Favorite lube

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Dunno if it's politically correct, I figure there are enough people doing it successfully there must be something to it. I just can't generate any interest in it.
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Does the C Blue leave the bullets sticky after storage?
Depends upon temperature of storage, above about 90 I would say yes. My best match lube is tacky down to 40, so I'm used to using it. Since it is never on the nose or base, it has not been a problem.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I think the topic drifts to PC because those of us who have tried it and worked out a good and efficient way of producing coated bullets for our needs have found that it is superior in virtually every way to traditional lube. I have four Lyman 45s and a 450 and spent many years testing and creating a bullet lubricant that satisfies me in all respects, but PC blows them all away. I still traditionally lube a few calibers just because I like the good ol' greasy mess once in a while, and the smell when shooting. However, PC is the way to go IMO and if I had to do it over again I would only buy an in/out sizer for form-sizing coated bullets in custom bump dies.

However, good grease lube has served for hundreds of years and continues to do so for most people, so in my opinion there are no flies on it unless the system doesn't fulfill your needs, and in some instances it will not.

The thing that got me started on PC was the acquisition of a pistol silencer that could not be taken apart to clean, and the early realization that ordinary cast bullets lead the dickens out of such devices. I tried PC to address this issue and found immediate success. I also discovered that PC'd bullets eliminated 100% of the lead accumulation on AR bolt tails and and gas rings. After a fairly in-depth accuracy study with PC'd rifle bullets in several calibers, and discovering that jacketed bullet velocities and accuracy could easily be achieved in them using ordinary wheelweight alloy, I changed my whole handloading philosophy and approach to essentially duplicate jacketed bullet loads in most of my rifles without changing alloy or anything else. Since I primarily use suppressed systems when shooting at my home range and when hunting, the PC has been a godsend for me and my equipment. The advantages PC offers with regard to weather insensitivity and being able to clean my guns as I would with jacketed bullets without losing a certain "bore condition", together with the accurate velocity advantage in ordinary, production barrels of average quality and condition, makes PC'ing a no-brainer for me. YMMV.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
i think P/C needs to be included in lube discussions.
we split it off into it's own category over at Boolits because of the volume of interest, and at the time it was something new that needed to be kept separate so the posts didn't get lost.
nobody really knew back then if it would even work, if it would be damaging, build up in the barrel, or just be a glob of stuff hanging off the side of the bullet.

we've moved past that point and are bordering on it being successful enough to take a large enough market share to be called mainstream.
it's certainly a household word in the casting community anyway.

anyway....
if you look at the recommendations for a normal lube we got like 5 different I make my owns, a vote for regular carnuba a vote or two for the blue, one for a criss cross between red and 50-50 a vote for 50-50 etc.
50-50 and the blue/red are about as opposite as you can get in their makeup, so adding in a third variable isn't really off kilter.
otherwise your just one upping each other with a short list of ingredients that's been used since like forever.
think about it.
bees-wax, micro-wax, carnuba, lithium grease, lanolin, various oils, Vaseline.
there is your basic list of lube ingredients.
there are variants and modifications of some of the ingredients but those are really pretty much all there is.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Na soap....the only thickener worth using in the heat IMO. Ya forgot paraffin wax, too, LOL!

I break it down as:

Base wax (whatever natural plant, animal, petroleum, mineral)
Plasticizing oil (whatever natural plant, animal, petroleum, synthetic PAO, synthetic polyolester)
Modifiers: Metal soaps (Li, Al, Na, Sb, Ca, etc.), moly, ZDDP, polybutene, graphite, mica, ester, other metal compounds, etc etc.)

Endless combinations. All do the same thing, most in a narrow temperature window. If you store your ammo at 130°F all summer and want to connect with a 2" flesh target at 150 yards the first go at -6, you have your work cut out for you, or you can just look up SL-71B on this board and skip to the end.

Poking around the various forums, White Label 2500+ gets a lot of accolades from a lot of people who demand a tremendous performance from their bullet lube.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I was thinking on the soaps but then your past the basics.
you got like 6 different grease thickeners but the availability to most people is pretty limited.
buy some Li grease or break out the Ivory. [shrug]
are there benefits past just ordering some 50-50 and keep on keeping on. well?
yeah there is.
is everyone gonna benefit from those benefits,,, maybe.
I do, but I could get along with something close if I had to, I don't shoot inside and a little smoke isn't an issue.
I avoid it because I can, and because I know something better is available.

if I were looking to buy a lube I would set a list of what I want from the lube.
cold, hot.
high, low pressure.
first shot,, long strings.
storage, application methods I use, etc.
then look for the different lubes that fit the closest to my needs and go from there.
none of them will be perfect, and you might be pretty close off the shelf but your more than likely gonna need to tweak what you buy a little to make it just so.
 

