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12-21-2013, 01:04 PM
Modern American Rifles, page 283-288, Arthur Corbin Gould, Bradlee Whidden (pub), 1892
Lubrication is found necessary when shooting naked or unjacketed bullets, and generally when the rifle is not cleaned after each shot. Were it not for lubrication, a lead bullet brought in contact with the rifle barrel would lead it, and the accuracy of the rifle be impaired. In lubricating naked bullets, the most favored mode is to have several concave rings or grooves cast around the bullet, which are termed cannelures, a word, by the way, of French origin, and, although in general use, I believe found in but one American dictionary. The cannelures serve the purpose of holding the lubricant, and by this means the grease is evenly and well distributed, which is essential to secure good shooting. This mode of using lubricants is generally followed when using naked bullets. When a patched or jacketed bullet is used, and the rifle shot dirty, the cannelures are not used on the bullets, but a lubricating disk is generally supplied. A card-board wad is placed over the powder, the lubricating disk over the wad, and the patched bullet on top. The latter mode is not generally used by American hunters at present, the naked or cannelured bullet being almost wholly supplied by the cartridge 'companies, and is preferred by most sportsmen who cast their own bullets for hunting purposes or military rifle shooting. I will at first record the results of my observations on lubricants for cannelured bullets, and modes of lubricating such bullets.
The formulas for lubricants are numerous, and, although existing in such numbers, I believe that perfection under all conditions has not yet been attained. If naked bullets were used by the expert target shots, I think the rifle fraternity would know more about lubricants; but as patched bullets are considered more reliable for such work, although less practical, comparatively little attention has been paid to perfecting this compound, and the work has been left almost wholly to the manufacturer of cartridges. It is undoubtedly true that almost any kind of grease will, to a certain extent, serve the purpose of lubricating; but it is also true that certain preparations are better than others, for weather conditions, especially heat and cold, affect lubricants. For a long time the producers of American cartridges would use different formulas for goods manufactured in summer and winter.
This plan might possibly be well if the entire product were consumed in one season; but as summer goods would be held over winter, and winter to summer, it can be seen that the consumer might be unfortunate enough to purchase just the wrong lot. The old absurd mode of outside lubrication for rifle and pistol cartridges made the deterioration certain, and the rubbing off of lubrication from one side of the exposed part of the bullet, which was an almost certain cause for inaccurate shooting.
Manufacturers of rifle and pistol cartridges have, since commencing the manufacture of metallic cartridges, sought to obtain a lubricant which would answer the purpose in hot and cold weather and in various climates. From information possessed by the writer, he has formed the impression that Japan wax is the best article manufacturers have found for a lubricant for general purposes, and less affected by climatic changes than other compounds. It can be purchased in large cities, but is rather a scarce commodity. I have collected, during the past fifteen years, a number of formulas for lubricants, and my scrap-book shows a variety of opinions as to what constitutes the best mixture. I will give, for the benefit of brother riflemen, a number, in order that they may experiment with the various compounds. I do this, as I have found that several expert and reliable riflemen have different opinions as to the best lubricants. The following formulas are recommended by American cartridge and arms manufacturers
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company advise the use of Japan wax or beef tallow.
The Marlin Firearms Company says: Make the lubricant of clear tallow, 4 parts; beeswax, 1 part.
Massachusetts Arms Company: 1 part beeswax to 3 parts tallow.
Ideal Manufacturing Company: Beeswax and common cylinder oil, 3 parts wax to 1 of oil; also, beef tallow with enough vaseline with it to soften it as desired.
J. Stevens Arms and Tool Company: Make lubricant of clear tallow, 4 parts; beeswax, 1 part.
Sharps Rifle Company (out of existence): 1 part beeswax to 2 parts of sperm oil, by weight. [NyOil? ed.]
Smith & Wesson: Melted tallow.
Bullard Repeating Arms Company: Fill grooves with beef tallow or Japan wax.
Among the riflemen I have met during the past quarter of a century, I have obtained the following: Three parts mutton tallow, one part wax. About a teaspoonful plumbago to a pint of the melted compound; cool a little of it, and, if it proves too hard, thin with a little sperm oil. [plumbago is an older term for graphite. ed.]
