shil
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Has anyone out there ever pan-lubed with SPG or equivalent a .455 Remington 250 grain round nosed swaged lead bullet for use with black powder? Curiosity consumes me. No, I don't plan to try it with a 25-5!
.45 colt
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The Norseman
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Pan lube
I have pan lubed swaged lead and cast bullets with Alox and home made lubes. If you buy a stick of lube cut about 1/4 stick and put the rest away. If you didn't buy a kit, you will need two additional things, ONE, a pan, & TWO a cutter. The pan can be made from a wide metal jar lid and for 45 Colt a cutter can be made from a 45-70 case, with the rim end cut off.
Stick a bunch of bullets, base down, in the lid about 3/16 inch apart. Set the SPG lube on top of bullets, the add heat source. (A blow dryer works well) melt the lube and let flow until the lube grooves are covered and let cool. Use the case to cut out the bullets. I find it best to leave unused bullets in the pan until needed. (some people fill the empty spaces and warm back up, so they have a full batch ready for the next loading session.)
Next point about lubing for Black Powder. Many modern bullets don't have grooves to hold enough lube. In a separate lid melt SPG and make about 1/8" thick let cool wait to cut just before loading and place a "cookie" below the bullet. This adds more lube and make fouling very soft. This works for cap & ball revolvers and for cartridges put a cork or cardboard "card" between the powder and the cookie.
You can also fill the cylinder mouth with Crisco as additional lube. On hot days this will melt and drip out! Make a 50/50 batch of Crisco and Paraffin melted to gather and let cool, a pop-cycle stick used as a butter knife works great. A hunk of synthetic candle works well for the 50/50 mix, bees wax needs less Crisco.
Have fun making clouds!
Ivan
I have pan lubed swaged lead and cast bullets with Alox and home made lubes. If you buy a stick of lube cut about 1/4 stick and put the rest away. If you didn't buy a kit, you will need two additional things, ONE, a pan, & TWO a cutter. The pan can be made from a wide metal jar lid and for 45 Colt a cutter can be made from a 45-70 case, with the rim end cut off.
Stick a bunch of bullets, base down, in the lid about 3/16 inch apart. Set the SPG lube on top of bullets, the add heat source. (A blow dryer works well) melt the lube and let flow until the lube grooves are covered and let cool. Use the case to cut out the bullets. I find it best to leave unused bullets in the pan until needed. (some people fill the empty spaces and warm back up, so they have a full batch ready for the next loading session.)
Next point about lubing for Black Powder. Many modern bullets don't have grooves to hold enough lube. In a separate lid melt SPG and make about 1/8" thick let cool wait to cut just before loading and place a "cookie" below the bullet. This adds more lube and make fouling very soft. This works for cap & ball revolvers and for cartridges put a cork or cardboard "card" between the powder and the cookie.
You can also fill the cylinder mouth with Crisco as additional lube. On hot days this will melt and drip out! Make a 50/50 batch of Crisco and Paraffin melted to gather and let cool, a pop-cycle stick used as a butter knife works great. A hunk of synthetic candle works well for the 50/50 mix, bees wax needs less Crisco.
Have fun making clouds!
Ivan
AJ
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I have used the homemade lube, pan and cutter a long time ago. It worked well for me at the time. Then I moved to a Lyman 450 Luber-Sizer. Now I powder coat and size.
Drm50
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I have done 45 cal bullets in paraffin mixture, with lube cutter. I did it for 455 Eley but loaded smokeless.
twodog max
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I have thought about trying it because using SPG in a lubrisizer seems sort of messy and SPG is soft and gooey to start with. I think SPG is available in a block for easier pan lube work.. It does make black powder shooting easier I just don't care for the mess with other shooting and use conventional lubes for smokeless.
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Lee used to make "Kit" like you just described. That's how I started. They also also made a sizer you could drive them through after cutting them out.
AJ
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I have those still one in .38 and the other in .44.
I shoot black powder loads out of my Bisley all the time. I bought some 255 SWC that had no lube and pan lubed with a 50/50 bees wax olive oil lube that I use in my trapdoor.
