Lube test

[Lead pot]

Mine wont crumble, it will bend not snap.
I have several mixes I like. The one that really is above the others is one with a high consontrate mix of peanut oil and a hard deer tallow I make. But you can't over heat it when you melt it down.

And I most likely make the lube differently than most will.
When I make my lube I use a deep fryer with about a quart of water in it and I add the wax and oil or what ever and let it simmer with the lid on the pot to keep most of the water in the pot.
This will blend the components better I feel and it will add moisture to the lube.
When the lube cools it will be a hard cake and I scrape the gel off the bottom and remelt it to make lube blocks and wrap them with cling wrap for later use.
I dont like a hard lube. My lube you can push a bullet out of the lube block with ease using your thumb with out it hurting.

[martinibelgian]

Ah well,

I just made up another batch of Paraffin-based lube with peanut oil and some coconut fat, I do believe that one will do better.... Next test this weekend.

[Lead pot]

The coconut will make it smell better

[semtav]

We all seem to be beating around the same bush.
Mine was 4 parts mutton tallow, 1 part ozokerite, and a little turbine oil.

gonna redo it with more ozokerite, and peanut oil instead of turbine oil.

I've got some coconut oil. Don't know if its the same as coconut fat. but its pretty hard in its present state. Kinda feels like tallow when you squish it between your fingers.

[Don McDowell]

Fella's keep in mind here the challenge in this test is to see how well Bullshops Nasa lube holds up against other commercial lubes.....
Home brews are fine but to stay in the spirit of the challenge here , you need to be comparing against the Nasa.
Which from some of what I'm reading here some of you guys will find life much simpler with more time to spend on other things if you just go to one of the commercial available lubes...

[martinibelgian]

True, but where's the fun in that??

[Don McDowell]

Shooting lubes that have a somewhat prooven track record and getting decent accuracy to me is alot more fun than messing with concoctions that are questionable in the first place and probably screwing up good loads...

[Kenny Wasserburger]

Have all the fun you want, Don is right, Period.

I like the lube chasers they are easy to beat. I know one guy pretty decent shot but spent 4 years chasing the lube thing. Shot some very poor scores for years, until he got over his lube testing.

KW
the Lunger

[semtav]

Fella's keep in mind here the challenge in this test is to see how well Bullshops Nasa lube holds up against other commercial lubes.....
Home brews are fine but to stay in the spirit of the challenge here , you need to be comparing against the Nasa.
Which from some of what I'm reading here some of you guys will find life much simpler with more time to spend on other things if you just go to one of the commercial available lubes...

Yea Don, but since you guys arent gonna shoot your lube test til spring, we gottta do something to keep this thread going and keep from getting bored.
I'm gearing up with all the proper equip like I've been reprimanded to do so I can test the accuracy of some of these lubes in the winter.

[Gellot Wilde]

Tried NASA out in the .577-450 Martini-Henry...last match of the season.

No wiping out allowed so blow tube only..." 3 steady breaths between shots...wiped out between the two distances they were shooting...only 100 & 200M but shooting all the same.

Again I was more than impressed with the results...with SPG and my own lube mix which works reasonably well in the muzzle loader I always notice leading in the MH. When I got it back home....I was expecting to see the same...but no...not a trace..and I mean not a trace, believe me I was looking for for it. I even went as far as pushing it through with a tight patch and pure turps just in case I was missing some...nothing!

We...or rather my wife dosen't shoot this rifle that often...so her scores were not spectacular...but I think she had an 89 ex 100 at 100M and she wasn't using the sling, wrist wrest or anything so she was pretty pleased with it. She actually lost points getting it to go where she wanted it...had to aim off...But once she'd got locked in the group was really nice...still have the target but she'd probably not want me to publish it here amonst such distinguished company. Her 200M let the water in, lack of sling and where to aim problems...but even then it wasn't terrible...she wound up in second place...and was more than happy with herself.