The above formula was used for many years by riflemen at Walnut Hill, who shot lubricated bullets prior to the general adoption of the patched bullet for target shooting, and at the time was considered as good as any thing tried.
J. G. B., of Staatsburgh, N.Y.: Vaseline and paraffin, putting in only enough of the paraffin to make the vaseline hard enough to work well on the bullet, say, use a piece of paraffin about the size of a good-sized duck's egg to one pound of vaseline. There seems to be something about it, writes Mr. B., that suits the rifle barrel, so that you can vary it from soft to hard, more than any other mixture I have ever seen. Both being composed of mineral oils, it is also less affected by heat and cold.
Col. H. Simpson, an intelligent and expert marksman, wrote to Shooting and Fishing;, about a year ago, of the trouble he experienced with lubricants; and, by not finding the proper article, his rifle leaded badly. He says: " I tried everything I could think of, or that was suggested to me, and took the greatest care in molding my bullets and loading. Still there was no improvement. Being impressed with the thought that the fault lay in my lubricant, I resolved to make some experiments, and was advised by a friend to try some of his. After two or three shots my rifle was leaded worse than ever. His lubricant was composed of Japan wax and a small admixture of tallow ; and the increased gritty or waxy feeling of the inside of the barrel after the bullet had passed through, strengthened my conviction that anything of that nature was not a lubricant, as it does not sufficiently reduce friction. I tried softening the wax by adding more and more tallow, until I became convinced that the latter was the true lubricant; so I threw aside the compound, and commenced using pure tallow, which is known among all branches of mechanics as one of the best and most durable of lubricants. My rifle has not leaded since; and while I clean every ten shots, more from force of habit than anything else, I haven't the least doubt that it would shoot a whole afternoon without cleaning, as every time I clean, the inside of the barrel has a soft, slippery feeling, exactly the opposite of the condition described above, and offers no resistance to the passage of a cleaning rag.
"This experience set me to thinking of what caused the leading in the first place, as I had never been troubled with it before to any extent. I had always used the lubricant recommended by the Marlin Arms Co.; viz., four parts pure tallow to one of beeswax, and when new always found it worked admirably, both winter and summer. Then I remembered that when in a hurry Thad often set the lubricant on a very hot part of the stove to melt, and had sometimes smelled a burning odor from it, and the thought flashed upon me that the repeated burning of the lubricant had consumed the lubricating qualities of the tallow, and left the hard waxy substance remaining. Opinions may vary as to the best substance for lubricants, but experience so far convinces me that plain tallow, with the addition of a small amount of beeswax in hot weather, is about as good as any. Not that there is much lubricating quality in wax of any kind, but mixture with it will prevent the tallow from running."
The above article brought out the following suggestion from the late J. C. Purvis-Bruce
Some time ago, in Shooting and Fishing, I noticed a paper on 'lubricants' by H. Simpson, in which he expresses his opinion that plain tallow, with the addition of a small amount of beeswax, is as good as any. It is, perhaps, but I think if he will add a little vaseline (pure, without any scenting or coloring or other foreign substance), he will find the lubricant far excellence. It may not do in all guns, but it does splendidly in mine a .400-bore 110 grains of powder, 270 grains of lead, hollow copper point express rifle, and I think it should, in most others. Be sure not to add too much wax, and let it be as pure and as fresh as possible. Vaseline, or petroleum jelly, I regard as the finest lubricant in the world."
