Dust all over Hornady 158gr LRN bullets

[Joe1995]

I’m new to reloading and decided to buy 300 Hornady 158gr LRN bullets to load in 38 special. I opened the box and all of the bullets are covered in dust/powder. Is this normal, or is it something I should be concerned about?
My first thought is that it’s probably just dried up lube, but part of me wonders if it may be oxidized lead dust.
Just looking for some input before I start handling and loading them.

 

[edwardware]

I'd guess cardboard dust from their packing operation. I've seen that on occasion.

Jacket forming lube is a thing, but it doesn't dry to a powder.

Lead is quite stabile and it would take centuries to oxidize a visible amount into lead oxide

 

[Ifishsum]

Probably a dry lube Hornady uses on some of their soft swaged lead bullets. I have some in .45 that are knurled all around, without lube grooves and they are dusted with some kind of lube. Want to say I've seen other brands of LRN bullets that are dusted with a lube powder (been a while, I mostly cast my own these days)

Lead oxide is white and generally won't be consistent all around the bullets. It doesn't take centuries to form but it certainly doesn't happen in just a few years generally.

 

[rabid wombat]

Sorry, I can’t answer your question. I do want to welcome you to the forum!

 

[Master Blaster]

It's lube to prevent leading, messy but normal for swaged bullets. I have 6000 remington 158 swagged lswc that have the black powder lube. It works but you have to clean your seating and crimp dies to prevent build up.

 

[Charlie98]

The most accurate bullet I ever loaded for my .38 was those bullets over Unique. Yes, they are a mess to load, but it’s worth it.

 

[MEHavey]

LLA + Motor Mica to minimize "stickiness"
Shoot`em.

 

[derek45]

It's normal, 148gr wadcutters often look the same

 

[Cokeman]

So they only put the that on bare lead bullets, not on jacketed bullets?

 

[.38 Special]

Correct. Those are very good bullets, by the way, and should do everything asked of them.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

Yep, a form of dry lube. That lube works very well.

Keep in mind that those are swaged bullets, not cast. Swaged bullets are cold-formed from very soft, almost pure lead. Keep the velocity in realistic 38 Spl territory and they will perform admirably.

If you decide to run those at 357 Mag velocity you may be in for some barrel cleaning.

 

[Reeferman]

I use a ton of those bullets in WC, SWC and round nose. They are a tad bit expensive but shoot very well and leave zero leading in any of my 38 and 357 revolvers. If you try and load them over Hornady’s load data then yes you will get leading.

 

[Walkalong]

That's perfectly normal and how they look.

 

[Reeferman]

That's perfectly normal and how they look.
View attachment 946444

You’ve had that box for awhile.

 

[Strainer]

Just talked to Hornady tech about this. I had Hornady 38 Special 158 GR swaged lead bullets made in 2019 that had motor mica (looks like dust) on top of wax lube, whereas ones made 2020 only have the wax lube applied to the bullet (in the knurled section on the base). Lube is identical; up through 2019 they used to add the motor mica to make the bullet easier to handle when hand loading. They apparently decided it wasn't necessary.

 

[Archie]

LLA + Motor Mica to minimize "stickiness"
Shoot`em.

That is my observation, opinion, take away as well.

 

[ThomasT]

I think Hornady uses Rooster Jacket to lube their bullets and then a coating of mica to prevent stickiness. Midway is once again selling Rooster Jacket and the stuff works very well for lower velocity lead bullets.

 

[noylj]

Their bullets are about 13 BHN (same as all my cast bullets) and the "dust" is micro-ground mica to prevent bullets sticking. The lube appears to be an emulsified wax, like AnchorSeal (used to sealing wood edges during drying to prevent splitting).
Write to Hornady and they'll answer your questions.

 

[ThomasT]

Do you have a source for buying anchor seal?

 

[noylj]

>Do you have a source for buying anchor seal?
Amazon, Google search, local lumberyard/Home Depot/Loews/etc.
Don't buy the GREEN version.
From Amazon:
ANCHORSEAL Classic Log & Lumber End Sealer - Water Based Wax Emulsion, Prevents up to 90% of End Checking on Cut Ends of Hardwood & Softwood … (1 Gallon)

Price: $40.99 & FREE Shipping. Details