lubing swaged factory bullets

[nikonuser]

years ago when I first got a revolver and used lead bullets I ran across a few threads from someone who had shot PPC. He said that it was typical to lubricate bullets using oil cup grease sticks from Ford engine grease cups. also said to use a thin coating inside the barrel, just give it a day to film over.

Have not tried that, but using a thin coat of lithium grease on the tips of loaded rounds does great for the barrel insides, but nothing for the forcing cone.

And with spear 158 grain swc for 38s, they need some help despite the film lube speer uses. Despite the fact that they have a make believe cannelure on them, just how do you go about lubing up swaged bullets that don't have lube grooves

[cabezaverde]

Lee liquid Alox

[Sig]

I would try BLL.

[Tatume]

I use 45/45/10 and shoot many thousands per year. Works wonderfully.

[WickedWillie]

So, if I'm reading this correctly, you can effectively lube a swaged bullet (like the notoriously soft Speers) with 45-45-10 or something similar and greatly reduce or eliminate leading at moderate velocities? i have a couple boxes of Speer .430 bullets that I would like to load up for use in my Charter Arms Bulldog Pug. I was wondering if White Label 45-45-10 would adhere well over the factory film lube?

[Minerat]

I use BLL on all the old lazer and Remington lead bullets I had lying around recently as the hard lube was coming off. Seems to do the job.

[WickedWillie]

So, if I'm reading this correctly, you can effectively lube a swaged bullet (like the notoriously soft Speers) with 45-45-10 or something similar and greatly reduce or eliminate leading at moderate velocities? i have a couple boxes of Speer .430 bullets that I would like to load up for use in my Charter Arms Bulldog Pug. I was wondering if White Label 45-45-10 would adhere well over the factory film lube?

So...I finally tried this after obtaining some White Label 45-45-10 lube. Put about 30 bullets in a Cool Whip container. That was easy. Then I "tried" to pour a small amount of lube into the container. Obviously, I got too much...I'm thinking I need to invest in an eye dropper or something similar to control the amount of lube...a small squeeze bottle, maybe? Swished 'em around a bit...and it made the most obnoxious black, gooey mess I've seen. Apparently, the 45-45-10 acted as a solvent and loosened up the lube film that Speer uses. Kept on adding bullets and agitating them, till they started to look "right." Poured them out onto a sheet of wax paper. That was yesterday...I'll check them tonight to see how well they are coated and how well them have dried.
This is not to disparage White Label at all...I need to refine my technique. Will update when I have more info.

[Tatume]

It's hard to put the right amount of lube in a tub. First, do more bullets at a session; I usually lube about 150. That makes it easier to not use too much lube. Second, try using a teaspoon to measure lube. A little less than a level teaspoon is about right for 150 45 caliber bullets.

[Larry Gibson]

Lee liquid Alox

Using a very small amount. If the LLA is thick put bottle in cup/small pan of hot tap water for 10 minutes. It gets runny and applying a real thin coat is easy. By thin I mean a light yellow brown tint is all that is needed. Let dry thoroughly before using the bullets. Once one learns to use LLA correctly [a thin coat] then thinning the LLA with mineral spirits isn't necessary unless the LLA has thickened up from age. Then I add just a bit of mineral spirits and stir shake until it is back to it's normal thickness.

[Martin Luber]

Even though they are soft, they should not lead the barrel, that is frequently the fault of loading process. Improper expander size or resizing too small will allow a soft bullet to swage during seating. Then you get leading. Try unresized shells for comparison. You'll be amazed

[gwpercle]

And keep your loads in the 700 fps to 800 fps range .
Speer shows data with a few loads @ 900 + fps but I believe they are too soft and would stick to 850 fps max .
Gary

[WickedWillie]

Even though they are soft, they should not lead the barrel, that is frequently the fault of loading process. Improper expander size or resizing too small will allow a soft bullet to swage during seating. Then you get leading. Try unresized shells for comparison. You'll be amazed

That sounds like a decent experiment. Would there be any issue with obtaining a firm crimp? If these unsized cases were fired in some other firearm...they may not fit the firearm used. I can see where a certain amount of control of the variables is in order.

[Martin Luber]

No problem with a good crimp. Yes the unsized cases are best when originally fired in your gun.