Col. Simpson records the results of a trial, prompted by Mr. Bruce's suggestion, as follows:
" His advice was to add a little vaseline to pure tallow, but I did not follow it strictly according to the letter ; for it occurred to me that cosmoline contained precisely the same lubricating qualities, but was firmer and retained its consistency better, and would make a more desirable rifle lubricant. I was not so exact as to weigh the ingredients, but put five cents' worth of cosmoline in a small tin cup of pure tallow, and found it to work finely, `setting' quickly, and sticking to the bullet like grim death. Care should be taken not to have the lubricant too hot. I think this mistake is often made. The cup should be set upon the outer edge of the stove, where the lubricant will just melt. I have used this lubricant every week for two months, and often, when two or three friends would be shooting with me and using my rifle, the barrel would become very hot, but there was not the first sign of leading. As a precaution, I cleaned every twenty or thirty shots, but it was really unnecessary, as the inside of the barrel had a perfectly smooth, even greasy, feeling, that betokened absence from any crust or leading. I also use this lubricant in reloading revolver ammunition, and agree with `Jack' that it is a lubricant par excellence."
Mr. F. J. Rabbeth recommends beeswax and cylinder, or other heavy oil, one part oil to four of beeswax.
The French Government formerly used a lubricant composed of three parts tallow to one part beeswax; Switzerland and America, four parts tallow to one of beeswax, and, later, the American metallic cartridges were lubricated with a mixture of tallow one part, beeswax eight parts; finally the Government adopted Japan wax. A number of different mixtures were tried by the government officers; namely, tallow and beeswax, Japan wax, and the one which has always given the best results when used at once, sperm oil and beeswax. A good lubricant is composed of three parts tallow and two parts beeswax, with enough spindle oil to give the whole a salve-like consistency, so that it will not run in hot weather. The use of graphite is good, provided it can be thoroughly mixed with the mass, but it is a dirty mixture and but little used.
In 1873, the United States Government conducted a long series of experiments to determine the best calibre for adoption for military use. A number of different ways of lubricating the bullet were tried. The best results were obtained by the use of a grooved bullet, lubricated in the cannelures with eight parts of bayberry wax and one part graphite; but the growing scarcity of bayberry wax led to the final adoption of Japan wax.
I have drawn to considerable extent on my scrap-book, in order to exhibit the varied opinions of expert riflemen, and from which, no doubt, riflemen will find an excellent compound. Lubricant is often manufactured by a secret formula and sold in packages. Mr. Reuben Harwood has compounded a mixture which is highly indorsed by those who have given it a trial. Mr. George R. Russell, the expert bullet maker of Boston, has as good a lubricant as I ever tried.
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Lubrication is found necessary when shooting naked or unjacketed bullets, and generally when the rifle is not cleaned after each shot. Were it not for lubrication, a lead bullet brought in contact with the rifle barrel would lead it, and the accuracy of the rifle be impaired. In lubricating naked bullets, the most favored mode is to have several concave rings or grooves cast around the bullet, which are termed cannelures, a word, by the way, of French origin, and, although in general use, I believe found in but one American dictionary. The cannelures serve the purpose of holding the lubricant, and by this means the grease is evenly and well distributed, which is essential to secure good shooting. This mode of using lubricants is generally followed when using naked bullets. When a patched or jacketed bullet is used, and the rifle shot dirty, the cannelures are not used on the bullets, but a lubricating disk is generally supplied. A card-board wad is placed over the powder, the lubricating disk over the wad, and the patched bullet on top. The latter mode is not generally used by American hunters at present, the naked or cannelured bullet being almost wholly supplied by the cartridge 'companies, and is preferred by most sportsmen who cast their own bullets for hunting purposes or military rifle shooting. I will at first record the results of my observations on lubricants for cannelured bullets, and modes of lubricating such bullets.
The formulas for lubricants are numerous, and, although existing in such numbers, I believe that perfection under all conditions has not yet been attained. If naked bullets were used by the expert target shots, I think the rifle fraternity would know more about lubricants; but as patched bullets are considered more reliable for such work, although less practical, comparatively little attention has been paid to perfecting this compound, and the work has been left almost wholly to the manufacturer of cartridges. It is undoubtedly true that almost any kind of grease will, to a certain extent, serve the purpose of lubricating; but it is also true that certain preparations are better than others, for weather conditions, especially heat and cold, affect lubricants. For a long time the producers of American cartridges would use different formulas for goods manufactured in summer and winter.
