Lubing bullets

[Collo Rosso]

I've got a Marlin in 44mag with a barrel that slugged to .432". I ordered hard cast in .433" from a well known bullet maker and when they arrived they evidently cooked in transportation as 80% of the bullet lube had melted off and soaked the box. A phone call to the bullet maker had a replacement order coming. I'm about to run out of the replacement order and was wondering if I could re-lube the bullets. I was thinking of trying alox.
Any suggestions?

 

[mikld]

Try dipping the bullets in alox. Tumbling can get messy so I pick a bullet up by the nose and dip into a pan of alox and sit the bullet on a piece of aluminum foil to dry. I often thin the alox with mineral spirits so it dries faster...

 

[patrickd]

You could also melt a candle in a double boiler and then dip the bullets in the molten wax. Then as it sets up wipe them down. The wax will wipe off leaving the lube groove filled with wax. I think this will work better than alox as it cures much quicker and is not sticky like alox. Alox lubed bullets tend to attract grit.

 

[fredj338]

You could also melt a candle in a double boiler and then dip the bullets in the molten wax. Then as it sets up wipe them down. The wax will wipe off leaving the lube groove filled with wax. I think this will work better than alox as it cures much quicker and is not sticky like alox. Alox lubed bullets tend to attract grit.

Problem is parrafin candle wax has very little lube proprties.
Cut your alox 50/50 with mineral spirits. Swirl & coat, they dry pretty much non sticky.

 

[geddylee10002000]

I have had success with a 45/45/10 mix. 45% alox, 45% Johnsons paste wax, 10% mineral spirits. It is somewhat standard over to the cast bullet forums. I just tumble lube them. If they are sticky I put some motor mica on them. You could also put corn starch, baby powder, etc on them.

 

[PPCSHOOTER]

I have had success with a 45/45/10 mix. 45% alox, 45% Johnsons paste wax, 10% mineral spirits. It is somewhat standard over to the cast bullet forums. I just tumble lube them. If they are sticky I put some motor mica on them. You could also put corn starch, baby powder, etc on them.

YEP 45/45/10 IS THE WAY TO GO. MICA YES, BUT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE CS OR BP ROUTE. JP

 

[riversalmon]

My Quick and EASY bullet lube is Johnson paste car wax. Just dip a little on your finger, wipe the bullet, let dry and load. Not overly scientific, works like a charm and equipment is at your finger tips.

 

[Collo Rosso]

Thanks for the replies. I've ordered a bottle of alox and found a can of carnauba wax in the garage. When the alox gets here I might try the 45/45/10 concoction.
In the future I need to find a bullet maker that sizes coated to .433" or give up and just buy jacketed.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

For smaller quantities (100-200 at a time) one of the best and easiest alternatives is pure white lithium grease, available at any auto parts supply store. A dab on the fingertips allows you to quickly fill the lube grooves. Lubrication is excellent for cast bullets, and accuracy will rival anything else available. I have used this for many years on bullets for .45-70, .45-90, .45 Sharps Express, as well as relatively high velocity loads (2100FPS+) in the .30 calibers.

The lithium grease cartridge I bought in about 1985 is still in use today. Cost was about $3.00.

 

[BuckeyeS&W]

I like to use Alox thinned with mineral spirits. I put Alox in old Tupperware container that has a lid add 100 bullets put lid on container and shake and roll bullets. Remove lid and spread bullets on waxed paper and let dry 24 hours. I do this to all my Missouri bullets and it helped with leading. The hard lube that is used on commercial bullets doesn't always cut the mustard.
I've been doing this method for about five years now and like the results of adding extra lube.

 

[cfplinker]

Another formula is to mix either the lithium or the moly grease from the auto parts store with beeswax at about a 1:1 ratio. This will still be soft enough to apply by hand. If you have enough bullets to lube that you want to try pan lubing increase the beeswax to 2 or 2-1/2 parts for 1 part of the grease.

 

[epj]

Does your Marlin have the microgroove rifiling? I have read several times on the cast bullet forum that achieving any sort of accuracy in those barrels requires a very hard cast bullet. When I had one years back, it did fine with jacketed bullets. Never tried cast in it.

