How important is lube star

[gunslinger20]

I am shooting a 45 colt with two differant lee moulds one is 300 gn g/c the other 255 gn that I think is made for LLA. I have lubed 1 coat w lla then pan lubed w Barry Darrs w two tbs stp or one coat w lla pan lube final coat LLA. cant get lube star on the muzzle. I do have minor lead streaking at the muzzle. will you get star fireing 12 rounds? The weather has been bad. The 300 gn gc boolit only has 1 lube ring.

[btroj]

Worry about accuracy over the long haul. Does the load shoot well? For 50 rounds? Does it meet your expectations or requirements?
These are all more important to me than a lube star. The leading towards the muzzle would bug me more than no lube star. To me a lube star is nice, but in and of itself it has no affect on accuracy, etc..
Look at what you want the load to do and what it is doing. Then decide if it is a good load. For example, I will accept minor leading in a hunting load for my 45-70. If I can get 10 accurate shots before the leading causes me problems I am good, for a hunting load. On the other ha d for a plinking or general purpose load I want no leading as I expect accuracy for many 100 rounds without cleaning. Different loads, different needs. The load fits the needs. Lube star never even looked at as a factor.

Don't get wrapped up in details. In the end it is the ability to put holes where you want them that counts. A good load without a star is still better than a crappy load with a star.

Brad

[gunslinger20]

Worry about accuracy over the long haul. Does the load shoot well? For 50 rounds? Does it meet your expectations or requirements?
These are all more important to me than a lube star. The leading towards the muzzle would bug me more than no lube star. To me a lube star is nice, but in and of itself it has no affect on accuracy, etc..
Look at what you want the load to do and what it is doing. Then decide if it is a good load. For example, I will accept minor leading in a hunting load for my 45-70. If I can get 10 accurate shots before the leading causes me problems I am good, for a hunting load. On the other ha d for a plinking or general purpose load I want no leading as I expect accuracy for many 100 rounds without cleaning. Different loads, different needs. The load fits the needs. Lube star never even looked at as a factor.

Don't get wrapped up in details. In the end it is the ability to put holes where you want them that counts. A good load without a star is still better than a crappy load with a star.

Brad

I guess my main ? should have been, should I look for a better lube or maybe add some more stp to get the boolit lubed better as I am getting some streaking or just wait till spring for better testing weather.

[btroj]

I don't know how well that bullet will do with LLA.you might try Recluses 45/45/10 lube, seems it gets good reviews. Are you using a gc on the 300grainer? If so, that should cut down on leading some.
How fast are you driving them? What gun? So many other factors to consider beyond just lube. I do know that people report much better results with 2 coats of LLA.
This i where experimentation comes into play. It just sucks in the winter when you want to try different things and weather won't allow.

[gunslinger20]

I don't know how well that bullet will do with LLA.you might try Recluses 45/45/10 lube, seems it gets good reviews. Are you using a gc on the 300grainer? If so, that should cut down on leading some.
How fast are you driving them? What gun? So many other factors to consider beyond just lube. I do know that people report much better results with 2 coats of LLA.
This i where experimentation comes into play. It just sucks in the winter when you want to try different things and weather won't allow.

I use 45/45/10 and g/c. Have not chronographed due to weather but light loades and heavy loads of eather boolit does not get lube to the muzzle of my 7 1/2" blackhawk bisley.

[geargnasher]

You won't get any kind of lube star with that formula. Lube stars appear with non-drying lubes that fill the grooves. The lube is pressurized in the grooves as the boolit goes down the barrel and blasts outward when it reaches the relatively low pressure of the atmosphere at the muzzle. As a result, most of the lube sprays outward and some trails are left on the muzzle, usually at the grooves, as a "star". Tumble lubes remain on the boolit even through the target.

Gear

[gunslinger20]

I dont mean to be disagreeable but the post said I am useing LLA then pan lube w Barry Dars Then LLA again.

[stubshaft]

I don't ever remember getting a lube star with a single groove boolit with one shot. Usuall takes me about 10 shots to condition my bore from dead clean. The light smear at the muzzle could indicate that the boolit is running out of lube or you may just need to shoot a couple of more rounds to condition your bore.

[Recluse]

I dont mean to be disagreeable but the post said I am useing LLA then pan lube w Barry Dars Then LLA again.

Couple things.

One, if your last lubing is with LLA, then doubtful you'll get a lube star.

Second, if your last lube/coating is with LLA, not sure how beneficial the Darr's lube (via pan-lubing) is.

[gunslinger20]

I tried LLA then Dars on top of the LLA only 12 rounds due to weather. If the leading doesnt get any worse its not a big deal but I would like to see lube all the way to the muz.

[geargnasher]

I dont mean to be disagreeable but the post said I am useing LLA then pan lube w Barry Dars Then LLA again.

Gotcha. You also said you used 45-45-10, and if there's any Darr lube left in the groove after post-tumbling the boolits with that then your Darr formula is so hard that it won't make a lube star with a gas-checked boolit anyway. Try recovering one of your boolits and observing how much lube is left on it, I'll bet that the groove is still full of Darr/LLA goo, which is why it isn't on the muzzle. As for the leading, make sure your boolits are big enough for the groove diameter, that they aren't getting swaged by the cases (unlikely if using gas checks), and most importantly make certain that your Ruger doesn't have undersized cylinder throats. Ruger was famous for making cylinders with, for example .450" cylinder throats on their .45 Colts. Depends on the production period, forty years ago they were right, then they made them undersized for a decade or two, enough people griped that they finally made them TOO big for a number of years, nowdays they make both over- and under-sized throats in the same cylinder!!!

