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Happy Easter all,
I'm new to BP guns, and I'm currently building a Kentucky Longrifle, 42" bbl, .50 caliber. I have the ball and patch I need, but I don't yet have a proper lube. I've done a search and read through the list, but I'm still a bit lost regarding the application of lubes, i.e. conical vs. ball patch.
What kind of lube is best for this kind of rifle? I've seen people just use spit, and other people use unknown lubricants. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Moose Milk. One part water soluble oil, to 10 parts water. You can juggle it a little for ratio, but that will be pretty darn close to what you need to shoot all day. Most auto parts stores carry it, or try a local machine shop.
Thanks for the tip. I googled the term and got a few different recipes. Any particular oil to use?
I'm not sure the brand name I have, it's out in the shop. Ballistol also works well.
Spit is fine at the range when you will be shooting immediately and not leaving spit in your bore corroding the bore for hours.
Many things are suitable for round ball patch lube. Hodgdons Spitpatch is decent. I have used Murphey's Oilsoap and liked that better. I have used hot bacon grease and dipped a bunch of patches together in a tongs into the hot fat, then immediately folded them in a newspaper and stood on them to squeeze out the excess. It is not a science with an exact best patch lube answer.
You don't want your patches too wet or too oily or greasy that they affect the powder. Damp patches slide easier, Soapy damp patches keep fowling softer. Dry clean patches in a dry clean bore that give you a good tight fit shoot the best.
Lube for bore riding conical bullets in muzzle loading is a different thing altogether than patched round ball lubes. I don't follow tradition with conical bullets at all. I tumble lube them with Liquid Alox or 45:45:10, get excellent results and don't stray from what is perfection for me.
Gary
Moose milk made with Ballistol works great for me, if you want more of a grease patch then Stumpy's Moose Snot works very well and one batch last a long time. I have some friends that swear by the original Mink Oil from TheTrackofthewolf, I might try some sometime.
This is a broad question.
I shoot in the Missouri Offhand Association and it seems everyone has their "special recepie".
Some people even use different lubes for different rifles.
One that always works for me a handfull of Goop mixed in a quart jug wth hot water.
I have put over a hundred rounds thru my 58 Lancaster without cleaning and the last ball loads just as easy as the first.
Excellent bore cleaner is made by mixing a bottle of Murphys,a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide,pug the nipple pour some down the b arrel and let it sit for about 15 minutes or so,pour it out and barrel is usually white by the 5th patch, a couple oil patches down the tube and your done.
Arrrgh! Hydrogen peroxide in a barrel again! If you do that, pull the nipple, dry and oil it well, and pull your breechplug a couple times a year to check the firearm.
Ballistol is the standard for making Moosemilk. I prefer the 7-1 mix ratio. I use 2 ounces of Ballistol to 14 ounces of water to make a pint of "MOOSEMILK". It was invented by the Germans before WW11 and was also used for wounds, leather dressing, rust prevention and many other uses. The peroxide makes a chemical that will rust your barrel if not cleaned well after it's use. You need to oil well if using this mix. The Ballistol moosemilk or Windex / Vinegar will do all the cleaning needed on any BP firearm. Follow both with a good gun oil of your choice. I have found that Eezox is the tops in the field for preventing rust. Search the Cast Boolits forum and you will find a test done by member John Boy. After seeing it I don't know how anyone could choose another product. I feel that as a lube it may be outdone but not for protection. I would never use spit as it is what was used because of no other product available and you always have spit. It will work for a few shots but will help rust the inside of that barrel quick. The lube for patch balls and conicals is two different worlds. I use NASA lube for my T/C bullets and Bore Butter for all patches. If you use a felt wad between the powder charge and the conical or patched ball you will not have any misfires due to the Bore Butter or Nasa lube.
You can buy precut patches, and precut lubed patches. Since you already have the patches you can lube them individually, by hand at the range pr prior to hunting/shooting or you can easily "prelube" them at home to have a supply on hand. I like them prelubed as they are very handy that way and one less thing to mess with when shooting.
I use either 1000+ Bore Butter or my own lube (6 parts beeswax to 5 parts olive oil) on my patches. Both work equally and very well with patched RBs and as a lube on Maxi Balls in my .50 cal ML. I put some precut patches in a small zip lock along with a glob of lube and microwave it until the lube melts. I then squish/knead the patches around in the bag until the patches are thoroughly lubed. More lube can be added if not enough or more patches if too much lube is in the baggie. I keep them stored that way in the baggie until use, they last for years.
The patches prelubed with the beeswax/olive oil lube also make an excellent fire starter in an emergency.
Larry Gibson
Has anyone used Hoppes BP bore/patch lube? I came across it last night and was curious how effective it is.
Edit: Hoppes #9 Plus is the product name.
I use liquid vegetable oil on patches including olive oil they all work fine for me. If it is a hunting load and the gun will be loaded awhile I place a dry patch under the patched round ball (loose) then push all tight down on powder. It is possible in dry area that that can start a fire so becareful with dry patch underlubed patch in the woods.
I have a old bottle Of Hoppes patch lube I was unimpressed but the formula has changed they remove the kerosene now.
I like Young Country lube best. I shoot all day without ever having to wipe the bore. It doesn't dry out and accuracy is as good as it gets.
Bore butter, etc works but will dry out on Maxi Balls in storage so you need to lube just before a shoot. But the worst was when it was in a tube and weather got cold. You need to drive over the tube with a truck to get any out. [smilie=b:
What 44man said about Young Country lube and T/C Bore Butter in cold weather! Btw, here's a link to a BP supplier that carries Young Country lube: http://www.octobercountry.com/produc...?productid=442
for cold weather i use a mix of 10w50 sinthic oil and colman fuel. mix 3 parts fuel to 1 part oil. soak your patches then let dry. will hardly be able to feel the oil on the patch