Lube for cap & ball revolvers?

[ShooterAZ]

I have a Ruger Old Army and have been using Bore Butter & a felt wad. While the bore butter works OK, it gets too soft (liquid) for my liking in the warmer months and when the gun warms up. I did a search here, but did not come up with anything definitive. Can someone recommend a home-made lube that can be adjusted for temperature? I remember a post about beeswax and olive oil, but could not find it again...maybe wrong forum. Thanks for any advise...Shooter.

[John Allen]

Olive oil and beeswax. I use it all the time. If you want it a little harder you can add a touch of parrafin but it is not needed. I mix it up and leave it in the pot to cool. Once it is cool if it is thick enough I just reheat and dump into a mason jar if it is too thick just add more olive oil. To thin more beeswax. On a side note I also throw in a couple of the berry smelling candle flavors this way my gun smells pretty when I shoot it!

[carbine]

I just use the felt wads. The lube in a RB revolver is mainly to prevent chain fires.

[Beagle333]

Olive oil and beeswax 50/50,... to stiffen it up - add crayons as needed for the weather conditions.

[John Allen]

If you want to make wads here is where you get the material http://www.durofelt.com/

[seaboltm]

Current thinking is chain fires are caused by loose fitting caps or improper size balls. That being said, I don't know that lube serves a purpose at all in a CB revolver. That being said I usually put a small dab of SPG lube under the ball and over the powder, no felt. My lead balls shave off as they go into the cylinder, and I pinch the caps before placing them on the nipples.

[ShooterAZ]

I just use the felt wads. The lube in a RB revolver is mainly to prevent chain fires.

I tried just using the felt wads no lube, and got a lot of fouling with just a few cylinder loads. The fowling was much less using the bore butter. Maybe I just need to brush it out more often? It appears that the lube really reduces the amount of fowling

[Rick R]

I believe that next summer I'll try beeswax/olive oil/citronella candle wax blend as lube. Might help keep the mosquitoes at bay while I'm shooting.

I've been using a cookie made of beeswax, olive oil, and bore butter in between the ball and felt wad over the powder of my Pietta .44 and it seems to reduce fouling or just make it soft enough to not be a problem. A dab of Bore Butter on top of the ball just makes it more better if you're shooting a lot of rounds.

I also went to Track of the Wolf and bought the nipples that are actually sized for #11 caps. They're now tight enough that I've never had one fall off and I'm using .454" balls which cut a good ring around chamber so I believe I'm pretty chain fire proof.

[Omnivore]

It's not that you have less fouling when you use lube, it's that the fouling is softer. Lube behind the ball will do more good that lube in front of the ball. If it's in front of the ball it all gets pushed out in front of the ball, leaving nothing behind in the bore to keep fouling soft, but it will help lube the cylinder arbor. Also most of the lube you put in the chamber mouths over the ball gets blown out from the other chambers with the first shot.

Lube under the ball can reduce the powder's effectiveness, resulting in lower power and probably more inconsistencies. Adding the right amount of lube between the ball and a felt wad may help reduce the powder contamination. BP cartridge loaders often use a “lube cookie”, which is a disk of lube between thin cards. In theory it puts lube behind the bullet where it does the most good, and protects the powder from the lube at the same time. I've tried a Circle-Fly shot card over the powder, with lube between that and the ball, and it does seem to help but I would need to do more experimentation to be sure.

I have tried a "fiber wad" saturated in Gatofeo #1 (or is it Gatofeo #2? I forget) lube between the powder and the bullet, and that resulted in VERY reduced power shots. It went "Whoomph" instead of "Crack!" and there was less recoil, so there is a balance to be found between too much lube under the ball and just enough. Or something.

One who's done a lot of experimentation on this, and who's name escapes me, swears that a regular lubed felt wad with just a little extra lube added between the felt and the ball, is "just right" for keeping the fouling soft all around, keeping the powder performing at its best, allowing more shots before anything needs to be cleaned, and allowing a very easy wipe-through of the bore to get it slick as a whistle after a lot of shooting. I have yet to find this balance.

