What's Your Fav (Best) Cast Boolet Lube?

What is your favorite (best) cast boolet lube?

  • Total voters
    31
  • Poll closed .
I don't use any of your choices. Rooster Red was discontinued ages ago, along with the rest of that manufacturers bullet lubes.

Right now, LBT Soft Blue is in the sizer. I have plenty of Carnuba Red if I feel the need. I have a batch of home made "Felix" lube that I've been working with for ages too. I have enough beeswax, lanolin and other ingredients stockpiled that I probably won't have to buy lube again. Ever.

There are a lot of good ones, and you've listed a few, including the hated (by me) tumble lubes.
 
Update for an old thread. Just found a shoe conditioner called Dr. Martens Airwair wonder balsam. Made with coconut oil, lanolin, and beeswax. May be just the thing for sealing my 1858 New Army cylinders to prevent crossfire. I have some beeswax and sheep tallow but may save this for making felt soaked wads. Just under $10 for 2.5 ounces no cooking required. Comes in a neat little silver tin w/screw on cap. Made in Spain. Yes Crisco is cheaper but so messy.
 
HI-TEC and Conventional Powder Coated projectiles are making
BELIEVERS out of all who try them.

GOOD-BYE to older WAXY LUBES, technology marches onward and upward!
 
I used Lyman's Ideal Bullet Lube (the old hard, black stuff) for many years, then went with their Super Moly for a bit. Tried RCBS's lube for a while. In 2000, after reading SPG's "BP Cartridge Reloading Primer", I gave SPG a turn in the lubri-sizer. Used it first in BP cartridges only, then tried it out with smokeless. Over a short period of time I found that it works perfectly for for me in everything - rifle and pistol, high velocity and low velocity, smokeless and black powder. I've never looked back (still have several tubes of the Lyman and RCBS stuff lying around), and have felt no need to look any further.
 
Last edited:
rwsmith said:
I couldn't vote.
Click to expand...

I couldn't vote, either. Mainly because I have never reloaded "boolets". Grammatically speaking, those are small "bools", which I haven't used in years because I don't do much Boolean logic anymore. Bullets, though...
 
3 parts beeswax to 1 part lithium grease.
Garth Choate used to sell this lube . In 1978 I bought 40 sticks for $20.00, which included shipping, never had any leading with it. He no longer sells it but gave me the recipe. I use Lucas Red-N-Tacky lithium grease . Still works !
Gary
 
Just about all of my cast pistol bullets and standard caliber rifle bullets are lubricated with NRA formula Alox lube using the lubri-sizer machine. This provides about the most convenient and easy method for dealing with volume production.

Some of my obsolete and obscure 19th Century cartridges are fed with cast bullets lubricated by hand using pure white lithium grease applied liberally to the lube grooves. This provides the best lubrication and best accuracy I have found, but it is time consuming and tedious work. But I only produce 50 to 100 rounds at a time by this method, so it isn't all that bad.

A 4 oz. or 8 oz. tube or cartridge of pure white lithium grease can be had at just about any auto parts house for a couple of bucks, and easily takes care of a couple of thousand rounds of cast bullet ammo. I don't think there is anything better for cast bullet lubrication up to 2000-plus FPS.
 
LoboGunLeather said:
Just about all of my cast pistol bullets and standard caliber rifle bullets are lubricated with NRA formula Alox lube using the lubri-sizer machine. This provides about the most convenient and easy method for dealing with volume production.

Some of my obsolete and obscure 19th Century cartridges are fed with cast bullets lubricated by hand using pure white lithium grease applied liberally to the lube grooves. This provides the best lubrication and best accuracy I have found, but it is time consuming and tedious work. But I only produce 50 to 100 rounds at a time by this method, so it isn't all that bad.

A 4 oz. or 8 oz. tube or cartridge of pure white lithium grease can be had at just about any auto parts house for a couple of bucks, and easily takes care of a couple of thousand rounds of cast bullet ammo. I don't think there is anything better for cast bullet lubrication up to 2000-plus FPS.
Click to expand...

I had powder coating kissing the edge of 3000 fps.
old school may still have its credit with black powder, where the grease keeps the fowling soft.
other than that, going to coatings isn't a trade. It's all gain
 
With my Star Sizer, I am sure I can lube and size faster than I can powder coat and bake.
 
I haven't cast any bullets in a few years. Haven't had time. What's with these new coatings. I know what powder coating is. Seems pretty labor intensive. What is the cost of buying compared to regular commercial cast bullets? What's with the other Tec something or other? How is it applied? I normally use a Lyman Lubrisizer with heated BAC. I'm not opposed to using as cast bullets. May actually be better in some guns. Educate me please m
 
epj said:
I haven't cast any bullets in a few years. Haven't had time. What's with these new coatings. I know what powder coating is. Seems pretty labor intensive. What is the cost of buying compared to regular commercial cast bullets? What's with the other Tec something or other? How is it applied? I normally use a Lyman Lubrisizer with heated BAC. I'm not opposed to using as cast bullets. May actually be better in some guns. Educate me please m
Click to expand...

I'll take a crack at it.
With either powder coat or hi tek the end result is a full plastic jacket.
You can enjoy loading non stop runs without having to clean lube out of your dies. You shoot with less smoke, and you never have to deal with degraded ammo due to the lube melting and contaminating powder.

Powder coat has a few methods of application ranging from dry shake and bake, slurry tumble, and electrostatic spray.

Hi tek is wet tumbled prior to baking.

