Bore Butter

[richhodg66]

The Thompson Center stuff. I've been using it a long time, but wonder if there's something better for accuracy.

Seems everybody uses some combo of Bees wax and some sort of vegetable oil, are those mixes any better than the stuff I'm using?

[Mr Peabody]

I get accurate loads with a small amount of the stuff; it seems to grab onto the fouling though. Melt some SPG and quickly dip your conicals in that. A thin coat works well

[DIRT Farmer]

I use olive oil bees wax most of the time but the best I have ever used was mutton tallow closely followed by deer tallowAll three work relly well on patches and shotgun wads.
As auto transmission fluid was made as a synthetic replacement for whale oil and I am old enough to remeber the good shooters all using whale oil I want to try ATF

[richhodg66]

Where can one get mutton tallow?

Might have to get some SPG and try it.

[John McCorkle]

I use olive oil bees wax most of the time but the best I have ever used was mutton tallow closely followed by deer tallowAll three work relly well on patches and shotgun wads.
As auto transmission fluid was made as a synthetic replacement for whale oil and I am old enough to remeber the good shooters all using whale oil I want to try ATF

I have so many questions.

So starting with the tallow...I don't have mutton tallow and likely won't find any as a readily available supply....but deer I can. I get many deer a year and will have plenty of deer fat. So....how do I process it to make it useable for black powder lube? Will it spoil? How do you preserve it? Is it mixed with other ingredients? When you say better....what makes it better than bore butter or some other off the shelf lube? Sorry so many questions just really curious...

Transmission fluid is a synthetic substitute for whale oil?! I've never heard this and it also has peaked my curiosity....

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[richhodg66]

I now rendering fat into tallow seemed pretty involved. I also throw a lot of fat away from deer I butcher out every year, it would be cool if I could easily make it into some form of bullet lube.

[John McCorkle]

I now rendering fat into tallow seemed pretty involved. I also throw a lot of fat away from deer I butcher out every year, it would be cool if I could easily make it into some form of bullet lube.

Or soaps or something...I hate not knowing what to do with it or having a plan for each part of that animal. It's a ton of work granted but also fulfilling to have put in the work and have a butchered animal to show....now just need to know what to do with the bones and fat

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[waksupi]

The Thompson Center stuff. I've been using it a long time, but wonder if there's something better for accuracy.

Seems everybody uses some combo of Bees wax and some sort of vegetable oil, are those mixes any better than the stuff I'm using?

That's exactly what Bore Butter is. Worst patch lube on the market in my opinion.

[richhodg66]

That's exactly what Bore Butter is. Worst patch lube on the market in my opinion.

OK, please elaborate why? Seriously, trying to learn something here.

I have rarely shot patched round balls, preferring conicals, does that matter? Yesterday's shooting involved a super cheapie CVA side lock with a synthetic stock and non adjustable sights using Lee REALs I cast and accuracy was surprisingly very good considering, target was a little over 50 yards with most shots touching each other. I really do need to do some trigger work on it and get a better set of sights, but for my plan for muzzle loader season in a couple of weeks, this should work just fine.

I have some Bee's wax and olive oil or similar is cheap enough, think I'm gonna do some experimentation after the season, or I may just buy some SPG, that stuff sure has good reviews.

[dave951]

I generally shoot minies in North South Skirmish competition and the lube that works best for me is a simple mix of beeswax/lard. I've run minies through a musket this summer to see how long it works, and at 53 shots with no wiping, we had to close down the range because of darkness.

For patch lube, I've used the same stuff with good results. For your purposes, don't try to reinvent the wheel, try to stick with what worked back then.

[brewer12345]

I either smear my conicals with bore butter or a 50/50 mix of beeswax and Crisco as a pan lube that won't melt in the summer.

I render fat and will add another post with instructions in a little bit.

[Edward]

I now rendering fat into tallow seemed pretty involved. I also throw a lot of fat away from deer I butcher out every year, it would be cool if I could easily make it into some form of bullet lube.

Sheep tallow needs no refrigeration ,it sits on my shelf till needed an unlike rendered deer/beef fat is odor free an does not go rancid .For patches rendered bear oil is what I use and also has no odor and sits on the shelf next to the tallow ,there"s a common thread here and either works great for it"s application/Ed

[brewer12345]

OK, rendering:

What you want to do is melt out the good fat and leave behind connective tissue and the like, all without burning the fat. The first thing you do is cut up your fat into small chunks (half inch or so cubes). I have heard that some people will run it through a meat grinder, but never done it. You also want to trim off any actual bits of meat in the fat as best you can. Once you have it chunked, put a quarter cup of water in a pan, add the fat, and put the pan over low heat. Basically by the time the lard renders out of the raw fat, the water will have evaporated. The water keeps the raw fat from scorching before the lard renders out. Keep the low heat on it until you have pieces of connective tissue (cracklings) floating in molted lard and just starting to turn amber/brown. Once you think you have gotten all you are going to get, strain the whole pot through a cheesecloth or paper towel lined colander. Pour your strained lard into the container of your choice (I use mason jars) and store refrigerated.

The lazy guy's alternative is to do the same process, but in a slow cooker/crock pot. This is what I usually do unless it is a very small amount.

[Eddie2002]

I've dipped the skirts of conicals in a mix of bees wax and olive oil for a hard lube in a .58 Navy Arms Buffalo Hunter, works fine. For PRB I use Bore Butter and a little spit with no problems. Use what works for you.

[scattershot]

I like Bore Butter, but years ago I rendered some beef fat and added some beeswax to it 60/40 as i recall. Made little cakes out of it in a muffin tin, and it’s still as good as the day I made it. Granted, it’s in the basement, which is nice and cool, but it has not turned rancid or separated.

By the way, I think you can sill buy mutton tallow from Dixie Gun Works. Good luck!

[richhodg66]

This is all very interesting. I am not an avid muzzle loader like some here. USed to be my main method for deer hunting and still, my best three bucks were with my old Hawken. I need to try some other things, so I may get a table spoon of this Beeswax and mix it 50/50 with whatever vegetable oil we have in the kitchen and shoot a group to see. I like the idea of having something a little firmer than bore butter. Our muzzle loader season is when it's still pretty warm. I usually put a piece of saran wrap between ball and powder just in case, but a lube that didn't liquefy so easily would be nice.

[scattershot]

Doesn’t the Saran Wrap leave an awful mess when it melts?

[OverMax]

Randyrat if he's still a seller here? ~~As I recalled sold such patch lube components.

As to the question: my preferred patch lube? Depends on the Season and what I'm targeting but~~ all are store bought and non are T/c made.
One patch lube I read about that's guaranteed to please. The 3-season >spit patch.

[richhodg66]

Doesn’t the Saran Wrap leave an awful mess when it melts?

Not that I've been able to tell, it's just a single thickness of it, take a piece about two inches squard and put it on the muzzle before you ram the bullet.

When I first started muzzle loader hunting about 25 years agom it always seemed to rain the first few days of the season and I was a newb. I read an article in my Hogdon loading manual, seems like it was by Sam Fadala, on how to load and weather proof a muzzle loader and I got this trick from it. I don't often have misfires anymore.

[Love Life]

I use winter pressed sperm oil for lubing my single actions that I shoot with black powder. It’s interesting stuff. Makes case hardening really pop as well.