Which handgun boolit lube?

[Murphy]

A question I've long wondered and it's time to see what else is out there concerning lubes.

Felix's lube is wonderful stuff no doubt, I've not tried Bull Shops Speed Green yet.

Back in my early days I when I began casting, I used Alox in a Lyman 45 like most everyone else.

Then, I discovered the wonderful world of the STAR sizer. On the down side, I found out where to buy that hard wax stuff that was supposed to be boolit lube. I used Magma's lube for years, then bought a batch of Thompson's Blue Angel as well. Seems I never could go shooting without getting more lead than I thought I should be getting.

Finally about 10 years ago I purchased as many commercial lubes as I could after getting online and began to test them. I'll never forget one in particular, Lymans Moly Lube. It was so soft that I found black flecks of lube on my 7 yard targets, no lead though! Bummer....

What I am looking for is a lube that stays in the lube groove and not all over my hands, cases & boolit noses. I use a STAR with a feeder system so I usually hold my hand below the sizer and just let the sized/lubed boolits drop into it as I crank the handle, then dump them in a container. (Note: STAR is also equipped with a heater base).

I mostly shoot .38 specials and .45 ACP so there is the velocity range for those who were wondering about that as well.

Thanks for any input,

Murphy

[runfiverun]

mark use lars's red it does fine in the star and in the revolvers.
turn your heat down and your pressure up.
barring that and you want a good plastic lube, go to the jakes he can be found on the evilbay.
i have used his ceresin purple even in my rifles up to 2100 fps.
just dont mix it with magmas lube they don't play nice together in the star.

[buck1]

If i were to buy lube, I would most likely get it from bullshop or lar. I have heard nothing but praise for their lubes. If I went big comerical brands Lymans super molly would be my 3rd choice and LBT is alright too.
But dont over look home made beeswax/lithium greese lube I love it in everything.

[Trey45]

I use White Label (lars) 2500+ with great success. No heater required. I also use Speed Green and have found it to be on an equal level as the 2500+.

[RayinNH]

+1 on White Label 2500+. Work very well in pistol and rifle. Having said that I think I'm going to try Carnauba Red, only so I can bulk pack them...Ray

[Cherokee]

I used Thompsons Red for many years, don't have a leading problem if the bullet fits the gun properly, even in the rifles (under 1800fps). I bought a bunch of LAR's to use when the Thompsons runs out.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I use Thompsons Blue Angel in the same calibers no problems. Not sure if a different lube will solve a leading problem.

[MtGun44]

Guys, the more experienced shooters know that when somebody says "Alox" lube in
a Star context, he means 50/50 Beeswax/Alox. Lots of new guys that are starting out
with Lee's liquid pure Alox may be confused by this.

Just a suggestion.

Bill

[KYCaster]

I use LOTS of Thompson's Blue Angel and I've tested it against Bullshop Speed Green and Lar's Carnauba Red in several different cartridges/guns. I have had very few problems with any of the three and with one exception I consider them interchangeable.

In handguns from 600 to ~1400 fps, and in rifles up to ~2300 I occasionally get a first round flyer when changing lubes, but I've not been able to determine if it's just a random flyer, opperator error or an issue with the lube requiring a fouling shot.

The exception I mentioned is a problem with low temp and Blue Angel lube in rifle loads. It doesn't seem to be a problem in handguns, but my 35 Rem with RCBS 200 FP at 2050 fps will throw the first shot 12 to 16 in. high when the temp is below ~35*F. It takes four rounds to heat the barrel and get back to POA, so my hunting loads are lubed with Speed Green.

That's not often a problem here in the Ohio River Valley; mid Nov. temps are often in the mid 70's, but there's no need to take a chance when you know there's a possibility that things can go wrong.

I don't know what Blue Angel costs in small quantities (I buy it 20 lbs at a time), but you can't beat Glen Larson's prices and Dan and Tina at the Bull Shop are great people to deal with, so I can recommend any of the three.

Jerry

BTW....If you're concerned about sticky lube, of the three I mentioned, Speed Green is the softest and VERY sticky, Carnauba Red is next and Blue Angel....well you don't have to worry about getting it on your fingers.

[stubshaft]

For the bullets you are planning to load my vote would be for BAC also made by Lars. It is supposedly carnauba red and alox 50/50 mixed. It doesn't need a heater and is not so sticky the it attracts everything in sight. I use it for everything from 38 spl. to 500 Mag (400gr @ 1800fps) and have no leading. I also get better accuracy using this lube than I had with LBT blue.

Stub

[Lloyd Smale]

Lars lubes work well and are about as cheap as making your own if you have to buy the beeswax. Its a no brainer.

[cajun shooter]

Handgun lube is without a doubt either BAC or Carnuba Red for smokeless loads. For BP use NASA or roll your own.

[tackstrp]

When you order from bull shop make sure u ask expected delivery date. If hunting season in alaska . lube business is on back burner

[Orygun]

A while back I also got tired of the messiness of 50/50 alox and went with "Jake's Purple Lube". Heated to about 95° - 100° it flows wonderfully in the Star and is not messy at all. Load tests on a Ransom rest with my .45 ACP's produced groups as good and usually better then the alox.

BTW, leading is not an issue in what I would call "warm loads".

[Harry]

Don't want to hijack the thread. I have been using a Lyman 45 that had lube in it from the early 60's. It is black and my dad used it in rifle and 38 sp. loads. Could it be Alox? It is used up now. What would be a good lube to replace it with, for mostly 38/357 and 40 semi auto? I will also load 30-30 and 30-06.
Thanks,

[felix]

Harry, that was a graphite laden lube. The graphite would be a colloidal type, which is very fine particles, should you like to get some. The carrier does not have to be beeswax for colloidal sized particles, because gravity won't affect the layering properties upon cooling from which there should be none. ... felix

[runfiverun]

i believe motor mica is really close to the coloidal graphite.

[HORNET]

Harry, That was probablt some of the old Ideal lube that predated the popularity of the Alox blends. Lyman was still selling it a few yeaers ago, IIRC. Seems to work alright at lower handgun velocities, never tried pushing it hard. There are too many alternatives that are reported to work better at a lower cost. See Lar45's link down the page or contact Bullshop about his lubes, better customer service than Lyman anyways.

[NuJudge]

I love the Star machines I have, but adjustment is a pain in the butt. If the adjustments are not precisely right, you get lube on places its not supposed to be. I like to do a heck of a lot of one type of bullet before I change to another. I still use 50% Beeswax/50% Alox 2138F in mine.

I've been getting adventurous with the Lyman machines lately. The purple stuff, I'm about to make a batch of Speed Green, I just bought some Voodoo.

[waco]

lars stuff is the only thing ill use from now on
less than 2 bucks a stick?
no hassle making my own?
easy call for me
BAC covers all my needs!
waco:drinks: