What is Bore Butter?

[hunter64]

Newbie question. Just getting into BP revolvers and I have aquired some supplies , powder measure, caps, BP, and various other items. What the heck is bore butter? "I use bore butter for this and that", "Put bore butter on the cylinder", "I have even used Bore Butter as a preservative in the barrel" I know you can buy Bore Butter but what is it made from, crisco/beeswax/lanoline etc. Anyone know?

[piwo]

Bore butter is a commercial product: http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/33227-13275-2033.html

It's really good, and smells pleasant.

[44man]

Top secret!!! It works good but will dry out if left on boolits and patches. It must be used fresh. It also gets so hard in the cold it gets hard to use. Most any home made lube works fine and there are a million recipes. Wait a minute and you will get a bunch.

[hunter64]

Well according to the web site it is basically black powder lube so 25/75 beeswax/crisco to keep it soft?

[omgb]

Bore Butter is really bee's wax, vegetable shortening and either pine or menthol scent. Nothing special and certainly nothing magic. If I had a nickle for every barrel I've seen that was full of rust after being "protected" by a coating of BB before storage, I could get a nice sized soft drink at Dodger Stadium. It's a good shooting lube and it does soften fouling and it does come in a convienient tube but, does it really season the bore? Heck no. Your gun is not a cast iron skillet and you are not allowing carbon to bake on with each use. Does it really allow you to shoot 1,000 rounds without cleaing or wiping the bore? Again, heck no, that's pure BS. However, that being said, I'd be willing to bet you could shoot 10 or 15 round balls down a bore lubed with it without wiping because I've seen it done.

Straight crisco is messy but works as well. Melt it down and add some bee's wax, not parafine, and you've got the same deal only cheaper.

[mainiac]

wish i could agree with this,but i cant. When i bought my .32,i decided to get serious with the accuracy. Tested alot of different things,including some home made lubes. I made some lubes with crisco,beeswax,olive oil,etc. and nothing worked as well as the bore-butter.In fact, the amount of lube pushed into the patch makes a tremendous difference. Ive found that to much lube causes fliers. Just anuff lube to dis-color the patch is perfect. Am going to keep experimenting with different lubes, because i really dont want to buy something that i can make myself. What i have found so far, is t/c bore butter is superior to anything else. Maybe it is just this small bore .32 though, my .50 dont care what you use for lube, it does its best with plain crisco!

[44man]

I have to dispute that! I have made a lot of lube with beeswax and vegetable oil and nothing I have made dries out like BB even if left out in the open. No home made lube I have ever made dries out.
Here is bore butter after a short time. As you can see, it doesn't keep lead from oxidizing either and even hastens it.
Want the best store bought? Buy Young Country.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Actually I believe there is some FDA # 2 yellow food coloring in the official recipe in addition the the perfume. It really used to stink up users in the woods when it first came out, but they changed the scent. BvT

[waksupi]

I always seemed to get fouling after maybe ten shots with BB. In the winter, this could pretty much end the days' shooting, as it would harden to the point, I couldn't get a round down, until I could warm the barrel sufficiently.
Over the years, I tried Crisco, Goop, bear oil, whale oil, vasaline, axle grease, motor oil, olive oil, canola oil, probably a few others I now forget. I now shoot Moose Milk, and have for the past 10 or more years. Shoot all day, and bore condition remains the same, from the first shot, to the last.

[DanWalker]

What the heck is bore butter?
It's a lousy feminine lubricant, Not to mention worthless on hemmorhoids.
It was a big hit at the company picnic last year though,once they finished the second keg of beer.
I've heard it can even be used on muzzleloading firearms in some fashion or other.

[hunter64]

waksupi: What is Moose Milk and how do you use it on my Cap and Ball revolver? Isn't it some kind of oil and water?

