Another lube story/question

[rlaw34776]

First of all I "ain't" no old caster from way back so my lack of experience may skew my results. None the less this is what I have experienced.

Before I read all of the "must" lube else you will die conversations I used some stuff called Drop Out by Frankford Arsenal, I sprayed it on my bullets loaded them and had a ball at the range. No leading, accurate shots or as accurate as I normally shoot anyway.

Then I started reading all about lubes and decided well I must lube or else.

So then I bought this junk called Alox. What a mess! I followed the directions and even asked for advice from others that had used and loved the stuff. Either I have missed something with this stuff or it is highly over rated. None the less I took my Alox lubed bullets to the range and got the same results, no lead and accurate shots.

After having the sticky experience and after reading some more info from the more experienced casters I decide to whip up some lube of my own and give it a try. I melted one pound of bees wax and one pound of parafin and added three table spoons of Crisco shortening. Did the old pan lube trick, punched them out and then loaded them this morning.

I just got back from the range having shot 200 rounds.

Same results as all the others, no leading, accurate shots.

My question is, is all of this lube stuff that big of a deal or am I just lucky?

Maybe it is due to the type of bullet I use? (38 158 and 125 grain RNFP)

[AZ-Stew]

My guess, not knowing your exact loads or alloy used, is that you've been lucky with sensible loads.

"DropOut" is a casting aid that is supposed to help your bullets exit the mould in an easier fashion than they would from a dry mould. I don't believe it's intended to be used as a bullet lube for shooting.

Lee Liquid Alox is messy, but many shooters swear by it with the tumble-lube style bullets. It eliminates the need to use a lubri-sizer, as long as you can cast bullets from your mould that are within a thousandth or so of the correct diameter for your gun. The as-cast diameter can be adjusted by varying your alloy and casting temp.

Your self-made lube recipe should be adequate for most low velocity loads. The ingredients are common to home-brew lubes.

In any case, as long as you're getting good accuracy with no leading, I wouldn't worry about the exact chemistry of your lube. You may want to try a conventional commercial lube, such as 50-50 Alox/beeswax, or work with another known good lube if you intend to pursue higher velocity loads.

Regards,

Stew

[rlaw34776]

Great, thanks.

[454PB]

I would never discourage anyone from using any methodology that works for them, as long as it's not dangerous. If your lube methods have worked, stick with them.

I started out as you described, even made a very similar lube, and smeared it in the lube grooves with my fingers. I worked great, but got a little laborious after a few thousand boolits.

At some point you may decide you want to produce more and at a faster rate. The "cake cutter" method is slow and low volume. You will then need a lubrisizer.

[PatMarlin]

Gitcha a good old Lyman 45. They're good units and can usually be picked up cheap. I've got two of them, and size and lube up to .462. I love the little buggars.. :mrgreen:

[leftiye]

Rlaw,
My experience has been a little different than yours. I started out with a Lyman 450 (which I'm still using). I guess my youth or just focus led me to the "rock hard boolits at about light speed" path. Back then, it didn't get any better than 50/50 alox/beeswax, and that just weren't good enough. Therefore I've spent most of my life figgering how to avoid leading. One thing I can tell you is that in most situations, even with heat treated boolits made of linotype, that maximum loads like lubes that actually are good lubes, as the lubes that are standard may not do the job. And things meant to be smeared in a horse's sores only work at low velocity where using no lube at all works too.

I'm not trying to get snobby; it's just that for the tiny price of a good lube why risk building a load that leads, or is inaccurate because it leads or because the lube just doesn't work in terms of accuracy? A really good lube still shoots as well as or better than doggy cigars do in every load , even the slow ones. And yes, there are times that the best lube inexistence isn't good enough and still doesn't work.