85grains of Swiss No.5, Brooks 480gr bullet & NASA lube. I'm certainly a convert, for the conditions we're using it in, it's as near perfect as it needs to be. The Martini-Henry heats up very quickly...getting baked on fouling is not hard to do....even on a nice humid day. I'm in no way saying that this is a good test at all, just reporting on being pleased with the results of NASA.

[martinibelgian]

FWIW, I consider shooting a MH in 577-450 to be one of the ultimate lube tests - light barrel, lots of powder, deep Henry rifling all contribute to it being a 'lube torture machine'. And an 89 without sling is most certainly nothing to sneeze at. Just bring the thing to Souppes next Easter, and at least there will be another Martini on the firing line!µ
A military Martini, when you hold your tongue just right, can actually be surprisingly accurate, the limits usually being the sights because of having to aim off. BUT hot dry weather can reduce the shooter to a cursing, mumbling idiot when the rifle fouls out - as I have already experienced on numerous occasions, unfortunately. OTOH, I've already placed quite well with mine, including a win of an international match, and several 2nd places...

[Gellot Wilde]

We've seen your scores...think ours is best left on the wall around Easter time...we know when we're beat!

[herbert buckland]

I too shoot the MH in compitition and somtimes have lube failure,I can not even blow down the barell between shots as I am laryngectomee,I am very interested in the results showing up here,just wating to see how it preforms in a tropical climate test

[martinibelgian]

Maybe you've seen my better scores - but I've put some others in there too, where I was barely able to keep my shots on the target...
Suffice to say, a decent 577-450 Martini has the intrinsic accuracy to 'do' it - but it does require a lot of input to make things happen - powder, bullet, lube all have to be just right to make it perform - which will make the difference between sheer frustration and near target-rifle accuracy.

[semtav]

Been tweaking my 40-65 the last few days on the bench @ 100 yds with scope to try to get the last tenth moa out of it with blowtubing.. My best so far is a 5 shot 7/8" H X 1/2 " V with a homemade lube without beeswax, but have been getting some leading. So today I tried two 5 shot groups with one of the commercial bullet lubes containing Beeswax I regularly use in my 45-90 Wiping. Groups opened up to over 2" and have the same amount of lead.

Made up a batch today with 50/ 50 Mutton tallow and Ozokerite, then added some peanut and turbine oil. Really like the consistancy and how it dip lubes.
Hopefuly it is as accurate as the other lube.

[MT Chambers]

What started off as a peeing contest seems to be offering some useful ideas.....

[semtav]

I thought my ozokerite/ tallow lube might be a little stiff for winter shooting, so I added a little almond oil to the mix. Oh ho was that a mistake. It made the mix very brittle and almost impossible to dip lube. I did manage to get 5 bullets lubed with it, and tried on a new load with good results.

That lead to another observation on BP lubes and winter shooting. I know its been mentioned before about dip lubing creating a stiffer lube when on the bullet than when using a lubrisizer.
Since I still had a little of my original mutton tallow/ozokerite lube that I didn't add the almond oil to, I just hand lubed a batch of bullets with the chunk of lube. This left the lube a lot softer on the bullets, which is what I was looking for in the first place. so maybe I'll dip lube with that lube in the summer to get a harder shell, and squeeze lube in the winter to get a softer lubed bullet.

Accuracy has been real good, whichever recipe I use, just getting one that will apply easily seems to be the challenge.

[Sawdust]

Any updates from the testers?

[Don McDowell]

The bullshop nasa is holding up just fine, even in 90 degree heat and low humidity.
Running two rifles at the sagebrush this past weekend , one loaded with goex express and the other with kik, there was one little fouling problem with the express loads, and I suspect that had more to do with some Kroil left in the barrel than anything else. Once we got the last remnants of that **** out of that barrel there were no more fouling or leading issues.
Was possible after an 8 round relay to push a dry patch thru either barrel, altho the KIK was moister fouling than the express.
Bullshops Nasa is a great bp lube, and it does pretty fair work with smokeless handgun loads.

[Sawdust]

Thanks for the update.

Quit using Kroil this year too. Switched to Shiloh Creek and leading is all but gone.