Will bullet lube affect powder long term?

[NavyRedneck]

Today I cast 500+ .44 magnum bullets. So far I've sized a couple hundred and I'm worn out. The stupid sizer is one of the old Lyman models and it wasn't putting the gas checks on properly so I grabbed a rubber mallet and did those myself.

And the sizer is getting lube everywhere so now I'm wondering if I reload some ammo using these bullets will the lube affect the powder over the course of time? I'd love to be able to finish up this batch, load them up, and put them in the back of the ammo box until I shoot them all up (could be many years as I don't shoot .44 as much as 9mm or .22lr.

 

[center442]

Last summer I came across some .44Mag rounds which according to my label were reloaded in '94 or '96, can't remember which. These had been sitting in an MTM box, nose (bullet) down for all those years, so the powder (2400) was resting against the gas checks, which I'm sure had some bullet lube on them. They were my own cast bullets, gas checked, and sized/lubed by me on a Lyman machine.

They all fired fine, and had the accuracy that I expected.

If you're concerned, just lube/size 100 or so bullets and reload in small batches as you use them. I actually have thousands of cast bullets lubed and stored for reloading as needed. Some have been around for years. I have never had any problems with lube affecting the powder in any of my reloads.

Are you using a good quality lube? How much is on the gas check?

 

[BIG GUN]

Last summer I came across some .44Mag rounds which according to my label were reloaded in '94 or '96, can't remember which. These had been sitting in an MTM box, nose (bullet) down for all those years, so the powder (2400) was resting against the gas checks, which I'm sure had some bullet lube on them. They were my own cast bullets, gas checked, and sized/lubed by me on a Lyman machine.

They all fired fine, and had the accuracy that I expected.

If you're concerned, just lube/size 100 or so bullets and reload in small batches as you use them. I actually have thousands of cast bullets lubed and stored for reloading as needed. Some have been around for years. I have never had any problems with lube affecting the powder in any of my reloads.

Are you using a good quality lube? How much is on the gas check?

I had some 44Mag ammo that I loaded in 1962 using the old Lyman lube and another batch with lube that I made out of beeswax & vaseline. I shot them last summer and they were fine.

 

[highlander]

you can buy an adapter that will allow you to seat the gas checks from Lyman. I bought one was $10 I think. It does add an extra step but the gas checks go on straight. If your getting lube on the gas check your using to much pressure. Are you using the standard soft lubes or the type that require heat to move? I use Rooster Red it has to be heated but it doesn't tend to flow under the bullet base like the softer lubes do.

 

[NavyRedneck]

I'm using some old lube that came with the used sizer. It needs to be heated. For the long term bullets I wiped the excess off of the gas check. I did noticed that the lube won't come off at all when the bullets cooled down to my basement temp (40 degrees or so). I have a torch that I heat up the sizer when I'm sizing the bullets.

I had two different moulds. One resulted in a gas check that had to be hammered on. The other was easily pressed on by the sizer. Both were lyman...

I think part of my problem was form. I lubed and sized 100 more bullets today and I didn't make as big of a mess.

If I had to make a bet, I would bet that any of my ammo left in the windshield of a car on a hot sunny day might result in the lube interfering. I will just have to remember to store this ammo in a cool place. Thanks for all the replies. The "what-if's" during reloading keep coming.

 

[Gammon]

I'm using some old lube that came with the used sizer. It needs to be heated. For the long term bullets I wiped the excess off of the gas check. I did noticed that the lube won't come off at all when the bullets cooled down to my basement temp (40 degrees or so). I have a torch that I heat up the sizer when I'm sizing the bullets.

I had two different moulds. One resulted in a gas check that had to be hammered on. The other was easily pressed on by the sizer. Both were lyman...

I think part of my problem was form. I lubed and sized 100 more bullets today and I didn't make as big of a mess.

If I had to make a bet, I would bet that any of my ammo left in the windshield of a car on a hot sunny day might result in the lube interfering. I will just have to remember to store this ammo in a cool place. Thanks for all the replies. The "what-if's" during reloading keep coming.

If your sizer doesn't have a heater, a 75 watt light bulb taped to the lube reservoir will do the trick.