What's the purpose of using case or bullet lube??? Does it have to do with the loading process or to keep lead out of the barrel. I use carbide dies, and used to only load FMJ pistol bullets and never lubed them. Now I have some all-lead bullets....Am I supposed to lube them before loading them? I've never used case lube...

Case lube is for steel dies; you won't need it for straight-walled cases and carbide dies.

Bullet lube is to keep lead bullets from leaving deposits in the bore. A few bullets without any lube and you'll likely fill the grooves completely up..... did you buy the bullets unlubed, or cast them yourself?

If these are commercial lead bullets, they may be coated with a dry lube, like unplated .22 rimfires are. If they're bare lead, you're in for a big barrel cleaning job.

BTW, a whiff of Hornady One-Shot spray lube makes resizing with carbide dies much easier.

Bye
Jack

Thanks,
I bought them already cast. They're all lead and have a cross-hatch type pattern on them up to about where the case would extend....I suppose that's for holding the lube in place....Do they make spray bullet lube now, and is it any good, or do I have to use a pad and roll them like the olden days???

You can get the Lee Alox lube where you simply shake the bullets around in a container (cottage cheese, sour cream, margerine, etc) to cover them with the lube, then stand them on a flat surface with waxed paper to let them dry. They will air dry and have a slightly tacky feel to them afterwards.

Thanks,
I bought them already cast. They're all lead and have a cross-hatch type pattern on them up to about where the case would extend....I suppose that's for holding the lube in place....Do they make spray bullet lube now, and is it any good, or do I have to use a pad and roll them like the olden days???

What are they, exactly? If they are cross-hatched, they are swaged, not cast; may already have some very dry/waxy lube on them.

They're Hornady Lead Pistol Bullets, #1230 230 Gr Lead RN

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v385/FrankDrebin/45bullet.bmp">

What's the diff. between cast and swaged???? Thanx!! And another series of questions: Can I use .451 and .452 diameter bullets interchangeably in both ACP and Long Colt rounds?????? When would I use a .452 vs. a .451? And would the .452 cause more leading in the bbl and around the forcing cone of the .45 Long Colt?

And now that you mention it, they do seem a little waxy...especially around the base.....They've been sitting in the drawer for years and I'm getting the desire to load them into .45 LC rounds since I recently aquired 3 different LC guns....

I'm sure they have some sort of lube. They're very soft, so don't push velocities. Swaged means they are cold-formed, like pushing play-doh into a mould. Anyway, you could try either size, but in the revolver you'd most likely be better off with the larger size. Undersized bullet may let powder gas squirt by and will lead the bore something frightful....

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

First of all I am not expert so it may work anyway but arent bullets for the 45 long colt supposed to be .454? Your bullets may not work for that round.

Good point. Depends what you are shooting them in; Frank, have you measured the cylinder throats? I've personally measured them from 0.449" to 0.458".....

First of all I am not expert so it may work anyway but arent bullets for the 45 long colt supposed to be .454? Your bullets may not work for that round.

Ahaaa!!! That might explain something........A long time ago, I loaded up some 230 grain FMJ bullets that I'd been using for .45 ACP in a .45 Long Colt Load. I went to the range and fired them off.....There was virtually NO recoil AND my buddy next to me kept going "OW!!!" "OWWW!!!" As little bits of something or other hit him in the face!!!!! Also, the rounds sounded different. They sounded exactly like the rounds on TV that the Angles fired at the range at the beginning of "Charley's Angels"!! That must have been why, huh???? Too small a bullet in my 45 Long Colt rounds??? Also, it seemed like it was very easy to work them out of their uncrimped brass......To the point that they got out past the cylinder and interfered with the forcing cone.......Mike, haven't measured the throats.....but I will now...I just got a new caliper in the mail the other day.....Thanks for the info. all....

Wait a minute.....here's a loading chart for 45 Long Colt with lots of .451 and .452 bullets.....looks like my "Charlie's Angels" bullet theory was wrong....
http://www.realguns.com/loads/45colt.htm

The bore of my 1858 Remington replica has been slugged at .449". The .44 round balls used with blackpowder loads measure .454". This is fine, becuase they are soft lead, such as your swaged bullets.

When using the .45LC conversion cylinder in it, hard cast bullets of .452" get sized down to .451" and lubed with Alox. These produce nice compact groups at 25 yds.

Suggest you slug your barrel and cylinder chambers to determine just what would work best for you.

Hard cast bullets should normally be about .002" overbore in size, while soft lead bullets should go about .004" for best gas sealing. Don't push the soft lead bullets too fast.

Frank, a lot of old .45 Colt dies would not size cases down enough for .452" bullets, so that could have been part of the problem. Either that or the expander might open up the case mouths too much.

A Ruger is almost certain to have a .451"-.452" bore, but the case mouths are another story.

Anyway, let us know what dimensions you come up with.

Looks like the cylinder bores are pretty consistently at .452...What does that mean???

Looks like the cylinder bores are pretty consistently at .452...What does that mean???

It means you are the luckiest Ruger owner in North America, LOL.... use .425" bullets and be happy. If neck tension is a problem, then you might have to mess with the expander ball on the die a little. Try it and see.....

MikeG, don't you mean "use .452" bullets"?

Michael Grace

MikeG, don't you mean "use .452" bullets"?

That's what I was wondering....Also....not a Ruger... A Smith Mod-25....I checked the New Service and tha was converted to Long Colt from Eley, and those throats are at .453
Here the are:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v385/FrankDrebin/45Colts.jpg">
I need to learn to take better pix!!

MikeG, don't you mean "use .452" bullets"?

Michael Grace

Yeah, those too!!!!! :D

Fingers got ahead of brain.....

That's what I was wondering....Also....not a Ruger... A Smith Mod-25....I checked the New Service and tha was converted to Long Colt from Eley, and those throats are at .453

I need to learn to take better pix!!

OK, that explains a lot!

I don't see the case bulge as a problem. as long as it's uniformly evident around the case. I've turned down, as in polish down the powder through neck expanders for Dillons and the expander stem on Lyman 'M' dies to provide this shelf/bulge in straight walled cases. My Redding 45-70 dies do this without any extra efforts on my part.
I've found that I get, what appears to me, more uniform powder burn, hince cleaner powder burn, by applying this super tight crimp. I may polish down the neck expanding stem for my 405 Winchester to achieve this shelf/bulge for added insurance against bullet set back.
Jim