For those that cast their own and Lube (for those that don't what do you buy?)

[Mako]

Please check one (or up to three above).  You can change your votes later if you want to.

• Please tell us a bit more about your lube and journey to get there if there is one.
• If you buy your bullets already lubed please tell us what the caster claims it is and whether or not it works well.
• Do you get any leading in your bore, not Powder fouling, but real leading?  This is for both those that lube their own and those that by store bought.

~Mako

[Abilene]

I don't cast.  I used to buy regular smokeless bullets, melt out the lube, and relube with an old Lyman 45.  My formula varies but is basically beeswax and Crisco, with a little bore butter and Khepra's Foot Balm added.  I still use that on occasion when I need to lube something.

I finally started buying from Springield Slim until he stopped, so whatever lube that was.

Lately I'm buying from Missouri Bullet Co. who will lube any bullets with BP lube (I'm not sure what) on request.  They are not biglube bullets, but my longest rifle barrels are 20"

I have not noticed any leading, other than perhaps a tiny bit that I don't worry about.

[Sedalia Dave]

Pistol caliber smokeless and APP loads I buy Hi-Tek coated bullets.

I cast my own 38/357 and 44-40 bullets for use with real BP. These I lube with SPG.

I cast all my rifle caliber bullets ( 38-55, 45-70, 56-50, and 30-06 )

Smokeless rifle caliber, I use LBT Blue

For rifle caliber loaded with real BP and subs,I use SPG

[Coffinmaker]

Well Golly Gee Whiz 

I don't cast my own.  Gave that up some 40 er 45 years ago.  So I buy stuff.  When I buy stuff, I mostly buy it "as cast" or the suppliers "whatever" crayon type lube or Coated.  As one who exclusively shoots APP, I am unconcerned with "lube."  APP creates its own lube and what little fouling there is, it is not cumulative.  The only fouling in the bore is shot to shot and each shot cleans out the prior spooge.  So, APP cares not about "what" lube 'cause you don't need any lube at all.  Makes it so so so much easier.

[Arizona Trooper]

For black powder breechloaders, which is anything from Hall carbines to 45-60 and 45-70, about 4 parts beeswax to 1 part olive oil. More wax if it's hot, more oil if it's cold. For muzzle stuffers, patched roundball to CW muskets, 50/50 MCM lube and beeswax. 

[mtmarfield]

      Greetings!

   For smokeless, I tend towards Lymans ( "yellow" ) Alox. 'Somewhere', I have a big slab of an Alox Bullet Lube that Dad and I bought and divided; it's the traditional Caramel color, and was made by a now forgotten vendor that advertised in the back of Handloader (?) magazine. We could find no fault with it.
   For BP, I've had no complaints with either SPG, or Lyman's "Black Gold". I've also been using a Homemade BP Lube consisting of equal parts of Beeswax and Olive Oil; to this I've added three spoonfuls of Jojoba Bean Oil ( A near identical chemical analog of Spermwhale Oil... ).
   I've made a List of Homemade Bullet Lubes from old books and periodicals; I can add this if anyone's interested. I'm eager to see what everyone else is using!

           Be Well, ALL!

                    M.T.M.
                  5-09-24

[Mogorilla]

Mine is near identical to MTM.   I use a mix of olive oil and bee's wax.  Usually in equal amounts or a little heavier on wax and last batch had a slug of jojoba oil as well.   Good stuff.   

[Baltimore Ed]

Been using up a bunch of Lyman Orange Magic lube that I've had for years.

[Ranch 13]

 I cast my own. The lube I use for smokeless or black (don't use the fake black stuff) is Bullshops NASA lube.

[Mako]

I use a Mutton Tallow/Beeswax/Paraffin lube based on the "original" Tallow lube that was posted in the Rifleman probably before any of us were born.  I have modified it three times now to be more heat tolerant since I learned the role that Fatty Acid play in keeping BP fouling soft.  I actually learned it at a medical conference when we began discussing alternative waxes like Japan Wax and Carnuba.  Most waxes contain Fatty Acids to some degree and then I was reading about Fatty Acids and keeping carbon build up soft.

So I have been playing around with different ratios of Tallow, Beeswax and Paraffin.  If I had my druthers I would actually leave the Paraffin out and I have for patch lube, but with summer temperatures in places I have lived you need a bit of paraffin to keep your lube either in the grooves or not migrating out of a saturated felt wad into the powder.  I have a lot of Beeswax and would just use it but it softens at around our body temperatures and flows freely at temperatures your firearms will see in the summer without Paraffin to stiffen it and the tallow. This is my lube:

I have run controlled tests where I set ten rounds of loaded ammunition out in the Texas sun for several days and then pulled bullets to see if the lube escaped the groove.  That is where the "New & Improved" version came from.  I also chronographed .38spl, .30 WCF and .44 Russian loads with some ammo going through a two day sitting on a truck dash bullet facing up test.  No velocity loss other than standard deviation, some heated rounds actually were faster.  All were shot on a morning with temps in the 70s.

I also set wads with the lube out in the sun on paper to see how much would transfer in the sun. Then I tried it again setting wads sitting in a glass dish on top of FFFg powder to see if it would wick out.to the powder.  I didn't see any more sticking or "wetting" than the control dish and wads on paper sitting in the house with the "New & Improved" lube.

Cleaning seemed the same between all three formulas above with Soft almost pure lead bullets or the limited number of rounds (20 total) through the.30 WCF which was my 20:1 alloy. Strangely enough I have found I get more leading with harder bullets and Black powder than with the Soft Lead running around 4-6BHN.  I had a bunch of .38 Snake Bites cast for me and got the first leading I ever had in my rifle.   When I contacted the gentleman I got them from he said he was using wheel weights or he called "20:1" lead.  I gave him some roof lead and he made me 500 replacements and the problem went away... I don't get leading with my BP loads, I do get powder fouling with a lot of shooting. Never enough to require barrel cleaning during a match.

~Mako

[Abilene]

I can't see those last images either.

Edit: they show up on phone,  but not laptop, so the gremlin is here.

[hellgate]

I cast for C&Bs, 357/38, & rifled musket minies.
My lube is 50/50 deer tallow/beeswax for everything including smokeless, BP & BP subs
If I'm shooting in hot weather I keep my ammo in the shade or a cooler