More Lube = More FPS??

[DerDer]

I have a question and it's due to wanting to squeeze every last FPS out of my 1 7/8" snub. .38 Special

Will cleaning and leaving a thin layer of lubrication in the barrel increase the FPS? Is there anyway to get a few more FPS out of the snub by using more lubrication? If the barrel is left dry will it slow the bullet down and decrease it's performance to the point it will leave lead shavings in the barrel and be an absolute BEAR to clean up?

[azredhawk44]

My opinion and $5 will buy you one cup of coffee...:p

But I would never put any foreign substance in my barrel that I did not immediately clean back out.

[gb_in_ga]

azredhawk44: +1

Barrel leading isn't going to be helped by anything you do to the barrel. If you are really worried about barrel leading, you need to either use jacketed ammo or at least use gas checks. You also might want to change the lead hardness -- too soft can be bad (when loaded too hot), and strangely enough too hard can also be bad (when not loaded hot enough), depending on how it is loaded.

Leaving anything in the barrel is not going to raise your velocities, but it will most likely lower your velocities or even worse increase the working pressures.

It sounds to me like you are using some sort of lead bullets -- I assume that you are using the 158 gr +P LSWC-HP loads. Those need to have softer lead than you would normally use at +P pressures and velocities in order to better expand -- there's nothing much you can do about that but just learn to live with it (short of changing loads), and get used to cleaning the lead out of your barrel. If you were handloading these, you could use a gas checked bullet and solve the leading problem that way. Also keep in mind that the bullets are already lubed -- it's just that you can't see the lube ring as it is seated below the case mouth. Rest assured that it is, however.

[DanM2000]

I add a light wash of Lee Liquid Alox to commercial cast bullets. This gives a very slight velocity increase, and about 20% better standard deviation over the same load/bullet combo without the alox. Reduces leading and makes for easier cleaning. Also eliminates the Marlin Microgroove barrel cast bullet problem, if there really was one.....

[urbanassault]

Im gonna go take a cold shower:D

[DerDer]

Thank you for all the wonderful replies. I think for now on I will go with jacketed bullets with a light was of Alox solution for lubrication and ease of cleaning for most range visits. If it's for self defense then I will just go with either the 158 gr. RNL or 147 gr. LSWHP. In that situation I doubt it matters about jacketed bullets and lube as it is already pre-lubed. This is my first thread so thank you.

This isn't the end of my thread, either so post away about any theories or ideas about lbe, bullets, and cleaning measures. What is everbody's elses opinions on this matter?

[azredhawk44]

I think for now on I will go with jacketed bullets with a light was of Alox solution for lubrication and ease of cleaning for most range visits.

Please don't do this with jacketed bullets. It's not necessary and will increase pressure since you are introducing more material to the bore.

Okay to do with lead bullets, though.

[Richard Simmons]

FWIW I've been using Corrosion X for a good while now and really like the way it protects my firearms as well as the ease of cleanup after a day at the range. While looking around the net I found an article about a police department that recorded 100fps increase when they wiped the bullet portion of the cartridge with Corrosion X before firing. Will see if I can find it again. One should never fire ammunition with lubricant on the cartridge case unless the firearm is designed to operate in that fashion as some Japanese medium and or heavy machineguns were in WWII but a light film on the bullet, I don't know? I do know that after treating the bore of my CZ-97b with Corrosion X before it had made it's first trip to the range seems to have made it almost impossible for anything to stick. Cleanup is a breeze with virtually no lead or copper residue. Anything that bonds with the metal and makes the surface slicker makes it easier to clean and might just make the bullet go faster to boot. Seems possible anyway.

[deadin]

My question is, after all this extra effort, just how much velocity do you hope to pick up? 10-20 fps? On a 158gr bullet, an extra 20 fps (900 fps to 920 fps) will result in a gain of about 13 lbs of ME. Hardly seems worth the effort.

Dean

[Richard Simmons]

http://www.corrosionx.com/gun_use.html#metcalf


"A major U.S. law enforcement agency reported that a light coat of CorrosionX for Guns in the bore increased muzzle velocity by more than 100 fps, kept barrels noticeably cooler, and it even improved accuracy and consistency. They treat their ammunition, as well as their weapons, with a slightly-dampened patch."


Now if true a 100fps gain is nothing to sneeze at as it represents a 10% or better increase in some loadings.

[deadin]

Agreed that 100 fps would be significant. I don't think he will pick up that much out of a 1 7/8" snubbie. The bullet just isn't in the barrel long enough to have much affect on on it.

Dean

[DanM2000]

Sorry, I thought we were talking about cast bullets, and reloading. I did not mean to imply that any lube should be added to factory loaded ammo. I got the idea for adding alox to commercial cast bullets from Dean Grennell's "Book of the .45". It really works. Have been doing it for years.

[Majic]

If it's for self defense then I will just go with either the 158 gr. RNL or 147 gr. LSWHP.
The RNL makes for poor defensive bullet and a 147/148 bullet would be a WC and not a SWC.