"If it fits, it ships"

[samari46]

I bought 4 boxes of 500 110 grain 32-20 hard cast bullets. One box has gotten wet and some but not all have the lead oxide coating mainly on the noses in that box. being cheap due to the small amount of corrosion on each bullet I tried a shop rag to remove the corrosion. What little corrosion wiped off easily. The bullets them selves were lubes with a sticky blue lube. Had a couple bottles of Lee bullet lube.Stuck20 of the corroded ones in asmall tub and previously had cleaned off the corrosion. I dribbled in some of the Lee bullet lube and shook the tub for a few minutes.First time I used the bullet lube in a bottle. They are sitting in a wax paper covered tray. So tomorrow I should find out how well the lube coated the bullets. And I don't yet even own a 32-20. Frank

[Dusty Bannister]

Would make nice plinker or training loads in many of the 30 cal arms. Low noise, low recoil, good for youngsters or new shooters getting used to a center fire rifle.

[Jniedbalski]

I also one time pored from the bottle of my 45/45/10 and got way way to much. Now I just heat my lube up in a tub of hot water til like water and pore out a little bit in the cap that came off of the lube Bottle. Way easier to just get a little bit.

[mdi]

I too use 45-45-10 and alox for some of my cast bullets. But I don't like the appearance of the "brown noses" and get an even coat when I dip lube. A technique I learned from Ranch Dog and while it may be considered too slow by some I much prefer the results. I warm the lube (or if using alox, thin it) and pour into a small container, grab a bullet by the nose and dip deep enough to cover the entire bearing surface then set on aluminum foil, on their bases, to dry. Works well for me and no sticky fingers handling finished rounds...

[Outpost75]

When I shot PPC and bullseye I used Johnson Glo-Coat liquid floor wax, this was before Lee Liquid Alox came out. Put 1000 .38 wadcutters or 500 .45 wadcutters in a .30 cal. ammo can. Pour in one Chock-Full-O-Nuts coffee scoop of liquid Glo-Coat into the can, snap the lid closed, then gently agitate the can end to end ten times, then roll over and tip side to side ten times, give a gentle lengthwise shake, pop the lid open and rest a 10-inch box fan across the can opening and let blow into the can for 8 hours. Snap the lid shut, repeat the agitation, then pour the contents out onto a plastic bucket lid to finish air-drying.

Same process can be used with Lee Liquid Alox, except that you DILUTE the LLA with equal parts by liquid volume of Stoddard Solvent, Varsol or aliphatic mineral spirits.

After having used the can four lube cycles, you can skip the Alox on every 5th load and just use a shot of solvent only and agitate the bullets to dissolve the accumulated lube on the sides of the ammo can.

[Bookworm]

Myself, lacking a Chock-Full-o-Nuts coffee scoop, use a 1/4 tsp measure with 2 pounds of boolits.
Tumble in a Cool-Whip tub, let dry on a sheet of wax paper (I use the inner liner from a breakfast cereal box). Repeat another coat.

Load and shoot.

[Budzilla 19]

If anyone remembers "Alberts Swaged Lead Bullets", these things are dead soft, impact swaged, no Lube grooves, old school boolits!!! So, having a box or two of these things, i decided to use BLL on them, boy, that made a black mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT, when the second coat was applied, no more mess! They load and shoot wonderfully in .38 spcl. loads with Trailboss!!! And no leading in the barrels of three different guns!!! When the One-Step wax was available, i bought up 4 cans, and have 4 bottles of LLA,so have a lifetime supply of BLL components. (i haven't made a dent in the first bottle i made.) BLL works, plain and simple. I even over-coated some factory cast boolits with that blue lube in the grooves just as a precaution. Of course, there's always good ole Johnson Paste Wax. I've used it, JPW, over Hi-Tek coating, even! Hahahaha!!!! Probably overkill, but, boy that barrel was clean! Lots of ways to lube factory swaged bullets, pick whatever works for you and go for it!!! Just my .02

[uscra112]

Rather than a tub, put the lube and the bullets in a Ziploc bag. Knead the bag until the coating looks good, open and dump out to dry. BTW this is a great way to lube a large number of cases for resizing, using the RCBS lube. Save the bag for next time.

[Outpost75]

The lube which Jerry Alberts used in his bullets was 66% MoS2 in a toluene carrier, then tumbled in calcium stearate after drying. The CaCO3 was not a lubricant as much as to keep bullets from sticking together when fed through the automatic bullet feeders on Camdex loaders in common use at that time. I loaded tons of his bullets in the 1980s.

[uscra112]

Been trying to remember this all day. In the '50s there was a company called itself Zero Bullets that would supply "bullets dusted with white powder". They were in Cullman, Alabama. They always had a small ad in the back of the American Rifleman.

[pedrojayme]

hi my name is pedr