Look at what the BP cartridge loaders are doing, including BPCR, and there I think you will find much wisdom that can be applied to percussion pistols. When it comes to black powder fouling mitigation, or "fouling management", there’s no difference between a percussion gun and a cartridge gun— the physical laws of nature are constant.

[ShooterAZ]

Thanks for the info guys, I will try using a dab of lube on top of the wad, before I seat the RB. I use #10 caps, and they are very tight fitting.

[Outpost75]

Drydene Pyroplex (rhymes with Pyrodex) EP grease from.your NAPA store.

[Fly]

This is what I have used for lube pills & it works great.The only thing I use different is I use bees wax
instead of the toilet ring wax.

What I did was start out with:
Parafin comes in a brick divided to to 4 like a stick a butter, I used a stick.
Then 1/4 of a Bolwax Toilet Seal Ring(Beeswax)substitute or beeswax or use with the parafin.
Then 8-10 Tablespoons of Olive Oil/soy oil
The Olive oil is the Lube the Waxes just carry it and keep the pill as
you want it.(consistency/hard or soft...climate time of year)
And that made allot about 600 pills...about 1/8" thick for the most part.
Place the lube mixture in a small saucepan, place the small saucepan in a larger pan with water
boilin' the water and sorta poach the lube mix to a liquid.
level stiff heated pizza pan(or 7-9" heavy pie pan)is the best thing to pour your mix into...
so mix cools evenly(flat) .Place in fridge when it's set stiff(optional)
And worked good for me...you need to try your best guess and add/subtract as you like them
for your use.


Punch out to the caliber of your choice, with a tube. Place lube pill over powder with ball
on top. You'll shoot all day without binding. Keeps cylinder lubed fouling soft and barrel
relatively clean.

[GunSlingerNM]

I make/use a 50-50 mix of beeswax and lard. When weather turn cooler I thin out with Vegetable or Olive Oil. Works fine for me.

[gandydancer]

toilet seal made with bees wax has not been manufactured in over 25/30 years or more. I use salt free Crisco and a Popsicle stick.

[Dryball]

As long as you have the bore butter why don't you just add a little bees wax or some carnuba flakes it and melt. Have you tried the T-17 (or maybe T-7). Bout the same thing as B.B. but a little firmer

[bigted]

nuttin to it !!! it dont seem to matter what i use on the boolits or ball ... nor under it ... what i do use is so simple that most folks just smirk n walk away.

in ALL my blackpowder revolvers i do the same thing ... cartridge revolvers and cap n ball. this works even if it seems like it dont ...

SMEAR THE END OF THE CYLINDER HOLES FULL OF CRISCO! even tho it seems like it runs out and melts with the first shot ... fill the end with salt free crisco. i can shoot my C&B revolvers almost as many times as i feel like shooting with this menu of loading. never had a cross fire with this "messy way" of shooting ... BUT ... NEVER had any easier way of keeping shooting accurately AND THE CLEANUP IS ALWAYS EASY AND SIMPLE.

try it ... you will like it !!! ... easy ... cheap ... works !!! ...

[dikman]

Hmm, let's see - Summer in Alaska = smearable Crisco, Summer in Australia = Crisco running like water. No offense, but I think I'll pass on this one, if you don't mind.

[winelover]

Ox-yoke makes a "lube cookie" for revolvers. Ox-Yoke Wonder Seals, IIRC. Tried some this year. Little firmer than Bore Butter and a whole lot less messy. Has the same odor.

Winelover

[Fly]

Lots of choces!Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Fly

[John Allen]

I am going to try something new in the next couple of weeks. I am going to do the cookie cutter method for mine and us backers made from playing cards. This should keep the lube from migrating to the powder and also make it super easy to load. I am also going to try using a playing card on both sides and see how this works out. This way you could just pour the powder in drop the card/lube combo in and add the ball.