So I got three sizes of Minies from Track of wth Wolf to try in my Enfield, and some Alox along with what I though was bullet lube. Question is, how do I lube my minies with this stuff:
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So I got three sizes of Minies from Track of wth Wolf to try in my Enfield, and some Alox along with what I though was bullet lube. Question is, how do I lube my minies with this stuff:
Attachment 25218
The wonder lube looks to be a patch lube for the most part. For the Alox, have a pan of bullets and squirt a little bit of Alox on them and start tumbling the pan so all of the bullets get coated. Then set them on some wax paper to dry. I've never used Alox for my conicals. I've used a bear fat/bee wax mixture, SPG Lube from ToW or Wonder Lube.
If you check you tube there are videos on tumble lubing bullets with Alox.
HA
Thanks HA. Do I use Alox by itself or add an additional lube on top of it?
I just made a batch of R.E.A.L. bullets and used the Alox. Like above use a margarine container and put in about 20 bullets and a glob of ALOX about size of dime and swirl around until coated fully. I found it best to ensure the ALOX is warm (luke warm) and it coats better. Pour out lubed bullets on wax paper and let dry overnight. I also wondered if more lube is needed for “Aloxed” bullets and found it is not needed, but use a small dab of Vaseline around edge. Very small. The purpose of alox is bullet lube, but more important is its resistance to heat on base of bullet when fired. This coating reduces the chance of leading in barrel and the reason you should use ALOX. The stuff smells like shat and you might have to leave outside to dry, and then I sealed them in fishing lure box. The other bottle if for patched round ball shooting. Before shooting rd balls make sure measure inside diameter of barrel to get the right fit of ball and patch thickness combination. If have not got a starter rod…get one, it’s about 6 inches long and has a wood ball on the end, helps a lot in initial push of bullet. You might also want to invest in making your bullets, about a 200.00 outlay for everything, but cuts the cost of rds down 75%..
See my thread on my first batch of bullets which shows all the equipment:
http://www.oodmag.com/community/show...-Bullet-Making
Mark
Just had another look at the picture and they have a hollow base???? Golden Lake Pete should pipe in here never seen that before.
This is all new to me so any info is helpful, the bullets I am using are either 577 or 575 (both new and old style) minies and have hollow bases.
I checked out your set up in the post you linked above, what are you shooting those bullets out of?
M.
1974 Hawken TC .50 Cal, cap and hammer. 777 powder. Is your black powder? those are some big bullets...lol
Minies were designed that way (with a hollow base) so that they could be cast/swaged slightly under bore size for easy loading and then the force of the powder being ignited would flare out the base to grip the rifling.
Look up Claude-Etienne Minie on Yahoo.
I knew you would have the answer Pete....lol
Yep, I am using BP in my enfield musket but can also use 777 or BP in my 45 hawkens. The minies pictured are for the enfield and it is a 58 cal but measures .577 hence the size of the bullets related to the mold (577 or 575). I also have minies for my 45 made with a 447 mold which I will be trying as my 45 sprays round balls using any charge over 70 grains, under 70 its great but I want to set it up for hunting.
I did check out utube and there are many vids showing how to apply alox to the bullets but none shooting with it, some suggest mixing alox and bees wax, or alox and scj wax paste, or alox and lard.
My understanding is that "traditional" bullet lube is used to help keep the fouling soft. A bit of a mute point if you swab after every shot though.
HA
That was my take as well.....the barrel is scraped and cleaned with every load.Quote:
Originally Posted by huntaway
Hmmm. I am swabbing and cleaning every 5 shots...wonder if should up the times of cleaning...
I used to do it only when I could feel the crud ring...then I figured if I waited till it was so bad that I could feel it, then the 3-4 shots prior to the clean wouldn't be as accurate as the 3-4 shots after the clean.....so I got in the habit of swabbing between each shot....consistency :)Quote:
Originally Posted by line052
I'm sure some 'keener' will pipe in now and expound on how if we switch to BH209 we wouldn't have that problem....yea yea...I like my T7 and have another 2lbs of it to use before I go shopping :)
I swab after every shot as part of my routine. Do you have too, no but it's what "I" do. Even when hunting I always have a few cleaning patches in my pocket for after shot swabbing. My theory is that I want to have consistentcy from one shot to the next. One way to get that consistency is to keep as few variables as possible in my loading process. I start with a clean barrel and if I keep a semi clean barrel through out my shoot I reduce one of those variables.
HA
Makes sense to me, change is wonderful thing. It might improve the consistency with shooting as well. Love this forum for ideas and counter points of view, it’s how I learn and expand my knowledge.
I used to swab every shot then switched to every 3rd or 5th shot, that was with PRB. I will get back into swabbing after every shot when I start shooting the minies to duplicate the hunting scenario.
I did some (a lot) of research on the internet for the best lube and the consensus seems to use forms of the following:
At least 50% beeswax and then other forms of lube such as Crisco/ tallow/ Alox/ SCJ car wax (carnauba wax)/ STP oil treatment/ olive oil.
No BP shooters I found in what I read used just Alox alone, the closest I found was the NRA formula of beeswax and Alox.
In doing this research I found only one guy applying the lube by hand (hickock45 - his vids are quite good), all others used a 'pan' method. Hickock45 used BoreButter buts stated he preferred WonderLube (I assume the paste not the liquid that I bought in error), I would also prefer to lube by hand for now just to get started so does anyone else have any experience on what lubes and how to apply the lube by hand?
Hey there Marker,
If you go the bee wax / whatever method, what you can do is stand all your bullets upright. Melt your lube and fill the pan with the bullets. Set aside to cool then just push them out of the cooled lube.
Speaking from experience, it's a messy job to lube by hand as your body temp tends to make the lube runny.
HA
Here is a pic of the target using a 45 Hawkens, we both took turns on the same gun that day as I forgot the 58 ammo at home and only had the 45 in operation. I was using minies and PRB with some test loads, my son fired the 6 tightest grouping. Below that is our setup on a different day with the three different sizes of minies and some PRBs we use in the musketoon:
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I use the LLA quite a bit. I cut the Alox with mineral spirits about 80/20 sometimes a little thinner (LL/spirits) for two reasons. 1) Get more out of a bottle 2) I pour into spray bottle, line up boolits in a row a spray entire surface.
This methods works for me with all my cast boolits, 170gr 30-30, 200gr .308, 250gr 375, 405gr 45/70, REAL bullet's;50,54 & 58.