about bullet lube

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Last Post 10 April 2023

Standard Member

bullshop posted this 03 April 2023

In reading old shooting journals I have noticed that in the golden years of single shot rifle competition the top level competitors had different lube formula for use in different weather conditions of hot and cold or damp or dry. I am curious to know if this is still a thing and if some here still do this. Not asking for lube formula but just wanting to know if anybody here uses different lubes for different weather conditions?

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CBA Regional Director

MarkinEllensburg posted this 04 April 2023

I only change my lube when what I am using is not available at the time that I order. I use NRA formula 50/50 alox mix. Lyman, lee, or saeco. I have been experimenting with using a minuscule amount, Just enough to fill in front of the gas check. John Alexander has been doing that for years and it seems to have worked for him. I have not noticed any leading by doing this,

There is a huge resource under Matches>match results where you can look at the data from matches going way back. By reading the results it would be pretty easy to follow a match shooter over several months or years of matches as to what lube, bullet, powder, primer and some other information. The data doesn't tell the whole story but I am sure you can detective out some conclusions that might give you ideas that will apply to your shooting.

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Bud Hyett posted this 04 April 2023

Strictly my opinion, but the modern lubricants are good enough not to worry about the ambient temperature. There is research for the action of the lubricants. The quality is controlled; an example thing is Javelina 50/50 NRA Formula. I shot with Jesse Smiley, the maker of Javelina lube at San Bernadino. He emphasized hisi lubricant used 100% pure beeswax where other makers used commercial beeswax that could by law contain up to 49% other ingredients, usually paraffin.

In the old days, empirical testing was the norm. The quality of the ingredients was not measured. Shooters used the group size as the final metric. Not disputing the success of the olden days nor the fact that ambient temperature could be a factor. I have not found this scenario to exist with today's lubricants.

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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Aaron posted this 04 April 2023

I think it is safe to say that immediately, one must specify between smokeless and BPCR shooters. I believe you will find more variety among BPCR shooters and possibly more lubricant changes per shooter but I believe lubricants will vary mostly with region. Matches shot in the hot Arizona sunshine will in all probability, use more heat resistant lubes than those used primarily in Maine.

The modern smokeless lubricants are more tolerant of temperature variation than those for BPCR cartridges. I have settled on a few lubricants for BPCR which I change out depending on dwell time (time between loading and shooting). I use NRA 50/50 for almost all my smokeless cartridges.

I admit that I played with a lot of different lubes for the BPCR cartridges just because I could and it's fun to mix up some of those lubricants to see how well they work. I tend to stick with "natural" ingredients in those lubes. No Dextron ATF or Alox fluid in any of my BPCR lubes.

I don't however, have my name listed in the match results pages of the Fouling Shot Journal. Hopefully some of those winning folks will respond to your inquiry too. If I were a winning competitor, I would be seeking a single lubricant that relieved me of switching out lubricant formula based on weather extremes.

There are VOLUMES written about bullet lubricants and several books available about the subject too. You may find some good information in those tomes.

adh

With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.

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Tom Acheson posted this 04 April 2023

Living in Minnesota, I go out to the range in all kinds of weather, warm or cool. I've settled on SPG for my BPCR rifle. There are other commercial types available. Not interested in trying to dream up a "do all" homemade witches brew.

For smokeless, I started using a lube that was once made and sold by CBA member Tom Gray, back in 1997. His #24. It is no longer commercially available. But when I started to run low, I found a guy in Texas that was getting out of shooting who had a pile of the lube, so I bought it.

The cast bullet I'm now using is for a .22 BR. It has a single lube groove. Talk about a lube miser! If I stick with that chambering, my supply of lube will outlast me.

Tom

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Sevenfan posted this 04 April 2023

There is a huge resource under Matches>match results where you can look at the data from matches going way back. By reading the results it would be pretty easy to follow a match shooter over several months or years of matches as to what lube, bullet, powder, primer and some other information. The data doesn't tell the whole story but I am sure you can detective out some conclusions that might give you ideas that will apply to your shooting.

Great advice Mark! Being new to casting and cast competition shooting I have made extensive use of match reports to shorten my learning curve, so to speak, in regard to moulds, lubes, powders, primers, etc. when developing a load in a new cartridge.

Nothing replaces time at the casting, loading, or shooting benches when starting out but seeing what has successfully worked for others does greatly simplify the process vs tossing a dart at the wall.

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NH_Jim posted this 10 April 2023

I live in New England where the temperature variance between summer and winter can be as much as 80 degrees. I have discovered that lube can be crumbly in winter and a mess in summer. For black powder bullets and rifles such as the Springfield 50-70, I use a winter and summer version of my home made bullet lube. I tinkered with the formula in winter and summer. I now have two versions. I lube prior to shooting. I do not vary the lube in more modern firearms as there is less of a handling issue. I suspect the lube will properly vaporize in hot weather. However, in winter testing, I have found that lube can remain on large bullets after firing. I used a water chamber to determine this.

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Bud Hyett posted this 10 April 2023

Modern lubricants are very temperature resistant.

Scoring targets for the match at Paul Bunyan in forty degree weather, there was lube splayed on the target at 100 yards.

This was a Military Rifle match where the loads were shooting from 1600 to 1800 feet-per-second.

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