I own Lyman 4500, any point to tumble lube anymore?

[Archibald]

Just seeking a little guidance here:

I like the concept of the 6 cavity Lee moulds and currently own two, in the tumble lube variety of 9mm and 38spl. I have had these moulds for a couple of years but have not casted with them yet, so I don't know if they will drop bullets of the correct diameter.

I just purchased my first 1873 Colt replica made by Pietta, now I'm purchasing a new 6 cavity mould. I was going to try two moulds, definately the 452-255-RF and a lighter bullet for both .45 Colt and .45 ACP. I was initially leaning towards the TL452-230-2R but perhaps I'd be better with 452-230-TC.

So here's the meat and potatoes of this post:
I thought the point of having tumble lube bullets was because it's supposed to be simple - no re-sizing required, just shake them around in a bucket of alox to lube. If it turns out that these bullets aren't correct diameter, then would it be easier to just get a conventional style bullet to begin with? I own a Lyman 4500 so if it goes through that sizer it's just as easy to lube a bullet with the same crank of that handle...

-TL bullet (3 steps) - 1. alox and let dry..., 2. resize, 3. alox and let dry...
vs.
-regular bullet (1 step) - 1. resize/lube


Am I missing something?!
Thanks.

[338RemUltraMag]

Nope, this is why I got a 450 lubesizer

[Archibald]

thanks, but that's all? lol, I don't know why, I just thought there had to be more to it for so many people to be doing things the long way...

[kbstenberg]

Archibald I think you have to backup a second.
Fist you have to figure out if the bullets that the molds drop will properly fit the firearm. Pistol : slug each cylinder and the barrel. Rifle : slug the barrel. To determine if your bullets fit as cast, or need to be sized, or are too small for the firearm.
Second you have to determine what the velocity's are that you want to shoot the bullets at. Tumble Lube (slower) generally up to 1200fps, harder sizer applied lubes (faster) as fast as you want. That the lube will perform correctly. Kevin

[btroj]

I own a Lyman and a Star yet I still tumble lube some bullets. Why? Because it is far faster and works!
I tumble lube my Lee 158 SWC for 38s. I can lube over a thousand in 15 minutes. Let em dry, run the .359 die in Star and relube. With not much time invested I get many bullets ready to load.

[fecmech]

I too use the Lee 158TL swc that I shoot unsized just lubed with 45-45-10. Makes a lot of good accurate bullets in a little time with no real muss or fuss. I own 2 Stars and I still tumble lube!

[Junior1942]

I put my Lyman 450 in a closet after I discovered Lee Liquid Alox and Lee push-through sizers. Many 1000s of cast 44 mag, 357 mag, 30-30, and 7mmTCU rounds later, the 450 is still in a closet. (Not for sale.) I shoot plain base, gas check, tumble lube and regular lube grooves all with success.

[Echd]

Are you unhappy with the loads TL'ing is giving you? If you're developing leading due to lube problems, then use your sizer. If you think it's impacting accuracy, use your sizer.

Otherwise, why fix what ain't broke?

[Archibald]

Archibald I think you have to backup a second.
Fist you have to figure out if the bullets that the molds drop will properly fit the firearm. Pistol : slug each cylinder and the barrel. Rifle : slug the barrel. To determine if your bullets fit as cast, or need to be sized, or are too small for the firearm.
Second you have to determine what the velocity's are that you want to shoot the bullets at. Tumble Lube (slower) generally up to 1200fps, harder sizer applied lubes (faster) as fast as you want. That the lube will perform correctly. Kevin

Thanks for the info, I am already aware of the slugging process but I am specifically inquiring into the contingency where those bullets are much too large for a slugged barrel, and if at that point the convenience of TL bullets are negated because now they require more operational steps (as per the final paragraph of my first post, i.e. 3 steps vs 1 step).

I own a Lyman and a Star yet I still tumble lube some bullets. Why? Because it is far faster and works!
I tumble lube my Lee 158 SWC for 38s. I can lube over a thousand in 15 minutes. Let em dry, run the .359 die in Star and relube. With not much time invested I get many bullets ready to load.

