Traditional Muzzleloading Association

Shooting Traditional Firearms and Weapons => General Interest => Topic started by: Firewalker on December 11, 2010, 01:02:19 PM

Title: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: Firewalker on December 11, 2010, 01:02:19 PM
Years ago I had a recipe for a liquid non-freezing patch lube. Seems to me it included windshield washer fluid.
Can anyone expand on this?
Title:
Post by: Riley/MN on December 11, 2010, 01:14:47 PM
Don't know about that one Bob, but I know TotW's Mink oil is a favorite among some of the primitive biathlon shooters,

Trapper's MINK OIL TALLOW (http://http)
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Post by: mario on December 12, 2010, 02:25:59 PM
When shooting my .36 cal rifle in Alaska, I used synthetic axel grease from the auto parts store.

Worked down to -37F on a woodswalk (any colder than that I switched to modern guns...)


Mario
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Post by: chad1043 on December 12, 2010, 02:57:42 PM
Hunting in -37... Wow... I imagine you as that guy Robert Redford found on the mountain...
Title:
Post by: Flint62Smoothie on December 12, 2010, 10:02:01 PM
Try the mink oil patch lube from Track of the Wolf.  Only $5.25 for 1/3rd of a pound in a huge tin 4" in diameter & 1-1/4" tall.  It is awesome in ccccccccold weather.  I haven't seen it freeze yet and it is awesome for accurate (and traditional) loads :D !

(http://www.trackofthewolf.com/imgPart/mink-oil_1.jpg)
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Post by: Firewalker on December 12, 2010, 10:58:00 PM
Okay, well I'll give the axel grease a try and order some mink stff next time I place an order at TOTW.
Title:
Post by: mario on December 13, 2010, 12:25:00 AM
Quote from: "chad1043"
Hunting in -37... Wow... I imagine you as that guy Robert Redford found on the mountain...

We were actually having a club shoot.

We didn't think it was going to be any colder than -20F, but when we went down into the river valley the temp. dropped like a stone.

Fortunately, I dressed accordingly. My wife however...

Mario
Title:
Post by: Dphariss on December 23, 2010, 11:57:37 PM
Quote from: "Firewalker"
Okay, well I'll give the axel grease a try and order some mink stff next time I place an order at TOTW.

Try some pure neatsfoot oil as well. Do not use compound or other adulterated neatsfoot products. Pure Neatsfoot oil.

Dan
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: Hawken on March 29, 2016, 02:44:38 PM
My recipe for a cold weather lube is....I keep me, my rifle, and my pouch fairly close to my fireplace during those days!!
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: MountainDevil on March 30, 2016, 06:08:11 PM
a lot of these lubes dont protect against rust while the rifle is loaded. Plus that mink oil smells like someone funky who hasn't showered in a week and went jogging 5 miles a day.
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: Riley/MN on March 31, 2016, 10:56:32 AM
Quote from: "MountainDevil"
a lot of these lubes dont protect against rust while the rifle is loaded. Plus that mink oil smells like someone funky who hasn't showered in a week and went jogging 5 miles a day.

I think you got your oil from a bad mink. Mine (from ToW) has hardly a smell to it... of course I don't go around sniffin it....
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: MountainDevil on March 31, 2016, 01:04:26 PM
how could you not sniff it? lol, man it stinks  bad when you start lubing 40+ patches.
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: Riley/MN on March 31, 2016, 02:07:28 PM
I normally lube a bag of 100 at a time and don't notice it...
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: Fletcher on April 03, 2016, 07:54:46 PM
Try our Just Good Lube.  Perfected by a TMA member and I bought the company.
Will not freeze and all natural (no petroleum) - cleans easier and very little fouling.
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: waksupi on September 08, 2016, 04:37:18 PM
I use water soluble oil and winter windshield washing fluid.
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: Fletcher on September 08, 2016, 07:57:38 PM
OBTW - I cannot beat the price per ounce of that Mink Oil - but Just Good Lube
smells great and I think I have perfected my summer/winter formulas (mostly
for BP revolver shooting, but good for hot/cold ML also  :shake
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: Bigsmoke on September 08, 2016, 10:29:06 PM
Quote from: "Fletcher"
Plus you get my free shipping offer for a bottle of Ol Thunder and a tin of Just Good
Lube to TMA Members  :applaud  but I'm prejudiced.  

John
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: hawkthrower on September 08, 2016, 11:52:24 PM
looks like this one got resurrected - got some stuff to try too, but I don't ship it!
You just make it at home with stuff you can get at the local hardware store......

If ya want the recipe that's free too - just ask and I'll send you a copy

[attachment=0:xlsskj55][/attachment]IMG_3967.JPG[/attachment:xlsskj55]


Tested in below freezing and it does not freeze - also the ingredients are all hydrophobic and do not absorb moisture. The ingredients also are lubricant and metal protection as well as being water repellent......

Patch lube is in the tin in the foreground...... The jars are Ed's Red cleaning fluid/metal protector

The recipe is based and is adapted from a formula in Hatcher's Notebook, Frankford Arsenal Cleaner No.18 and Ed's Red Gun Cleaner (http://www.majorsgunclub.org/edsred.html)

Cheers!
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: Uncle Russ on September 16, 2016, 02:49:36 PM
Hawkthrower, I have been making, using, and promoting Ed's Red for many years.
It has served me very well, and I would expect nothing less from anyone else using it.

