Cold weather lube for cast bullets?

[swmn]

Not planning to shoot much 45Colt over the winter, but I plan to have it with me if I go looking for anything small and fuzzy with my .223. I already have three test loads cooling in the tool box in my truck bed, none of them using H-110.

How cold can I go with my usual summertime lubes?

I am thinking I may scrape the crayon lube out of some of my collection and pan lube with a 45-45-10 mix of beeswax-crisco-olive oil I already have on the shelf.

My personal limit is -30dF, colder than that and I'll go looking for fuzzy critters some other day.

Should I maybe just get the barrel really clean and load up some jacketed for the winter?

Thanks.

 

[ADfields]

Interesting, never thought about it and never had any trouble with lube in the cold. I don’t cast so don’t even know what lube it is usually, don’t often go out below zero, and when I do it‘s mostly 223 with copper. Once the bullet is moving I think surface friction would negate any frozen lube issues real fast. But you got me wondering does it take more effort to free it up from the case, what does frozen lube do to pressure if anything. I think I see some winter shooting cast experiments in my future, long about January I‘ll need something to do outside. Long about January I’ll find myself tempted to wash, iron, and starch all three of my dollar bills so the Coke machine will take um, then I’ll know it’s time to get outside and do somethin.:think:

 

[iofthetaiga]

While pondering the physical properties of bullet lube might be an interesting pass time during the dark days of winter, I don't thing in a practical sense there's much to worry about there. If you really want something interesting to ponder, do a little research into what happens to steel, on a molecular level, at temps in the -30 to -60 F. range, and that might give you something to think twice about when you're about to squeeze the trigger.

 

[ADfields]

While pondering the physical properties of bullet lube might be an interesting pass time during the dark days of winter, I don't thing in a practical sense there's much to worry about there. If you really want something interesting to ponder, do a little research into what happens to steel, on a molecular level, at temps in the -30 to -60 F. range, and that might give you something to think twice about when you're about to squeeze the trigger.

Nothing for me to ponder in that, I been forced to read material data sheets for way too many years. I’m no more worried about integrity at -30f than 115f but -50/-60f is getting down there where I’d be thinking about it.

 

[Smokey]

To me, there is a lot of meaning for the number 0 on the thermometer... I take it as a suggestion one does zero activity outside and anything with a minus is a suggestion to move to a warmer climate!

 

[iofthetaiga]

To me, there is a lot of meaning for the number 0 on the thermometer... I take it as a suggestion one does zero activity outside and anything with a minus is a suggestion to move to a warmer climate!

Nah. 0 is only a measly 32 degrees below the freezing point! 0 means you can still walk to the outhouse with 0 clothes on, do what's necessary, and return to the cabin with 0 worry of getting any frost bite. At 0 you can afford to pause to admire the aurora on your return trip! -50 is a different story; there's a greater than 50 percent chance that you would be feeling some stinging before making it back inside....

 

[starmac]

Here is some reading on the subject.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=148746