Pre-lubing Patches

[Nhgrants]

Those of you that use a tallow type lube,do you heat the tallow to a liquid state and Then soak precut
Patches or do you wipe the lube with the patch when loading?

[Fyrstyk]

I wipe the patch on the lube before loading.  Has worked for me for years.

[OldMtnMan]

I scoop out the amount I want to put on a patch with my finger and then rub it in with my thumb. I only lube the barrel side of the patch. I never understood why lubing both sides of the patch was a good idea? A dry patch will grab the ball better.

[Longknife]

I melt the lube in a double boiler and dip a stack of patches (20-30?)held in a pair of tongs in it. I release tension on the tongs, let the lube soak up into the stack then remove from the lube and squeeze out the excess. After cooling they all stay in a neat little stack that can be put in your patchbox or in a tin.  Peal one off and load.  Then I don't have to carry two containers, one for patches , one for lube,,,,Never had a ball "slip" inside the patch,,,is that possible?,,,,Ed 

[smylee grouch]

I like to saturate mine with the melted bear oil/ mink oil mix and squeeze out some of the excess. I like lots a lube and if your patch combo is tight enough in the first place there won,t be any striping in the barrel.

[OldMtnMan]

Maybe a really tight load is needed when the ball sits on lube. If nothing else. I save lube.

I know my method gives me good groups without having a tight patch/ball. I see no reason to change.

I guess my mind works differently from others. When I first started muzzleloading I looked at the patch and ball. I said to myself.......why am I lubing the ball side of the patch? It made no sense to me, so I stopped doing it.

I never said others should do as I do. We were asked how we do it. I told him.

[Daryl]

I like to saturate mine with the melted bear oil/ mink oil mix and squeeze out some of the excess. I like lots a lube and if your patch combo is tight enough in the first place there won,t be any striping in the barrel.

When using oils or greases, I use this method as well.  When using a water based 'lube' for target shooting, I put the patches in the tin and pour the lube over them, allow to soak up the lube, then squeeze them down gently and pour the excess lube back into the bottle. The patches are wet right through, either way.
These shoot well for me.
The odd time I shoot spit patch, I put a couple pre-cut patches in my mouth, usually while loading the last one then by the time I shot again, the next patch is more than wet enough.
Couple guys at our club,  string pre-cut patches on a thread with a knot on the end. The not holds the patches, hung on the front of the bag strap.  They simply pull one patch off the bottom of the stack, over the knot, stick it in the mouth, soak it and then load.

[Lzymtlsmth]

I buy pillow ticking and cut it in long strips wide enough to correspond to the cal. I’m using. Roll the strips up, secure with a piece of string. I use beef tallow, melt slowly in an old pot maybe half inch deep. Set in rolled up ticking like a barrel, it will quickly absorb the melted grease might have to turn them once. I use an 18th century zip lock bag to store them in. No, they don’t get rancid.
When shooting, unroll a strip set on muzzle place ball on top and push down past / even with crown cut off excess with patch knife.

[OldMtnMan]

I'd love to see an 18 century ziplock bag.

I actually use stips too instead of cut patches. I was just going along with cut patches to describe my method of lubing the strip. I don't cut at the muzzle anymore but cut at a ball board. Same result but faster loading.

[hanshi]

Mink oil is what I use in the hunting bush and carry prelubed patches well lubed and ready to go.  Any excess lube is squeezed off and deposited on the muzzle during seating.

[OldMtnMan]

Mink oil is what I use in the hunting bush and carry prelubed patches well lubed and ready to go.  Any excess lube is squeezed off and deposited on the muzzle during seating.

How can you squeeze off lube from the bottom of the patch when it doesn't touch anything when being loaded? If any was squeezed off it would be in the bore. It does touch the powder though.

[recurve]

I used a double boiler(can in a pot of boiling h2o) melt the mutton tallow, then took 11/4 inchx2ft strips fed them through the liquid till soaked. then with a spatula    I  squeeze out extra, till almost dry looking. I roll the now soaked strips up tight and put in old drug store pill bottles. I   can carry without a mess, several if need be( if I split side of bottle, feeding patch through split, it becomes patch dispenser). I cut at muzzle or cut square patches before loading.

[Turtle]

 I get the point about lube on the bottom of the ball, but if you use mink oil, which doesn't wet the powder it does no harm. I put stacks of precut patches in melted mink oil for a bit, then sit them on a paper towel to harden.

[alacran]

I pretty much do what Smylee Grouch does, except I use straight bear oil. Worrying about it  migrating into powder is a waste of time.

[OldMtnMan]

I think one of the reasons I don't over lube patch material is I use a ball board for all shooting and hunting. Too messy and picks up dirt if I use too much lube.

[Daryl]

This fits in a pocket or pouch and holds lubed pre-cuts just fine. On the other hand, I have a 3-hole bullet board for my .69
made before I switched to paper ctgs. for hunting with that rifle. Only the first shot is patched, not needed, though as they
all go into the same group. Mink oil usually, or Neetsfoot oil - both work, but the mink oil is more slippery.

lol- forgot to add the picture.

When hunting and the gun might be loaded for a week, weeks or  months, I run a card wad down on the powder.  This prevents
any lube fouling and the shot always hits centre when fired off, if into an animal or onto a target. I have tested both methods.

Note, my 14 bore (.69) cares not about that card over the powder as in no change it poi or accuracy. My .40 and .45 did not like it and opened groups, but not enough
to really matter. If you use this method, best to check it out.

[Hungry Horse]

I put a shoe polish tin full of venison tallow/bear grease mix on top of a candle lantern. When it get liquid I dip my patches in until they are saturated. I press any excess lube out, and store them in either the patch box of my rifle, or an Altoids tin.
 If some of you guys were running a seven step program it would be at least fourteen steps. Keep things simple, and shoot more, with all that extra time.


  Hungry Horse