This plan might possibly be well if the entire product were consumed in one season; but as summer goods would be held over winter, and winter to summer, it can be seen that the consumer might be unfortunate enough to purchase just the wrong lot. The old absurd mode of outside lubrication for rifle and pistol cartridges made the deterioration certain, and the rubbing off of lubrication from one side of the exposed part of the bullet, which was an almost certain cause for inaccurate shooting.
Manufacturers of rifle and pistol cartridges have, since commencing the manufacture of metallic cartridges, sought to obtain a lubricant which would answer the purpose in hot and cold weather and in various climates. From information possessed by the writer, he has formed the impression that Japan wax is the best article manufacturers have found for a lubricant for general purposes, and less affected by climatic changes than other compounds. It can be purchased in large cities, but is rather a scarce commodity. I have collected, during the past fifteen years, a number of formulas for lubricants, and my scrap-book shows a variety of opinions as to what constitutes the best mixture. I will give, for the benefit of brother riflemen, a number, in order that they may experiment with the various compounds. I do this, as I have found that several expert and reliable riflemen have different opinions as to the best lubricants. The following formulas are recommended by American cartridge and arms manufacturers
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company advise the use of Japan wax or beef tallow.
The Marlin Firearms Company says: Make the lubricant of clear tallow, 4 parts; beeswax, 1 part.
Massachusetts Arms Company: 1 part beeswax to 3 parts tallow.
Ideal Manufacturing Company: Beeswax and common cylinder oil, 3 parts wax to 1 of oil; also, beef tallow with enough vaseline with it to soften it as desired.
J. Stevens Arms and Tool Company: Make lubricant of clear tallow, 4 parts; beeswax, 1 part.
Sharps Rifle Company (out of existence): 1 part beeswax to 2 parts of sperm oil, by weight. [NyOil? ed.]
Smith & Wesson: Melted tallow.
Bullard Repeating Arms Company: Fill grooves with beef tallow or Japan wax.
Among the riflemen I have met during the past quarter of a century, I have obtained the following: Three parts mutton tallow, one part wax. About a teaspoonful plumbago to a pint of the melted compound; cool a little of it, and, if it proves too hard, thin with a little sperm oil. [plumbago is an older term for graphite. ed.]
The above formula was used for many years by riflemen at Walnut Hill, who shot lubricated bullets prior to the general adoption of the patched bullet for target shooting, and at the time was considered as good as any thing tried.
J. G. B., of Staatsburgh, N.Y.: Vaseline and paraffin, putting in only enough of the paraffin to make the vaseline hard enough to work well on the bullet, say, use a piece of paraffin about the size of a good-sized duck's egg to one pound of vaseline. There seems to be something about it, writes Mr. B., that suits the rifle barrel, so that you can vary it from soft to hard, more than any other mixture I have ever seen. Both being composed of mineral oils, it is also less affected by heat and cold.
Col. H. Simpson, an intelligent and expert marksman, wrote to Shooting and Fishing;, about a year ago, of the trouble he experienced with lubricants; and, by not finding the proper article, his rifle leaded badly. He says: " I tried everything I could think of, or that was suggested to me, and took the greatest care in molding my bullets and loading. Still there was no improvement. Being impressed with the thought that the fault lay in my lubricant, I resolved to make some experiments, and was advised by a friend to try some of his. After two or three shots my rifle was leaded worse than ever. His lubricant was composed of Japan wax and a small admixture of tallow ; and the increased gritty or waxy feeling of the inside of the barrel after the bullet had passed through, strengthened my conviction that anything of that nature was not a lubricant, as it does not sufficiently reduce friction. I tried softening the wax by adding more and more tallow, until I became convinced that the latter was the true lubricant; so I threw aside the compound, and commenced using pure tallow, which is known among all branches of mechanics as one of the best and most durable of lubricants. My rifle has not leaded since; and while I clean every ten shots, more from force of habit than anything else, I haven't the least doubt that it would shoot a whole afternoon without cleaning, as every time I clean, the inside of the barrel has a soft, slippery feeling, exactly the opposite of the condition described above, and offers no resistance to the passage of a cleaning rag.
