks for the insight.

[Lloyd Smale]

i had 2 coffee cans full of 38s for plinking that sat about a year in the barn. Id say that one out of 10 of them ended up being squibs because of powder contamintation. Most would clear the barrel but a few got stuck. It was to much work to pull them all so i carefully shot them up. I was using the 105 lee tumble lubed for just a plinking load because they were fast to make. It was about the only use i had for tumble lube but dont do it anymore.
Haven't run into that problem yet Lloyd but I don't store my loaded cartridges nose down either. I will keep an eye on it though. Thanks for the insight.

[siwel]

With the RCBS sizer I'd get lube on the base of the bullets because of the inner lube ring in the die. Since I"ve gone to the Star, no lube on the base. The Star is light years ahead of th RCBS on several fronts.

[armyrat1970]

i had 2 coffee cans full of 38s for plinking that sat about a year in the barn. Id say that one out of 10 of them ended up being squibs because of powder contamintation. Most would clear the barrel but a few got stuck. It was to much work to pull them all so i carefully shot them up. I was using the 105 lee tumble lubed for just a plinking load because they were fast to make. It was about the only use i had for tumble lube but dont do it anymore.

I think just to be on the safe side I will start wiping the lube off the base of the boolit. Just another step in the process but better to be safe than sorry in the long run.