However like Ivan said most bullets that are designed for smokeless don’t hold enough lube for blackpowder. I cast now with a big lube bullet that works very well.
Bullet Molds
However like Ivan said most bullets that are designed for smokeless don’t hold enough lube for blackpowder. I cast now with a big lube bullet that works very well.
Bullet Molds
LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
I don't use much black powder but I continue to load several obsolete calibers originally designed for BP (.45-70, .45-90, .45 Sharps Express). These are antique rifles so I treat them gently with very mild smokeless loads.
Years ago I happened across an article about bullet lubrication that included extensive testing with pure white lithium grease. I tried that and found immediate success, both in accuracy and in soft bore residues that are easily cleaned. Lithium grease can be found at any auto parts supply store in either small squeeze tubes (for lubing door latches, etc) or ~10-oz. cartridges for use with a grease gun. Very inexpensive, especially for the small amounts needed for bullet lube. My method involves nothing more complicated than a small glob of grease on a fingertip applied to the lube grooves and body of the cast bullets.
I've tried the same method in .30 caliber bullets for .30-06, .308, .300 Savage, and .30-40 Krag, all with complete success up to around 2000FPS or so. Several sub-MOA groups at 100 yards from the bench with good rifles. A few patches and a little powder solvent has been everything needed for cleaning.
Tried using white lithium grease in BP guns, including an original Pennsylvania percussion rifle, Colt 1860 Army, and Remington New Army. Very good results in all cases!
Still using the same ~10-oz grease-gun cartridge I bought about 40 years ago. It really doesn't take much to lube any bullet.
Years ago I happened across an article about bullet lubrication that included extensive testing with pure white lithium grease. I tried that and found immediate success, both in accuracy and in soft bore residues that are easily cleaned. Lithium grease can be found at any auto parts supply store in either small squeeze tubes (for lubing door latches, etc) or ~10-oz. cartridges for use with a grease gun. Very inexpensive, especially for the small amounts needed for bullet lube. My method involves nothing more complicated than a small glob of grease on a fingertip applied to the lube grooves and body of the cast bullets.
I've tried the same method in .30 caliber bullets for .30-06, .308, .300 Savage, and .30-40 Krag, all with complete success up to around 2000FPS or so. Several sub-MOA groups at 100 yards from the bench with good rifles. A few patches and a little powder solvent has been everything needed for cleaning.
Tried using white lithium grease in BP guns, including an original Pennsylvania percussion rifle, Colt 1860 Army, and Remington New Army. Very good results in all cases!
Still using the same ~10-oz grease-gun cartridge I bought about 40 years ago. It really doesn't take much to lube any bullet.
My biggest concern would be on ammo not shot right away, That migrating grease would contaminate the powder and make a erratic velocity load, or with enough time a squib.
Ivan
LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
Actually, lithium grease tends to become tacky when exposed to air. Never dries completely or solidifies, but is not a runny consistency. Applied to bullet bodies and lube grooves there is no apparent risk of the grease causing powder contamination.
I apply the lithium grease with fingertip, as described, then set the bullets on a flat surface. By the time I have completed a hundred the first ones treated are tacky to the touch.
I found some .30-06 with lithium-lubed hard-cast lead bullets during our move 6 years ago, box label indicates I loaded them in 1992. So, 29 year old hand-loads, should be a good test right there! I will try to let you know how they work next trip to the rifle range.
That load includes Lee C309-180R cast of 50/50 wheel weights & linotype (.3095" and 172 grains as cast in that alloy, BHN ~18), Hornady gas check applied using a .310" sizer die in the lubri-sizer after hand-lube with lithium grease, 36 grains H-335, standard primer. Seated using the Lyman M-die, light crimp to remove the case mouth flaring. Very consistent at 2300FPS from an as-issued 1942 Remington 03-A3 (4-groove barrel) typical groups of 1.5" at 100 yards from a sandbag rest. After 50-100 rounds a clean patch, then a solvent-soaked patch, then a few clean patches through the bore, rifle is ready to put away.
Personally, I find that performance to be excellent for any lube and cast bullet load.
I am very interested in the load duration, please PM the results of you test firing to me, I doubt interest in this thread will last much longer.
Ivan
Ivan