"This experience set me to thinking of what caused the leading in the first place, as I had never been troubled with it before to any extent. I had always used the lubricant recommended by the Marlin Arms Co.; viz., four parts pure tallow to one of beeswax, and when new always found it worked admirably, both winter and summer. Then I remembered that when in a hurry Thad often set the lubricant on a very hot part of the stove to melt, and had sometimes smelled a burning odor from it, and the thought flashed upon me that the repeated burning of the lubricant had consumed the lubricating qualities of the tallow, and left the hard waxy substance remaining. Opinions may vary as to the best substance for lubricants, but experience so far convinces me that plain tallow, with the addition of a small amount of beeswax in hot weather, is about as good as any. Not that there is much lubricating quality in wax of any kind, but mixture with it will prevent the tallow from running."
The above article brought out the following suggestion from the late J. C. Purvis-Bruce
Some time ago, in Shooting and Fishing, I noticed a paper on 'lubricants' by H. Simpson, in which he expresses his opinion that plain tallow, with the addition of a small amount of beeswax, is as good as any. It is, perhaps, but I think if he will add a little vaseline (pure, without any scenting or coloring or other foreign substance), he will find the lubricant far excellence. It may not do in all guns, but it does splendidly in mine a .400-bore 110 grains of powder, 270 grains of lead, hollow copper point express rifle, and I think it should, in most others. Be sure not to add too much wax, and let it be as pure and as fresh as possible. Vaseline, or petroleum jelly, I regard as the finest lubricant in the world."
Col. Simpson records the results of a trial, prompted by Mr. Bruce's suggestion, as follows:
" His advice was to add a little vaseline to pure tallow, but I did not follow it strictly according to the letter ; for it occurred to me that cosmoline contained precisely the same lubricating qualities, but was firmer and retained its consistency better, and would make a more desirable rifle lubricant. I was not so exact as to weigh the ingredients, but put five cents' worth of cosmoline in a small tin cup of pure tallow, and found it to work finely, `setting' quickly, and sticking to the bullet like grim death. Care should be taken not to have the lubricant too hot. I think this mistake is often made. The cup should be set upon the outer edge of the stove, where the lubricant will just melt. I have used this lubricant every week for two months, and often, when two or three friends would be shooting with me and using my rifle, the barrel would become very hot, but there was not the first sign of leading. As a precaution, I cleaned every twenty or thirty shots, but it was really unnecessary, as the inside of the barrel had a perfectly smooth, even greasy, feeling, that betokened absence from any crust or leading. I also use this lubricant in reloading revolver ammunition, and agree with `Jack' that it is a lubricant par excellence."
Mr. F. J. Rabbeth recommends beeswax and cylinder, or other heavy oil, one part oil to four of beeswax.
The French Government formerly used a lubricant composed of three parts tallow to one part beeswax; Switzerland and America, four parts tallow to one of beeswax, and, later, the American metallic cartridges were lubricated with a mixture of tallow one part, beeswax eight parts; finally the Government adopted Japan wax. A number of different mixtures were tried by the government officers; namely, tallow and beeswax, Japan wax, and the one which has always given the best results when used at once, sperm oil and beeswax. A good lubricant is composed of three parts tallow and two parts beeswax, with enough spindle oil to give the whole a salve-like consistency, so that it will not run in hot weather. The use of graphite is good, provided it can be thoroughly mixed with the mass, but it is a dirty mixture and but little used.
In 1873, the United States Government conducted a long series of experiments to determine the best calibre for adoption for military use. A number of different ways of lubricating the bullet were tried. The best results were obtained by the use of a grooved bullet, lubricated in the cannelures with eight parts of bayberry wax and one part graphite; but the growing scarcity of bayberry wax led to the final adoption of Japan wax.
I have drawn to considerable extent on my scrap-book, in order to exhibit the varied opinions of expert riflemen, and from which, no doubt, riflemen will find an excellent compound. Lubricant is often manufactured by a secret formula and sold in packages. Mr. Reuben Harwood has compounded a mixture which is highly indorsed by those who have given it a trial. Mr. George R. Russell, the expert bullet maker of Boston, has as good a lubricant as I ever tried.
:coffeecom