[Slamfire]

Do y'all prefer the yellow or the green? Actually I don't think there's any bees wax in it. It reminds me of the synthetic toilet gaskets. :roll: I use a mixture of bees wax and mineral oil. You can find it under the name Sno Seal. :drinks:

[omgb]

Moose Milk is Balistol and water at about 1/10 or so. Some folks even break it down to 50/50 but I think that's too heavy on the H2O... It works very well and really keeps fouling soft but, it won't stick to conicals and is best suited for lubing patches.

[waksupi]

waksupi: What is Moose Milk and how do you use it on my Cap and Ball revolver? Isn't it some kind of oil and water?

That's what happens, when I don't read the full thread!

[Maven]

ombg is correct about Bore Butter not preventing rust in your bbl. (Don't ask me how I know this!). It also smells just like Crisco when your rifle/smoothbore is fired, so I suspect Crisco is a main ingredient. Since oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate) gives yellow Bore Butter its characteristic odor, I wonder whether it would be cheaper to use Ben Gay or some similar product as a patch lube? Btw, I've had good results with BB, but better ones with the commercial brand of "Moose Milk" (pale green opaque liquid), but then I'm using it in .45cal and .50cal. bbls.

[44man]

I like a thicker lube for the cap and ball. Mathew's BPCR lube works good as does most of the others. Bore butter works too. Some guys use Crisco but after the first shot, all the stuff will be blown out of the other chambers. EVERYTHING is covered with grease!
I tried 4 oz of beeswax, 3 oz of Safflower oil and 1 oz of Ballistol. It worked good. Then I added lanolin and it worked too. Both are a little stiff and it needs to be warmed by kneading between your fingers. I am going to add more Ballistol to soften it more for the cap and ball.
I have shot great groups with bore butter and wonder lube with my patched round balls but if I use it in my loading block for hunting, it dries out bad before the season is half over. It glues the balls into the block and the patch to the balls.
When I used maxi balls, the stuff would dry out and crumble out of the boolits. It also corrodes the lead. Somehow they incorporated either moisture or alcohol into the stuff. It will still lube when dry but it is a pain to use.
Then the tubes they used to put it in had to be put under the truck wheel in cold weather to get any out.

[piwo]

Moose Milk is Balistol and water at about 1/10 or so. Some folks even break it down to 50/50 but I think that's too heavy on the H2O... It works very well and really keeps fouling soft but, it won't stick to conicals and is best suited for lubing patches.

If I read this correctly, it is 1 part balistol and 10 parts water?

Are the patches soaked then allowed to dry, or are damp patches used? On a previous thread I believe this was discussed with Balistol and water, but I believe this was used after allowing the patching to completely dry.

[omgb]

I wet my patches until damp but not dripping. They are wet, they feel wet, but, if squeezed they don't drip. I put them in a baggie and that's it. I can load and let the load sit all day and not have a problem. You are correct in the proportions, 1 part Balistol to 10 parts water. Straight balistol may be used as well but I like the water as it seems to keep fouling even softer than straight balistol.

[piwo]

I wet my patches until damp but not dripping. They are wet, they feel wet, but, if squeezed they don't drip. I put them in a baggie and that's it. I can load and let the load sit all day and not have a problem. You are correct in the proportions, 1 part Balistol to 10 parts water. Straight balistol may be used as well but I like the water as it seems to keep fouling even softer than straight balistol.

Thanks,
I asked because I don't have Balistol, but do have water soluble "jewelers cutting" oil" that should be about the same I would suppose. Can't find Balistol locally. But since I cast some roundball yesterday evening, I think I will try them on Sunday, since no one should be able to complain if I leave for the range that day!:wink:

[hunter64]

So what I think I will do to save some time at the range is make up a bunch of paper cartridges with Bp and the ball using rolling papers. I put the paper cartridge into the cylinder and rip the ball/paper off and place a lubed wad over the ripped paper cartridge and push it down with a wood rod and then seat the ball on top. I could also just make up some powder cartridges and then add the felt and then the ball, that way I wouldn't have to pour and measure every shot. I have tried the cartridge as is and just put crisco over the ball but as others have stated it makes a mess. It would be neat if you could put the felt in between the powder and ball and then make a cartridge out of the whole thing together, that would save time but I think the lubed wad would just make the paper gooey and the whole works would come apart.

