Clive Taylor - 18 April 2002
For bullet lube I use a mix of equal parts by volume of beeswax, lanolin (hydrous or anhydrous) and castor oil. To make the lube I have each ingredient in a measuring jug and nuke them (carefully) all at the same time in the micro wave. It's important to keep an eye on them so that they don't boil. When they're all liquid I pour them (in equal parts!) into a large measuring jug, giving them a quick stir for luck. I use this mix exclusively for pan-lubing so I don't know how it would perform in a Lube-sizer. I do know that the various components do not separate or the oil leech out of the mix as I'm currently pan lubing from a large mix I made 6 months ago. I've also used it on PP bullets before and after wrapping and I never had a wrap fail to come off. It doesn't become runny - well not in our UK summers but in hotter climes? Also, touch wood, I've never "run out of lube" completely and that's in a 34" tubed .45 * 3.25".
When I'm loading with grease cookies I have 2 favourites depending on the time of year. The first one may be surprising - it was certainly pooh-poohed and laughed at when somebody (not me) posted it on Shooters a couple of years ago. I just kept quite and chuckled to myself!
If you're using a good lube for "lubrication" the other thing you want is to keep the fouling soft. What do you use to keep the fouling soft? Water! Now there's a common item, a favourite of kid's parties, that is about 95% water but is solid - think about it! Yes! jelly! (or gelatine for grown-up cooking!). With a thin beeswax wad between the powder stack and the jelly "grease cookie" you're firing water down the barrel as the burning of the powder breaks the beeswax wad and melts the jelly immediately. It makes the muzzle positively drool, almost as if it has a cold with a runny nose! The drawback is that in the summer it will melt whilst in the cartridge - not good. So it's perfect for winter or cooler times of the year. The other option is to keep your ammo in a cool box on the line and load only immediately before you're ready to fire. It cookie cuts easily and is not messy during the re-loading process.
My other mix is definetely a "grease" cookie. It's a variation of my bullet lube and is made the same way. It's made up from 10% beeswax, 25% lanolin (hydrous or anhydrous) and 65% pure neatsfoot. It's a soft mix but it will cookie cut and it's an aquired art to seat it in the case with only a little mess. This mix seems to stand up to the UK summers well but varying the beeswax and/or lanolin would probably be needed in hotter climes.
Must give all due credit to one of my shooting pards - Dale Murphy of CMS Antique Arms - for the basics of these recipes