Originally Posted by
Whitespider
Well, I’m certainly no expert and there are guys here been doing this a lot longer than me, but I can share some observations and research from my own lube making/experimenting. So far, all of my work has been with pistol and revolvers; I’m just starting a rifle project that may create some exceptions to the comments below.
First, Johnson’s Paste Wax is simply paraffin, softened and thinned with mineral spirits, with a touch of carnauba wax added. Paraffin alone does not make a good boolit lube; possibly the tiny amount of carnauba in JPW is what makes it (more) usable, at least in standard velocity handgun and low velocity rifle loads (I haven’t heard of anyone using it with full-tilt magnum or rifle loads, but I could be wrong). Actually, to me, this just proves that the type, or amount, of lube isn’t important for low velocity/low pressure loads, if the boolit fits the bore.
I don’t like Lee Liquid Alox when used as a coating lube; it tends to burn (I think) and leave a hard carbon type fouling in the bore. Also, nothing I’ve shot so far has produced its best groups with LLA over the long term; groups generally open up some as the previously mentioned carbon-like fouling builds up. I have found LLA useful as an additive when the lube contains something to keep the fouling soft.
I’ve gotten my best long term accuracy with a lube that keeps fouling soft so the next boolit fired carries the fouling out with it, something muzzle-loaders have known for years. So far, at least with the handgun loads I’ve worked with, small amounts of vegetable shortening (Crisco) and Ivory soap added to a bees wax based lube have been the best at keeping the bore clean (this may not hold up in rifle loads, yet to be determined). If LLA is added to the lube, slightly more Crisco has been needed to keep things soft, which adds to my suspicions that LLA burns and fouls the bore with a carbon-like stuff.
Moly, when used as a coating on a cast boolit, hasn’t worked either. With very low velocity loads it does seem to coat the bore so less fouling sticks, but accuracy was horrible. Step the velocity up and leading was the problem. The Moly was also a huge pain to completely clean from the bore. Dry, or film Moly coating may have applications with j-bullets, but is better as a lube additive for cast boolits.
The way I see it, film lubes/dry lubes can never be the equal of more traditional lubes. Because they can’t act as a sort of “liquid gasket/seal” and also keep fouling soft, they must rely on friction reduction alone. As carbon fouling builds up, the friction reduction becomes increasingly difficult. And if some new miracle film lube completely eliminates friction, accuracy will surely suffer; a certain amount of friction is needed for powder to burn properly. I don’t believe a film lube could ever do all the functions I want a boolit lube to do.