[Bad Flynch]

>either pine or menthol scent<

No, that is Wintergreen Oil and you can bet it is the synthetic variety, Methyl Salicylate.

[waksupi]

Something I have done with C&B revolvers, is to put a pinch of cornmeal over the powder, and then seat the ball. It gives the seal against crossfiring, and shoots cleaner. I could generally get several more cylinders shot without as much fouling as the greases.

[44man]

It has always been a tough call for me as to what to use in my cap and ball. Lighter charges and a filler are accurate, some boolits are accurate, a lubed wad under the ball is accurate. Different lubes and different amounts in front of a ball can destroy accuracy as the amount in the bore from shot to shot changes. One reason I don't like too soft of a lube that what is in front of the first ball goes down the bore and all the other throats have the lube blown away. But there still is a great difference from chamber to chamber as the gun is shot no matter what the lube.
You can really see what happens by loading a boolit with grease grooves and shooting a group, then load again and stick lube in front of the boolit. The POI and groups will change drastically.
However, I hunt deer with mine and hate to give up powder space. Since my shots are close, accuracy can suffer a little but I want all the power I can get from the round ball. Even a boolit uses too much space. I have to chronograph the new boolit I am making to see if it is fast enough to hunt with after the loss of powder space.
Since fouling has to kept a little soft so the next shot will push it out or the number of shots with any accuracy will deteriorate quickly, what is the answer? I have given it a lot of thought as to how to keep the same barrel condition without losing powder space. It still looks like a greased wad is the only way so the chrono will get a work out soon. My other thought was a round ball with a grease groove around it, hard to start straight and the ball would have to start out larger. Then the ball would be lighter which is not too good.
So, without spending money and having the chambers deepened or the gun converted to a larger bore I am kind of stuck with grease in front. It is only for barrel lube, double fires do not happen from the front unless the chambers are eroded so there is space around the ball. Double fires happen from the back!
I have tried all of the new BP substitutes and none of them have the power of Swiss black. Some shoot real bad groups too.
If anyone can figure out how to keep the same barrel condition without losing powder space, you will be a genius.

[hunter64]

waksupi: I have read about people using corn meal to fill space and I used to use it for my 1886 45-70 20 years ago. That would make like easy as far as making cartridges, no grease to deal with with paper. I will give it a whirl and see how far I get without having to clean.

[Old Ironsights]

Moose Milk is Balistol and water at about 1/10 or so. Some folks even break it down to 50/50 but I think that's too heavy on the H2O... It works very well and really keeps fouling soft but, it won't stick to conicals and is best suited for lubing patches.

Ballistol! Ballistol! All I want is Ballistol!

I'll have to dig up the link, but if you REALLY want a product that is both a good "wet lube" and a TRUE anti-rust metal preservative, Ballistol is the only game in town.

[Old Ironsights]

ombg is correct about Bore Butter not preventing rust in your bbl. (Don't ask me how I know this!). It also smells just like Crisco when your rifle/smoothbore is fired, so I suspect Crisco is a main ingredient. Since oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate) gives yellow Bore Butter its characteristic odor, I wonder whether it would be cheaper to use Ben Gay or some similar product as a patch lube? Btw, I've had good results with BB, but better ones with the commercial brand of "Moose Milk" (pale green opaque liquid), but then I'm using it in .45cal and .50cal. bbls.

Cheap product that works well (but you must be careful to buy the right one).

Buy any good NON-PUMICE lanolin "waterless" hand cleaner like GOOP or GoJo.

Ballistol's better, but GOOP/GoJo (like products) works better than most things and is dirt cheap.

[Bad Flynch]

>One reason I don't like too soft of a lube that what is in front of the first ball goes down the bore and all the other throats have the lube blown away.<

Yes, yes, yes. However, the Bore Butter that comes in a jar is a little stiffer and lasts just a tad longer.

