bullet lubing

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Last Post 20 January 2024
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Ross Smith posted this 15 January 2024

Lee Wiggins wrote a short post about tumble lubing his bullets. That seems like an alternative lubing method for plain base bullets that are breach-seated.

In the past I have pan lubed all my pbb/bs bullets. It seems to me that the chamber and throat on my 32-40 get gummed up after a few shots and the breach seating becomes more difficult. So I am trying Lee's method of tumble lubing with a pea sized glob of white label lube and 100 bullets. The whole mess is warmed with a heat gun then tumbled in a pie tin. It goes very quickly, unlike pan lubing.

How do you other PBB/BS shooters lube your bullets? I always assumed pan lubing.

I found a new use for ED'S Red... This tumble lubing produces a mixture of lube-lead-aluminum that coats everything including your fingers. It does't wash off. Ed's red works.

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Bud Hyett posted this 15 January 2024

You are correct in your observation, many of the Plain-Base shooters do pan lubricate. I never had any luck with the pan method. Using either the refrigerator, or freezing them, pushing the bullets from the pan with the fingers or using an enlarged case to cut them out of the pan, the lubricant did not stay in the grooves.

Note: The lubricant fell out of the grooves until I went to using Javelina Schuetzen Lubricant. This was soft enough to stay in the grooves. Maybe today pan-lubing might work better, but I have gone to the below steps.

I remembered an article on lubri-sizers in the ASSRA Journal mentioning the Dr. Hudson used a lubri-sizer. And he was successful in his shooting. Therefore, I went to using a lubri-sizer in the following method.

Sorting Steps:

Examine bases after casting, square bases for competition and not-quite square for practice
Weigh (-.002/+.002 weight range - Anything outside this range for practice.)
Use .001 oversize NOE push-through die to check for roundness of base. (Any witness marks means the bullet goes for practice.)
Lubricate in .001 oversize die. I lubricate all grooves except the top one.
Slight tug on handle on each bullet to not get too greasy.

Note: The weight range is the statistical average weight for each casting session. I might be a little overzealous in doing this method.

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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RicinYakima posted this 16 January 2024

Bud, exactly what I do expect my push through die is a 1935 Pacific .311".

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Ross Smith posted this 16 January 2024

Thanks for the input.

My 32-40 has a tapered throat and I use a tapered bullet. How does that work with a lubrisizer?

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Mike H posted this 16 January 2024

Lee Wiggins wrote a short post about tumble lubing his bullets. That seems like an alternative lubing method for plain base bullets that are breach-seated.

In the past I have pan lubed all my pbb/bs bullets. It seems to me that the chamber and throat on my 32-40 get gummed up after a few shots and the breach seating becomes more difficult. So I am trying Lee's method of tumble lubing with a pea sized glob of white label lube and 100 bullets. The whole mess is warmed with a heat gun then tumbled in a pie tin. It goes very quickly, unlike pan lubing.

How do you other PBB/BS shooters lube your bullets? I always assumed pan lubing.

I found a new use for ED'S Red... This tumble lubing produces a mixture of lube-lead-aluminum that coats everything including your fingers. It does't wash off. Ed's red works.

Please don’t wash your fingers with Ed’s Red,there are three serious solvents in there,warm water,soap and brushing are all you need.Disposable gloves when preparing would also help.

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linoww posted this 17 January 2024

I pan lube about 75% of my plainbase rifle bullets.

Lube consistency is critical. Too soft it strips out ,too hard it cracks out.When I get lucky and make a perfect batch I cherish it.

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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linoww posted this 17 January 2024

Thanks for the input.

My 32-40 has a tapered throat and I use a tapered bullet. How does that work with a lubrisizer?

not too well in my experience.its a mess unless you have custom.die and go nose first.Eagan made a few.

The Pope and the like lube pumps had dies that matches the bullet taper.

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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Bud Hyett posted this 17 January 2024

My 32-40 has a tapered throat and I use a tapered bullet. How does that work with a lubrisizer?

I have two .32-20 CPA barrels with three molds. Two molds are tapered to the barrel diameter and one is straight, no taper. The lubrication becomes as much as an art as a science.

I use a .001 oversize die and work carefully. The die will hold the bullet and the lubricant will flow out to fill the grooves. A gentle push on the lever and you'll get the correct amount. You also must set the base so the base is between holes.

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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GWarden posted this 17 January 2024

I pan lube for my rifles that I breech seat with. I have never encountered the problem of having it become harder after seating several bullets. I use to have occasional problems with the lube not filling all the grooves when pan lubing, or coming out later. I solved that problem by running a heat gun over the bullets before pouring the lube into the pan. Solved the problem of grooves not getting complete filled. I only used two lubes for the pan lubing, SPG for BP, and Emmerts+ 20% Alox.

Bob

Iowa

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gnoahhh posted this 17 January 2024

I shoot a couple .32-40 High Walls in ASSRA competition (a Pope and a no-name), breech seat tapered PB bullets of course. Every bullet I put down the tubes is pan lubed with Javelina Schuetzen using the "freeze the cake and thumb them out" method. Works a charm.

(I cast with a bottom pour and visually inspect and weight segregate, but frankly there isn't a heckuva big difference in accuracy between my practice culls and the "good" ones.)

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Ross Smith posted this 17 January 2024

The gummy part of my breach seating is from over lubing using spg????? I think. That's why I'm trying tumble lube with white label xlox 2500+. Thanks all.

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Pentz posted this 18 January 2024

I pan lube and have never had a problem. I am using home made Schuetzen lube (75% beeswax 25% alox) . Properly done the bullets just pop out with excellent lube retention. Whats the fuss?

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Ross Smith posted this 19 January 2024

Well 25 shots proves nothing but I had no leading with my tumble lubed bullets. Bullets are 20:1 mix.

Tumble lubing is much faster and easier.

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Pentz posted this 19 January 2024

As long as you're knocking out those 10s and x's at 200 yards who cares? For the PBB CBA shooters however, I doubt many would get such results with tumble lube.

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Eutectic posted this 20 January 2024

When lubing the SAECO 315 which is a 30 caliber tapered design, I used a 0.312 sizing die to seat the gas check and applied the lube. Care was needed to apply just enough lube. The bullets were then fired essentially "as cast", with good results.

I bought a tapered sizing die from Don Egan. Sizing the lubed bullets was no problem. Knocking them out of the die with a hammer and punch was another matter. A press modified for this would have made it easy, but results with the crude method were no better than the as cast bullets so I stopped and went shooting.

bullet lubing

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