Cast bullets and lubed storage questions.

[roval]

Does a loaded cast bullet lube go bad if unfired for years?

Will commercial lubed cast bullets i.e laser cast or dardas stored in garage where it can get hot 105 (don't know if it actually reach that) have the lube melt?

Are there critters that will eat the lube? mice or insects.

 

[Reefinmike]

I dont know if I would consider storing my ammo in a 100+ degree garage... most traditional lubes would be very soft if not melty at this temp.

 

[Bula]

I'd say your safe storing it. I live in Phoenix where the temps are far above 105 in the garage, where I keep ammo. No problems, so far. I use nra 50/50 for everything. In the summer it has the consistency of Vaseline. I keep several thousand rounds loaded and have had zero issues. One thing to note, all rounds are lead side down in 50 and 100 round mtm boxes.

 

[rcmodel]

I have old cigar boxes full of cast bullets I made 40 years ago in storage in the basement.

Most were lubed with Lyman Ideal graphite grease lube.

Some of it has dried out over the years and tends to crack loose from the lube grooves when handled during loading.

But not to the point the bullets are not still lubed enough to be perfectly usable.

I think Alox would last even longer.

And I think any bullet lube would last even longer if stored in airtight plastic containers instead of old cardboard cigar boxes!!!

In short?
I wouldn't even worry about it, if stored properly.

rc

 

[roval]

Anything loaded goes into the house in a locked container in a closet.

The unloaded bullets is what I'm wondering about. I usually reorder every few months but like buying 1000 of each bullet and I'm just starting to use traditional cast and lubed over plated and coated in some calibers. 45, 38/357 and 44 mag.....So some of them may last more than 6 months in the garage before getting loaded as I will still be using the coated bullets mainly.

 

[roval]

Rc I just saw your post will not worry about it then. I was thinking having the bullets go through a summer in the garage.

Anything eating the lube?

 

[dragon813gt]

I wouldn't worry w/ the lubes that commercial casters use. The melt point is usually very high. Nothing is going to eat the lube. But it will dry out a crack if left long enough.

W/ lubes that most home casters use I would not recommend storage at that temp. I learned me lesson, not a bad one. I store all my cast bullets loose in 30 cal ammo cans. At the time I was using White Label 2500+. After a summer in the attic in my garage the bullets are tacky all over. The attic is a large storage area w/ a barn style roof. Not a small confined area w/ low ceiling. The tacky bullets aren't an issue unless the bases have lube on them. Then there is the potential for powder contamination.

 

[243winxb]

50/50 Bees wax /alox

Mice, moles and snakes have not bothered 50/50 lubed bullets stored in 3lb plastic margarine containers or tubes of lube for me. Lube can dry out some, but it doesnt seem to hurt anything. Heat can be a problem using some types of lube, like 50/50. Bullets or loaded ammo in a hot car or a metal ammo can, is not a good idea. My test showed it runs just before 140 degees. Commercial bullet lubes should not be a problem.

 

[jmorris]

I have some that are 30 years old and the wax lube still looks as good as new, some even fired that still have the lube in them.

 

[stubbicatt]

This is sort of an aside, but I cast my shuetzen bullets, which are breach seated, and pan lube them and store them in 32 ACP ammo boxes with the little partitions that keep them separated from the other bullets. Seems to work well.

 

[bob4]

Son-in-law wanna be made me some ammo once ( 3 -4 yrs ago) Nastiest sticky lube I've ever touched. Let some friends shoot some of it not long ago and shot fine. But dirties the heck out on my gun. Can't wait till it's gone.