Looking for a lube better than SPG or Emmert's Improved to use with Black Powder and Smokeless.
I liked SPG, it did work good but always having to order it and have it shipped was a nuisance.
It is expensive when I factor in the shipping, taxes, and the $ exchange rate of the near worthless Canadian dollar.
I homemade a big batch of Emmert's Improved lube ~23 sticks 1'x4' size and it worked ok in the beginning.
I've learned I can't pre lubrisize a bunch of cast bullets because the lube dries out a bit and causes a crystal like deposit to form on the lead.
Oddly the nose of the lead bullets turn dark gray but the sized shank of the bullets stays chrome shinny.
I keep the lubed bullets in a green MTM bullet storage box, the box lids close but not air tight.
There must be something in the lube ingredients that is slowly evaporating.
A box of bullets I lubrisized with Emmert's last year show a mottled discolouration on all the lead.
The lube ring it self is shrinking and looks concave in the middle of the ring where it was parallel with the bullet shank when it was sized.
Also the lube ring is turning white and fuzzy where it touched the edge of the lead bullet.
I tried a modified Emmert's, made with no liquid oil added and tripled the lanolin quantity.
This version seem ok with smokeless powder but does not have the wetting action to keep the BP fouling soft.
I am starting to think that it the Crisco (blue box no salt) shortening that's drying out
But I know bee's wax will also form a white coat is left exposed to air long enough.
Maybe its the evaporated Crisco molecules condensing on the lead that's causing the lead to discolour in a accelerated manor.
I've read about not using petroleum based oils with black powder because it will make a tar.
My homemade Emmert's makes plenty of tar. One time I tried using my Redding Profile crimp die and I had to hammer the empty cases out of the cylinder chambers, the taper portion of the crimp allowed so much blow back to flow under the case mouth it created a perfect black tar ring around the case mouth and a little beyond on one side of the case. That tar glued the fired cases in chambers.
BP use really put the fire back into firearm it creates great heat and cooks some but not all the Emmert's to tar.
I've read Lithi-Bee make a good bullet lube for smokeless but I am looking for a 1 lube ring to rule the all, using both smokeless and Black Powder.
Right now I'm thinking of remelting my homemade Emmert's and adding just a bit of liquid Jojoba oil to get it wetting the BP fouling again like SPG did. SPG was great for leaving the whole outside of the revolver fully slimed after shooting a box of 50 shot.
Any ideas for a good homemade BP capable lube would be welcome.
Or some product that could be substituted for the Crisco component.