Bullet lube for long line cast bullets

Hello all-

I've been casting my bullets for the short line for a couple of years now with great results. I use a Saeco 4-cavity mould to make great 185 SWC bullets. For lube, I use White Label's BAC (Carnauba Red, Alox, and beeswax mix) in my Saeco lubrisizer and it's very effective. I like this lube because it's relatively soft and doesn't require a heater to get it flowing.

One thing I've noticed is that on very hot days the lube will fly off the bullet and hit the targets and frames at 25 yards. The accuracy is not affected at this range as far as I can tell.

Now that my outdoor season is over, I'm testing some 200 grain cast bullet designs for the long line which is new territory for me. I was wondering if anyone could recommend some good lubes for 50 yard accuracy. Also, have you ever had issues with lube coming off and affecting the accuracy? Maybe I'm over-thinking this issue and a problem doesn't exist if some lube flies off the bullet. 

Thanks for your input,

Bill

Bill, nothing wrong with your lube choice.  As long as the lube lasts for the bullets brief trip down the bore, it's done its job.

I use Carnauba Red myself, only because it's not quite as soft and my bullets don't clump together nearly as much when in storage.  I tried both, both worked very well, and my decision was solely based on storage results.

You probably already know this, but the long line bullet bases must be perfect if you want really good 50 yard cast bullets. 

2 very good websites for bullet casting that I've found.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forum.php?s=3b7e4a2d3ea3d649c0a33bda9a985d97

http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

Enjoy!
Al

The bullet base is ALWAYS the most important thing. It must be filled out completely and have not damage. Problems on the rest of the bullet will have minimal impact until about 100 yards.
Before worrying about lube, see how what you have performs.
Personally, all I shoot are as-cast (unsized) bullets lubed with LLA. Most would use 45/45/10 (see White Label), but you have to find what works for you.

One of the catch-phrases over at CastBoolits for lube is that it must be all on or all gone right after muzzle exit.

I have been using Tac#1 for about two years now and decided last month that I really need to heat it to 95 F or even 100 to run it through the Star sizer. Keeping the spring fully compressed and jamming against that like it's a Lyman 450 just doesn't work for me any more.  Since the season changed here, I just put a 75-watt lamp bulb a few inches away from the unit AND the pile of bullets for about 15 minutes before sizing a batch.

Gave up on sizing and storing lubed bullets a few years ago. Neat freak with a super-cluttered bench, who'd figure that???

My lube stays on all the way to 50 yards and even through impact with either sand or a hardpack hydro-expansive sediment locally called caliche. BHN 12+ bullets hardly deform on those impacts, but BHN 8-9s get rounded off on the nose.

Cleaned the barrel this week with 8 patches and 5 passes of a bronze brush just to make sure. Super-easy compared to that batch of hard cast junk I bought from an almost-local producer 10 years ago. Fit and lube, when *I* do it, they work for both accuracy and no leading.

Ive had the same experience with Magma's Blue lube. It will stay on through most anything. Even impact with stones and loose dirt. I switched to White Label 2500+ to get away from needing to heat my star. I find that it still works better if the lube is warmed a bit with a heat lamp. The best thing I did was to get the air powered feed for the lube and the bullet feeder. Its much more consistent than the continual cranking on the feed screw and it really allows you to get production rates up.

Thank you for all of the thoughtful replies. I will do some more experimenting and get back with you on the results! 

Good shooting, Bill

I did a lot of experimenting with different lubes this year and settled on Mike's 6-6-6-1 lube found over on the CastBoolit forum. It leaves the bore, clean and as shiny as a mirror. It runs through my Star without any heat. I added about 10% more Beeswax for hot summer months for a slightly firmer lube and still ran through the Star without any heat. I really like this lube a lot.