Stick Lubes and JPW questions

[medicstimpy]

Hi again... ok we are plugging along with those little 105gr LSWC's. I found my RCBS top punch for my .357 SIL bullets work pretty good with these little Lee bullets so I tried lubing them the old fashioned way. They didn't have the same leading and goo problem as with just tumble lubing with LLA.

1) I used some Lee NRA Lube in the stick in my 4500 Lube/Sizer. Does anyone have any other good readily available lube suggestions? The Sizer came with a stick of Moly Lube that I haven't tried yet. I also was given a stick of Lyman Orange to try.

2) Also, is Johnson's the only good wax good for lubing my other TL design bullets? It's hard to find here so was wondering if other brands will do just as well.

Thanks in advance.

[Bass Ackward]

Lube is a tricky thing. Some lubes are just plain too hard in winter. Some lubes are just too soft in the summer. Some lubes do well at high pressure, and some do better at lower levels.

So there is an application for all of the lubes that you mention. 50/50 NRA formulas have the widest pressure and temperature applications (except for high heat) for cast bullet work in handguns and rifles up to about 2000 fps. Now I never said the most accurate, just the most forgiving.

If you like life simple, you found it. If you like inducing change and solving problems, then switch to something else and learn how it can be different and what variables must be changed. Everything can be made to work .... and fail if you don't understand.

As your experience base grows, you can sorta predict what lube for what application will do better or with what bullet design depending on how much lube it carries and how fast you want to run it.

[BruceB]

For my part, I started out with the pre-historic black Lyman lube in the '60s, and was seduced by the advent of of the "NRA" 50/50 Alox-beeswax in the '80s. The NRA formula served me well in the Javelina brand until I got involved with the Felix lube, developed by our own guru here at Cast Boolits.

Finding myself less than enamored by the alchemy and incantations needed to create my own version of Felix lube, I now use a mixture of two lubes from Lar45, of White label Lube. I'm using two sticks of his 50/50 mixed with one stick of Carnauba Red, melted in the microwave and poured into my Lyman 450s. This mix doesn't need heating at room temp, and seems to resist high summer temperatures quite well. It also shoots in my rifles without leading to at least 2300 fps.

I think maybe Lar's BAC lube might be very similar to this mixture. His prices are EXTREMELY reasonable, often much less than half the price of the big-name lubes. Check the link at the bottom of each page here.

Rather than experiment endlessly with lubricants, I'm quite prepared to adopt ONE (as I have) and work with all the other variables while using my standard lube. I'll add the caveat that if one does this, it had better be a GOOD lube, not one just pulled out of thin air or wild-eyed imagination. I think Lar45 is producing just that....good lubes.