>I wonder whether it would be cheaper to use Ben Gay or some similar product as a patch lube?<

You are absolutely correct about the smell and the use of Methyl Salicylate in liniments and analgesic balms, but it is more a matter of 1) adding a decent smell to a goopy mess, 2) disguising the smell to hide ingredients from reverse engineering, and 3) covering BP sulfur smell.

Ben-Gay and most commercial balms would contain too much petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to be of much use as a patch lube, given the poor results with other petroleum products. Some, perhaps notably udder ointments that contain Methyl Salicylate, have a bunch of lanolin in them and so might work.

[piwo]

wow... Guess I didn't realize goop didn't have petrol products in it. So it's an acceptable patch lube then... interesting..... I will give that a try. I absolutely cannot find this Ballistol wonder oil ANYWHERE locally. The Crisco and bore butter do not seem to bother deer in the least as I had some walk within a few yards of me having loaded with them and even used them on my chapped lips. Wonder if they will be so understanding with the smell of goop? And of course, just lost my chap stick with goop!

[piwo]

Cheap product that works well (but you must be careful to buy the right one).

Buy any good NON-PUMICE lanolin "waterless" hand cleaner like GOOP or GoJo.

Ballistol's better, but GOOP/GoJo (like products) works better than most things and is dirt cheap.

Now, I just left the auto parts store a few minutes ago, looked at Gojo but didn't pick it up because it said it it's main ingredient was "Petroleum Distillates". I'm not to schooled in chemestry :oops: so when I saw that I didin't pick it up. This is not a "petroleum based" product that BP shooters should stay away from? The price certainly is right if it's non fouling to BP for patch lube, but I just wanted to check and be sure.

[Maven]

Unless GoJo's manufacturer has changed its formula, it stinks to high heaven of kerosene. Goop also seems to contain some petroleum by-products (reading directly from the label): Isoparafins (petroleum derived?), water, oleic acid, nonoxynol-10 (???), triethanolamine, glycerine, nonoxynol-4 (???), fragrance and BHT (???). The original "Moose Milk," which works great as a solvent and patch lube may still be available from the full-line BP suppliers, e.g., Dixie, Track of the Wolf, et al.

[Bad Flynch]

>Isoparafins (petroleum derived?), water, oleic acid, nonoxynol-10 (???), triethanolamine, glycerine, nonoxynol-4 (???), fragrance and BHT (???). <

Isoparaffins are, indeed, petroleum derived. Very much related to paraffin wax, the stuff that makes black tar in ML barrels.

Nonoxynols 4 & 10 are probably added to retard bacterial growth. Nonoxynol-9 is a spermicide and topical bacterial growth inhibitor.

BHT, IIRC, is bis-hydroxytoluene, an anti-oxidant/preservative.

Oleic acid, a free fatty acid originally derived from Olive Oil.

Glycerin/Glycerine is a by-product of soap manufacture and quite edible. It is sweet to the taste and adds a slick feel, and helps the product not dry out.

TEA/triethanolamine is there as a soap/detergent/surfactant.

Hope that helps.

[twotoescharlie]

Moose Snot for patched round balls, shoot 40-50 shots without cleaning, last shot loads as easy as the first. (target shooting) for hunting put a dry felt wad between powder and ball

TTC

[piwo]

Unless GoJo's manufacturer has changed its formula, it stinks to high heaven of kerosene. Goop also seems to contain some petroleum by-products (reading directly from the label): Isoparafins (petroleum derived?), water, oleic acid, nonoxynol-10 (???), triethanolamine, glycerine, nonoxynol-4 (???), fragrance and BHT (???). The original "Moose Milk," which works great as a solvent and patch lube may still be available from the full-line BP suppliers, e.g., Dixie, Track of the Wolf, et al.

