tumble lube for black powder

[sucngas]

I know this question must have been asked before. I did a search and read lube recipes until my head started to spin, but never found what I was looking for. So, is there a tumble lube like alox that would work with black powder?

[stephenj]

alox and black powder dont mix unless you enjoy spending hours cleaning your bore and shotgun acuracy at best ,

[randyrat]

I dip mine in melted lube. I tried to tumble lube a few different times and it seemed as though I couldn't get enough lube on the boolit.
If you thinking about using Alox get it out of your bag of ideas, most will warn you against it.
I like to dip them into my own lube or use Bullshops BP lube. My own lube is just beeswax with olive oil mixed in (more oil in winter and slightly less in summer) made so it sticks on the boolit good.
I dip about 1/2 to 3/4s of the boolit in lube and set to cool on wax paper.

[cajun shooter]

Why not just pan lube. If you dip them then you are waiting for them to dry. This is the same as waiting for the pan luibe to set. Plus when you use a kate cutter to remove the bullets from the pan they are ready to load. It would seem that with the dipping process you would end up with an excess of lube that would cause a mess when reloading. Am I wrong on this Randy?

[riverwalker76]

I did the same thing ... my head was spinning out of control until I couldn't even remember what the main ingredients were.

I ended up pan lubing and settling on a basic tried and true BP recipe.

I use 1 # Beeswax , 1/2 # Crisco Shortening, & 2 TBSP of vegetable oil. If you need it a little thicker ... add a little more beeswax or carbauba wax.

With Carnauba ... it won't take much. I used 1 ounce to 1 pound of beeswax and it firmed it up considerably. Don't use to much because it can throw off your mix. It binds to the beeswax along with the Crisco and oil. Too much and it will end up a mess.

If you want a pasty lube .... just lessen the beeswax by 1/4 of a pound.

[randyrat]

Why not just pan lube. If you dip them then you are waiting for them to dry. This is the same as waiting for the pan luibe to set. Plus when you use a kate cutter to remove the bullets from the pan they are ready to load. It would seem that with the dipping process you would end up with an excess of lube that would cause a mess when reloading. Am I wrong on this Randy? I dip cold boolits in a hot lube they cool right away.Yes it does make a little mess or can make a little mess. Normally i run them through a pipe sized to scrape off extra lube and it works good, until someone comes along with a better method. Also, i don't shoot hundreds of these anyway. I would like to shoot more this fall.

[sucngas]

Thanks guys. I knew alox was a no no for black powder, just hoping I could find a simple substitute that would work. I also have been dipping my bullets, so I guess I will continue to do so. Thanks again.

[cajun shooter]

sucngas, I shoot nothing but BP and most times at least 2to 3 matches a month. I also shoot the real thing and not one of the subs. I have owned as many as three Stars at once to keep up with the lubing process. I did however start years ago with the pan method and a Kate cutter. Buckshot will make you one of the nicest ones ever for a very low and fair price. With it you can pan lube a couple hundred at an afternoon's setting. You should give it a try. The bullets will look like they were factory lubed with all the lube nice and even in the grooves.Bullshop's NASA is good lube to try if you don't mix your own.