Lead ball in .45

[Inavexedr]

I’m about to start trying to make my own lead balls, for Ruger old army in .45 which I bought with https://maybeloan.com/payday-loans/mi

My question is, as I have been given conflicting info,
Do you need to coat the balls in Alox?
One nice old chap said, no, its not needed, that is just used for lead bullets but other bloke who shoots varied old pistols, tells me, it MUST be done, he has for many years.
So is it needed?

[mustangfreek]

This might not be the forum for black powder.... *Weapon Evolution*

Lol...

But welcome :)

[BoilerUp]

This might not be the forum for black powder.... *Weapon Evolution*

Lol...

But welcome :)

I don't know, it's always hard to guess what this crowd is into and I'm kind of curious what other members here might use to coat their balls.

[Aragorn]

Not answering this with the first thing that popped in my head is the hardest thing I’ve done all day.

[mustangfreek]

Try some with and without?

[BoilerUp]

I asked someone I know who shoots cowboy / single action:


Lead bullets need a lube of some sort. An old way is dipping them in alox and letting them dry. There are molds for this without lube grooves. Bullets with lube grooves have the groove filled with a more solid wax lube, 50/50 mixture of alox and beeswax is common, during the sizing process with a lubersizer. I use a hard line which needs a heater under the lubersizer to heat it to flow - hard lube is not sticky to handle and stays in the groove better when stored. I personally use thompson blue angel for my .45 Colt (Lee 255gr LFP) and .45acp (Lyman 200gr 068 LSWC).

[Jumpmaster]

Dixie Gun Works or https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/dept/muzzleloaders/projectiles/round-balls