Bevel base and lube

[Michael]

The post on BB vs FB bullets spurred a thought, not saying it's even a goog one, probably not.

The few BB bullets I shoot are either PC'd or lubed with LLA as not to deal with lube on the the bevel.
Aside from or the hassle and/or mess, would just leaving the lube on the bevel be of any detriment when shooting, same question as well if using traditional lube on a GC'd bullet without the gas check.

Thinking that the heat and pressure of firing would quickly disperse any lube from the bevel or gas check shank, but then where would it go? Smeared down the barrel, left in the case mouth or on the outside of the case or neck area, or ejected with the powder gases in a state similar to cooking something greasy when you take the lid off of the skillet/grill, or a combination of two or more of the above.

Heck, I don't know, just tossing it out here to see what everyone thinks and/or has experienced.

Just curious.

 

[Ben]

If it shoots well and NEVER contaminates your power charge in the case, I guess you have your answer.

 

[CZ93X62]

Bevel-based bullets annoy me to no end. If they could be bought for true value and sold at perceived worth the profit would be exorbitant.

 

[Brad]

Buy a Star sizer and never worry again

 

[L Ross]

Buy a Star sizer and never worry again

Especially since traditional lubing has started to decline, Stars may become more affordable. I wouldn't be without some.

 

[Winelover]

I've seen, more than a couple of Stars, on eBay, in the $150 range as Buy it Now.

 

[Dusty Bannister]

If you shoot at an indoor range, you will notice a lot more smoke with lube on the base of the bullet. Wiped with a damp solvent rag will remove the excess lube. Careful adjustment of the stop pin in the die and reduced pressure on the lube handle might be helpful. I decided to just remove the Bevel in the mold and not be concerned about it.

Be aware of the chatter that Magma Engineering may have gone out of business as reported on some forums. Support of the product might become out of the question. If no more are built, I would expect the price to go up, not down.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I've seen, more than a couple of Stars, on eBay, in the $150 range as Buy it Now.

You better act fast if you want a Star.

 

[Winelover]

You better act fast if you want a Star.

Already have one.

 

[Rick]

Already have two.

 

[Glaciers]

Bevel-based bullets annoy me to no end. If they could be bought for true value and sold at perceived worth the profit would be exorbitant.

Are you just talking about lubes?

Buy a Star sizer and never worry again

And now you’re pushing Star sizers, after you sold me a Lyman.

Ok, but I don’t want to spend the money on a different lube system that looks to being obsolete.
Frankly all of the problems with BB bullets can be taken care of with one inexpensive product.

Powder Coating.

And if you don’t want to spend the $15 to $20 on a pound of powder that will do a couple thousand bullets, what can I say. Oh yeah I forgot the expense of a used toaster oven from Goodwill. Maybe another $15.
So if you’re so inflexible and don’t want to powder coat, well use a tumble lubricant that dries and isn’t sticky, like BLL. Which is pretty much what I use on handgun bullets.

Problem solved.

 

[Winelover]

I don't do bevel-based bullets but a Star would be the answer for conventionally lubed bullets. I purchased the Star because the in and out sizers tend not to size concentrically which is very noticeable on long rifle bullets.

 

[Glaciers]

Ah ha another candidate for powder coating. Just run the finished bullet through a push through sizer. Length doesn’t matter. No muss no fuss.

 

[Rick]

Ah ha another candidate for powder coating. Just run the finished bullet through a push through sizer. Length doesn’t matter. No muss no fuss.

That is exactly what Winelover does, run them thru a push thru sizer.

 

[JonB]

The post on BB vs FB bullets spurred a thought, not saying it's even a goog one, probably not.

The few BB bullets I shoot are either PC'd or lubed with LLA as not to deal with lube on the the bevel.
Aside from or the hassle and/or mess, would just leaving the lube on the bevel be of any detriment when shooting, same question as well if using traditional lube on a GC'd bullet without the gas check.

I don't leave lube on the base, since I use a Star for those bullets. BUT, if you do, I will bet if they are shot from a revolver, that you'll get a blast of lube out of the cylinder gap.

 

[fiver]

and in a semi you'll get everything inside the gun coated in lube.
it doesn't even need to be on a bevel,,, just a super squishy soft lube will make sure everything gets a good coat.
including your hands.

 

[Brad]

and in a semi you'll get everything inside the gun coated in lube.
it doesn't even need to be on a bevel,,, just a super squishy soft lube will make sure everything gets a good coat.
including your hands.

This is true. Lever actions too. My Marln 45 Colt has a huge chamber so light to moderate loads get lots of blowback. Soft lubes gunk up the entire action over time.

 

[Matt_G]

The lube on the base from an RCBS sizer is why I hate bevel base.
Back in the '90's, I shot Bullseye matches quite a bit.
Sometimes in the summer, we would be out there shooting when it was 95 F or higher.
In addition to the PITA factor that base caused, I was terrified of powder contamination from that excess lube.

I had visions of being in the middle of a rapid fire string, having a squib, and NOT being able to stop my trigger finger from sending the next round into the now obstructed barrel.

Never went to a Star because by the time I learned about them, I was already heavily invested in Lyman/RCBS style dies and punches.
I could never justify the retooling costs.

 

[Jeff H]

My old Lyman 45 leaves a mess on the base of a lot of flat-base bullets too. Pain in the butt, BUT not worth fixing.

The Star is the way to go if you can find/afford one and are bothered by the mess. I've used one extensively, though it was not mine.

Tumble-Lube seems to do everything I need doing with lube up to 1800 fps, bevel, flat, GC,...

PC is a lot more work than the TL I do, but keeps that "lead star" from forming in my suppressor. IF I even had a bevel-base bullet that I were going to PC, I'd set the bullets on their noses to bake, instead of their bases. I set plain-base and GC on their bases and sometimes get a "flange" of PC on the base that I have to shear off/iron on in the Lee sizer die.

Some people think I'm nuts to begin with to set every single bullet on its base to bake the PC. I'm not arguing. I'm not denying. I just like to do it that way, because they are impressively pretty when I do it that way.

My one and only use for conventional, greasy lubes applied by a lubrisizer these days is that I like the smoke and just love the dirty, greazzzy feel of a big bore revolver after I've fired several of them through it.

I may well be a heretic, but I'm neither proud nor ashamed.

 

[Brad]

I will not judge those who stand up bullets to bake the PC. I, however, am a dump and bake kinda guy.

I never used bevel base bullets when I was using my Lyman but can see where it would be a pain. The Star eliminated any concerns I would ever have had.