 

[Collo Rosso]

Mine has ballard (conventional?) rifling. Factory ammo with jacketed bullets is very accurate at 100 yards. Hard cast SWC's at .430" are all over the place. .433" hard cast and the accuracy comes right back.

 

[mikld]

Mine has ballard (conventional?) rifling. Factory ammo with jacketed bullets is very accurate at 100 yards. Hard cast SWC's at .430" are all over the place. .433" hard cast and the accuracy comes right back.

FWIW; SAAMI recommendation for a .44 Magnum rifle barrel is a groove diameter of .431". Handgun groove diameter is suggested to be .429". Perhaps why the poor accuracy of your .430" bullets? Why the difference? I dunno...

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

In a safe place (that is anywhere "Momma" won't explode over you doing a project) take a large jar lid, set the bullets upright and use a blow dryer to melt a half stick of bullet lube (Lyman alox or I like SPG Black powder lube) among the bullets, make sure the lube groove is covered. let air cool, the refrigerate over night, The bullets should break out of the lube and be ready to go.

It would be even better if you could match the original lube!

Ivan

 

[Bugkiller99]

Thanks for the replies. I've ordered a bottle of alox and found a can of carnauba wax in the garage. When the alox gets here I might try the 45/45/10 concoction.
In the future I need to find a bullet maker that sizes coated to .433" or give up and just buy jacketed.

If you are making your own 45/45/10 us a "double boiler" pot. Don't expose that to excess heat or open flame. 45/45/10 is really cheap to buy and goes a long way. Not worth going to the trouble to make it in my mind. YMMV

Edit to add link and price. $17.25 for 32 oz

32oz 45-45-10 / Deluxe Liquid Xlox - $17.25 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

 

[buckshotshorty]

I found the easiest and most effective remedy is get a small cardboard box like the kind bulk bullets are packed in or even a coffee can, and using Lee Liquid Alox fill the container with about 200 bullets, draw an"X" of Alox on top; you don't need much, then close the box and shahake well for about five minutes, turning the box while shaking, then pour out the bullets onto a good 2 ft of wax paper or freezer paper, wax side up and spread the bullets out. Let them dry over night; if they still feel tacky give them another day until they feel dry to the touch. Bullets should have a light honey color.

 

[38SPL HV]

No more lube bullets for me - I use Hi-Tek coated Bayou bullets or Speer lead exclusively. Much cleaner for me

 

[gwpercle]

Problem is parrafin candle wax has very little lube proprties.
Cut your alox 50/50 with mineral spirits. Swirl & coat, they dry pretty much non sticky.

Lee Liquid Alox , thinned as fredj338 says, speeds up drying and eliminates any stickiness. If you don't care for the stuff on the bullet nose, dip them up to the shoulder , wipe base on the container rim and set on wax paper to dry.
Gary

 

[Collo Rosso]

No more lube bullets for me - I use Hi-Tek coated Bayou bullets or Speer lead exclusively. Much cleaner for me

Love coated bullets and have contacted a few companies about getting 44 caliber coated bullets sized to .433".

 

[Forrest r]

Love coated bullets and have contacted a few companies about getting 44 caliber coated bullets sized to .433".

You should get into coating bullets yourself, it will open up a whole new world for you. You can use most bullets from the different casters out there and coat your own. Coating bullets will easily add .0015" to .002" per coat. It's cave man simple to do & you would be setup to coat for:

4x containers $2
airsoft black bb's $5
b&d toaster oven $30
needle nose pliers $3.50
PC powder $10 (1#)
nonstick aluminum foil $3.50
oven thermometer $5

With that 1 # of pc powder you can easily do 10,000+ bullets. Order any .430" bullet you want and put a heavy coat of pc on them( heavy coat ='s .002" to .003"). No sizing required, just load them and hit the load button.

Once your setup to coat bullets you can do any caliber.

 

[mikld]

Perhaps a "whole new world" is offered to some, but in my experience, PCing bullets is just so-so. I've only PCed mebbe 2,500 bullets for various handguns and rifles and yes, they are cleaner to shoot (electro static sprayed and "shake and baked". Red, blue, green, and mixes of colors). But my cast bullets don't lead very much and are as accurate as I am and I'm not messy so I don't get lube all over my shop/tools/dies. My PCed bullets are no more accurate than my cast and yes the multi colored ammo in my shop looks cool, but I'm the only one to see them and shoot them and I'm OK with my nekkid lead bullets.