Hypothetically, if you had a 158 SWC for 38 that dropped conventional bullets and just ran them through .359 die in your Star (I don't own a Star, but I assume it's like the Lyman 4500 and sizes/lubes in one motion of handle)- wouldn't that be faster that what you're doing now?

I put my Lyman 450 in a closet after I discovered Lee Liquid Alox and Lee push-through sizers. Many 1000s of cast 44 mag, 357 mag, 30-30, and 7mmTCU rounds later, the 450 is still in a closet. (Not for sale.) I shoot plain base, gas check, tumble lube and regular lube grooves all with success.

Interesting, so you prefer the Lee push through sizer over the Lyman 450. Any particular reason?


Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm very interested in your opinions.

[Junior1942]

....... Interesting, so you prefer the Lee push through sizer over the Lyman 450. Any particular reason?

(1) it's faster and easier; (2) it's easy to ream out a sizer to .001" to .003" larger; (3) uses a regular press so there's one less machine on my loading bench; (4) easier to seat gas checks; (5) no wrench to turn to squeeze lube into lube grooves; (6) Lee Liquid Alox is cheap; and (7) on and on with the easier.....

[Bullwolf]

I have a Lyman Lube sizer. (Orange 450 or 4500 I think) Haven't used it in so long that I have somewhat forgotten about it.

I used Orange Magic lube, and would run the Lyman 356402 for my 9mm through the Lube sizer.


Once I started tumble lubing I pretty much parked the Lyman Lubrisizer. I never even mounted the Lube sizer on my loading bench, I had it set up portable on a board with a pair of C-clamps.

I found it MUCH easier, and quicker to just use a cheap Lee sizer die, and tumble lube with Alox or Recluse's 45-45-10. Also took up less reloading bench space, and I could just use another hole in the turret to size with. If the drying time is slowing you down, try adding a small fan. I normally just do case prep, or something else though between tumble lube batches.

Now I tend to size all my boolits. I used to shoot a decent quantity of 9mm un-sized boolits though. I could cast a huge pile of boolits with the Lee 6 cavity TL356-124-2R, and it was hard to beat the speed of tumble lubing a few 1000, and then loading them as cast

I got away with shooting 9mm as cast since my favorite TL mould tended to drop boolits at .358, or sometimes a tad larger... But it only took one boolit too big for the chamber to tie things up.


Some of my moulds simply cast too large to get away with not sizing boolits. Like this one that drops boolits around .454+ from my Lee TL452-230-2R that I use in 45 acp. I couldn't get away with loading them as cast, so they got a pass through a Lee .452 sizer die.

It was either size them em, or else good luck getting them to chamber, even in my old worn out 1911.


Some calibers were marginal size wise for me, or would depend on the gun used. Like with my 44 HP mould.


Eventually I picked up a bunch of Lee push through sizer dies for just about any caliber or configuration that I wanted to load. Then I started to size and tumble lube any boolit I cast, even conventional lube groove style boolits.

I figured I could either mic all my boolits previous to loading them, or just size them. Sizing seemed easier. Once I started sizing, I would say my quality control went up as well. It's easy to tell if things aren't quite right just by the feel from the press handle. I started to cull more and more boolits that I would have probably just shot, and my groups started to shrink and so on.

If you are lucky enough to have a mould that drops boolits the perfect size for your gun to shoot them "as cast" (not sized) I would also recommend using a case gauge, or your pistols own cylinder/barrel to check all your loads with. I hate it when one that's a tad too big sneaks in and fails to chamber - and you can catch those easily enough by just gauging your hand loads.

I don't see myself using the old Lube sizer again any time soon, when I have had such great results simply tumble lubing pistol and rifle calibers. I would be more likely to hand lube a problem child, than go back to using the Lyman 4500.

Like everything else though, this is just one persons opinion. Others might (and likely will) vary.



- Bullwolf

[Horace]

It's a tool keep it.