When I first started making Ed's Red I left the Anhydrous Lanolin out because it was so dadburn expensive. But that was the first and only time.
When "ordering on the Internet" became popular, I discovered I could buy Lanolin for at least one-half of what the Pharmacy at time was quoting me...I haven't missed using it since.
IMO, it is a must-have product if you plan on storing the muzzle loader for a while.

The initial investment, if you have 'nothing' on hand to start with, is a bit spendy but, depending on your modification of the original recipe to fit your own needs, your initial run will produce you several years shooting...I highly recommend this for groups, or clubs, that want the very best at very modest price.
BTW; My so called "shooting friends" have used far more than I have personally used.
I normally make the "one quart per part" when it comes to the ingredients, which results in over a gallon of finished product....now that's a lot of Ed's Red.
On the other hand, there's not a thing wrong with "cutting" that recipe to one pint, or one-half pint, per ingredient...just be sure you use all ingredients in equal parts.      

Uncle Russ...
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: hawkthrower on September 18, 2016, 10:00:59 AM
Russ,
Thanks for endorsement of Ed's Red - I think the stuff is fantastic, and because its mostly stuff that I keep in the garage anyway for other things it's convenient to make when needed - except for the lanolin. But since a family member makes salves, lip-balms and other "natural medicine" things the tub of lanolin was already in stock.....Beeswax too.

There's no question that the stuff works... and yes the lanolin is spendy even in bulk from the net,  but if you buy the brand name cleaner stuff off the shelf in tiny 1/2 pint bottles, the price starts looking way better! Especially if you seem to be cleaning something or the other frequently as I seem to have to do.... I've been using it for a while too and decided to mess with adding beeswax and additional lanolin and ended up with a recipe that works really well for patches that are still usable (flexible and won't freeze into a lump in the tin) in winter and won't freeze in the barrel.....Can't say the stuff is "scentless" though... but hey if it works!  
:th up
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: Uncle Russ on September 18, 2016, 12:20:40 PM
Quote from: "hawkthrower"
Russ,
Thanks for endorsement of Ed's Red - I think the stuff is fantastic, and because its mostly stuff that I keep in the garage anyway for other things it's convenient to make when needed - except for the lanolin. But since a family member makes salves, lip-balms and other "natural medicine" things the tub of lanolin was already in stock.....Beeswax too.

There's no question that the stuff works... and yes the lanolin is spendy even in bulk from the net,  but if you buy the brand name cleaner stuff off the shelf in tiny 1/2 pint bottles, the price starts looking way better! Especially if you seem to be cleaning something or the other frequently as I seem to have to do.... I've been using it for a while too and decided to mess with adding beeswax and additional lanolin and ended up with a recipe that works really well for patches that are still usable (flexible and won't freeze into a lump in the tin) in winter and won't freeze in the barrel.....Can't say the stuff is "scentless" though... but hey if it works!  
:notworthy
I have tried a few home-brews to get a paste "wax" consistency, and I can tell you it works for patches quite well but I still have considerable work to do on Maxi and Mini-Ball...it doesn't want to firm-up enough to stay in the lube grooves.

I also have a fresh 5# block of "paraffin for canning" that I will be experimenting with by adding to my bees-wax to see if I can't get better adhesion while still the using Ed's Red as the base.

Heck! It's all good....as long as we are all having fun why the heck not???  :Doh!

Uncle Russ...
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: RobD on September 18, 2016, 05:52:21 PM
i've been using lehigh valley patch lube and like it a bunch, but my absolute Favorite bullet and patch lube is gato feo ("ugly cat").  won't freeze up, stays ready to use.  also, if yer patch/ball proportions are good, no barrel fouling wiping required.  the gato feo recipe is easy, each part by weight and i do each part in pounds for 2-1/2 pounds of the lube ...

1 part mutton tallow (dixie gun works)
1 part canning wax (gulf)
1/2 part beeswax

it's all melted down double boiler style and then i pour it all into a cleaned out milk carton with its to removed and allowed to cool.

the proportions above leave it soft to the touch, but it can be hardened up by increasing the beeswax content.  gato feo smells lots like lanolin due to the mutton tallow, which is great for yer skin - rub it in!  :)  but as a grease lube for bpcr cartridges, or rubbed into patch strips and melted into the cloth weave with a hair dryer or heat gun for patched balls, this stuff is just great.  for a maxi or REAL or minie ml bullet, i just chunk off a cake of gato feo and rub it over the bullet sides, quickly filling up the grease grooves.  love the gato feo!  

(click image to see the short gato feo video)
(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mQnAcCnAOek/hqdefault.jpg) (http://https)
Title: Re: Non-freezing bullet lube needed
Post by: hawkthrower on September 19, 2016, 01:52:08 AM
Gonna try paraffin as an add and see - I too need something that works for minnie's and conical pistol bullets - looks like rfd's recipe is similar minus the Ed's Red and sub mutton tallow for lanolin (although they are similar after all) then add paraffin......  :idea: hummmm back to the lab igor!
Title: Re:
Post by: Hawken on September 19, 2016, 03:41:31 PM
Quote from: "chad1043"
Hunting in -37... Wow... I imagine you as that guy Robert Redford found on the mountain...

That would be.....HATCHET JACK!