Historically correct patch lubes

[Scota4570]

When I used to mess with greasy stuff I also found it a was a mess. 

I mixed tallow with mineral spirits.  Maybe 4:1, not sure.  I put my strips in the warm mixture then wrung them out and let the solvent evaporate off.  The patches had enough lube to not catch fire.  They were not messy.  I do not recall the accuracy results.  It was similar to the system where you use ballistol and water then let the strips dry. 

[Dale Halterman]

Thanks.

Something else to try. I have done the Ballistol and water thing, but, as Eric pointed out, the only HC liquid lube is spit.

When using tallow and mineral spirits as you suggest, did the strips become stiff after the spirits evaporated?

Dale H

[Scota4570]

Not bad.  It depends on how much tallow is in the mix.  I do not think much is really needed.  It is not like french frying patches in fat on the stove, much cleaner.   Like the ballistol and water system, if you used no water the patches would be oily and messy.  IF you used all water the opposite.  I did the same thing with Jojoba oil.  Jojoba oil saturated patches are a slippery mess.  It helps to have less oil or tallow. 

In the end I am back to Ballistol oil and water.  I pour a little solution in the patches I need  in the next hour and wring them out. I did find some water soluble machinist oil to try out. 

For a hunting patch, my inclination would be to use ballistics or soluable oil about 4:1 with water and let them dry out.  Other than curiosity I am not interested in HC lubes.  I think they did the best they could with that they ad at hand.  We have more and better choices today. 

For trail walks I bought a fisherman's vintage  aluminum flip top worm box that goes on your belt.  I can still use my wet patches and avoid cleaning on trail walks. 

[Daryl]

I just use one of the tins/containers I posted above with whatever lubed pre-cuts I'm using & I've never had to wipe the bore on a trail walk.

[okawbow]

I have over 2 gallons of good clear bear oil I cooked down from archery kills. It works great just by itself, but sometimes I mix the bear oil with deer tallow. I use various percentages depending on the temperature. Seems to work very well.

[Daryl]

I have no interest in being "historically correct" aside from the gun itself. I do and use what makes the gun shoot well.

[alacran]

The true test for me regarding patch lube is will it still work after being loaded in a rifle for days. What works well on a trail walk or a line match will not necessarily perform in a hunting situation. For me, Mink oil and Bear oil have proved to work after being loaded for more than two weeks in a wide range of temperatures. All my target loads except for my Chunk gun loads are the same as what I use for hunting. I would never use any water-based lube for hunting, so I do not use them for target shooting.

[Daryl]

The small bores I use on the trail, the .36 and .50 are not my hunting rifles, so I use water based lubes in them and they love it.
The .69, which I also use on the trail with water based lubes, shoots identically with mink oil lubed patches, so no difference there.
Most guns will shoot differently (different POI and/or accuracy) with oil or grease than they do with a water based lube. Gotta shoot
both to find out, if you do this.

[MeliusCreekTrapper]

Rendered raccoon oil/grease has been working very well for me. Almost liquid above 70. Very soft even in the single digits. I don't think a patch lubed with it would dry out in weeks, works great for hunting.

[Daryl]

That coon oil sounds very similar to the Marmot oil I used back in the mid to late 70's.

[Hawg]

I used straight olive oil for hunting patches. They worked pretty good and didn't contaminate the powder. They do scorch in the middle but don't burn through. For target work I use a Dawn/water mix. No swabbing between shots and when you're done the barrel is as clean as if you just fired one shot.