Horace

[EMC45]

I have a 4500 and a 45. Like them both. I have 2 molds that are tumble lube by Lee. I use a homemade mix of beeswax and Moly axle grease for my lube in the sizers. I have also gotten lube here and "doctored" it for my liking. I STILL Alox TL all my bullets aftr running them through the sizer. I have been called foolish things for doing this, but I have seen a difference in how my barrels are after shooting with this method. I thinned my Alox a bit and added a goodly of JPW (Not per the instructions here though). I like it. My bullets work just fine. They have killed game and I have trained new shooters with them and passed off many to new reloaders and old reloaders as well. The deer have never complained nor have the new/old reloaders, or the new shooters.

[No_1]

You sure make some pretty ammo and have provided a nice write up on tumble lubing boolits. I too have started tumble lubing boolits. It all began with Magma 110 gr. wadcutter's for my Dad. The boolits are a tad too big so I tumble lube them then run them through my Star sizer without adding lube then tumble lube them again. Testing with 2.5 grs. Bullseye provided no leading and 640 FPS which is exactly what the doctor ordered for S&W "J" frame practice ammo. An added bonus: That same load it ain't bad in my S&W 38 Heavy Duty either

I have a Lyman Lube sizer. (Orange 450 or 4500 I think) Haven't used it in so long that I have somewhat forgotten about it.

I used Orange Magic lube, and would run the Lyman 356402 for my 9mm through the Lube sizer.


Once I started tumble lubing I pretty much parked the Lyman Lubrisizer. I never even mounted the Lube sizer on my loading bench, I had it set up portable on a board with a pair of C-clamps.

I found it MUCH easier, and quicker to just use a cheap Lee sizer die, and tumble lube with Alox or Recluse's 45-45-10. Also took up less reloading bench space, and I could just use another hole in the turret to size with. If the drying time is slowing you down, try adding a small fan. I normally just do case prep, or something else though between tumble lube batches.

Now I tend to size all my boolits. I used to shoot a decent quantity of 9mm un-sized boolits though. I could cast a huge pile of boolits with the Lee 6 cavity TL356-124-2R, and it was hard to beat the speed of tumble lubing a few 1000, and then loading them as cast

I got away with shooting 9mm as cast since my favorite TL mould tended to drop boolits at .358, or sometimes a tad larger... But it only took one boolit too big for the chamber to tie things up.


Some of my moulds simply cast too large to get away with not sizing boolits. Like this one that drops boolits around .454+ from my Lee TL452-230-2R that I use in 45 acp. I couldn't get away with loading them as cast, so they got a pass through a Lee .452 sizer die.

It was either size them em, or else good luck getting them to chamber, even in my old worn out 1911.


Some calibers were marginal size wise for me, or would depend on the gun used. Like with my 44 HP mould.


Eventually I picked up a bunch of Lee push through sizer dies for just about any caliber or configuration that I wanted to load. Then I started to size and tumble lube any boolit I cast, even conventional lube groove style boolits.

I figured I could either mic all my boolits previous to loading them, or just size them. Sizing seemed easier. Once I started sizing, I would say my quality control went up as well. It's easy to tell if things aren't quite right just by the feel from the press handle. I started to cull more and more boolits that I would have probably just shot, and my groups started to shrink and so on.

If you are lucky enough to have a mould that drops boolits the perfect size for your gun to shoot them "as cast" (not sized) I would also recommend using a case gauge, or your pistols own cylinder/barrel to check all your loads with. I hate it when one that's a tad too big sneaks in and fails to chamber - and you can catch those easily enough by just gauging your hand loads.

I don't see myself using the old Lube sizer again any time soon, when I have had such great results simply tumble lubing pistol and rifle calibers. I would be more likely to hand lube a problem child, than go back to using the Lyman 4500.

Like everything else though, this is just one persons opinion. Others might (and likely will) vary.