Gear

[btroj]

Listen to Recluse. He is sort of a resident expert on LLA here, and the guy behind 45/45/10. If he says it, take it at face value. He know his LLA.
Gear is right on the throat of Ruger 45 Colts. Mine was .449 or so. Got bad leading with a,most anything. Opened up to .452 and now I get little if any leading. As I said before too many things go into leading for a simple answer at times.

[gunslinger20]

Sorry I didnt give all info on the ruger cyl reamed 452 lapped bore and polished w J&B. Only used LLA to size and g/c. Barrys is consincancy of real thick hand cream not very hard at all., if I could find any boolits right now the lube would be frozen for sure we are having a bad snow storm as I type LOL

[geargnasher]

GS, what does it mean "Only used LLA to size and g/c.". You said you used a before-and-after coat of LLA, then said you used 45-45-10 for your before and after Darr lube coats, now you say you just used the liquid lube for sizing. Are you using it wet just for sizer lube???

I have another suggestion. Buy some Javalina Alox or some White Label BAC and skip the tumble lube altogether. Pan lube if you don't have a sizer, put the GC on, size using a hint of dish soap as a lube, then pan lube and load. Eliminate lube as a variable. Then you can move on to things like alloy composition and copper fouling in your barrel. Maybe you still have a forcing cone restriction but I think the leading toward the muzzle is a sign of your lube not being happy with the loads you're using or vice-versa.

Gear

[gunslinger20]

GS, what does it mean "Only used LLA to size and g/c.". You said you used a before-and-after coat of LLA, then said you used 45-45-10 for your before and after Darr lube coats, now you say you just used the liquid lube for sizing. Are you using it wet just for sizer lube???

I have another suggestion. Buy some Javalina Alox or some White Label BAC and skip the tumble lube altogether. Pan lube if you don't have a sizer, put the GC on, size using a hint of dish soap as a lube, then pan lube and load. Eliminate lube as a variable. Then you can move on to things like alloy composition and copper fouling in your barrel. Maybe you still have a forcing cone restriction but I think the leading toward the muzzle is a sign of your lube not being happy with the loads you're using or vice-versa.

Gear

I have used LLA by its self, on first, on last, and on each end with pan lube in the middle also pan lube by its self. I started out LLA, then size g/c (lee push through sizer) not happy with the results. I moved on to try pan lube Im not getting lube to the end of the barrel so I am thinking that the lac of lube is causeing the slight leading at the muzzle. The LLA was dry before sizeing& g/c, I dont see any possible way LLA after pan lube would prevent pan lube from being pumped into the rifleing. Ill try the dish soap but I dont think it will gut the lube to the muzzle although I hope you are right and it does. Im not familer with Javalina Alox or some White Label BAC

[geargnasher]

Google.

Gear

[Recluse]

I am shooting a 45 colt with two differant lee moulds one is 300 gn g/c the other 255 gn that I think is made for LLA. I have lubed 1 coat w lla then pan lubed w Barry Darrs w two tbs stp or one coat w lla pan lube final coat LLA. cant get lube star on the muzzle. I do have minor lead streaking at the muzzle. will you get star fireing 12 rounds? The weather has been bad. The 300 gn gc boolit only has 1 lube ring.

OK, let's start over as I'm completely confused.

• What kind of gun are you shooting these rounds through, and how long is the barrel?

• WHY are you using multiple/different lubes on the same boolit?

• When you slugged your bore, what did it measure out to?

• What are you sizing your boolits down to?

• Which boolits are you casting?

• HOW are you applying your lube and how much are you using?

• Are you (overly) crimping your boolits when seating them during the re-loading process?

• What load (powder, how much, primer) are you using?

[waksupi]

Since you are getting a bit of leading towards the muzzle, you are running out of lube. I suspect in this case, it is because the bullet is being sized down, and not filling the bore properly. This is letting the lube be blown off, before it can do it's job.

[noylj]

Some where in here, this must have been mentioned, but have you slugged the barrel? Have you checked the cylinder throats? Are your bullets a snug fit the cylinder throats and still at least 0.001" over groove diameter?
I do not think you can get a "lube star" with LLA. You need the big massive waste of lube in the lube groove to do that.
I have never looked for a "lube star," but if I am getting leading towards the muzzle, I figure I have run out of lead and need to get more lube or a better lube.
LLA is working great for me from 9x19 to .45ACP.
This is certainly the place to get ideas.

[runfiverun]

and is it leading or just a grey wash?
i'd forget the multiple coatings of lube use the darr lube and add a bit more of the wet.
for my winter lube below 32* v.s. my summer lube i add 3 tbs of atf [tranny fluid] to a lb of lube.
i'm seeing youre using paraffin,paraffin,carnuba,alox [burnt/oxidized parrafin solid],vaseline [paraffin/mineral oil semi solid] mineral oil [parrafin liquid] and maybe some stp,
as lube ingrediens.