Ranch Dog moulds with conventional lube?

[JSimpson65]

Hello All,

I'm looking to buy a mould for 30-30 and like the idea of the Ranch Dog TLC311-165. I see that Ranch Dog is now selling these and also that NOE has a group buy going on for a conventional lube version of the same. My question is whether or not the RD TLC version will work equally as well run through a lube-sizer and lubed with regular lube rather than the liquid alox? My preference is for the conventional lube vs. the alox since I already have a sizer and the dies, and since the alox seems a little messy (OK, I'll admit that I also just don't like the look of it on rifle rounds).

Any thoughts on this? I like the idea that Ranch Dog has them ready to ship rather than waiting another few months for NOE, but I'm thinking maybe I'm better off getting the conventional lube groove.

Any info is appreciated,

Joe

[Frozone]

I'm shooting a RD460-350 sized to .454" and lubed with BAC out of a Casull @ 1400 fps with no leading and 4"@100yrd accuracy. You get a lot of lube in those 5 small grooves.

[Ranch Dog]

Yeap, they work fine in a traditional lube-sizer. Probably 35% to 40% of my customers use tradition lubes and sizing.

I'm a LA user but don't tumble lube. I dip them in a crock pot of warm alox and then set them on a cookie sheet to be sized through a Lee die. No alox on forward of the lube grooves.

[Ole]

I pan lube the RD boolits that I make for my .450 Marlin with good results.

[PacMan]

I lube the RD design in my Saeco sizer/luber. I only lube the two bottom groves + grove at GC. More than enought in my Marlin 44mag. Just using those bottom groves i still get lube at the muzzle.
Thinking of droping back one more and see what happens. The marlin is SS and i have shot a several diffrent bullets thur it at high velocity and i not real sure you could make it lead with any decent sized bullet.

Running the RD design 260GR at just over 1800fps and getting 2-3" groups at 100yards.
Dwight

[skeet1]

I shoot the RD 432-265 sized .431 in my RCBS lubrisizer and it works fine in my Marlin .44 mag.

Skeet1

[JSimpson65]

Well, can't beat advice from the man himself. Thanks Michael.

I assume you use the LA straight, not thinned with mineral spirits or anything? Dip once, run through the sizer, then dip again? I may have to give that a try.

By the way, I was born in Luling and my dad was born in Gonzales.


Yeap, they work fine in a traditional lube-sizer. Probably 35% to 40% of my customers use tradition lubes and sizing.

I'm a LA user but don't tumble lube. I dip them in a crock pot of warm alox and then set them on a cookie sheet to be sized through a Lee die. No alox on forward of the lube grooves.

[mpmarty]

I use 50/50 LLA/JPW in my 1895 and tumble lube them (350 gr .460 Ranch Dog). They work great and I get no leading at all.

[Ranch Dog]

Well, can't beat advice from the man himself. Thanks Michael.

I assume you use the LA straight, not thinned with mineral spirits or anything? Dip once, run through the sizer, then dip again? I may have to give that a try.

By the way, I was born in Luling and my dad was born in Gonzales.

Actually, I apply the gas checks, dip once, let it dry about two hours in my air conditioned room, dip it again and then let it dry overnight. Size the next day. I keep a rag with mineral spirits handy to clean the base of the sizing die when I detect a wax build up.

I do cut my alox in my crock pot with mineral spirits when needed. I like it thick so I get about one drop off the bullet onto my cookie sheet. All the alox that flows on the sheet (very little) is scraped back into the pot. I am using the White Label Alox from the links at the bottom of this page.

This country here down South of I-10, West of 77, and East of 181 is God's Country! Big deer, lots of hogs and turkeys... hope others don't find out about it!

[knifemaker]

I have the RD 460 350gr. with GC. I size and lube with BAC 2000 at .460 and I have gotten 1 inch to 1-1/4 inch groups at 100 yards using 43 gr. of IMR-4198 out of my Marlin LTD-V 45/70 rifle. No problems with leading. One heck of a hog and bison killer, both one shot and down.

[Hurricane]

Get the best of both worlds, get a NOE group buy mold to experiment with a lot of possibilities (hollow pointed or solid, GC or Plain Bottom - NOE will give you both GC and PB in the same mold if you request it) and a six cavity mold from the Ranch Dog for heavy production. You also get the benefit of the Ranch Dog inspecting the mold before sending it to you to make sure the quality control is good. You can compare the relative virtues of LA and conventional lube on the two types of lube groves. With both molds you have research possibilities for years to come. Think of all the posts you can write on Cast Boolits from what you learn. Last but not least, if you wind up liking one mold over the other, either mold will be in demand and easy to sell.

[XWrench3]

i have the RD 460-350 (which drops 363 for me) and i have shot them with and without gas checks. with lla lube (tumbling) and my own home made lube (dip them in molten lube, then size them). basicly i let speed dictate what lube, and wether or not i use gas checks. i have very little leading, and when i do get it, it is at speeds above 1700 fps. the leading i do get scrubs right out easily. so it is no big deal to me. the accuracy has not been an issue, so there can not be a lot in there. i suppose if i mixed in a little linotype, all the leading would go away. but i really do not need a boolit that will penatrate straight through an 8" tree. by the way, with 42 grains of reloader 7, these shoot sub m.o.a. in my marlin 1895gg.

[DLCTEX]

I size and lube/gascheck both the 460-350 RD and the 460-440 RD in an RCBS lubesizer using a .458 die I opened to .459. Have had great results in Marlin Guide Gun and a friends Handi rifle with good results.

[JSimpson65]

Thanks to all for the advice given here. You can always count on the folks on this site to give you a big shove when you're standing on the edge of a decision!

Sounds like the Ranch Dog moulds will suit my needs just fine and give a lot of versatility. Now I just have to decide what to get besides the 311-165. I'm already in on the 460-425 group buy, but won't have that one for a couple months, so now I'm thinking about the RD TLC460-350 as well. Gotta feed those Leverguns!

[1Shirt]

Works fine for me. I prefer not to size way down however. Like .3ll for most 30's, .359 fpr 357,.431 for and 444, and .460 for 45-70.
I use Lar's red canuba about 90 percent of the time, and occaisionally Lee mule snot, but I sometimes wonder why because of the mess.
1Shirt:coffee: