Thoughts on Lube

[dave951]

Well, ask five muzzleloaders, get 12 answers.

Really, being a competitor, I'm always on the lookout for a better lube/bullet/powder combination. I'm not satisfied with the current load in my 62 Springfield, Rapine Trashcan minie, Lens Lube, 44g 3f Old E, RWS caps. While it does shoot remarkably well at 50yds, like one ragged hole, it starts to lose it at 100yds, like about 8in groups. So I'm thinking it's going unstable.

Fast forward to yesterday, I met a guy who informed me that tallow was available at Whole Foods, so from what I've read, it's a go to for lube recipies. The best lube I've found so far for general use is beexwax/lard, so I bought a jar of bison tallow to try instead of lard, mixed it 60/40 beeswax and tested. The RCBS Hogdon minie generally is just so so in this gun, but with the bison tallow, it put 3 shots into one ragged hole at 50 and I know from other guns I have it's still stable at 100. I ran 20 shots straight of 4 different minie types and the Hogdon grouped far and away the best and in the string of 20 straight, wiping was not needed and the minies went down fairly easy.

So to my question- I'd like to make the lube a bit "softer" and retest strictly with the Hogdons. What do you guys use to soften bullet lube? I'm thinking of EVO. I have a limited amount of this experimental lube, and don't want to screw it up and have to start from scratch.

[rollingb]

Using less beeswax in your mix should make the lube softer. 

IIRC,.... Whole Foods only sell $75.00 minimum orders, and that's how I wound up with 7 LBS. of sheep tallow. 

[Hawken]

Shot this yesterday just using Hoppe's for PRB:

Untitled by Sharps Man, on Flickr

Five shots 65 yards with my .54 Hawken

May mix in little Canola oil next go around when it's not 100F temp out!

[RobD]

i have paid my "lube dues" and a decade or more ago i found what works best for me, for both lubing grooved bullets as well as patching for balls = GATO FEO (yes, good ol' "ugly cat").  this is a 19th century formula, not commercially available, you must brew it up yerself ...

 by weight, double boiler melted ...

1 part mutton tallow (i get mine from dixie gun works)
1 part paraffin canning wax (i get "gulf" online)
1/2 part filtered beeswax (too many good places for good beeswax)

mutton tallow is akin to lanolin and it will not go rancid as other tallows allow.  and it's great for yer skin, too. 

"but isn't paraffin canning wax a petroleum product"? a chemist provided what seems a plausible answer:
PURE canning paraffin lacks the hydrocarbons found in other petroleum products.
apparently, these hydrocarbons are the offenders with black powder guns.

for minie and other such muzzleloader or BPCR grooved bullets, they are dip lubed and "cookie cut".

for lubing patch strips, the lube is rubbed or "painted" on the cloth, then heat gunned into the weave.  one range session this past week i fired well over 2 dozen .530 patched balls in a row without any need for fouling control.

[Idaholewis]

Rfd,  I wish i had kept the Stick of Gato Feo i had to Try as a Patch Lube now that I’m dabbling with Roundball Guns a Bit. I tried it in the Lube Grooves of my Bullets and it was BY FAR The Worst stuff i have ever used. To be fair, i didn’t make the Stuff, it was given to me by a Friend in Utah that has been making it for years. He absolutely Swore by the Stuff! I remember it was Hard Stuff, I broke some off and Kept rolling it Between my Gloved Hands til It Warmed Enough to Roll, similar to play dough. Then i just wrapped it Around and Stuffed it in the Lube Grooves. I could actually see Little Specks of it on my Target, and Group was Horrible. I switched to a lighter lube (Bullshop NASA) and Shot under 1”

[RobD]

it is ***IMPERATIVE*** that "gato feo #1 lube" be brewed with the CORRECT ingredients. 

when done so, it is NEVER hard, it is ALWAYS soft, and it will lube bullets and patching to Perfection.  I guarantee.

[Idaholewis]

it is ***IMPERATIVE*** that "gato feo #1 lube" be brewed with the CORRECT ingredients. 

when done so, it is NEVER hard, it is ALWAYS soft, and it will lube bullets and patching to Perfection.  I guarantee.

The stuff i got from my Utah friend was Quite HARD, He had to of done something wrong with it? I ended up thinning it Down with Rendered Bear Lard, i kept playing with The Texture til i felt i had matched The Bullshop’s NASA Lube texture Since i had such good luck with it, It Shot great then. I wish i had saved the Recipe he Sent me, see if it matched what you do? Who knows, he might have Done something different? I know he called it Gato Feo #1

This is what i ended up with after thinning it

[RobD]

what yer bud gave you is clearly NOT gato feo #1

the specific ingredients must also be in the exact proportions listed above, and double boiler mixed.

[Winter Hawk]

I dunno, Rob.  That block of Gato Feo lube in the video looks pretty hard to me! 

~Kees~

[Idaholewis]

It has been my experience that a Softer Lube works best for Bullet Grooves, It does for me anyway, I shoot from 50 yards, to 850 Yards With my BIG Lead in my Muzzleloaders. Conservatively speaking here, I have sent Well over 100 pounds of Lead in Bullet Form Down Range this year Alone, probably closer to 200 pounds. The Clear winner for me is a REALLY Soft Lube, One that just Barely Holds in the Lube Grooves. I can push my finger down in my Lube 

 For a Patch lube, I honestly don’t have enough experience here to Comment on What Texture etc. i feel works best with Patched Roundball? But I can say from hands on experience that my Rendered Skunk Lard Lube is REALLY REALLY soft (Softer than my Bullet Lube) and has Produced REALLY Tight Groups at 70-80 Yards, i have shot more than a Few 1” 3 and 5 Shot Groups with my little .45 Cal, .445 Ball, Using Short October Country Daisy Patches lubed in my Soft Rendered Skunk Lard concoction i came up with 

 Like dave951 said above, ask 5 Muzzleloaders, Get 12 Different answers    My best advice is to Experiment with different textures, Shoot what works best for you  Experimenting with Lubes is part of the Fun of this Stuff 

[RobD]

...  Like dave951 said above, ask 5 Muzzleloaders, Get 12 Different answers    My best advice is to Experiment with different textures, Shoot what works best for you  Experimenting with Lubes is part of the Fun of this Stuff 

yep, that sez it all - Experiment!  NO substitute for that, for sure!