What happens to the Lube

[TwoPoundPull]

What happens to the lube on a cast lead bullet when fired...Does it vaporize before leaving the bbl, melt some and travel with the bullet, break up and make those greasy specks on a close in target, burn up and cause the sooty smoke......I'd like to know.......Thanks...2#

 

[Fat Old Guy]

I think all of the above is the answer.

 

[Titegroups]

Typically when the bullet hits the rifling some of it gets squished out and should lubricate the barrel as it travels through but some of it depending on the lube and other factors gets burned up causing smoke. If you find lube on the muzzle of the barrel after firing it means the lube made it the full length of the barrel. I'm sure some other casters can elaborate more on the subject.

 

[Rule3]

I pick D: all of the above.

 

[Alk8944]

It depends on several things, pressure, velocity, twist rate, and lubricant type, but overall the best answer is "D", all of the above. Much of the lubricant stays with the bullet until it comes to rest.

 

[MMA10mm]

The truth is, no one has definitively answered this question. Something I've been curious about too. There are long, elaborately-argued points of view about this at cast boolits, and the RKIs there don't REALLY know.

 

[bloo]

after picking slugs out of a dirt back stop the hard blue stuff seems to stay in the lube groove. 50/50 alox bees wax seems to go up in smoke. I have found lube on targets at 25 yards using the Lyman Orange.

Ted

 

[mtgianni]

Lyman Super moly will come off between the case and the 50 yard target as does a good home made version. [Felix] I want lube to have no adverse effects to accuracy in the bbl, not disturb rotation if it spins off in flight and prevent leading last. If the temperatures are between 45F and 85 F I should get a lube star at the muzzle from 20 rounds. That tells me most of the lube is being used in the bbl where I want it to be used.

 

[DWalt]

I believe most of it is thrown out of the grease grooves as the bullet leaves the muzzle due to centrifugal force from the spinning bullet. A very little may burn, but as the residence time of the bullet in the barrel is so brief, there is not enough time for much of that to happen.

I don't know about anyone else, but I have scavenged lots of lead bullets fron the backstop berm, and have never seen a fired lead bullet with any lubricant remaining in the grease grooves.

 

[bloo]

I believe most of it is thrown out of the grease grooves as the bullet leaves the muzzle due to centrifugal force from the spinning bullet. A very little may burn, but as the residence time of the bullet in the barrel is so brief, there is not enough time for much of that to happen.

I don't know about anyone else, but I have scavenged lots of lead bullets fron the backstop berm, and have never seen a fired lead bullet with any lubricant remaining in the grease grooves.

Pull them all the time with the hard blue stuff from store bought cast slugs.

 

[fredj338]

It always depends on the lube used & the vel fired. I have recovered bulelts with no lube & bullets w/ full grooves. In handgun rounds, all are mroe accurate than most shooters could shoot. You want the lube to make it at least to the end of the bbl, after that, accuracy tells the story.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Mostly carnauba wax based lube seems to stick to the bullet and will stay on even when the bullet hits the dirt. Those are the only ones I find that still have any lube on them.

 

[Rule3]

It seems to enter the "time space continuum" The faster the bullet goes the closer to the speed of light it reaches and it falls to the E=MC2 equation.

Time and the bullet will stop,and become one.

 

[Maximumbob54]

It seems to enter the "time space continuum" The faster the bullet goes the closer to the speed of light it reaches and it falls to the E=MC2 equation.

Time and the bullet will stop,and become one.

Are you Doctor Who???

 

[Rule3]

Step into my TARDIS

When they had it as a regular series(the original not the new version) on PBS I watched it all the time, Great stuff!

 

[hbchuey]

It's been my experience that most of it lodges in my seating and crimping dies

 

[Bib]

On a zero degree day some of it goes through the front screen of your chronograph.....

 

[JBnTx]

How come I never see any lube on the target?

 

[patrickd]

In short barreled pistols and revolvers? Not really. I've captured several fired cast bullets from both 9mm and 357's and pretty much all the lube was still in the grove. I think in a cast bullet shot at high velocity out of a rifle length barrel there would be enough heat generated through friction that a good amount of it would melt as it is forced down the barrel.

 

[Qc Pistolero]

Actually,the lube's job is not exactly to lubricate but acts more like a gasket.The centrifugical force caused by the rapid rotation of the bullet in the barrel causes the lube to seal any space between the bullet and the barrel thus keeping the gases behind the bullet.If any of these gases,pushed at pressure from aprox 10K#/sq.in.in a .38spl target load all the way up to aprox 40K pressure in the trio of magnums would find a passage between the barrel and bullet,they would erode the lead and cause leading in the barrel.
Like DWALT said,some of it might burn and most of it is leaving the bullet as soon as the bullet leaves the barrel because of the centrifugical force.
You might also find some still clinging onto the bullet after it is recovered.It depends on the composition of the lube.
Qc