THE best pistol lube for a cheapskate?

[maxreloader]

What is the BEST ie: CHEAPEST lube that is useable up to say 950fps? Homemade or commercial don't matter to me! 45 acp would be my pet load. Thanks!

[Ben]

Best and cheap ( as in the purchase of a parachute ) don't always go together.

Many of us will need more info. before we will have much of a chance of offering an accurate answer to your question.

What style of bullet are you using ?
Tumble lube design, conventional lube groove design ? ?
Do you plan on pan lubing, using a lube sizer or neither ?
You've left out many pieces of the puzzle .

[wv109323]

I have found the White Lube is a economical as any. You can lube a whole lot of bullets with $30.00 of lube.(shipping included). I don't think you can buy ingredients,get pots and pans and mix up something that will save you money. Their lube can be bought for $2.30 or so a tube IIRC.
I am so tight I jump over the fence to save the hinges on the gate.

[dilly]

Heard of 45-45-10?

[emrah]

What's wrong with LLA? I use it on everything. .38, .45, even 30-06 and 30-30 to 1800fps (gas checked). You can lube thousands of boolits with one bottle.

Emrah

[leftiye]

There are cheap lubes that are also good lubes. Lars White Label lubes are both economical and good lubes - if you are going to buy lube. 357 Maximum's 666 lube is in the avant of good lubes and is made from cheap common materials, as are Geargnashers SL68, and FWFL. Consider that cheap by itself is probly self defeating as good lubes in general don't cost much, while cheap lubes can also be poor lubes, and ruin your accuracy.

In a game where I invest good money, and loads aren't cheap, and where I also invest much personal time, and where deficient loads (from any cause) WILL impact my sucessful enjoyment - worrying about cheap lube is just plain stoopid.

[dragon813gt]

My time is worth a lot more than what I pay for White Label Lubes. No guess work and no mess. His lubes are some of the best deals around.

I did make some BLL because it's by far the easiest one to make. And I had to do something w/ the bottle of Alox I had sitting around. I loathe the smell of it so I'm hoping BLL doesn't smell as bad when shooting.

[762 shooter]

All boolit lube is cheap compared to the other components. Don't strain at a gnat.

762

[Petrol & Powder]

White Label. I use BAC for all handgun rounds but you could probably use 50/50 as well. I agree that White Label is a good deal and I see no reason to make lube when I can buy it at very little cost.

762 shooter said it best, "All boolit lube is cheap compared to the other components. Don't strain at a gnat."

[OptimusPanda]

When I first got into casting I used a recipe on this forum under the lube recipe thread I think....Darr lube perhaps? anyway its equal parts parafin wax and vasoline with a teaspoon of stp (I ended up using ATF cause its what I had). Box of gulf wax and vasoline at the supermarket maybe totaled $7...I made a hollow stick mold and made a whole bunch of hollow sticks that im still using 18 months later. Figure there was maybe 10,000+ bullets worth of lube in it. Have found it to work well, though a bit smokey.

[Ben]

Wonder if the OP has come back to see the replies to his questions ?
I see he has not made a 2nd post ? ?

[btroj]

Isn't the best the one that works for your needs?

For 45 ACP I bet at least one member here would use 50/05 vaseline/beeswax. Adjust percentages to get the handling properties you want.

[Ben]

The search engine on this forum would offer the OP with much more information than has already been posted.

[btroj]

Yes. Like Google, the search engine is your friend.

[Love Life]

Lla, bll, 45/45/10.

[Ben]

Lla, bll, 45/45/10.

Yes, if he has a bullet that fits the bore , any of those 3 would work.

Ben

[maxreloader]

What style of bullet are you using ? round nose w/gc and the other is a semi wc solid base
Tumble lube design, conventional lube groove design ? ? both are conventional lube groove design
Do you plan on pan lubing, using a lube sizer or neither ? lubrasizer (Saeco or RCBS) I have both
You've left out many pieces of the puzzle . sorry bout that!

[jmort]

Earth to O/P, are you there? Ben's Liquid Lube.

[jonp]

Lla, bll, 45/45/10.

Pretty much although I've abandoned LLA and 45/45/10 in favor of BLL for all pistol. It's much easier to make and a little go's a long ways

[Shooter6br]

JPW Runs about $5-6 a can . Does alot. See JPW thread Great results with Johnson Paste Wax (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?17641-Great-results-with-Johnson-Paste-Wax&highlight=Johnsons+Wax) > use it on all my cast pistol loads 1000 fps or less. Also 45-70 at 1200 fps131165 My 2 cents

[Elkins45]

What style of bullet are you using ? round nose w/gc and the other is a semi wc solid base
Tumble lube design, conventional lube groove design ? ? both are conventional lube groove design
Do you plan on pan lubing, using a lube sizer or neither ? lubrasizer (Saeco or RCBS) I have both
You've left out many pieces of the puzzle . sorry bout that!

For a lube made with stuff you can get anywhere (so that doesn't include beeswax) I would suggest the Darr lube. 8 ounces each of paraffin and vaseline plus a spoonful of STP. It flows thru a sizer well, shoots fine at normal handgun speeds and is about as cheap as it gets.

Personally I try to tumble lube whenever I can. Running hundreds of bullets thru a sizer isn't my idea of fun.

[maxreloader]

The issue is "Instant Gratification" , 45 ACP bullet lube to 950 fps. Don't bother with facts just give an answer, just like all the other internet seekers of immediate information. Second question will be, "What is the cheapest load?" The poster is not interested in knowledge, just an instant answer.

You couldn't have judged me more wrong than that mister engineer. I tried to ask a direct question for a direct answer. If I wanted to dance I would have went to the local dance hall. I absolutely appreciate every individual that takes the time to answer any question I post. I may be "new" here but I have been around a very long time. I entirely expect to contribute the knowledge that I have to the members here when asked. Until then, hasta my man!

[maxreloader]

The JPW route is in the pipe and also the BLL... From what I can tell the LLA makes a mess.

[maxreloader]

I also have access to raw, pure beeswax, right from the hive. It would be free but not sure if it could be worked into a lube recipe easily. This winter has been hard on the bees but we will see what happens when it warms up.

[btroj]

You are loading for a pretty low intensity round. It will work well with darn near anything.

50-50 beeswax and vaseline would work fine, adjust as needed to get the firmness you want.

[maxreloader]

thanks btroj, I haven't tried Vaseline in a mix but that may be the ticket with the beeswax!

[shoot-n-lead]

White label is about the best deal going...great lube at a great price. I have made a lot of concoctions over the years that were cheap, and easy...but none are better than white label, for my use.

[GSM]

NRA 50/50 works well at the level the OP stated. For many, lube cooking is a bit farther down the priority list than shooting, loading, and casting. Get it over the counter and go on.


"The issue is "Instant Gratification" , 45 ACP bullet lube to 950 fps. Don't bother with facts just give an answer, just like all the other internet seekers of immediate information. Second question will be, "What is the cheapest load?" The poster is not interested in knowledge, just an instant answer."

I don't know the *** from Adam, but I can see that he has taken the time to set up an account with this very fine forum and made a few more posts than some (not that post count is commensurate with knowledge or reproductive organ size). The pursuit of knowledge takes many different forms - some may not be familiar to others. Perhaps the good Engineer could peruse the following: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?269422-General-post-to-the-members .

Sorry for the thread drift.

[robg]

lla is easy to get & use ,what mess?

[leftiye]

[Quote] NRA 50/50 works well at the level the OP stated. For many, lube cooking is a bit farther down the priority list than shooting, loading, and casting. Get it over the counter and go on. GSM [Quote]

For many years (before people found out that 18 grains was a max load of H110 in .44 mag) I loaded everything including .44 mag/429244s at 1500 fps with 24.0 and plus grs of H110 and 296 using 50/50. We didn't know bettah bahk thayn. Shot muy good to 200 yds. I thought, musta bin wrong.

[BAGTIC]

Re: The OP wanting just an answer or an education. Everyone has an opinion many of them different. When there are so many different opinions how does one know which is correct. Do we do like the teacher does in grade school and ask for a show of hands and take a vote as to what is the right answer?

There is only one right answer but if it is right the rest must be wrong but which one. We all have different experiences, and different opinions but that is all most of them are opinions and personal preferences. BTW what is the best flavor ice cream?

Now my opinion. For handgun loads I prefer JPW as I find it cheap, quick, easy, clean. Everyone else gets to decide for themselves.