Will

Well-Known Member
Depends upon temperature of storage, above about 90 I would say yes. My best match lube is tacky down to 40, so I'm used to using it. Since it is never on the nose or base, it has not been a problem.

I store my bullets in the house so they pretty much stay around 70. Just started going through my lube supplies and found 6 tubes of BAC. Thought I had some Carbuba Red but couldn’t find it.
Looks like I’ll put in a order with White Label.
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
I think Ian is correct in that it is "lube" and the CBA allows PC bullets to be shot in matches, as lubed cast bullets. Since I don't shoot AR's, suppressors or over 1800 f/s. they don't do much for me. However the two articles I had published about PC bullets have gotten very good response and sent some people here looking at what you folks are doing.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Actually Dale PC'n IS LUBE. Ever try and hold on to a PC'd cast bullet?

Haha! Yes, they're like greased minnows.

I'd argue that PC is actually a jacket. Jackets must be composed of a material which is "lubricious" (it that's even a word) against barrel steels, but that is the only definition of "lube" that I would give to thermoset paint. In all other respects the powder coating acts as a jacket by strengthening the bullet's surface sufficiently to prevent wear, and by preventing wear it enables full obturation of the bore (obturation meaning "blocking" or "stopping-up", as it does in the medical field) and thus elimintates gas cutting, friction abrasion, and the resulting leading. Assuming you do it right, of course. I have had a failure or two along the way while discovering what works for my guns.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
The question was about your favorite lube. For many of us that means PC.
No mess in storage, in loading dies, and most of all no mess in guns. It shoots at least as well as traditional lube. Cases stay cleaner too, no greasy residue on them.

To me PC is a lot like shooting jacketed except for the cost.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I am not P/C-ing my castings (yet).

I have 2 Lyman 450/4500 size/lubers on hand, one each with 50/50 LSS BW/Alox and the other containing LSS Carnauba Red. Real fashion-forward, I know. Most gas-checked bullets are lubed with C/R, most plain-based bullets get the 50/50.
 

dale2242

Well-Known Member
Don`t get me wrong, I am not demeaning PCing.
I`m sure it works fine. Maybe better than traditional lube.
I`m just not ready to go that route.
Being old fashioned, I look at lube as that messy' sticky, waxy stuff you put in the lube groves.
I`m with Ian, I more or less considered PC as a jacket...dale
 

Ole_270

Well-Known Member
After years of lubing, I've mostly shifted to PC. I have a 1911 that has problems in the barrel that make PC a real problem, but it works on everything else I've tried it in. I have a thing about only using lubed bullets in my 38-55, but use PC in hunting loads to keep them segregated. For some reason it doesn't bother me to PC the loads in my 25-20. After years of using 50/50 have settled on two homemade lubes. Wind's Wonder Wax for the 38-55 just because it seems to fit, and Ben's Red and BLL for anything else I want lubed.
 

Walks

Well-Known Member
In the last couple of years I've shifted from 50/50 to WLL's BAC. Does it do a better job ?
It is a bit harder, so it Melts less in the Garage Storage I have to put up with during SoCal summer.
Always have my Lyman 450 sitting on it's heater filled with BAC.

Tried some PC, got to be pretty good at it. I'm one of those who have to stand up every bullet, perfectly.

Like Smoke4320's colours. The JD Green, Carolina Light Blue and Flame Red. My Cowboy Shooting Buddy likes Eastwood Squirrel Grey.

Haven't committed completely to PC yet. Probably because I've also been using WLL 45/45/10. Which has worked wonderfully.

I think back to my Dad, used every Bullet Lube Recipe under the Sun. Finally just gave up about 1970 and settled on 50/50. Even bought Commercial made stuff.

So My answer would be all of the above. Depends what I'm loading to shoot, and what I'm going to shoot it in and what I'm shooting at.
 

Rick H

Well-Known Member
I PC, use Ben's LL, and for, my 45-70, pan lube with Felix lube. Yeah, I know, Felix lube is a pita to make and use, the cookie cutter gets messy...….but it works well. I like to smile and think of Felix's many posts while tinkering with it too. Seems a fitting tribute to a prince of a man.
 
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