Lube Migration?

[Eric Johanen]

Loaded up some 45-70 paper patched loads with the BACO 530 grain .441 patched up to .4485. Winchester brass necksized at 2.10 length. CCI LR Bench Rest Primer with 78.0 grains of OE 1.5 weighed. .060 vegie card, 1/8 inch SPG lube wad and a orange juice carton over lube wad. Compressed to .430, finger seat the bullet and light taper crimp to hold snug. I noticed some lube migration in the inside of the case above the wad stack and wiped out with q-tips. Should I be compressing the .060 card first and just drop the lube wad and over lube card into the case, place with a dowel and then seat the bullet? How do you guy's do this to avoid the lube migration. I loaded some up last fall and a few days later took them to the range and noticed lube migration up the paper patch. They did not shoot very well with the lube soaked paper patch. I'm going to work up a hunting load to shoot dirty and could use a bit of advise. (Note: this is with a Standard Shiloh Chamber).

[Dave Roelle]

Hi Eric:

I mold my lube cookies so they are all of the same volume and not quite as large in diameter as the I.D. of the case

Insert your choice of overpowder wad and seat with your press to the appropriate depth in the case.

Drop in the cookie and cover it with a wad that will seal in the lube----milk carton wads work well for me

Using the same seating punch as used with the overpowder wad----- gradually seat the overcookie wad until you just leak lube past the overcookie wad------now back off your seating punch 0.005/0.010 inches

(I made a special shim to use on the seating punch to easily control the second punch position)

This way you assure the cookie fills its space and you won't over pressure it causing it to bypass the wads

Also this way, with uniform cookies, your total payload weight stays under control and you won't contaminate the patch.

hope this helps

Dave

[Eric Johanen]

Thank's Dave. Help a lot and I'll give that a try!

[Dave Roelle]

You bet--------------i use an overpowder wad 0.060 thick and the milk carton wad over the cookie----checking as i was going through the process i never found any lube migration toward the powder

Let us know how the next batch shoots

Dave

[Kurt]

Eric. Here is another way.

I melt down some lube in a old mr. coffee pot on a hot plate under low heat.
I have 6 Bread loaf pans the solid once that don't flex. I get them at Blain's Farm & Fleet they are nice and stiff and have a non stick coating on them. I place then on a flat surface so they are level and I lay 2 or 3 spent primers in the bottom and just pour the melted lube to cover the primers. That is just the right thickness I like to use and it gives me a consistent thickness. when the lube cools in the pan I put them in the freezer and get them cold so the lube shrinks a little and the slab of lube will fall right out of the pan.

When I load the case I figure out what the thickness of the wad stack is, the over the powder, lube and under the bullet.
Lets say the 3 wad stack is 3/8" thick.

Now it comes time to charge the case with powder. Here is where you do a little math and use a calipers or a depth gauge. For example, for making it easy for my math skills say you want 1/8" to seat the bullet, 1/4" for the wad stack thickness, and say .250" you want to compress the powder. That requires the amount of powder to be compressed 5/8" below the case mouth.
Now fill your case with powder and compress it so you get you .250" of compression. you can do this with a wad over the uncompressed powder so it don't stick the the compression plug but subtract the wad thickness so you hold your depth you want.

Now after the powder is compressed with your wad on the powder take the case and use it to cut the lube wad from the lube slab you made in the bread pan. I lay the lube slab on the bench top with some paper under it and use the case to cut the lube and take a stick pin and poke a hole in it to let the air out so when you push the lube and the under bullet wad down the compressed air leaks out.
I don't use the press to seat the lube wad and the wad that is under the bullet I use the bullet or a dowel to seat it on the over the powder wad.

This way you don't push any lube out between the under bullet wad and get the wad to stick to the bullet base. You don't want the wad and the part of the patch that is folded under the bullet to ride down range with the bullet.

Next you can put a slight taper crimp if you feel you need it or just seat the bullet loose.
I hope I didn't confuse you.
Kurt

[Eric Johanen]

Thanks' Kurt. Between you and Dave's advise I should get it figured out.

[kokomokid]

Dave, are you comming to Mexia and you gonna make confetti again?

[Dave Roelle]

Hi komodo
Yup I'll be there
Argueing with myself about PP or GG
Patched is looking good, gonna shoot the Saturday match with GG see what the new riflegun will do with them
Gonna shoot scope this year

Stay safe
Dave

[Lumpy Grits]

One of the reasons I stop'd using SPG was it's 'leaking' in our summer's heat.
Don't have this issue at all with DGL.
Might be worth a try.
Gary

[Eric Johanen]

I noticed that too. I also switched to DGL. Working very well for pan lubing and I think my problem was trying to compress the whole wad column rather than just the over powder wad and then adding the lube wad and over card seating with a dowel and then finger seating the bullet. Next reloading session I'll give that method a try.