[groovy mike]

Another vote for white label lube

[RogerDat]

Many of the opinions (which as bagtic points our are only opinions) of what is the best budget lube are backed up by practical examples and the all important why. Some folks just post that they are another vote such as groovy mike did.

Not nearly as subjective as best flavor of ice cream, more like best budget brand of ice cream. Sometimes it just makes sense to ask a general question especially when you are not sure of all the factors that may matter, and then refine question based on the feedback.

I have some JPW I picked up that I am hoping to use in a batch of 45/45/10 and see how I like it. Because of this thread I'm going to be saving out some of that JPW to try straight also. There are good chunks of the year when casting is less than pleasant outside, too cold, then once it gets hot the mosquitos get pretty bad, so I am all about doing batch operations when the weather is decent and the bugs are scarce. Pan lubing is just not very efficient for pistol.

[Garyshome]

Buy a Lee sizing die and get some LLA free

[Boogieman]

I use a mix of Beeswax & moly grease , 50/50 more or less. no leading in my hand gun loads or 45-70 . and it's CHEAP.

[rintinglen]

If you've got free bee's wax, a 13 oz. jar of vaseline is 4.29. Mix it roughly 50-50 with the clean strained bee's wax over mild heat--preferably with no open flames, pour it in your sizer and go. That should conservatively lube 10,000 boolits, at a cost of .000429 ea.

[Char-Gar]

I have been using a Vaseline/beeswax mix for 50 plus years for such purposes with entire satisfaction. I use enough Vaseline to soften the wax enough to use in my lubesize machines. I have never weighted nor measured the proportions, but they should be about 60/40 was to Vaseline.

I have won some pretty top notch matches with this lube. If there is any leading, it isn't the fault of the lube.

At this level of loading, lube really isn't critical and there all kinds of home brews that work just fine. Glen Fryxell uses a 50/50 mix of beeswax and black moly grease as his sole lube. I have tried it and it works just fine. I don't use it as it takes much higher temp to melt the grease than it does the wax and Vaseline. I broke a jar of this stuff mixing it in my microwave. That cured me of it's use. Glen did the same thing and now uses a double boiler.

[gwpercle]

This is a cheap and easy lube that I have been using for decades (since 1978) for 1200 fps and lower.
3 parts beeswax, 1 part Lithium grease (I use Lucas Red-N-Tacky).
Melt and blend in a old slow cooker, let harden, do it again and let harden, several meltings and blendings, with a wire whisk, help get everything blended. If the final mix is too soft, to harden add pure carnauba paste wax ( auto wax, no cleaner in it). A small amount of paraffin wax may also be added to harden, but not a lot.
Gary

[ShooterAZ]

Making your own lube is a good thing to know. Self sufficiency is great. For me though... White Label BAC is just the ticket. It's inexpensive and works great even in rifles at some pretty decent velocities. Lube making is a messy endeavor.

[maxreloader]

I am going to try the Beeswax/Vaseline for sure and the White label as well. Thank you all for the advice, I do appreciate it!

[Good Cheer]

Been trying to use one lube for everything for a long time, lubed lead in muzzleloaders, pistol, revolver and rifles. Basically lanolin, olive oil and raw beeswax.
Occasionally some adjunct may go into the batch but I've never figured out what will make LOOB any better. But I have come up with some that are pretty funny.

[osu007]

I don't have a lot of experience, but I used some lee alox. Seemed to work for the 45 acp I loaded. I used it very sparingly, like not even a table spoon in a plastic butter/margarine dish. Only use enough to put a film on the bullet. If the bullet actually turns brown or reddish in color, that is too much. Just put the bullets in the dish, and agitate the dish or roll it. I found that if I put a little alox in the dish, and warmed it in the microwave for 10 seconds, the alox flows or spreads better. Anyway, 1 table spoon was more than enough for 50 bullets, and only takes like 1-2 minutes of agitating/rolling them. I like it. Doesn't smell real good, but that's the way it goes. That's why the made windows that raise up and down.

[MBTcustom]

http://www.lsstuff.com/

OP, these people are friends of mine, and I can vouch for their honesty and the quality of their product. I have made my own lubes for many years, then I used some of mine and some of theirs. Now I am completely 100% sold on WLL products. I have half a shelf of lube making stuff that will probably not be used for quite some time.
White Label is cheap, effective, consistent, they ship fast, and they aren't going anywhere soon.
If you pm me your address, I will send you a sample pack of their lubes as I keep all the options in stock here for people I teach to cast.

