Wiping between shots

[JKR]

I’ve noticed that some are using a mix of water and RV anti freeze to wipe between shots. What is the thinking here? Does the anti freeze put some lube in the bore as opposed to straight water?
JKR

[Lead pot]

No, I use it to keep the patches from freezing this time of year. It also helped a little to keep the damp patches from drying out faster when a warm breeze is blowing.

I more or less have switched to windshield washer fluid, it works well also.

[JKR]

OK. That make sense. Thanks for the explanation. I’ve also seen cutting oil or Ballistol mixed with water. Same concept?

[DHDeal]

OK. That make sense. Thanks for the explanation. I’ve also seen cutting oil or Ballistol mixed with water. Same concept?

I never did use antifreeze for wiping. When I started shooting BPCR 20 years back, Moosemilk was the suggested mix. Since Ballistol was free to me and so was the water, I never tried anything else. Of course freezing temperatures are not a problem I have. 1 wet, flip, then a dry, and reload. If I need to, I can shoot pretty fast wiping. When shooting GG, I use the same mix between strings. I never saw a need to try anything else.

[popgunbpcr]

Only down fall with ballistol, is if you let your patches set over a 2 month period when not used up they will get moldy. RV and water is the way to go.

[JKR]

Can the anti freeze mixes be used without fear of taking out too much lube? Do the cutting oil or Ballistol mixes contribute to bore lubrication somewhat?

[1hole]

I never fire more than maybe a half dozen rounds at a time thru my old .54 TC Renegade; it's a hunting rifle you know. All I've ever done at the range is pass a dry 20 ga. brass brush through it a few times between shots; that's what I do in the woods too. It's been plenty to make loading easy and it keeps my shots in the group.

[greenjoytj]

Can the anti freeze mixes be used without fear of taking out too much lube? Do the cutting oil or Ballistol mixes contribute to bore lubrication somewhat?

The whole point of wiping between shots is to leave the bore in a standard condition for the next shot. Is doesn’t matter if the firearm is a BP cartridge arm or a muzzle loader subsequent shots will launch from the bore with the same amount of fouling as the previous shot. The single wipe between shots won’t remove all the lube or the fouling from the previous shot. What it does do is to leave the bore in a baseline standard condition for the next shot so it has the best chance of grouping a close together with the first shot.

The wiping patch is only damp with the water oil mixture it allows the patch to fold around the jag and collect and hold more of the dry powdery fouling. If it leaves any lube behind it’s moot as the remaining fouling will absorb it. But it does leave the bore in a baseline standard condition for the next shot.

[rfd]

as usual, it's all about consistency.

[Idaho45guy]

Fired cases always went into a jug with a mixture of anti-freeze, Dawn dish soap, and water. Would splash a bit of that out of the jug onto patches for the match. This was in Arizona in 100-degree weather. Shooting in a BPCR silhouette match.

Fire, blow tube, then run a patch, then fire again. Rinse and repeat until you get a trophy.

Attachment 278505

[greenjoytj]

I tried mixing ACDelco Optikleen All Season Windshield Cleaner that’s rated to -35*, with Ballistol.
It did not mix, an emulsion formed no blending or mixing blending of the two chemicals they stay separated.

I didn’t experiment further, maybe if the Optikleen was cut to half strength with water then Ballistol and a little Dawn detergent might allow the chemicals to blend.