Shiloh Rifle Forums

I cast and lubed way more bullets than I have cases. I stored the lubed bullets in a plastic cartridge case sized for .45 Colt. They fit very nicely. Now I noticed that the lube has dried a bit.

Do you store lubed bullets any length of time, or do you load them pretty soon after? How long would you store them? HOW do you store them? Should I be concerned about degraded accuracy?

Thanks!

HOKIE:
I think the "drying out" is mainly re-crystallizing of some of the components, particularly if they are not compatible with one another. With my formula, I have no problem with that, tho have seen the phenomenon with other lubes. I usually just dump the bullets into a box as they come out of the luber, and store only a few bullets, such as PP, in boxes when they need more protection.

CHRIS

Have not given it much thought.
As a standard practice I do not lube bullets until I am ready to load them. Usually the day before.
I recently shot some Match 45-90 Long Range ammunition that were loaded in 2015 and they shot just fine.
Also, shot some .44 Magnum Cast Bullet Handloads recently that were loaded eleven years ago and they shot just fine.

Refrigerator or even freezer.
Will slow down the deterioration of lubed bullets.
Even better, PP bullets need no such storage.......
beltfed/arnie

Just a thought. I may be way off base on this, but if the lube has lost moisture and caused the lube to dry out a little, and even shrink a bit, why can’t they be put into a humidifier to return the lube to its natural condition again?
If this could be done effectively, I’d then store them in a refrigerator, sealed.
Robert

BTW, I’m using DGL lube. If something is evaporating I’m not sure it is water.

I store my cast bullets in cartridge boxes like you to protect them, but I don't lube them until I am ready to stuff them into the case. That way the bullets are protected and the lube doesn't make a mess in the storage box. After the bullet is loaded into the case the lube will stay good for years.

Dave

What is the difference if the lube is stored on the bullet or in the little box it comes in it is not sealed?

hipshot1 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:22 am What is the difference if the lube is stored on the bullet or in the little box it comes in it is not sealed?

That's a good point. Maybe, once it's on the bullets, it's thinner and has more surface area in contact with the air? Also, possibly melting it again (for us pan-lubers) or compressing it (for those lubing with a lubrisizer) might make a difference.

Just speculating here. With some types of lubes I've noticed a change like the one described above. I generally don't store lubed bullets for long periods prior to loading, so I don't recall the circumstances or which lube I was using when I've experienced that. It may have been homemade lube for smokeless loads, but I've seen that before. As I recall, I just loaded and shot them anyway, but they wouldn't have been for competition/accuracy loads.

What DD, DSAG4570, and Griff said. Why add another unnecessary variable? It doesn't take that much time to lube the bullets for a match, and then you know your lube is fresh....

Clarence

We use spg lube shortly after casting. We usually load the bullets a few weeks after that and have had no problems. I have a few boxes of hornady lead bullets for my front stuffer and they were lubed many years ago at the factory. They are dry now but shoot just fine.

All Lubed bullets go back in the Styrofoam tray into the empty box of the same caliber. No boxes? Just stack the marked trays up. All go under the work bench on caster rollers in order of size 25 caliber up to 50 and metrics

you could wrap them with grease proof paper, which is discarded when you load the ammo.
oh that is stupid .
when you think about it, why not just use pp bullets and keep them for years no problem.
bruce.

just put the lubed boxed bullets in zip lock bags art

Store them in military ammo cans
Gary