Black powder lube

[Gussy]

Well, I'm about out of the last batch amd thinking about a new one!! (anybody EVER keep making the same, or like me, a new adventure each time??)

I did an inventory of sorts yesterday:

Lots of bee's wax
about 3 gal of rendered bear fat/oil
3 qts of deer tallow
1 lb carnuba wax
3-4 lbs anhydrous lanolin
2 gal of peanut oil (actually turkey fry oil, but no one will miss a little)
bottle of olive oil
1 lb of parafin
Some Murphys oil soap
ATF fluid
Assembly lube oil (kind of like sperm whale oil)
bottle of lecithin

Now then, ??????

And.. various other things in the shop cabinet I haven't looked at

[cajun shooter]

Gussy, I think you have enough lube supplies to outlast your powder supply by leaps and bounds. I have several of them myself with two more that I use. Louisiana supplies enough humidity that I never have problems. If you move to the coast side you can cut down on your ingredients.

[avan47]

Try 2 parts deer tallow, 2 parts parafin, and 1 part bee's wax.

If you are loading black powder cartridges, I would like to know how that formula works on them. It is what I use to lube the wads for my C&B revolver, and it seems to work well.

[CPL Lou]

This is someone elses' recipe, but i have used it on Lee 320 .50 R.E.A.L bullet with great success:
Stumpy's Moose Snot
A premium multi-shot between wiping (10+) patch lube stable over a wide temperature range.
SPECIFICALLY designed for use of patched round balls in a loading block

Beeswax 2 oz.
Castor Oil 8 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.

Heat beeswax in a soup can set a pot of water. ( A double-boiler. I keep my beeswax in a one pound coffee can and measure out what I need by melting it and pouring it into measuring cups). Add just enough water so the inner can does not begin to float (should be just short of the lube level in the can). Heat the water to a low boil. In a separate can, add the castor oil and Murphy's oil soap (cold). Once the beeswax is melted, swap the castor oil can in the pot of water for the beeswax. Add the beeswax to the oils. It will clump up. Stir with an ice tea spoon as the mixture heats up. When it fully melts there will be a scum that floats to the top and just won't mix in. Be patient. DO NOT COOK THE MIXTURE. Once the solids are dissolved there is no need to heat further. Skim the scum off. Remove the mix from the heat and wipe the water off the outside (so it won't drip into the container when you pour it out). FINAL TOP SECRET STEP: Add a teaspoon of Murphy's Oil Soap and stir vigorously. This last step makes the lube frothy and smooth - really adds to the appearance; though it doesn't seem to matter to the function of the lube. Clamp the can in the jaws of a vice-grip pliers and pour into the waiting tins. Allow to cool a half hour.

Note: it if is a hinged tin - line the edge that has the hinges with a strip of aluminum foil so it doesn't ooze out before it cools.

Lou

[KCSO]

The absolute best I found was bees wax and sperm oil but I am lothe to use up my last can of sperm oil on anything. My current lube is bees wax and bear oil and works as well as SPG for me. I have a winter mix that is softer and a summer mix that is harder. I don't have my note book here right now to give you the exact mixes.

[fryboy]

jojoba is a decent replacement for sperm whale oil ( just so you know )

actually since i tried dick dastardly's pearl lube it's all i've been making for black powder , to be fair i have tried it with a lil lanolin and carnuba added and like the improved version best but .. please let us know what you come up with this time and how it works !

[cajun shooter]

fryboy, If you do a search on Cas City or Open Range you will find where on of the members did a BP lube test with several lubes as a torture type test. Pearl lube was one of the lubes and in that test it failed and finished last. The member who conducted the test had missed some numbers and gave it a passing until it was redone and found to finish last of the tested lubes. I submitted my lube and it was second to SPG. The area that I live and shoot for the most part though is very humid and is easy to make lube for. The guys who shoot with the 12-20% humidity are the ones who have very hard conditions. In that weather the lube made by Bullshop is showing good results. I am speaking of NASA which I also use. It works very well with me having to add Beeswax or Paraffin to harden it up some for our heat and humidity. You are quite correct about the jojoba oil and I use it for several projects not just lube making.