The accuracy of my bullets would deline severly as the lube dried out and hardened over time. The addition of lanolin slowed the process , however it did not stop it.

I am too busy in the summer to cast and lube bullets so I need to build up my stocks in the winter.

So I starting storing my lubed bullets in the freezer.
When I use freshly lubed or frozen bullets with the Alberta Schuetzen lube they perform great without leading from -40 to 110 F without any need to change the formula.

I’m not sure a lot of folks use it much anymore but I mixed my first batch of Alox and beeswax  (50-50)  up in the 1970’s and have been adding to it ever since.  I have about three lubes that I try on any new bullet, some bullets don’t like it but the vast majority do.   
I bought my Alox back then so I have no idea if the new stuff is the same or not. 

I've tried a number of different lubes over many years.  I believe the first lube I used in cast bullet rifles & pistols was made either by Ideal or Lyman.  As a matter of fact, I still have some Ideal molds that I use.

Anyway, I tried the least expensive to the most expensive and finally came up with my own home brew that seems to work whether I'm shooting straight black or duplex.

50% pure beeswax
50% peanut oil off the supermarket shelf

Now the hard part since we're speaking of different melting temperatures here.  I melt and add 2 oz. of Kirk's Original Castille soap which is made with pure cocoanut oil.

The lube seems to last forever and holds together on the hottest days.  I guess a fella just has to try it out and see if the accuracy holds up in his firearm.

If you make it up without the soap... it even tastes good.

Quote:


2 oz. of the melted Castille soap to the can of 16 oz. of melted beeswax and 16 oz. of peanut oil.   

You must have the beeswax/peanut oil as hot as you can without burning it since the Castille soap melts at a higher temperature.

Schutzenbob......You said that you got a lube formula from Kenny Fox, did you ever try his ZORRO lube? I still have several pounds of it that I bought from him at the WEST END G. C. in the early 90`s.  8)

Don H,
Thanks for the kind words...but let me correct a commonly head belief. SPG works equally well for smokeless or black...I developed it as an "all-purpose" cast bullet lube. We, in fact, sell it to all shooters of cast bullets...pistol, high velocity, CBA'ers, muzzle loaders, ect.

One of the requirements I put on it was that it needed to work in all weather for all my various cast bullet firearms as I was tired of switching from one lube to another in hot or cold temperatures. I worked on this the better part of three years and in the process learned quite a bit about bullet lube.

I'm not saying that SPG will work better than a particular lube in a particular barrel...but it has shown to work in 99% of barrels in 99% of temperatures and I think that is it's real advantage. I've used it exclusively since I developed it in "81-"83 and it has worked well for me. I got Chuck Blender to try it a few years ago and it cured a barrel that he was having trouble with (leading) at Raton, New Mexico.

The true test of any bullet lube is in a cold (less than 30 degrees) temperature with low humidity. Almost any wax or grease will work when humidity is above 50% and temperatures don't exceed about 80 degrees. Cold, dry weather is what will test a lube...as well as black powder fouling.

For those who like to experiment with different ingredients I will offer some cautions that I explored when developing SPG. Using tallow or other animal fats that haven't been purged of salt can be bad medicine for barrels...especially old , pitted barrels. Likewise with beeswax that has not been purged of honey and sugars. Also...the Vaseline that one buys today as well as Crisco is not what it was even just 20 years ago. Oils and fats that are used in food preparation generally have not been purged of salt.

Another answer to a question that I have been asked frequently...yes, I have been using SPG on my rimfire ammo, especially my old Federal stuff. Their rosin-based lube seems to have dried out and here in Wyoming with the low humidity I have noticed much less leading when I use a film of SPG on the bullets.

Another tip...I don't recommned using a micro-wave to melt lube. Use only a double-boiler and if by some chance you have applied direct heat to a lube or scorch it...throw it out. I can guarantee it will not work after over-heating.

I have one funny Charlie Dell story concerning lubes. Years ago Charlie called me up (before we had ever met) and said that he was putting together an archive of bullet lube formulas. He politely requested the formula for SPG and I responded with "Charlie...I'd be glad to tell you what is in it...but then I'd just have to kill you." Charlie got a big kick out of that and we were friends from that point on. I considered Charlie to be a real authority on bullet lubes and everything else "single shot"...and I really miss his good conversation.

Gut Ziel,

Steve

JimB suggested I post this here from the other thread

"I talked to a couple of guys at EG about lubes.  I told them I'd post the info on a lube base that I found at our local farm store in the animal husbandry supply section while searching for a cheap local source of lanolin.

It is Corona "lanolin-rich antiseptic ointment for horses, cattle, small animals, and pets".   it is over 50% purel lanolin and most of the rest is emulsified beeswax with assorted fragrances and a small amount of anteseptics and medications.    I checked it out a few years back when the old "shootersTalk" web site was running.  One of the lube gurus on the cast bullet forum was a PhD in soap chemistry for one of the big mfgs.  He checked out the product and its ingredients and said it was an almost perfect BP bullet lube.  I have been using it for a couple of years with added beeswax melted into it.  by itself it has a vasaline type consistancy and I wanted it a bit stiffer." 

as an added comment  I ouwld note that I was told that the Non-lanolin, non-beeswax ingredients would not have any negative effect and that some might actually help.  It has worked for me----but I have not won any matches either.
Wayne Stiles