[John Guedry]

+1 on the White Label BAC. Great stuff, nice folks.

[chboats]

+1 to the White label. But if you want cheep, I used this for years and it work great.

Barry Darr’s Lube
1 lb Paraffin
1 lb Vaseline
2 tablespoons (30 ml) STP Oil Treatment

Carl

[gloob]

For me LLA is the cheapest stuff, because Lee gives it away with their sizing kits. I think I am good for the next decade with my two free bottles.

I cut it with wax, approximately 50:50. Mostly beeswax and maybe a smidge of parafin. And I don't add any solvents, anymore. I just break it off in chips and melt it over the bullets.

[Dan4570]

Hi,

I am going to say Vigilante Bullet Lube, you can pan lube a slew of bullets with a tub of it, and I have pushed it beyond 1400 fps in a Shiloh Sharps 45-2 4/10 with no ill side effects. and pushed it up around 1,200 in a 9mm. I designed it specifically for Black Powder but it works just fine with that smokeless stuff too...if your into that kind of thing. I do have to say it brfore some asks, No, I do not shoot BP in 9 mm....we are working on making a duplex load. :D

If your interested, Since I make it/own it. call me and tell me you read my post here, and I'll give you a discount. you can email me at : vigilantebulletlube@gmail.com

Dan

406-593-0332

[fredj338]

I'm also in the make my own camp just to know how. I buy from White Label or Randy Rat here. Both make good bullet lubes that are really affordable.

[myg30]

I also use lubes from WLL's, mostly BAC. It's priced well and as mentioned the folks there are awsome to deal with.
I did make some Bens Red. Had fun doing that too. Then the Ben's LL I think it is called and tumbled regular lube groove boolits with it and had great results.
I like saving money ( being cheep) and really enjoy making my own lubes, boolits and other projects.
Be safe and enjoy.

Mike

[WRideout]

I have a batch of home brew lube that kind of resembles the "pot au feu" the pot that sits on the back of the wood stove, that you keep adding to. Right now it is a mix of unknown proportions of Gulf wax, candle wax, STP, water pump grease (don't even know where you would find that now) Johnson's paste wax, and a very small amount of the red wax off Edam cheese. The cheese wax stiffens it up considerably, and makes it a lot less messy. It takes a very small amount, maybe a few grams. I use my home brew lube in everything up to 357 mag, with little to no leading. I use Lee Liquid Alox, diluted with some mineral spirits for low velocity rifle boolits, and have had no leading with those, either.

Wayne

[goofyoldfart]

anyone have any suggestions for cast 30 cal loads in rifles @under 1800FPS with heavy for cal boolits? God Bless to all and theirs.

Goofy aka Godfrey:D

[hutch18414]

I'm gonna have to go with the Ben's LL. I have used 6 or 7 different lubes for .45,.38, and 44 spl and .44mag. BLL works the best and is not sticky like plain alox and it isn't smoky. Bought a quart of alox from WLL and a can of Johnsons one step, made enough for thousands of boolits and still have enough to mix the same amount again. Not cheap, just cost effective. And its kinda like Brylcream, a little dab will do ya.

[Lead Fred]

1 lb bee's wax from randy $3
1 lb lard $1.50
8 oz bottle STP $5

makes enough for 100s of pistol rounds. Same thing I use in my rifles.
The rifle rounds are 1200-1750fps, the 45ACP 900fps
Its an over kill for handgun rounds

[rockydoc]

I like the Glynn Fryxell beeswax/molylube 50-50 made in the microwave. I solved the broken bottle problem by using a ceramic coffee cup as the vessel.

[Elkins45]

It seems to me there are two approaches to cheapskate lubemaking depending on if you have access to inexpensive beeswax. If you can get it from a local supplier or can wait a handful of days for it to ship from Randy then you have a lot more options. Buying a pound at Hobby Lobby or Michael's doesn't qualify as cheap because they charge $10 or more per pound. If you have beeswax then my vote is either for a 50/50 lithibee mix with the cheapest tube of lithium grease you can find, or 666+1 with paraffin, Vaseline and Ivory Soap.

