No ring of lube on crown after a day at range. Splatterings on target

Hi All,

I took my new Winchester 73 44-40 to the range today.

I fired 100 rounds loaded with Accurate's 43-220C which is a double lube-groove boolit. They were lubed with LBT Blue Soft lube.

The load was 7.8gn Unique and was averaging 1180fps out of the 24" barrel and shot very accurately.

After 100 rounds over the course of a couple of hours there was no ring of grease on the crown like i often have with my 20" barreled 92.
The bore was very clean except for the typical greyish carbon from Unique. No evidence of leading at all. No evidence of remaining lube and no unburnt powder.
My 92 often has unburnt powder and lube in the bore after firing the same load.

So my concern is that there might be insufficient lube on these bullets to get through a 24" barrel

I did notice that on the 20m target i used for the initial zero that there was some splattering of lube on the target. Not a whole lot but this tells me that there was still lube on some of the the bullets when they left the barrel and was probably spun off from centrifugal force imparted by the rifling.

Should i be concerned at all and maybe look to a harder lube for the longer barrel?

Attachment 230144?Attachment 230145

You do not have a problem! :grin:

I would not even change the ammo box!

I think it may be a Temperature thing going on and you may be looking at benefiting from a softer lube, until it gets HOT then the harder lube is your friend.
Your riding the edge with that hard lube, cooler weather and a long barrel.

Skipper said it; Really you don't have a problem

I would not even CLEAN that bore! It's perfectly "seasoned" for the next shot when it does what you describe.

A barrel is not a cast iron frying pan, and does not need "seasoning"!

If you want the lube star change to a 50/50 Alox lube, not the liquid stuff but the real mix.
You can add a one or two spoons of JPW.

Sounds like everything is good. I wouldnt worry about it. A lube star at the muzzle isnt a requirement.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jaguarxk120

A barrel is not a cast iron frying pan, and does not need "seasoning"!

---

Every barrel is different. Many find their groups shrink as they shoot when starting out w/ a clean barrel. You can find the same when shooting jacketed as well. So “seasoning” may help.

As far as lube purging and splatter. You want one thing, consistency. If the lube is being thrown as it leaves the barrel you want this to happen to every bullet you shoot. If the lube stays on for the entire ride than you want this to happen to every bullet you shoot. If my barrel has no leading and the groups are consistent I’m happy. As mentioned above if you want the lube to be purged as it leaves the barrel use a softer lube.

See what happens when the weather gets hot down there in Australia using the same hard lube, I'm betting you'll have a lube star

Much cast bullet lore is based on conventional wisdom rather than anything factual. I like to see a lube star, too. However, it's not a requirement of a good load while accuracy and the absence of leading are elements of a good load.