- Bullwolf

[MBTcustom]

This is the way I see it, so take it for what its worth.
I was raised on a 450 lube sizer and it has some advantages. If your boolits are a tetch undersize, you just bear down on the handle a little and it will swage the boolit a little and bup it up till it fills the die. Also, I find it is much easier to achieve pinpoint accuracy with regular wax lube.
If I am loading target ammo that I will be driving as many into the little black dot as possible, then I use the 450. My dad used RCBS 230gr RN boolits lubed with RCBS green lube, and a charge of bullseye to consistently ring a 6" plate at 100 yards away, so it is a very acceptable method of lubing.
However.............
I find that time is at a premium for me, and if I am going to shoot in a defensive style, and will be running hundreds of rounds in a short period of time, then I want speed! As long as they are minute of *******, and don't lead up my barrel, I'm fine with them. I do not enjoy spending 4-6 hours loading a batch of ammo that I am going to zip through in a matter of minutes.

I have it in my head, that loading should not take any longer than 30% of the time it takes to shoot the same number of cartridges. When you consider that I might take 3-5 hours to shoot 30-50 rifle cartridges, then loading time becomes a mute point.

Therefore, when making pistol boolits, I notice that they all exit the barrel the same size irregardless of what pains I went through before hand. I cast up my boolits and tumble lube them with 45/45/10 and stuff em in the brass. If the boolits drop oversize, and the cartridges function cleanly in the gun, and pulled boolits still measure .001-.002 over groove diameter, then I crank 'em out.
Sometimes my group is double what it was with precisely sized, lubed, aged, alloyed, weighed, sorted, culled, blessed, kissed good night, and hugged in the morning target loads, but I'm perfectly OK with fist sized groups at 20 yards, because I can't shoot even that good in a rapid fire situation.

Now, I confess, I have kind of tipped the scales my way, by lapping the carbide ring on the Lee factory crimp die so that it sizes the boolit correctly inside the casing, but I was having pretty darn good success with it even before that.

So far, all my Lee molds drop right where they need to and produce boolits that are about .001-.003 oversized.

[tiwimon]

Thanks for posting - I agree - your boolits are beaut's

I just started tumble lubing and mine have a very light, colored coating on the whole boolit, with a tiny bit more showing in the lube grooves( I tumble, size, then tumble again) - but mine do not come out as clean as yours with what looks like nearly full lube groove and the boolit nice n shiny like in the first picture you posted. How?!

I have a Lyman Lube sizer. (Orange 450 or 4500 I think) Haven't used it in so long that I have somewhat forgotten about it.

I used Orange Magic lube, and would run the Lyman 356402 for my 9mm through the Lube sizer.


Once I started tumble lubing I pretty much parked the Lyman Lubrisizer. I never even mounted the Lube sizer on my loading bench, I had it set up portable on a board with a pair of C-clamps.

I found it MUCH easier, and quicker to just use a cheap Lee sizer die, and tumble lube with Alox or Recluse's 45-45-10. Also took up less reloading bench space, and I could just use another hole in the turret to size with. If the drying time is slowing you down, try adding a small fan. I normally just do case prep, or something else though between tumble lube batches.

Now I tend to size all my boolits. I used to shoot a decent quantity of 9mm un-sized boolits though. I could cast a huge pile of boolits with the Lee 6 cavity TL356-124-2R, and it was hard to beat the speed of tumble lubing a few 1000, and then loading them as cast

I got away with shooting 9mm as cast since my favorite TL mould tended to drop boolits at .358, or sometimes a tad larger... But it only took one boolit too big for the chamber to tie things up.


Some of my moulds simply cast too large to get away with not sizing boolits. Like this one that drops boolits around .454+ from my Lee TL452-230-2R that I use in 45 acp. I couldn't get away with loading them as cast, so they got a pass through a Lee .452 sizer die.

It was either size them em, or else good luck getting them to chamber, even in my old worn out 1911.


Some calibers were marginal size wise for me, or would depend on the gun used. Like with my 44 HP mould.


Eventually I picked up a bunch of Lee push through sizer dies for just about any caliber or configuration that I wanted to load. Then I started to size and tumble lube any boolit I cast, even conventional lube groove style boolits.

I figured I could either mic all my boolits previous to loading them, or just size them. Sizing seemed easier. Once I started sizing, I would say my quality control went up as well. It's easy to tell if things aren't quite right just by the feel from the press handle. I started to cull more and more boolits that I would have probably just shot, and my groups started to shrink and so on.

