No Lube ?

[giddyupgo55]

I was pulling some cast bullets today when I came across a 38 spec. that had no lube on it. Being that this is all still new to me can you shoot cast without lube? The bullet was a hollow base round nose type. Found it when I was out shooting one day.

[JSnover]

You can but you'd rather not.

[anachronism]

Since wadcutters have such modest lube requirements, most of them have only a light coating of a dry, wax type lube. Usually it's pretty much invisible. Hornady uses this type of lube, as does Remington. Remingtons usually look pretty strange because they actually have a lube groove in the bullet, but it doens't have anything in it.

[fredj338]

You can, but not for long. They will lead the bore w/ very few rounds.

[SciFiJim]

At the range this weekend I found an unfired .45acp round that had part of the case crushed when reloaded. It looked different but I could not figure out the difference until I pulled the boolit. This is the boolit.

http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt47/SciFiJim_photobucket/100_1476.jpg

It has NO lube grooves, nor is it coated with anything like LLA. Does anyone know how a mold like that would get made? or is this just something that I have not hear of before?

[44man]

That looks like a swaged pure lead boolit. Instant leading for sure.

[SciFiJim]

I don't think that it's pure lead because I can not mark it with my fingernail.

[oksmle]

Been doing it for years:
Info from 10 March 1999; Lyman #427666, WW, wgt 205 grs, not sized, 6.0 grs Unique, 1.3cc COW, Rem. LP primers, OAL 1.51", 824 fps chronographed in .44-40, SAA 7 1/2" bl. Same load in Mod. 92 w/20" bl chronographed 1075 fps. Neither firearm has ever suffered leading from this load.
Somewhere in the archives are the results of my firing around 750/800 rounds through a SMLE with an unlubed boolit & shotshell buffer.

oksmle

[runfiverun]

jim that has been molyed that is whats so hard not the lead.
i have a friend that moly's his cast stuff and has a hell of a time getting some of his guns to shoot.

[SciFiJim]

You must be right about the moly coat. I CAN mark the scratched part with my fingernail. What problem did you friend have with his guns. Did he have leading issues or did he have moly coating the inside of his barrel?

[Leftoverdj]

Yeah, there are dry lubes; moly, graphite, even mica. There are also some waxes and soaps that are only visible as a slightly darker color. You can even get away with with lube either under or over bare bullets, common with muzzle loaders.

A lot of people have been at this a long, long time, and I doubt there is much that ain't been tried. Some of it even works pretty good.

[giddyupgo55]

The bullet I pulled look like SciFiJim picture so maybe it did have moly on it. May never know Thanks

[mroliver77]

Used to be a company called Alberts bullets that made awaged sooth lead bullets. They had that dark color to them also. I think there was a very thin film of hard wax too but it wasnt noticabl unless you looked hard at them.
J