Tips for ALOX'd bullets

bluemike807

bluemike807

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Im pretty put off by my cast bullets looking like they passed through something's digestive tract when I lube them with ALOX - plus with bigger rifle bullets, I dont get the sense its doing a good job as the lube grooves tend to be wide and deep.

Is it potentially more beneficial to start pan lubing these? Is ALOX worth the trouble?

What have been peoples' experiences trying to clean up their tumble-lubed bullets? I've read some instances where people put the loaded rounds into their vibratory tumblers with mineral spirits. Any thoughts?
 
I'd recommend that you find another way to size and lube bullets, like a basic lube sizer, where you can fill the grooves with the lube of your choice and keep lube off the rest of your bullet. Lubes, sizes, seats and crimps gascheck all in one operation and bullets don't have to dry at all. Google lubesizers made by Lyman, RCBS, and Star.
 
I use both liquid alox and lubersizers depending on the application.

The alox is nice and fast, and yes a thin coat is the key. I use the alox for pistol bullets, I use a lubersizer for my rifle stuff.

To clean the bullets up, yes a vibratory tumbler and mineral spirits does work, don't use too much mineral spirits, or the media will stick to your ammo. Don't put too much loaded ammo in your tumbler, or it won't vibrate much.

To keep a limit on the buildup inside your seating die, drill out the center of it to give the lube somewhere to go.

Bullets run through a lubersizer are nicer to deal with, but alox, and run through a lee sizer is much faster then a lyman or rcbs lubersizer. I don't know about a Star, if I had one of those, I may just quit using liquid alox.
 
I first used Alox because I didn't want to invest in lube-sizers. Then I discovered that I hardly have any leading in my guns and after hundreds of rounds, whatever is there is easily removed with a couple of swipes with a bore brush.

I know there are so many variables that come into play when discussing the barrel leading issues. But all I know is until about 3 years ago, all I shot were hard-lubed commercial cast bullets and I thought that heavy leading was a normal result.

Now I use Alox'd bullets because I like what they do, rather, don't do. They don't lead as much as the other option. YMMV, of course.
 
I've had hard lubed commercial bullets lead as well, however I've also had Ben make me bullets that shot clean in a pitted up old bore that with my own bullets I had to go to gas checks to have a hope with, yet Ben could make bullets up with the right hardness and right lube to work fantastic.

A lot is matching the right lubes and bullet diameters with the right velocities, pressures and barrel length, I'd like to pretend I understand any of it, but about all I can tell you is what works my my particular barrel with a particular load and what doesn't. Ben and others like him on the other hand, seem to actually understand all the black magics of lubes and alloys etc.
 
I've just begun to dabble with hand cast bullets, and went with the Alox & pan lube method just because of cost, but I'm happy to hear that others have good fouling experience with alox. I'm sure the lube machines are less messy and faster, but not convinced the bullets are less fouling.

Highest count so far is with 45-70, which are Alox'd and then pan lubed with parrafin, vasaline, stp & beeswax mix; zero fouling.

38spl just alox after some suggestions from the guys here, real thin coat as it was gooping up the seating die. I still have to try drilling out the seating stem. I ended up putting a double jam nut on the seating stem (so it's seating depth does not change) and spin it out real quick every 20 or so bullets and give it a quick scrub with hoppes #9 and nylon 9mm cleaning brush. Not a big deal and it keeps the cases clean.

Real thick Alox coated 38Spl does not foul.

I've got about 500 loaded with the real thin coat of Alox, soon I'll see how those perform.
 
If you had to clean your seating stem every 20 rounds, you were way over dosing the alox on the 38spcl.

I'm not sure what your doing with which bullets, but there should be no need to pan lube the 38's, just a quick coat of alox should be lots.
 
I've been tumble aloxing pistol and rifle, but have started pan lubing some as well. Sizing and gas check seating when done is through a Lee Sizing Die, I have not had any leading so far, other than some undersized .45ACPs that. This was corrected by sizing the bullet a little larger. I look forward to trying a Lube Sizer in the future, but it's just not at the top of my list right now.
 
Yeah I tried to avoid getting a luber sizer for the longest time as well, in fact I tried to avoid casting for the longest time, but eventually it grabs you and you have to get all the things. I even got sucked into making my own shot.

The interesting thing about casting is you don't have to know it all to make bullets that work in a lot of applications. There is so much to know about casting and lubes, and I have barely scratched the surface, yet I cast thousands of bullets that get the job done. That said I'd sure like to know more, and I'm slowly getting more knowledgeable about it.
 
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