Well, Gojo must have changed something because it's virtually odorless. I just bought some yesterday and there is no way I cold type out all the ingredients that are in it. I took some pictures of the label (had to take two pics because the writing wrapped around the can and one shot wouldn't cover it. Any of you scientist types wish to comment on the ingredients, I'd certainly read them with interest. If folks are telling me is safe to use as patch lube and won't tar up the barrel, I'll go with that.......


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v426/jsquaredjcubed/IMG_1049.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v426/jsquaredjcubed/IMG_1046.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v426/jsquaredjcubed/IMG_1047.jpg

[44man]

Who figures out if all of that junk is safe to put on your skin?????

[dubber123]

44man, the paws on 9 of the 10 test mice didn't fall off after washing with GOJO, so it was deemed safe. That #10 mouse? well, they don't like to talk about him!

[44man]

HEE, HEE, like your thinking!

[I Haines]

What seems to be the problem with petroleum based products? IH

[waksupi]

What seems to be the problem with petroleum based products? IH

Mixed with carbon, it forms tar. Hard to remove from a bore.!

[omgb]

In addition to the carbon issue, there is the sulfur issue. About 70% of BP remains in the bore after burning in the form of ash. That ash is a mixture of many things with carbon and sulfur being principle ingredients. When used in common with petroleum lubes, the sulfur will readily combine with the petroleum. This along with the residual carbon forms a hard black tar, almost like Bakelite or plastic that is just un-freeken-believable to remove. You can scrub till your arm falls off and there is still going to be globs/chunks/islands of it cemented to the bore. All petroleum oils and lubes do this. Animal and vegetable lubes do not, nor do 100% synthetics such as Mobile 1. Before you get all excited about Mobile 1 though, I should say up front that for some reason or another, it does not make a good BP lube; not in my experience nor in the experience of any one I know or have spoken with. So far, I can't figure out why but the plain fact is that there are much better products out there than M1 for this purpose.

Any way, if you hear of guys using Vaseline or axle grease, know that these guys like cleaning guns. :mrgreen:

[omgb]

http://www.bpcr.net/content.htm follow this link and look on the left side of the page under lubes. Lots of good tips there. Also, check out tech reports and Dan's research on lube.

[omgb]

Oh, what the heck. :

Home (http://www.bpcr.net/content.htm)

