Gummy BP lube residue

[Dan Cash]

Yesterday I completed a BPCR match in high temperature (104 F). My lube that I have been using for a couple of years suddenly left me baffeled when I cleaned the rifle. In the past, using this lube, the gun has come clean with 4 or 5 wet patches; yesterday, I got a brownish tar like residue along with the carbon and 10 patches did not completely get the job done. This lubricant was made with 2 parts of bee's wax, 1 part canola oil, one part pure Neats-foot oil and 3 to 4 oz lanolin to a 4 pound batch of lube. This has worked exceedingly well for more than 2 years.

The residue reminded me of a bullet lube with which I experimented that had ATF in it. I did not believe the tales of misery from petroleum lubes mixed with black powder but learned my lesson.

Any suggestions regarding which part of my lubricant may be causing this tar like substance during high temp shooting?
Dan

[Don McDowell]

What powder was you shooting?
The now defunct Elephant was good at leaving a mess, and Swiss will often times leave a hard red clay like smear in the barrel.
The neats foot oil and the canola oil together isn't needed. Might retry that lube with one or the other but not both and see how it reacts to the high temps and low humidity.

[Dan Cash]

Don,
I use Goex FFg. I got to adding the Neats Foot to keep the lube more "plastic", for want of a better word, in cold weather. It also seemed to keep fouling moister in hot weather. We had no problem with it at Quigley, or Amidon this year but the temps never tipped over 95 or there about. Something in that last 10 degrees makes me and the gun uncomfortable but accuracy did not seem to fall off. I will try a batch of lube with only canola or neats foot and see what happens.
Thanks for the suggestions
Dan

[waksupi]

What powder was you shooting?
The now defunct Elephant was good at leaving a mess, and Swiss will often times leave a hard red clay like smear in the barrel.
The neats foot oil and the canola oil together isn't needed. Might retry that lube with one or the other but not both and see how it reacts to the high temps and low humidity.

Don, I believe the red residue is sulfur from the powder. Maybe an ingredient that would dissolve, or prevent adhesion of sulfur added to the lube would help? I know I have seen it in muzzle loaders with all brands of powder I have used over the years, and old wives tales claim that means it is an efficient load, that is being fully consumed. I don't know as I believe that, as it appears at different times, and not consistently. I believe it is more a factor of temperature and humidity.

[Dan Cash]

Well fellers, the joke may be upon me. My afliction might be visited upon me by some heathern but most likely, it is my fault. Attention to detail, detail, detail. I do not, at this moment, believe my brown tar problem is lubricant as it has been performing so well for the last 2 or 3 years.

I just set in to totally clean the two guns that were affected yesterday. My partner and I had cleaned them as well as we could and then flooded them with Ed's Red to keep them over night. I pulled the breach block of the first rifle and observed a brownish goo on the breach face. Smelling it was an event to tell grand children about; putrid, like something dead with a plastic undertone. With acetone and turpentine, much brush work and a half gallon of patches, finally clean patches come out.

I make my own wads from weatherstripping felt; Do-it brand from Do-it Best hardware. The last wads which we fired yesterday were from a brand of weatherstripping sold by True Value which I had on hand for several years. It seemed fluffy compared to the regular material I have been using but no warning signals went up at the time. This afternoon I burned a wad from each material. The True Value brand wads melted like nylon, left a brown plastic goo and smelled bad. The Do-it brand wad burned but with less vigor and left a dry, cardboard like ash that crumbled when touched.

I am making hay this week and may not have such hot weather again this year but in a few days, we are going to have a firing test to compare the two different wad material. If that firing does not expose the culprit, then we will be on to lube tinkering .

Thanks for your imput fellows. The wad is the only thing that changed in this last lot of ammo and it seems logical that there in lies the problem.

Regards,
Dan