If you are lucky enough to have a mould that drops boolits the perfect size for your gun to shoot them "as cast" (not sized) I would also recommend using a case gauge, or your pistols own cylinder/barrel to check all your loads with. I hate it when one that's a tad too big sneaks in and fails to chamber - and you can catch those easily enough by just gauging your hand loads.

I don't see myself using the old Lube sizer again any time soon, when I have had such great results simply tumble lubing pistol and rifle calibers. I would be more likely to hand lube a problem child, than go back to using the Lyman 4500.

Like everything else though, this is just one persons opinion. Others might (and likely will) vary.



- Bullwolf

[Archibald]

As the original poster, trust me this wasn't just another "tumble lube vs. lubrisize thread". I am truly trying to understand how it's more efficient in a scenario where a boolit MUST BE RESIZED: to lube (+dry), resize, lube (+dry) with a Lee sizer instead of simply doing both lubing and sizing with one pull of the handle with the Lyman 4500.

There are obviously some tumble lube fans here, and you guys have provided some very good points about it's merit (even though I still can't see how it's a more efficient process). Apparently there are other factors to consider: leading of barrel, bench space, gas checks easier to seat, etc. which make the TL desirable or possibly more efficient.

I now have TL moulds in 356, 358, 452 as well as regular moulds in 308(2x) and 452 (all Lee 6 cavity moulds except the rifle moulds). It looks like I'll just have get some more experience comparing both methods, considering everything that I have heard here, and decide for myself. Thanks and feel free to keep posting your opinions.

[tomme boy]

Some of my rifle loads, I lube on a RCBS luber, then I tumble lube them after a few days. On my 45, it just depends what I want to cast. I don't really like the smell of burning ALOX, but I do shoot a bunch of the LEE 230 TL boolits. Each has its place.

[Bullwolf]

You sure make some pretty ammo and have provided a nice write up on tumble lubing boolits.

Thanks for the compliments guys. I like to take my time and make stuff look nice too, even though it doesn't really make them function any better.

Thanks for posting - I agree - your boolits are beaut's

I just started tumble lubing and mine have a very light, colored coating on the whole boolit, with a tiny bit more showing in the lube grooves( I tumble, size, then tumble again) - but mine do not come out as clean as yours with what looks like nearly full lube groove and the boolit nice n shiny like in the first picture you posted. How?!

Some of those 9mm I was still using Lee Liquid Alox on, and I had a tendency to overlube with it.

Excess lube just seems to make more smoke, and waste my lube. It isn't really necessary. Since then I try hard to not use too much lube, but I still occasionally suffer from the "If a little bits good, then LOTS more must be better... tumble lube syndrome. I find it easier to get just the right amount with 45-45-10, but sometimes when I lube a really small batch of boolits, I still use a tad too much. A good rule of thumb is if you can see a dark coating, then you over lubed. A light haze is what I shoot for.

Last night I loaded up a batch of Lee 358-105-SWC that I cast.



Here's a few 358-105-SWC that I worked into 9mm cases, after wiping the tumble lube off.



It looked like I was OK on lube quantity while I was tumble lubing, but seeing the pictures now, I still might have used a bit too much 45-45-10.

I can be a bit anal retentive at times. (or if you listen to my ex wife ALL the time) When I am taking my time, I like to wipe the TL off the bases of the boolits, and stand em all upright. I have also just tumble lubed and just shot em drying laying down, snotty noses, bases and all. It also works just fine. Sometimes though I like to nit pick the little stuff. But heck, it's my hobby, and I find doing so to be relaxing. After loading commercially on progressive and mechanical presses, I like to load small batches of personal hand loads, single stage simply for my enjoyment.

I had been wanting to try out the Lee 105 SWC in a 9mm load for some time now, instead of just using it for 38 special. My default alloy (Lino/Mono cut with wheel weight lead) was dropping at 95 grains and was a bit too hard, but it looks nice. The type metal alloy would cast as large as .364

I ran a few through a .358 Lee sizer and tried to find a combination that would work for me with 9mm. A moderate start charge of Unique, and an OAL of 1.010-1.035 seems to chamber, and feed in my Browning Hi-Power. Some shooting time will tell how well it will really feed, and if it will cycle the action when firing.

