Cast bullet lube

GunnyMack · Post by **GunnyMack** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 7:48 pm

Ok fellas let's discuss cast bullet lubes. I have a Lyman 450, have used a few different lubes over the years. After many years of not being used I had to take it apart and soak it in mineral spirits to soften all the old lube so I could use it.
Please share your favorite way to lube bullets. Pros/cons to each.
Share recipes for home made lubes.

Shasta · Post by **Shasta** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 8:04 pm

I lube all my cast lead bullets using RCBS lubrisizers. I have eight of them for different lubes and calibers. For smokeless loads I buy White Label lubes simply because they work great and I can't make the same lube myself for less. I really like their BAC lube. Here is a link:

http://www.lsstuff.com/

For my black powder cartridge bullets I make my own lube using a formula from one of Paul Matthews' books. It is 8 oz. by weight pure beeswax, 4 oz. by liquid volume Neatsfoot Oil, and 1 bar of original formula Neutrogena facial soap, done up in a double boiler and poured into a hollow stick mold that I made. It does every bit as well as SPG and for a lot less money.

Shasta

longranger · Post by **longranger** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 8:50 pm

Go to Cast Bullets.com and get the recipe for "Ben's Red" worth your effort and you will very happy with it's performance.

longranger · Post by **longranger** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 8:59 pm

Here's the recipe,
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... -Red-today

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 9:07 pm

I lube every cast bullet I shoot (rifle and pistol) on my RCBS luba-a-matic using NRA formula Alox/Beeswax lube.
EXCEPT the ones I powder coat AND the ones I shoot with Black Powder. BP bullets get pan lubed with SPG and sized in a push through die that I made. I made a generic die body and bushings and rammers to fit the various sizes needed.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 12:06 am

All nice and good advice on various lubes. But... what's important is to know what you are intending to use it for. Wax lubes are good for either magnum velocities out of hand guns, or very fast rifle bullets... non-petroleum lubes are required for BP... or... you could just use Lyman's Alox lube for non-magnum handgun cast bullets, or for low to medium cast rifle loads. I used to have several lubes for all types of shooting... and found that I get by with just two! SPG (or formulas close to that), and Lyman's Alox. I use it for all my smokeless handgun loads, (no magnums, from 650 fps to around 1,100 fps); and, for rifle loads from about 1400fps to 2200 fps. For years I only had one lubri-sizer, and a few years ago a friend gifted me another. So... life is simple. The RCBS for smokeless lubes, and the Saeco for BP loads. Somewhere, I have a sleeve of some "blue" wax... Thompson's IIRC. I should probably be using it for the .30-30 150 grain cast that runs in the 2100fps range... but... I'm getting groups as small as I can see...

Lots of other things life can throw at you to get worked up about, but... lubes ought not be one of them.

Tycer · Post by **Tycer** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 6:20 am

For fast stuff I have a few sticks of Apache Blue. Don't remember whether it came from Paco or Veral. For everything else I use 50/50 Beeswax/Alox 2138F. I bought a gallon of the Alox off the CBA years ago and will never go through it all!!

Wildgoose · Post by **Wildgoose** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 6:35 am

Griff wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2017 12:06 am All nice and good advice on various lubes. But... what's important is to know what you are intending to use it for. Wax lubes are good for either magnum velocities out of hand guns, or very fast rifle bullets... non-petroleum lubes are required for BP... or... you could just use Lyman's Alox lube for non-magnum handgun cast bullets, or for low to medium cast rifle loads. I used to have several lubes for all types of shooting... and found that I get by with just two! SPG (or formulas close to that), and Lyman's Alox. I use it for all my smokeless handgun loads, (no magnums, from 650 fps to around 1,100 fps); and, for rifle loads from about 1400fps to 2200 fps. For years I only had one lubri-sizer, and a few years ago a friend gifted me another. So... life is simple. The RCBS for smokeless lubes, and the Saeco for BP loads. Somewhere, I have a sleeve of some "blue" wax... Thompson's IIRC. I should probably be using it for the .30-30 150 grain cast that runs in the 2100fps range... but... I'm getting groups as small as I can see...

Lots of other things life can throw at you to get worked up about, but... lubes ought not be one of them.

