bronko22000

To date I haven't done much bullet casting for centerfire rifles so I have a question for you who have the experience. The bullets I have cast I pan lubed and it seemed to work out pretty good. But have any of you used Alox liquid lube and if so how was it. Pan lubing or Alox are my only option as I don't really want to invest in a lube press for the small amount of bullets I will be casting. BTW all the bullets will be for a .45-70.

hardcastonly

your not alone in not really wanting to spend the cash for the required sizing and lubrication if you don,t want to shoot all that many cast bullets,
your choice of projectile, and lube will effect how well the combo potentially works.
it should be obvious that a lube sizer with dies increases conformity and consistency and accuracy, yet...there are other routes

a small flat pan filled to about 1/4" depth on a hot plate set to the temp required to keep the well blended mix of lube liquid, with a 50/50 mix of alox and bees wax
in which you simply roll these bullets , stand on their base to cool on some tin foil and then load them works in a 45/70
yes the lubes generally tacky ,but if you roll the bullets and stand them up on tin foil or wax paper and let them dry for a few days you don,t have to deal with the mess more than once
as like paint it tends to dry a good deal, it will remain mildly tacky but it works well, and once loaded in the cartridge its quite effective.as a lube.

id suggest 40 grains of IMR 3031 and the bullet below, it works rather well in a buddies marlin 45/70
a small spoon or needle nose pliers can be used to roll & pick up the bullets, cast the bullets from 95% WHEEL WEIGHTS and 5% tin or Linotype,
yes lees suggest strait alox, but experience Ive had suggests alox/bees wax mix is better.
many guys also suggest you insert a thumb nail size cotton ball wad over the powder before you seat and crimp the bullet
as this seems to aid in accuracy and prevent hot temps from melting lube into the loaded powder charge in loaded ammo.
yes its a hollow base projectile
for every 4 oz of alox throw about 4 oz of bees wax in the pan on the hot plate, warm and mix thoroughly then apply


https://www.midwayusa.com/product/46...be-4-oz-liquid ALOX

https://www.cvs.com/shop/beauty-360-...prodid-2060013

BEES WAX




https://www.midwayusa.com/product/36...se-hollow-base

https://media.mwstatic.com/productdo...structions.pdf

bronko22000

Hardcast these are the 2 molds I use. The 340 for the Marlins https://www.midwayusa.com/product/18...rain-flat-nose
and the 500 gr for my Pedersoli 1874 Sharps https://www.midwayusa.com/product/48...nose-gas-check

hardcastonly

the 340 grain should work, the 500 grain, may not, Id still suggest the same method and cotton semi wad spacer

bronko22000

I called Pedersoli about this and they told me a 500 gr or heavier bullet would give me the best results. IMO 500 is overkill. Shooting at a target up at our cabin using a 500 gr cast bullet the bullet went completely through a 10" hard maple and buried itself in one behind it deep enough that I couldn't get it out! So a minimum of 12" of penetration in a green hard maple is enough to pass through just about any living creature except maybe an elephant's skull.
Frankly though I don't believe Pedersoli was giving me the correct answer to my question. Reason being that the Pedersoli has a 1:18 and my Marlin 1895s have a 1:18 twist. The Marlins shoot great with 300 gr jacketed bullets. I believe the 340s should be good in both.

Nomercy448

hardcastonly

both the alox and the bees wax/ alox will work, at moderate velocities,
but Ive found the bore stays cleaner and accuracy is a bit better with the mix lube
if in doubt try 100 shots with both and see if you agree

bronko22000

I got to do something. Especially with my 1874. It takes me forever to clean the leading out of that bore after a shooting session. I've tried bullets of pure lead (8bhn) to alloyed (13 bhn) and it just doesn't matter. I think my next step may be to slug the bore and polish it with J-B compound.

hardcastonly

try the harder bullet alloy,cast the bullets from 95% WHEEL WEIGHTS and 5% tin or Linotype,
and use the referred too, mix lube , my 458 win, 450 marlin and 45/70 all show almost zero lead in the rifling even after 60 shots , fired in an afternoon.
but too be fair, I always carefully clean my rifle bores and repeatedly swab the bores after carefully cleaning the bores with a dripping wet , repeatedly soaked series of moly soaked swabs
a squeaky clean bore repeatedly swabbed with moly builds a micro surface like greased glass thats perfect for cast bullet use.

http://www.engineersedge.com/lubrica...cteristics.htm
Moly exists as microscopic hexagonal crystal platelets Several molecules make up one of these platelets. A single molecule of Moly contains two sulfur atoms and one molybdenum atom. Moly platelets are attracted to metal surfaces. This attraction and the force of moving surfaces in contact, rubbing across one another provide the necessary thermochemical reaction necessary for Moly to form an overlapping protective coating like armor on the rifle bore surface, This protective armor coating has a number of properties that are very beneficial for your rifles bore surface



The Moly platelets that make up the protective layers on your bore wall surfaces slide across one another very easily. Instead of metal rubbing against metal, you have Moly platelets moving across one another protecting and lubricating the bore to projectile surface contact

This coating effectively fills in the microscopic pores that cover the surface of all micro bore imperfections making them smoother. By filling in the craters and pores Moly improves this seal

This overlapping coating of Moly also gives protection against loading (perpendicular) forces. The high pressures that occur between these moving surfaces that tend to squeeze normal lubricants out.

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com...41/#post-84978

RichardMillans

Nice, agree