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So I am now getting into shooting my Black Powder Express rifles with real black powder - I know, go figure...
I had used Shockey's Gold substitute in my 500/450 No. Express and No.2 cases which worked OK and required no lube at all.
All seemed to work just fine, but my heartstrings kept getting tugged in the direction of using genuine black and I do have a couple of muzzle loaders in the safe.

So I have been reading about the use of grease cookies in loading BPE cartridges.
I have no experience in this so I went with the basics as far as the composition of the lube - 60% bees wax and 40% petroleum jelly roughly measured out by volume.
The end result feels pretty good - not too soft or hard and could always be adjusted if needed.

Now, to the method of making the cookies themselves.
Being a lazy man, I was looking for the easiest way to make these things in reasonable quantities.
Here is what I came up with but surely I wouldn't be surprised that my self satisfaction is unjustified and that this is the widely accepted method.

The lube in a cake pan.

Cutting the cookies with an unprimed 500NE case.

Now, to get them out... Ah, air pressure!

Here they come!

And the final product.
My pan isn't as flat on the bottom as I would like, so my cookiies vary some in thickness, but you get the idea.

No compressor? No problem!
5cc syringe with the end cut off. Not as nice, but works for .50cal cookies.

3cc syringe makes .340" cookies and the 5cc syringe makes .470" cookies.

Probably easier to use the empty cases which are the same diameter as that which you are loading for.
I am using the 500NE case to cut the cookies for my 577/500 and a 45-70 case to cut them for the 450BPE and 500/450 cases.

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He who lives in the past is doomed to enjoy it.

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