Wow Griff, You saved me the time writing a response. I follow the same process with few differences!

fordwannabe · Post by **fordwannabe** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 10:13 am

I use Ben' red for some and liquid Alox for others. I let the rifle tell me which. Experimenting with Glenn Frxyell molly and beeswax lube but jury is still out on that one.

JohndeFresno · Post by **JohndeFresno** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 12:21 pm

Great responses and archived for Griff's definitive summary.

Chris83716 · Post by **Chris83716** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 1:48 pm

A second vote for BAC or plain old Alox with some Jhonson's floor wax mixed in to make it less tacky.

Chris

earlmck · Post by **earlmck** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 6:30 pm

For me the first decision point is "do I have to run this bullet through a lubrisizer?". If I am not going to put on a gas check, and if the gun will chamber the cartridge without it being squozed down, then the answer is "NO!" and I will use either Lee's liquid Alox mixed with about 30% Johnson Floor Wax or I may powder coat it. Only for a "Yes it needs to go through a lubrisizer" do I go on down the path these folks are steering you.

Then I make the decision of "Heat" or "No Heat". For the waxy lubes that need heat to flow I have a Starr sizer. For any other I have an ancient Lyman (whatever was before the 450) that gives 'em some 50/50 Alox/beeswax of which I seem to have acquired a lifetime supply sometime back in the early 70's and am still using out of the batch. I really like the Starr sizer so if I have the appropriate die the bullets go that route and get a waxy substance that handles nicely (lately While Label 2700). If I have the appropriate die in Lyman and not in Starr it gets the Alox which is a little messier to handle. I don't have a bunch of experimenting behind my lube decisions -- I am probably not a good enough shot for the lube to make a detectable difference.

And as you can see I am not doing any black powder stuff. Back when I did mess with black I just used Crisco. I do understand there is better stuff these days and if insanity hits and I chase after black again I'll take advice from Shasta and Griff.

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 10:04 pm

hmmmm, no pig fat? bacon grease? works on wagon axles.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 8:52 am

Grizz wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2017 10:04 pm hmmmm, no pig fat? bacon grease? works on wagon axles.

Only in BP formulas...

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 4:30 pm

Griff,
As a very simple minded individual, I have used a formula for the last twenty years that has served me well. As you know, I show dozens of calibers from dozens of rifles and revolvers. Now, get your pen and pencil ready as it's very complicated.

Ready, start writing......55% white lithium grease. (all Auto stores) and 45% pure beeswax. It's all I have used for many years and I made my own moulds from pvc pipe with a wooden dowel through the middle that connects to a main chuck of wood that holds the whole mess in place. I do stick a bit of aluminum foil between the pvc pipe and the chunk of wood to keep the line from melting out from the bottom. Your a smart guy and I don't need to show pictures but if you want some I'll be honored to do it.

THEN..........I hate getting old ........because an old timer two years ago told me, " Jack, I have all of this lube and I'll never use it, it's yours buddy". This lube is the brand label Tamerack and is the standard NRA formula .....must be 100 tubes, so I guess I'm done.......6

Hey! Been home yet?-----6

Mainehunter · Post by **Mainehunter** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 5:15 pm

I like being self sufficient. Make my own gas checks and as for lube I'm very impressed with Ben's Red and Ben's Liquid lube.

Mainehunter

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 5:23 pm

Sixgun wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2017 4:30 pmHey! Been home yet?-----6

Nope, two more weeks, then a week to get home... depending on what & how long it takes to find something that pays to get me there! Longest I've been out in years... left home the 11th of Feb! I either gotta do some laundry or find a Wal-Mart!

JohndeFresno · Post by **JohndeFresno** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 5:25 pm

Sixgun wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2017 4:30 pm ...I made my own moulds from pvc pipe with a wooden dowel through the middle that connects to a main chuck of wood that holds the whole mess in place. I do stick a bit of aluminum foil between the pvc pipe and the chunk of wood to keep the line from melting out from the bottom. Your a smart guy...

For us dummies,
What on earth are you talking about?

Do you mean that you put your bullet inside the PVC pipe with a mess of lube... or what? Surely you ain't using a plastic pipe as a mould for hot lead bullets...??