Application advantage goes to the hi tek system.

Velocity advantage goes to powder coat, which can render gas checks unnecessary.
 
venomballistics said:
Yeah, but I don't have to stop to clean out a die when it gets packed with lube
Click to expand...

...and I don't have overspray to deal with, or Reynolds wrap, an oven to watch to make sure they don't "overcook." :p

There are certainly pros and cons to both. I believe in the powder coat concept, just the traditional has always worked for me with the exception of a Ruger SP101 that I had. Plus I can lube and size right inside, and don't have to set ups spray booth outside for the powder coat, and have an extra oven to deal with. I just plink, so I'm not pushing bullets fast, and I don't cast rifle bullets.

I did introduce my brother-in-law to powder coating, and he started in doing it last year. He seems to like it after the learning curve of bullets that wouldn't come off the tray and burnt batches. So maybe there is hope for me yet. ;)
 
novalty said:
...and I don't have overspray to deal with, or Reynolds wrap, an oven to watch to make sure they don't "overcook." :p

There are certainly pros and cons to both. I believe in the powder coat concept, just the traditional has always worked for me with the exception of a Ruger SP101 that I had. Plus I can lube and size right inside, and don't have to set ups spray booth outside for the powder coat, and have an extra oven to deal with. I just plink, so I'm not pushing bullets fast, and I don't cast rifle bullets.

I did introduce my brother-in-law to powder coating, and he started in doing it last year. He seems to like it after the learning curve of bullets that wouldn't come off the tray and burnt batches. So maybe there is hope for me yet. ;)
Click to expand...

youve had some odd adventures in it:p
I've never burned a batch and the overspray non problem is one of the more fastening things about it.
You see this thick fog of color billow forth and assume it'll be in everything in the next 5 minutes.
If you happen to be spraying at just the right angle, you can watch the cloud of PC get sucked out of the air by the bullets.

The hi tek system is probably a little more user friendly for those who really don't want a garage with an industrial vibe.

we all owe these technologies some gratitude.
Since they have been become more common, frustrated noobs begging for leading solutions has declined dramatically.
we don't have cries for help twice a week like we did a few years ago. its closer to once a month now, and usually its a swaged Speer or Hornady.
 
I like powder coating, but I don't like it to the point where I would ever do it myself.
>You can enjoy loading non stop runs without having to clean lube out of your dies.

Never had this issue in 40 years except about 15 years ago with some National Bullet Company bullets.

>You shoot with less smoke, and you never have to deal with degraded ammo due to the lube melting and contaminating powder.

Again, never had either issue, even during IPSC and PPC competition. I wonder if too many folks are watching for smoke and not watching the front sight and the target?

The main benefit, for those who keep over-lubing their bullets, is the possibility of using a bullet collator with the powder coated bullets, where standard lubed bullets would gum up the works.
 
noylj said:
"You shoot with less smoke, and you never have to deal with degraded ammo due to the lube melting and contaminating powder. "

Again, never had either issue, even during IPSC and PPC competition. I wonder if too many folks are watching for smoke and not watching the front sight and the target?

The main benefit, for those who keep over-lubing their bullets, is the possibility of using a bullet collator with the powder coated bullets, where standard lubed bullets would gum up the works.
Click to expand...

with competition loading, your also turning over your stock at a rapid rate.
I'll tell you of the "Requiem" load.
This was a cast 310g full house 44 magnum loading that might have been evidence of divine intervention.

1270 FPS average and an ES of 12 out of an 8 3/8" 629.
accuracy was capable of outperforming some rifles.
The basic recipe is still a fine load, but this particular run's miraculous results were due to a stone cold win in lot number bingo.
This lead to naming it after Mozart's Requiem.
classic, powerful, and perfect.

The twin towers still stood over New York when this run was loaded. In retrospect, I should have named it Duran Duran, because after all this time .... it's come undone.
Current ES is well into the 3 digit range.
Dissassembly shows migrated lube mixed with powder.
I don't think this would have been an issue with coated. There's nothing to migrate.

Smoke never bothered me personally. Even when it was excessive, I simply found it amusing.
However, as life has taken me from wide open fields and swamps to indoor ranges, I find that others tend to associate this smoke with bad things, and become unduly concerned.
 
What's BAC?
I've been thinking of trying a recipe I saw online - a mix of 50% paraffin and 50% petroleum jelly. Mainly because I already have both ingredients and I've only got a couple of hundred to lube. Anybody ever tried that mix?
 
Last edited:
BAC: beeswax, Alox grease (not the sealant used in Lee Liquid Alox), and carnauba wax.
Paraffin and Vasoline will work, but not for velocities much over 1200fps, I would expect. Be better with beeswax.
For a couple of hundred, shoot the bullet as-cast and hand lube with any good automotive grease (lithium or moly).
For the cost of lube from White Labs (or whatever their name is now), there is little to gain from mixing your own--but it can be fun.
Again, I am a big fan of tumble lube--light tumble lube, where if you can see the lube you've used too much.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

ddeanjohnson
For Sale WTS: 16 guns -- all offers respectfully considered -- collection liquidation
2
Replies
36
Views
22K
ddeanjohnson
ddeanjohnson
ddeanjohnson
  • Locked
WITHDRAWN -- Collection reduction: 40 guns (15 S&W + Colts, etc.)
2
Replies
26
Views
11K
ddeanjohnson
ddeanjohnson
dan-g
First time caster looking for vertan advise
Replies
4
Views
2K
dan-g
dan-g

Latest posts

Back
Top