 

[fredj338]

Perhaps a "whole new world" is offered to some, but in my experience, PCing bullets is just so-so. I've only PCed mebbe 2,500 bullets for various handguns and rifles and yes, they are cleaner to shoot (electro static sprayed and "shake and baked". Red, blue, green, and mixes of colors). But my cast bullets don't lead very much and are as accurate as I am and I'm not messy so I don't get lube all over my shop/tools/dies. My PCed bullets are no more accurate than my cast and yes the multi colored ammo in my shop looks cool, but I'm the only one to see them and shoot them and I'm OK with my nekkid lead bullets.

The two biggest reason to go to coated is cleaner shooting gun & waaaaay less smoke. if you shoot indoors or speed based competition, less smoke is good.

 

[noylj]

Here is how I lube bullets using LLA, Xlox, or 45/45/10:
Take 200 to 500 bullets and lay them on their side in a glass casserole dish.
Squirt a "Z" on the bullets and shuffle/rotate them for about 30-60 seconds.
Inspect and be sure all have a shiny/wet look. If there are any "dry" bullets, squirt a little more and shuffle/rotate for another 30-60 seconds.
Pour out onto aluminum foil or wax paper and let dry over night.
That is all there is to it and the LLA/Xlox act as a barrier coating to prevent leading even with bullet a bit too small.

 

[Qc Pistolero]

You could also melt a candle in a double boiler and then dip the bullets in the molten wax. Then as it sets up wipe them down. The wax will wipe off leaving the lube groove filled with wax. I think this will work better than alox as it cures much quicker and is not sticky like alox. Alox lubed bullets tend to attract grit.

Candle wax(parafin)alone will not act as a lubricant should.I tried it once and got the worst case of leading I've ever had.I now use it to harden my regular recipe(handguns:50/50 Alox 350+beeswax;rifles: lithium grease+graphite+carnuba).More candle wax for bullets shot during summertime and less for wintertime.
Qc

 

[bbqncigars]

Tried HiTek and PC coating. Both involved time and mess. I went back to normal lube through my Star. Cleaner and quicker. YMMV.

 

[smoothshooter]

For smaller quantities (100-200 at a time) one of the best and easiest alternatives is pure white lithium grease, available at any auto parts supply store. A dab on the fingertips allows you to quickly fill the lube grooves. Lubrication is excellent for cast bullets, and accuracy will rival anything else available. I have used this for many years on bullets for .45-70, .45-90, .45 Sharps Express, as well as relatively high velocity loads (2100FPS+) in the .30 calibers.

The lithium grease cartridge I bought in about 1985 is still in use today. Cost was about $3.00.

Wouldn't there be a potential problem with powder contamination over time from the grease, especially during and after hot weather?

 

[smoothshooter]

You should get into coating bullets yourself, it will open up a whole new world for you. You can use most bullets from the different casters out there and coat your own. Coating bullets will easily add .0015" to .002" per coat. It's cave man simple to do & you would be setup to coat for:

4x containers $2
airsoft black bb's $5
b&d toaster oven $30
needle nose pliers $3.50
PC powder $10 (1#)
nonstick aluminum foil $3.50
oven thermometer $5

With that 1 # of pc powder you can easily do 10,000+ bullets. Order any .430" bullet you want and put a heavy coat of pc on them( heavy coat ='s .002" to .003"). No sizing required, just load them and hit the load button.

Once your setup to coat bullets you can do any caliber.

Are the Airsoft balls are for a tumbler?
If so, you need to add that to the equipment list.

 

[BC38]

Are the Airsoft balls are for a tumbler?
If so, you need to add that to the equipment list.

I can't speak for Forest R, but I use butter dishes or Cool Whip containers with the airsoft BBs for the "tumbling". Any plastic container with a snap-on lid and marked with the #5 recycling symbol on the bottom will work for this purpose.

 

[Bakebfr480]

Try pan-lubing.