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 7:42 pm

Sixgun wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2017 4:30 pm...I made my own moulds from pvc pipe with a wooden dowel through the middle that connects to a main chuck of wood that holds the whole mess in place. I do stick a bit of aluminum foil between the pvc pipe and the chunk of wood to keep the line from melting out from the bottom. Your a smart guy...
JohndeFresno wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2017 5:25 pmFor us dummies,
What on earth are you talking about?
Do you mean that you put your bullet inside the PVC pipe with a mess of lube... or what? Surely you ain't using a plastic pipe as a mould for hot lead bullets...??

I'm figurin' that he has a piece of PVC with an inside diameter about the same as his lubri-sizer, and a small wooded dowel about the diameter of the bolt down the center bolt in same... and pours his lube in the PVC with the dowel in place so he can use the lube in the lubri-sizer. But... I could be wrong. Me, I use waxed paper instead of aluminum foil...

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 7:55 pm

OK, FOR all of the Italian board members, including John and myself......yea....welll...I don't think Griff has any Italian in him, he is pretty sharp....."..forget 'bout it"....as they say in South Philly where the best and brightest of The Italian Mafia originated....
Yea, no brag, I "remotely" knew some of em....that Joey Merlino was a good guy...give ya the shirt off his back.......he just had a problem where he could not stop killing his opposition.....

Ok, on to reality.....I take a board about a foot sq....get some 1" pvc pipe and cut it to about the length of a tube of lube.........get some 3/8" wood dowel and stick it in the hole of the board.....melt your lube and pour it in.......you sometimes have to put some aluminum foil between the pvc and the wood so it don't leak out...the picture is pretty self explanatory, even for full blooded Italians, which by the way...are the only ones allowed into the "club"

----6

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 8:15 pm

Treetop · Post by **Treetop** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 9:49 pm

Yet another vote here for White Label Lube's BAC. I use it exclusively for everything from .38 Special low velocity wadcutters to 2,000 fps 311299s and 311284s for my 2 M1-As and my Garand.

I have two lubri-sizers, one stays setup for .30 caliber and the other gets it's dies switched out regularly among the various pistol/revolver calibers that I cast for.

I also make my own gas checks, mainly because I enjoy the process but I can't say the same for lubes! Too messy and I just don't enjoy the process, myself.

Glad I saw this post cause it reminded me that I need to order more BAC. Semper Fi, Treetop

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 10:54 pm

Sixgun wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2017 7:55 pm

Nice setup... even if a little "messy"!

One of the important reasons I buy my lube!!!

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Mon Mar 20, 2017 10:58 am

Griff,
Yes....it is a messy deal...the first time I used this setup and I poured the molten lube in , the lube started to seep out the bottom and ran all over the place. That's when I got smart and put a piece of aluminum foil under the pvc and this stopped that leaking.......then after hardening it was another mess to push out of the tube, destroying the hole made by the dowel....then I got smart a second time (that's not easy for me) and put the whole mess in the freezer for an hour and then those babies slide on out of there.

There is a considerable savings by doing it this way. Instead of $5 a tube for store bought, I can make at least a dozen tubes for $10. I go through a lot of lube especially with the big bore guns with multiple grooves. I never could tell a difference in performance between my 10 cent formula and NRA store bought stuff.-----6

GunnyMack · Post by **GunnyMack** » Mon Mar 20, 2017 1:39 pm

Lots of things to think about now! For the amount of cast bullets I shoot/ plan to shoot I'm up in the air on if I should buy or make my own.
Thanks guys.

JohndeFresno · Post by **JohndeFresno** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:29 am

Ohhhh...
(Slapping forehead with palm)

Now I get it! And my uncle Louie the Finger sez he likes your idea.

Thanks!

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 12:52 pm

so apparently what y'all are saying is that you can't just pinch a bit and rub it onto the bullet?

I don't have a resizer or lubricator or gas check installer. sounds like I am disqualified.

how does it get so complicated?

I'm tending to go back to the roundball in the 12ga mode. simple. lethal. and no lubing required .. . .

sure would like to see some of your operations in action. you all know a lot more about this stuff than I do for sure....

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