BPCR Lube Thoughts and Findings - Dan Theodore

The topic of what a BPCR lube does and how it does it is often the topic of conversation; at matches, over the phone and online. Those of us that have shot BPCR for awhile know that accuracy degrades rapidly without a good lube as well as either wiping or blow-tubing between shots. After several years of extensive research, experimentation and thinking about BPCR lubes and how to make them better some general conclusions have been drawn.
One realization is that, from this writers perspective, the question is often answered in a manner that addresses a characteristic of appropriate BP fouling control. That question is, “What does BPCR lube do?” The typical answer is, “It keeps the fouling soft.” While that is not inaccurate, it does tend to focus the shooter on a characteristic of effective BP fouling control, not the fundamental objective. The way the question is now answered by this shooter is, “It keeps the coefficient of friction between bullet and barrel consistent shot-to-shot.” That is different than saying it keeps the fouling soft. If the fouling is soft and the same amount of moister is added by blow-tubing between shots and the barrel does not sit between shots too long in hot, dry conditions and the barrel has not become too hot, the coefficient of friction between bullet and barrel CAN be consistent. If wiping between shots is used then the condition of the bore must be the same shot-to-shot for top accuracy and consistent muzzle velocity. The further out one shoots the more consistent muzzle velocity comes into play in support of top match performance. At 100 yards excellent groups can be shot with less than consistent muzzle velocity. But at 1,000 yards that same load will string vertically to the detriment of one’s score as one will tend to correct elevation for a random occurrence, muzzle velocity variation, which will further acerbate the vertical dispersion of bullet impact.
So now that the stage has been set by stating that good BP fouling control keeps the coefficient of friction between bullet and barrel consistent shot-to-shot, the underlying phenomenon of how BPCR lubes work to accomplish this goal can be addressed.
During a focused effort lasting about 6 months just about every known lube component was tested using several measurement techniques. In the lab each lube component was heated to the smoke point and the temperature recorded. That is the temperature at which the lube component begins to break down chemically. Once this happens the lube component begins to loses its ability to perform properly. The lube components were also burned-off in a stainless steel crucible to determine the type and amount of residue remaining as that can indicate how the lube component might perform in a barrel under the high heat and pressure of firing a BPCR round. All of these results were recorded and used as a data base during lube development as well as to see if there was any correlation between these two lab tests and field tests in hot, dry conditions. The melting temperature was also recorded for any lube components that were solid at room temperature.
Each lube component was mixed 50/50 with beeswax and tested in hot, dry conditions. At the start of testing it was decided that 90 F was the lowest ambient temperature and 30% humidity the highest allowed during testing. Temperature and humidity were recorded during each testing session before each 10-shot string. By the second round of testing it was becoming apparent that harsher testing conditions were needed as it was becoming difficult to differentiate between the second generation lubes’ performance. The testing limits were changed to a minimum ambient temperature of 100 F with humidity below 20 %. Final testing the following summer was done on the 1,000-yard line with the barrel exposed to the sun in 105 F to 110 F temperatures and humidity below 15 %. The number of shots was increased to 20 to heat the barrel as much as possible to induce fouling control issues. Of course the barrel was cleaned and cooled to ambient between 20-shot strings.
The first summer of lube testing a 40-65 Browning was used. The load was 60 grains of Swiss FFFg, Fed215M primers, 60/1000” Walters wad and the 400-grain Gunn/Snover bullet cast with 20-1. The Federal 215M primers were used simply because they were not being used for anything else. For match shooting Large Pistol primers are used exclusively. Three, 4-second exhales were blown down the blow-tube and into the barrel between shots and the same was done after the barrel had been inspected at the muzzle for fouling characteristics that were recorded at the end of each 10-shot test string. After the final blow-tubing a dry, tight patch was attempted to be pushed down the barrel. Sometimes a patch would not go down the barrel at all. In those instances the barrel had completely fouled out with hard BP fouling and leading. Some formulations would allow a tight, dry patch to slide down with ease with no hard fouling or leading whatsoever.
A lube-star on the muzzle is NOT necessarily an indication that one’s lube is working. Some formulations produced very nice lube-stars on the muzzle and fouled-out barrels, while some formulations did not produce much of a lube-star but the tight, dry patch slid down the barrel with ease and a very consistent resistance at the cleaning rod handle. A very good indication that one’s lube and blow-tubing technique is working properly is when a tight, dry patch, after blow-tubing just like was done between shots, will slide down the bore with consistent, smooth effort and no friction increase from breech to muzzle. The patch should contain black, moist fouling and no lead. Certainly some rifles lead as their barrels were not finished properly or the bore was allowed to become pitted with rust. The pits and/or tool marks from manufacturing are problems that can be controlled to some extent by the use of a well developed lube. Several shooters that have always pulled lead out of their barrels between relays using the popular lubes have found that a more advanced lube, developed to do more than keep the fouling soft, completely removed their need to clean between relays in hot, dry conditions during BPCR Silhouette matches.