I cast 100 more of the Lee 358-105-SWC out of some really soft diving weight lead that I scored, and the boolit weight was closer to 107-108 grains. I will probably load those up in 38 special cases behind 3.5 grains of Bullseye and see how the softer lead shoots compared to the harder shiny stuff.

One reason that my TL boolits look so purty is that I wipe the lube off the boolit noses with Johnson's baby oil. It smells much better than mineral spirts, and it really cuts the tumble lube. Sometimes I cheat too and use nickle plated brass. I prefer to use plain old cartridge brass usually, (it seems to last longer and split less) but I often will use nickle plated brass for a set up dummy boolit, or for test loads. I find them easier to quickly identify, and it they photograph nicer for me too.

I rarely tumble my assembled cast boolit loads, as it just seems to spreads tumble lube around into my media. It also tends to make my boolits look flat or dull.

I clean my brass first with a citric acid wash, then tumble. I use Bag Balm as a lanolin case lube, and it doesn't really attack the cartridge brass like my old water or soap based lubes would. A simple wipe off with a rag after, and the brass is really shiny.

My fingerprints are pretty acidic, and I am pretty hard on blued finishes, so I wear nitrile gloves while loading, kind of like what the tattoo folks use. I have found that a dab of Flitz metal polish will take etched fingerprints off brass pretty well, and if I want my brass to stay super shiny for a long period of time, I add a cap full of automotive wax to my polishing media. (I use Meguiar's Carnuba wax, and corncob media if it matters)

My family was in the printing press business long before the computer age. Consequently I ended up inheriting a large amount of type metal... So most of my lead stash is a mix of printing lead (Mono, Lino, and spacers) I cut that with softer lead. My boolits tend to have an overabundance of tin - I believe that, and air cooling is what makes them look so shiny. I also don't water drop, since my stand by alloys are often a touch too hard, and need to be cut with pure lead. Type metals just seem to make really pretty shiny boolits. Straight Lino or Mono by itself can be a touch too brittle.

I noticed that when I cast with other alloys such as diving weight lead, and X-ray lead that it just didn't make as shiny a boolit as the type metal alloys did. Since I got started, and had always cast using type metals, I just assumed lead was always shiny unless it was really dirty. That assumption ended about the time I melted my first batch of wheel weights. I knew little about adding tin to my lead for better fill out back then. It turns out that I was doing just that, by thinning out my Lino/Mono type with pure lead anyways. It's all about what works I suppose.




- Bullwolf

[Bullwolf]

Thanks for posting - I agree - your boolits are beaut's

I just started tumble lubing and mine have a very light, colored coating on the whole boolit, with a tiny bit more showing in the lube grooves( I tumble, size, then tumble again) - but mine do not come out as clean as yours with what looks like nearly full lube groove and the boolit nice n shiny like in the first picture you posted. How?!

Sorry, I got side tracked writing my last post and I never explained about how those boolits were loaded or lubed.

In this picture I used a Lyman Lube Sizer, and Lyman's Orange Magic lube for the 9mm Lyman 356402 that's why the lube is in the groove so well. I have since tumble lubed that same boolit, even though its not a TL design with equal success.

I loaded the cast Lyman 9mm boolit out of 1 part Linotype, and 3 parts wheel weight lead. The surplus of tin in the type metal, and the fact that it was air cooled is likely why it was so shiny years later. I loaded it probably around 1992 or so, and pulled that round later on to double check what I was using for a powder charge with the Lyman 356402 in 9mm and it's sized diameter. Keeping good notes is a lesson that took me quite a while to learn.




This other picture is a Lee TL356-124-2R that was Tumble Lubed in LLA. I likely used WAY too much Lee Liquid Alox, as I was prone to doing so back then. I still thought more was better, and would try to fill those tiny lube grooves up.

