A lube question, among others

[Lead melter]

Well gang, I've got a three part question for you all,

1. Has anyone other than me used the Lee 459-405-HB mold for a muzzleloader? I cast them from pure lead, coat with Lee Alox, size to .457", lube again, then size to .452" and lube once more. Naturally these are for my 45 cal. smokepole. I get 2"-3" groups at 100 yards with a 4X scope. Anyone else ever given it a try?

2. I tried SPG lube on the above slugs and some 50 cal. boolits and these widened groups to about 6". Thought SPG was great for black powder guns, or is it made to work better in black powder cartridges?

3. My apperatus for lubing boolits with any other than Lee Alox is a 1 1/2" chunk of tubular steel welded to a flat steel plate. I stick the lube in the tube, heat with the old propane torch till it melts, dip the boolit to cover the lube groves, then size to diameter. Boolits come out with grooves filled, and excess lube is removed from the die and returned to the pot. I use Lee sizer dies since I'm too cheap to by the RCBS or Lyman sizing press. Does anyone see any potential problems with the process? So far 44 magnum and 45-70 slugs lubed this way have shot well, but I don't know everything. Feedback, opinions, suggestions, even smart-aleck remarks are welcome.

Thanks.

"Ignorance is the parent of fear."-Herman Melville

[smilie=b:

[montana_charlie]

2. I tried SPG lube on the above slugs and some 50 cal. boolits and these widened groups to about 6". Thought SPG was great for black powder guns, or is it made to work better in black powder cartridges?
SPG was developed by Steve P. Garbe, who is a BPCR competitor of some fame. He developed and marketed it for use in BPCR rifles, and the advertised melting point is 135°. It is considered suitable for use with black powder because it contains no petroleum products, but the formulation is probably too stiff for the average muzzle loading conical bullet.
They are normally 'greased'...not 'waxed'.
CM

[13Echo]

Heating SPG and many other black powder lubes with a propane torch may easily overheat the lube which will ruin it. They are best melted with a double boiler and should not be heated over 212 deg F.

Jerry Liles