The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Just acquired a RRB in .32-20

Driftwood Johnson · June 22, 2020, 11:10 AM

The photo of the box of bullets was only meant to show the correct bullet diameter.

No, those bullets would not be terrific for Black Powder.

Yes, generally speaking one wants a soft lead bullet for Black Powder, however I used to pan lube hard cast bullets with a BP compatible bullet lube all the time. After melting the hard cast lube out of the bullets I pan lubed them with a mixture of about 50/50 Beeswax and Crisco.

Just one of many, many formulas for Black Powder compatible bullet lube.

The idea is most modern bullet lubes will combine with Black Powder fouling to create a hard fouling that is difficult to remove from the bore. Black Powder compatible bullet lubes are soft and gooey. They remain soft after they are loaded with BP fouling so they are easy to clean out of the bore without a lot of elbow grease. Basically what happens is the soft lube rubs off into the grooves of the rifling as the bullet travels down the bore. Then the next bullet wipes away the lube from the previous bullet, and leaves its own lube behind. If a bullet does not carry enough lube to coat the inside of the barrel for its entire length, the bore will get starved for lube near the muzzle. Pan lubing hard cast bullets with a soft lube works well, but most modern bullets do not have a large enough lube groove to keep the barrel of a rifle coated its entire length. They work fine for pistols, but a rifle barrel will usually get starved for lube the last six inches or so from the muzzle. In practice with pan lubed bullets in a rifle I had to swab out my barrel about halfway through the day to swab out the hard fouling that had built up near the muzzle. Once swabbed away, accuracy returned.

I tried all kinds of techniques, adding lube cookies and all that jazz, but once I discovered the Big Lube series of bullets, with their huge lube grooves, I never pan lubed bullets again. The Big Lube bullets carry enough lube in their lube grooves to keep a rifle barrel lubed its entire length and I never had to swab out my barrel again to restore accuracy.

Yes, Mike Venturino wrote several books about loading cartridges with Black Powder. He knows his stuff, I used his books when I was first loading Black Powder into cartridges.

I used to use SPG bullet lube all the time when I was casting my own bullets and lube sizing them myself.

If I wanted a good bullet for loading Black Powder in 32-20, I would send an email to Whyte Leatherworks and see if he has something available.

June 22, 2020, 11:10 AM	#13
Driftwood Johnson Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2014 Location: Land of the Pilgrims Posts: 2,034	The photo of the box of bullets was only meant to show the correct bullet diameter. No, those bullets would not be terrific for Black Powder. Yes, generally speaking one wants a soft lead bullet for Black Powder, however I used to pan lube hard cast bullets with a BP compatible bullet lube all the time. After melting the hard cast lube out of the bullets I pan lubed them with a mixture of about 50/50 Beeswax and Crisco. Just one of many, many formulas for Black Powder compatible bullet lube. The idea is most modern bullet lubes will combine with Black Powder fouling to create a hard fouling that is difficult to remove from the bore. Black Powder compatible bullet lubes are soft and gooey. They remain soft after they are loaded with BP fouling so they are easy to clean out of the bore without a lot of elbow grease. Basically what happens is the soft lube rubs off into the grooves of the rifling as the bullet travels down the bore. Then the next bullet wipes away the lube from the previous bullet, and leaves its own lube behind. If a bullet does not carry enough lube to coat the inside of the barrel for its entire length, the bore will get starved for lube near the muzzle. Pan lubing hard cast bullets with a soft lube works well, but most modern bullets do not have a large enough lube groove to keep the barrel of a rifle coated its entire length. They work fine for pistols, but a rifle barrel will usually get starved for lube the last six inches or so from the muzzle. In practice with pan lubed bullets in a rifle I had to swab out my barrel about halfway through the day to swab out the hard fouling that had built up near the muzzle. Once swabbed away, accuracy returned. I tried all kinds of techniques, adding lube cookies and all that jazz, but once I discovered the Big Lube series of bullets, with their huge lube grooves, I never pan lubed bullets again. The Big Lube bullets carry enough lube in their lube grooves to keep a rifle barrel lubed its entire length and I never had to swab out my barrel again to restore accuracy. Yes, Mike Venturino wrote several books about loading cartridges with Black Powder. He knows his stuff, I used his books when I was first loading Black Powder into cartridges. I used to use SPG bullet lube all the time when I was casting my own bullets and lube sizing them myself. If I wanted a good bullet for loading Black Powder in 32-20, I would send an email to Whyte Leatherworks and see if he has something available.