Typically one testing session consisted of 10 rounds each for 10 different lube formulations for a total of 100 test rounds. That was a long day of testing that typically could not start until about noon and was either finished under the proscribed conditions or terminated if the conditions deteriorated: cooled down too much or humidity increased above the test limits.
Each formulation was tested by first cooling the 40-65 Browning barrel to ambient temperature using cold water blow-tubed into and stopped in the barrel. Typically two mouths full of cold water would lower the barrel to ambient waiting about 20 seconds for the water stopped in the barrel to absorb barrel heat. Three temperature sensors were attached to the barrel to insure a “standard” barrel temperature at the start of each 10-shot string used to both test lube effectiveness as well as accuracy on a 100-yard target.
Another observation recorded along with accuracy was how many rounds it took for the load to settle down since each string was started with a clean barrel. A very consistent blow-tubing technique was used between shots and shooter hydration was maintained by continually drinking water. The barrel was cleaned before cooling and dry patched so that the barrel condition was consistent at the start of each 10-shot test string.
In excess of 30 lube components were tested in the baseline 50/50 mix with beeswax. The second phase of lube testing required that not only accuracy and fouling control were tested but also how well each formulation worked in a lubesizer as well as pan-lubing.
Some of the interesting observations were that some lube components actually kept the barrel cooler than other lube components. That is an attractive lube performance characteristic in hot conditions as potential of lube failure from barrel heating is reduced. How quickly a lube “settled-down” to produce consistent accuracy was also recorded as was mentioned above. Some lube formulations allowed the group to form after only one round down a cleaned barrel. That lube performance characteristic is beneficial for match shooting, silhouette or target rifle, as one can start to work on their elevation and windage after the first shot instead of having to shoot 2 or 3 rounds. After a number of years as a BPCR match competitor it is an obvious advantage to shoot as few sighters as possible in very hot, dry conditions to reduce barrel heating especially when the barrel is exposed to the sun. Another finding was that some lubes required far less lube to work effectively. While some lubes required 3 to 4 grains of lube to work properly the more advanced lubes required less than 1 grain. Also, some lubes left far more “fouling” in the barrel than the more efficient advanced lube formulations.
Now that the baseline BPCR lube testing has been described and some findings related the topic of how a BPCR lube works should be quite straight forward. We have heard a number of theories about how BPCR lubes work, but so far none of the theorist has produced experimental results to either confirm or refute their theories.
Back in the Fall of 1998 a few simple observations from range testing sessions shed some light on the question of how BPCR lubes work to “control” the fouling; keep the coefficient of friction between bullet and barrel consistent shot-to-shot. Those simple observations were based on collecting the first patch used to clean the barrel between strings of fire for observation in the lab. The heavily coated patches that were pushed down the barrel after blow-tubing were allowed to air dry for a few days. Then, the fouling from the patches were observed and put though some simple tests. One interesting observation was that the fouling had turned from black to white. The pH was tested, but more interesting was the fact that when the dry, white, crumbly fouling was placed in one palm while the other palm was wetted and both hands rubbed together the sensation was like washing one’s hands with soap. From there it was a little leap to the theory that we are making a crude form of soap in our barrels. Most of the residue remaining when BP is ignited is potassium carbonate, potash. Our foremothers used to make soap by collecting the hearth ashes in a pot kept next to the hearth hence the name “potash.” She also collected grease from the cooking process and with water and heat made soap. That is precisely what is happening in our BPCR barrels when we use BP. As many know soaps are excellent high-temperature, high-pressure lubricants. Lithium grease comes to mind. It is a soap. For smokeless powder the process in the barrel is quite different, lube performance requirements unlike BP lubes and not the topic of this discussion. But, the end result hoped for is the same consistent coefficient of friction between bullet and barrel shot-to-shot.
So, it would seem that to keep the coefficient of friction consistent shot-to-shot BP lube must transform a certain amount of the potassium carbonate into a crude form of soap and the appropriate amount of moisture must be added through blow-tubing. BP combustion also adds some moisture to the barrel. It could be that the combustion moisture forms the basis upon which continued shooting can take place with the addition of an appropriate level of blow-tubing moisture. Dry burning BP’s are notoriously difficult to control from a fouling management point of view. That dry burning characteristic may restrict this hypothesized initial soap formation process.
Certainly there are other mechanical and chemical processes doing on through each cycle of shooting and blow-tubing, but it is believed based on extensive testing and results interpretation that soap formation is the primary vehicle for “keeping friction consistent.”
Cheers,
DanT

December 27, 2004


var sc_project=225805; var sc_invisible=1;

[I Haines]

Dan,

Intersting read. Thanks. IH