When is lube required/recommended for revolver lead bullets?

[AlaskaHunter]

I mostly reload for rifles....reload plinker loads for my Ruger Redhawk .44 magnum revolver.

For years I've reloaded the .44 mag
240 gr semiwad cutter lead bullets, red dot powder.
I purchased 1,000 of these lead bullets years ago.
I have not lubed these bullets and they shoot fine (~500 shots)

What is the advantage of lube for lead semiwad cutter bullets in a revolver?
When is lube not required?

Thanks.

 

[EastTNHunter]

Sizing is more important than just about anything for lead boolits. Believe it or not, you want them to be slightly oversized. Lee liquid alox is easier to apply to full diameter bullets than most, and would not require a lubrisizer. I wouldn’t shoot lead bullets without lube. It keeps friction and fouling down

 

[buffybr]

Like EastTNHunter posted, lube "keeps friction and fouling down."
Compared to copper jacket bullets, lead is soft and has a low melting point. Without lube, the heat of the friction of your lead bullets will start to solder lead to the bore of your pistol. As this lead fouling builds up in the bore your accuracy will suffer and the fouling can be very hard to remove. Just like the oil in your car's engine, the bullet lube puts a microscopic film of lubricant between the barrel steel and the lead bullet and helps to prevent the lead fouling. You could ask the same question "how far can I drive my car without oil?"

I've been casting and shooting lead bullets in my pistols and rifles since the early '70s, and shoot several thousand of them every year. I bought a Lyman 450 Lube Sizer when I bought my first bullet mold. I lube and size EVERY lead bullet that I shoot. I've never had a lead fouling build-up in any of my pistols.

With the faster velocities of my .357 and .44 magnum loads, I also add a copper gas check to the base of the bullets that I cast for those cartridges. That gas check also helps to reduce lead fouling in the barrel.

A few years ago I bought several 6-cavity Lee bullet molds in their designs that use their liquid alox lubricant. This lubricating and sizing system is definitely faster and cheaper than using a mechanical Lube Sizer, but so far I haven't found the accuracy that I've had with the bullets that I've sized and lubricated in the Lyman Lube Sizer.

 

[44hunter45]

Sizing is more important than just about anything for lead boolits. Believe it or not, you want them to be slightly oversized. Lee liquid alox is easier to apply to full diameter bullets than most, and would not require a lubrisizer. I wouldn’t shoot lead bullets without lube. It keeps friction and fouling down

Amen to this. Every revolver is a little different in the size of each chamber of the cylinder and the bore and groove diameters. Oversized (correct diameter) boolits foul less because they fill the whole bore and prevent gas from blowing by the boolit and causing the smearing of the lead. Lube also acts as a seal and helps prevent this. If you are seriously interested in this, I suggest you visit the Single Action ProBoard forums. There is ton of information there about revolver tuning, shooting lead, etc. Some of the finest revolver gunsmiths lurk on there. You can read how to measure your bore and check it for thread restriction where it is threaded in to the frame, and much more. How to determine the correct boolit diameter for your specific piece, etc.

Be careful. That can be an expensive rabbit hole. It sent me into tuning, firelapping, slick jobs, etc. I'm heavily invested in lapping kits, pin gages, etc now. I've really enjoyed all that.

Have fun with it and be safe.