Roll them or dust them in powdered mica. It comes in many colors and will add lubrication to the bullets.

Mica Powder

 

As mentioned, mica should help. FWIW I found the easiest and fastest way to pull lead bullets is with diagonal cutters on a single stage press. I have a Hornady Classic press so use a shell holder extension and an extra die insert which avoids damage to the press itself. It ruins the bullets but I just melt them back down anyway.

 

Go to Castboolits.com and look for their spreadsheet on alloys and hardness. That will save you a LOT of time and lead.

 

I'm new to this cast bullet stuff, but I must ask, why, after lubing, would you coat them with Alox? Isn't the lube sufficient on its own?

 

Alox is the bullet lube.

 

"Was it as I suspect the Alox was too tacky when first loaded ?"

Gareth, I've offended my casts with Lee Alox in all flavors of stickiness, from straight L.A. to L.A. super diluted with petroleum, denatured alcohol, etc._ often overcrimped, too, without encountering excessive problems with the kinetic hammer, when needed_ I doubt the fault lies with LA Lube _

 

Don't soak, roll, or dip in ALOX... no matter how diluted or what it's cut with.

Instead,

• Size the bullet before lubing at all. (No... it won't gall or jam up)
• "Grease up" your thumb/forefinger with a little dab of ALOX
• Just 'grease' the bullets with a thin (repeat... THIN) coat and place upright on a plate
• Throw in "warm" oven overnight

They will be dry from that point on, and ready to shoot the next day if need be.

.

 

Then why do they make and sell sizer/luber presses that work so well?

 

Lubrisizer presses (and I have three* of them) are to ALOX as apples are to bananas.

Traditional wax lube-in-groove operates as a thin film near-gas squeezed out of the grooves
ahead of the bullet to coat the bore as the bullet moves.

ALOX is a true surface-effect coating on the bullet itself. No lube-in-groove (or even groove) needed.



* Those three Lyman 450s are feeling lonely though. I've converted almost exclusively to PC for conventional bullet shapes, and ALOX for bore riders.

 

Garth,

Good to see your post. Stuff has changed, not for the better, after ITAR regulations restricted what can be mailed internationally.

I assume you have material sources locally. If not, an additional source is Rotometals. The best plain base and gas check alloy I have found for smokeless powder is Electrotype, a 94%Pb-3%Sn-3%Sb alloy. It drops out of the mold at around 12 BHN and after a week, without water quenching, age hardens to 16 BHN. It performs well with gas checks in bottle neck cartridges and plain base in straight wall cartridges. Ex: 2,100 fps 205gr in 30-06, 1,600 fps 265 gr in a 40-65, and 1,600 fps 160 gr in a 38-55.

Mix: 1.25# foundry alloy from Rotometals, 10.1# lead, and 2.1 oz of tin.

Also, make sure your bullet diameter is around .002" over groove diameter after sizing and before any lube coating is added.

See the bottom section of the attached stick post link for casting references.



https://www.marlinowners.com/threads/load-data-and-reference-links.628262/

 

Garth,

Good to see your post. Stuff has changed, not for the better, after ITAR regulations restricted what can be mailed ...

Also, make sure your bullet diameter is around .002" over groove diameter after sizing and before any lube coating is added.
https://www.marlinowners.com/threads/load-data-and-reference-links.628262/

I see people say this all the time and it has to be mentioned that you need a mold that will cast oversize, then a sizer that is your desired size. Optional is a Lyman M brass sizer die that will size your brass neck to accommodate the oversize so it won't shave the bullet. You will need to get a custom insert for the oversize as Lyman is standard diameter.
You have to plan this from the get-go.
If you don't have oversize cast bullets for microgroove skip the lube and go straight to powder coat.
Just my 2¢

 

ALOX not yet thoroughly dried will lead.
Dried ALOX... well you can't get that stuff off the bullet no matter what you do.

There's nothing wrong with soft lead in a Sharps at the velocities [the OP] cited at all.
In fact it's an advantage.

I recommend Madisonian use the ALOX application/drying method in Post #12, and let us know the results

 

I have used Lee Liquid Alox with excellent results for 30 30, 32 20 and 38 55 bullets. Especially for molds like the one for my 32 20 that are border line, as it is a 30 cal mold. Builds up the diameter slightly. I have also applied lube in the grooves but no longer.
I have pretty much used up my scrounged alloys like wheel weight. Magnum birdshot works. Smaller sized shot like 8s have more antimony than larger sizes like 4s. 25 pound bag lasts a while and works in a shotgun.

DEP

 

Are you cleaning between shots? Are you shooting black powder? Have you tried paper patched? Alox is designed for smokeless, isn't it? One of the most uniformly accepted bullet lubes for black powder is SPG - there are others but lots of great shooters use it. Loading for a Sharps is quite an expedition, there are so many variables. Soft lead at 1400 fps is not an issue.

Paper patched may "seem" like a lot of hassle on the front end, but lots of people move to that and are able to completely avoid the whole lube issue. Applying patches is easy and fast. Yes, you need a dedicated mold. They did it for a reason, after all.

 

The powder is smokeless N130, I took the average top velocity from the Lee cast bullet handbook 1410 fps. 28 grs gives me 1400 fps so good enough, shoots well in both guns (40-65) 29in tubes.
interestingly after 2 weeks the bullet hardness on the Saeco hardness tester had gone up to 9 = 17 on the brinell scale.
The original question was on bullet lube, would you use both ? And if so due you let the alox harden, thank you Gareth.
Ps this side of the pond we have to use what we can get.

 

Use one lube or the other -- not both.
And yes the ALOX must be thin, and must be allowed to harden ....a la Post#10

I cast some 30:1 (BHN 5.8) 410 grain ACC 46-410L's last night, ALOX'd them this AM (Post#10 again)
and will push them out of my Sharps at ~1,400fps using RL7 tomorrow afternoon.

Film at 11.....

.

 

Thank you, Gareth.

 

Well, you learn something new every day on this site. I was not aware of age hardening of cast lead bullets. I have a bunch of BHN 12 alloy. Should I expect it to get harder with age after casting with it?

Also, on the Allox coating; I don't get it. Isn't the internally lubricated bullet a marvelous innovation from 100+ years ago? I am using White Label carnauba blue in my RCBS Lube-A-Matic II, and just filling the grease groove with it. And for higher velocity rifle bullets I use gas checks. Isn't that sufficient? BTW, no leading issues.

 

ALOX didn't exist as of the internally-lubed cartridge bullet 150(+) years ago

But it is a superior surface-effect coating for smokeless powders that once dried/hardened,
doesn't come off, age, crack, dry out, or collect lint and other bad things in your pocket.

It also doesn't need anything but a LEE sizer die and greasy fingers.
(and yes, I've done the pan-lube thing too )
.

 

BubbaJon: Those look PC'd
Are you doing both PC and ALOX?

 

Nope - that's Alox and colored mica.

 

45-70
ALOX as per Post#10
420gr ACC46-410L
30:1 Soft (BHN 5.8) Alloy

(GARMIN Chronograph)

Nothing to write home about .. just no issues with the dried/THIN ALOX as bullet coating.
(barrel mirror finish after a dry patch)

DID have ignition inconsistency at that low pressure (11,000 psi) with RL7, so will `try again Monday with either 5744 or 4759, targeting 1,400fps/15,000 psi