If all you have access to is normal grocery or dollar store stuff then some variant of the Darr mix is probably the easiest solution. The first time I made it I went 50/50 Vaseline and paraffin wax and I thought it was too soft. If I ever make it again I think I will add some Ivory and cut back the Vaseline 5-10%. I doubt I ever will since I have like 30 sticks of what I'm just calling 'pistol lube' that is a gray mix of all my old lube experiments. I doubt I will ever live long enough to need another batch of cheap lube.

[Blammer]

if you have access to beeswax, I'd make up some speed green! works well for me in my 45 acp and other notables.

[Blammer]

anyone have any suggestions for cast 30 cal loads in rifles @under 1800FPS with heavy for cal boolits? God Bless to all and theirs.

Goofy aka Godfrey:D

speed green works for me.

[GhostHawk]

Well I don't know about anyone else but I had at least 6 of those little bottles of Lee Alox sitting around. Took 2, mixed with the Johnson's One step to make Ben's Liquid Lube. (Or a close variant) Only real cost was 1 can of the Johnson's at 8$. Has made one double batch so far, will easily make another. And probably another single batch on top of that.

And I'm only half way through my first double batch. So it is going to last for years.

Works great for all my pistols and my lower speed rifles (.357 mag, .444 Marlin with light loads)

Higher speed rifles get Ben's Red in the grooves and then a coat of Liquid lube.

It works, dead simple to make, no cooking, no expensive list of materials. Stores well, and it only takes a dab.

[toallmy]

Ok not very good at this .just starting out at casting ,and computers.over 30 years loading my rifles .you guys have helped me from the start with out knowing it .I thank you very much .with your help I picked two molds seaco 130 ,69 flat base ,lee 20 pound and magma star sizer.mixed up some lube 50/50 beeswax crisco with little Olive oil.well it is gitting hotter now so I need to stiffen it up some .try candle wax or just order some store bought lube.45acp with red dot no more than 4.7 .buy the way people don't know this is a art form do thay.

[BAGTIC]

Vaseline is heat susceptible and if ammo is ever exposed to high temperatures there is a possibility it might flow enough to contaminate powder charge.

Once you have given JPW a fair test you will find there is no need to resort to mystical witch's potions, etc. at least not for pistol loads. Another consideration is to use as large a diameter bullet as will chamber in your gun. I believe too small bullets is one of the main factors in bullets leading (stripping).

[gwpercle]

This one is cheap and good , comes from Garth Choate , who sold it commercially . He no longer produces lube and gave me the recipe because I still like and use it for handgun loads.

Choate Bullet lube
3 parts beeswax to 1 part lithium grease ( I use Lucas Red-N-Tacky)
When we made it we used 24 pounds of beeswax and 8 pounds of lithium grease. ( I use 3 lbs of beeswax and 1 lb of lithium grease). Melt the wax first then add the grease and heat very slowly or tha wax will start burning and is hard to put out.
He states, It's dangerous to make , the melting point of the lithium grease is very close to the flash point of the beeswax. If you do make it , do it outside and have a couple of fire extinguishers handy.

Read some of the other lube making threads to pick up some tips on getting a good blend without a fire. I'm going to try using an old slow cooker for heating while whisking , to get a good blend and not burn/scorch the lube. This method sounds promising.

Gary

[Wayne Smith]

I got stuff to make lube years ago so I have anhydrous lanolin. I use the Modified Emmert's for both BP and pistol lube. Strangely enough, when it came time recently to look into mustache wax it was simple - 2 oz bees wax, 2 oz oil, a touch (1/4t?) of lanolin, and a couple of drops of essential oil - the latter the only thing I had to buy. I now have sandalwood and cedarwood mustache wax.

[williamwaco]

What's wrong with LLA? I use it on everything. .38, .45, even 30-06 and 30-30 to 1800fps (gas checked). You can lube thousands of boolits with one bottle.

Emrah

Ditto. I use it exclusively. Use it very lightly and one bottle will do 3 to 4 thousand bullets.

if you buy the Lee .451 sizer ( recommended) for your .45 ACP, your first bottle is included in the kit.

when the bullets are coated correctly, there will be a very thin film all over the bullet. It should be almost invisible.