Where to find bullets for BP use in Australia?

[Sawed-Off]

Say, would you pards know where to find cast bullets with a lube groove, or even prelubed? It seems both Westcastings and Hawkesbury River both use a dry coating for their lubricant. I'm not really in a position to start casting my own at the moment, but am keen to dip my toes in the Holy Black water.

[fourfingersofdeath]

What calibre? Hawkesbury River will do normal uncoated boolits as well. I have just ordered a big lube Mav Dutchman mould for my 44/40 and a mould for the 45/70. they should be here in a few weeks. I suppose H/R will sell you as moulded boolits and you could pan lube them easily enough. I have noticed a few guys at the shoots using BP and the Polymer coated bullets. In the meantime, I will try the 45/70 with the polymer coated after pan lubing them, they look like they will carry plenty of lube.

[August]

I was gonna post that you ought to get into casting your own boolits, with your own alloy, and your own lubricant, using your own personally selected bullet design in order to insure the best success and enjoyment when shooting black powder.  However, since you indicate you are not in a position to do so, I'll forego that advice.

[Dakota Dan from OZ]

I load blackpowder loads using coated bullets. I use a wad made from a banana box over the powder,a small amount of a Lanolin  based lube then seat the projectile.  I have use this way of loading for many years and have loaded thousands of rounds in many calibres.

Dakota 

 

[Sawed-Off]

Thanks pards. .45 Colt is the way I'm headed. I'd love to cast my own, but I'm still getting set up with the basics so casting gear will have to wait a while.

Dakota, that sounds interesting. I hadn't thought of using a wad and lube with the drycoated bullet. And there's plenty of banana boxes up my way. 

Do you mind if I ask how you are applying the lube?

[Dakota Dan from OZ]

I normally load in lots of 50 in a loading tray, powder,wad and I use a finger and put a small amount of lube in each case then seat the projectile in on top. It may be slow way of loading but you can be sure that every one will go bang when you need them to.

Dakota 

[Wallaby Jack]

G'day,
Until I got my "Big Lube" mold I was loading smokeless bullets (coated and non) with a card wad and a wax "cookie" under tha bullet.

My wax "cookie" is made from a mix of bees wax and lanoline grease (about 50/50) and a little splash of "winter green oil".
( you may need to increase the wax content to accomodate your summer heat)

Pour into a flat biscuit tray about 1/4" thick and, when it solidifies, cut into strips about 1" wide.

As you load you place a card over the powder, press the flat end of a "stick" over the case mouth to cut a "cookie" straight into the case, wiggle it a bit to enlarge the hole for easy lift-off, plant a bullet and seat/crimp.

Another variation is to aquire felt wads of the correct size and soak them in the above mixture (while it's still melted) and use them instead of the cookie. These can also be used in Cap'n'Ball revolvers under the ball.

Hope this helps 

I still load .357 with this method.

[fourfingersofdeath]

I learnt a good trick from those dayuuum Yankees on the Cast Boolit site.

Take an old frypan, stand as many boolits as you can up in it. Pour in melted lube until it comes up to where you want it to. pop on low heat for awhile to settle in to the grooves properly, add lube if necessary. Remove from heat, let cool.

Using a cartridge case (a rifle length one is easier and not so close to the slippery stuff) as a sort of cookie cutter, with a window cut out of the side  near the rim (don't cut the end off the case or the whole sheeebang will be as slippery as frog snot), cut the boolits out of the lube, shaking them out of the side 'window' on your cutter as you go.

When you are finished, you are left with a big lube cookie with holes in it. This can be removed and stored. When you want to do some more, put the cookie back in the pan (if it breaks, assemble the puzzle in the pan). Then place unlubed boolits in the holes left by the previous batch. Pop pan on the heat until lube melts and fills the grooves and away you go again.

Four Fingers.

[fourfingersofdeath]

I recently saw one better than the system I detailed above. This guy was basically doing the above, but in one of those sxilly cone baking trays. When it was set, he wiggled it and the big biscuit full of boolits came out, he pushed them through with his fingers, easy peasy.