I had wiped excess lube off the front of the boolits in that batch, but apparently not the bases. When I pulled that boolit you could still see lube in the grooves (because I had used so much) so it looks almost like it was run through a lube sizer as well, but it was actually tumble lubed. This was another load that I had worked up many years ago on my Ranch, and disassembled later on down the road to double check my powder load, components and sizing again - Seeing a trend in my note keeping yet?

All the boolits in the other pictures were tumble lubed.

If you actually want to get as much lube on a boolit as I did for the Lee TL356-124-2R, you can try "Ranch Dog's" dipping method in LLA or 45-45-10.

For most applications I find tumble lubing to work just fine and be easier to do rather than handling each boolit one at a time to dip them. But perhaps for small batches it would be an option. I think I would be more likely to try an extra coat of tumble lube first, before resorting to dipping.

I follow the Lee instructions (most of the time) TL, let it dry, size and then TL again.

Sometimes when I want to test out a small batch of a certain load, I will hand lube boolits with 45-45-10. It gives me a good idea of what to expect of the loads performance, and it's pretty quick and easy to do.

I have from time to time sized large batches of boolits sans the tumble lube by running them dry through a polished Lee sizer die, and then tumbled lubed them once afterwards. I have read that you can lead up a Lee sizing die this way, but it has not happened to me yet. This works great for boolits that you can't just load and shoot as cast, as long as you don't need to size them down by a large amount.

If you are in a real hurry, and interested in lubing a large quantity of boolits quickly so you can get right to loading them, you can also try using a small fan to dry LLA or 45-45-10 coated boolits faster.

If you are using a single really wide lube groove boolit, at very high velocities without a gas check perhaps, and you want to use Alox or 45-45-10 still instead of a standard known good boolit lube for a lube sizer, I might try the Ranch Dog dipping method.

Normally though for that kind of an application, I will just hand lube a few boolits with Carnuba Red.

I don't often load up say 1000 or even 500 hot .357 Magnum rounds for target shooting. I am more prone to load a large batch of 9mm for fun target blasting ammo, or a large batch of pleasant tumble lubed 38 special behind a light charge of Bullseye, than a bunch of really smoking .357 Mag loads.

For what I do, the speed and convenience of tumble lubing a big batch of boolits all at once, like 500-1000 cast 9mm, or 38 special is hard to beat.

If I want something bigger, I tend to go larger rather than hotter. Like a target load of 10 grains of Unique and a tumble lubed a 240 grain boolit for my 44 magnum, which is very TL friendly, and quite pleasant to plink with in both pistol or rifle. Or I might do a batch of cast tumble lubed 45 acp, probably one of the easiest cartridges out there to load a cast boolit for.

Perhaps if I was pushing the velocity level more often, and right at the ragged pressure edge of certain cast boolit cartridges, or cast rifles. Then I might use a gas check, and a lube sizer on more that I loaded.

I can seat a gas check just fine using a Lee push through sizer die, and the Lee dies are pretty inexpensive so I have quite a few of them. Some of them are even in custom sizes for specific applications. I rarely will use a gas check if I can avoid doing so. Checks are expensive if you aren't making your own, and it's also another step to add to my reloading process - and often an unnecessary one at that. I will use checks for higher end loads, or for faster rifle loads... IF I absolutely have to, but I am more likely to just tone down the velocity and find a powder and size/lube combination that will work without using the check.

I have shot my fair share of barn burner loads in my youth, and I prefer to shoot a pleasant, accurate, and moderate cast boolit load these days. Those moderate loads are more fun if you happen to fire a shot without hearing protection on as well. What's left of my permanent hearing learned that lesson the hard way as well.

Tumble Lubing is not the only way, or necessarily the right way. It just works really well for me. I like having a lube sizer on hand if I ever do need to use one again, so it likely won't be popping up in the swapping and selling section any time soon. I have not needed it yet though after going quite a few years with it sitting in the basement. I am apparently too lazy to pull the Lyman lube sizer out, clean it, re familiarize myself with it, and purge out the old lube. Instead I just tumble lube practically everything I load, and hand lube any other boolits I load that might have required the use of the Lyman lube sizer.



- Bullwolf