should i be lubing my 44mag bullets?

[Hawken50]

just what the title says. i just started handloading for pistol. some of the bullets i have have "lube grooves" should i be lubing them? just lube lead bullets? lead and jacketed? if so, with what? i have some rcbs rifle bullet lube, would that be sufficent? thanks

 

[Father Knows Best]

Um, yeah. You need to lube them. With what depends on a lot of factors. What kind of propellant (powder)? How fast are you pushing them?

I use a Star Lube-Sizer to size and lube all of my cast bullets. It's the best machine out there, bar none. It's a little pricey (about $200 with a couple of dies) but it works great and I've never regretted the investment.

There are other, less expensive, lubing methods. Lots of vendors sell cast bullets already sized and lubed. That's the easiest method. If you're casting your own, there are special bullet designs intended for "tumble lubing" with liquid alox. That's as easy as it gets, but that method doesn't work real well with bullets that aren't designed for it. If you are shooting black powder cartridges and using a soft lube with a low melting point, you can "pan lube" in your kitchen (I'll tell you how to do it if it's relevant). There are several other lube-sizers on the market that are much less expensive than the Star (say, $50-100).

 

[Master Blaster]

Jacketed bullets have a crimp groove, not a lube groove, and they are not lubed, unless they are being coated with Molydisufide.
Hardcast and swaged lead bullets are either lubed in a groove, or they can be coated with a lubricant, depending on their design.

i would recommend a copy of a good reloading manual like Lyman 48 to explain procedures for handling bullets.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Jacketed bullets have a crimp groove, not a lube groove, and they are not lubed, unless they are being coated with Molydisufide.

Oh, yeah. Sorry, I missed the part where you asked about jacketed bullets. My post only refers to cast (lead) bullets.

 

[Hawken50]

Jacketed bullets have a crimp groove, not a lube groove,

the 300grn xtp i have have 2 grooves (see picture). i thought maybe the rear one was for lube. i guess it's just for longer OAL's?

i do plan on shooting some lead bullets at some point, so thanks for that info too

 

[ReloaderFred]

On jacketed bullets with two crimping grooves, known as canellures, both grooves are for different seating depths, as you've correctly surmised. You'll also find that on some .45-70 bullets and a few other calibers.

Jacketed bullets aren't lubed. Some have experimented by lubing them, but found that there was either no improvement or accuracy fell off with the lube.

Cast bullets must be lubed. If they aren't, the bore will get smaller with each shot and the resulting leading will be difficult to remove.

Hope this helps.

Fred