A while back I tried a few hundred cast bullets in my 9mm and they were accurate enough but at the end of the day I had to clean gunk off of everything. since I shoot almost entirely at a favorite spot in the woods near my home the smoke wasn't a real big problem. One thing I have wondered about though is if there is any reason to be concerned about powder contamination from the lube. It would seem that they are a pretty snug fit in the cases but what if the boxes are left out in the sun while we're out shooting. Is this anything to consider of is it a non issue. I ask because I just keep thinking about all the lube that tends to end up all over everything by the end of the day. the outfit i used to buy from was the Friendwood bullet co in texas if that means anything.
a question regarding cast bullets
- Thread starter 1sailor
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The cast bullet's lube should be a hard paste to start with. If the bullets you get have the soft squashy lube that's not the preferred. Cast bullets are smokey because of the lube being burned off. As far as the lube melting & contaminating the powder in the loaded case, I've not hear of that. The bullet should be sealed against the case tight enough anyway even if it was to melt to the point running. I'm sure the people who cast there own bullets & are more familiar with the lubes can add more.
Some bullet companies use lubes that are applied by tumbleing or dipping, for example Bear Creek has a moly type of lube and the defunct Starr used a wax of some sort, both companies had swadged bullets with no lube grooves. I've never had any contamination problems with these or cast bullet lubes even when the ammo has been in and out of the sun and the barn several times. In black powder loads there is often a large lube "cookie" under the bullet or filling the hollow base, then they put an "over powder card" in place to stop from fouling the powder. Many original black powder lubes were made from sheep or beef fat, they were oily and melted easily, and were used to soften the caked on powder fouling (something smokeless won't do). It sounds like they put on too much lube if it is building up like that, but the alox type and other "modern" lubes won't foul powder. BTW a hint on reloading lubed bullets in hot weather- put the boxes of bullets in a refrigerator over night and pull them out just before reloading, this keeps things from getting all sticky. Ivan
ruger-p94
Member
I cast all my bullets and have tumbled and pan lubed them with my own concoctions. A few times I had too much smoke but that was my fault trying another recipe. I live in Florida and store all my rounds outside in the heat and have never had any melt on me. After I load them I usually wipe the whole case and bullet down with a cloth before putting them in the box to get any excess lube off. I don't shoot many at a time so it is no big deal and I like making them look "pretty". At $3 a box I can handle it ...cheers.
Maximumbob54
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I'm pretty bad about getting lube on the base of the bullets as I size and lube them. I used to spend a lot of time wiping the excess lube off and I finally gave up and just loaded and shot them. They were a little smoke filled but nothing crazy like BP. They all still go bang. Nothing is gummy and gun clogging in them. I used to also worry about that little bit of lube that sometimes squeazed out the crimp. Meh.
mkk41
US Veteran
The best lubes are those hard lubes which require a heating plate under the bullet sizer.
Any soft lube like Alox or those melt and pour 'pan lubes' are darn near as smokey as shooting black powder.
Any soft lube like Alox or those melt and pour 'pan lubes' are darn near as smokey as shooting black powder.
Maximumbob54
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That really depends on your load. I've used a lot of 50/50 alox/beeswax in .45 ACP and .38 special and it worked great and once again it was only smoke filled if I left it all over the base. But I know from learning the hard way if you use too hard of a lube in too low of a pressure loading then you will still end up with leading. Smoke shouldn't really be the serious issue here, bullet lube is supposed to be all about preventing leading. And I should add that I shoot tumble lube with alox bullets all the time. And they are NOTHING like BP.
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Been using my cast bullets & homemade lube for 40 years. Never had a lube contamination problem.
The lube on commercial cast bullets will not "contaminate" the powder charge. 99% of the lubes used will not "run" if the cartridges are left out "in the sun". Commercial casters take these things into consideration and choose a lube that will stand up during shipping/handling, not temp. sensitive, and do a fair job of preventing leading. Many home made lube recipes will be affected by heat/cold, and a few will "run/seep" in higher temps. and smoke from cast bullet lube is just part of shootin' lead.
