Mink Oil

[Pvt. Lon Grifle]

Along the lines of this discussion, I do believe that animal greases and oils do serve better for lubing patches. Bear oil and grease have been my longtime favorite for a patch gun and I gave made and used many kinds of animal fats.

I would offer that carefully collected racoon fats from a big, fat,  fall coon, both from the hide and the carcass, if rendered without water and carefully so as not to over heat and carmelize in preparation, will make about 12-16 ounces of strained grease and oil together, and the clear oil will rise to the top of your container as about 1/3 of the total and stay in the oil condition till used up after being drained off. The grease part is pure white and very soft and I mix that with bees' wax to be a bit firmer. 

Lon

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Since we're talking about animal fat working so well, has anyone tried plain old common run of the mill pure lard? Maybe I'm being a little simplistic here, but isn't animal fat all about the same?

[Daryl]

Read the chart on the package to see if it has salt (sodium) in it.  Lard is generally fairly high temp rendered fat from the outside of beef cattle, I assume. That's why the 'heavy' white grease.  The fat from the inside of the animal usually produces a clear oil- nice for patches.

Marmot oil is a very nice patch lube and boot waterproofer as well.

I've found Olive Oil to lack lubrication and/or fouling softening traits of mink oil or neetsfoot oil. To - olive oil in bullet lubes was not as good as 'others' when added to beeswax.

[BrownBear]

...but isn't animal fat all about the same?

They can have really different responses to ambient temp, which affects their "utility" for patch lubes in different seasons.  It might or might be reflected in the bore, because I just haven't compared winter and summer with enough of them to draw any conclusions.  But when a fat is so hard in winter you can't get it on a patch with two hands and a chisel, it doesn't matter much what it does in the bore.  If another fat turns to goo or outright oil in summer, I don't like that much either cuzz I'm a klutz and renowned mess maker. 

For me the mink oil grease from Track of the Wolf is a standout, as much because it's useable over such a wide range of temps, while giving great results in the bore for me.

[Daryl]

I also like the Mink oil from Track.  To lube a bunch of pre-cuts, stack a pile of them in a container and pour melted oil on them, then pick up the stacks and squeeze out the excess. It's slippery stuff.

An Yes - mink oil or Neetsfoot oil shoots differently than water-based lubes - They usually need another 10gr. of powder to shoot as accurately as well - just what happens - no problem.

[JCKelly]

I like TOW's Mink Oil

Especially as no minks were harmed in its preparation

[Vomitus]

I like TOW's Mink Oil

Especially as no minks were harmed in its preparation

Hmm,I wonder how they did that! 

[Roger Fisher]

I like TOW's Mink Oil

Especially as no minks were harmed in its preparation

Hmm,I wonder how they did that! 

Guess they didn't squeeze them tooo hard..

[Daryl]

It's got a lot of what Taylor would call 'sliptivity' in it.

[LH]

where is the drain plug located on a mink anyway?   

[Long John]

For those of you contemplating using a lube with "silicone" in it - I wouldn't.  "Silicones" are a class of chemical compounds where a carbon atom is replaced with an atom of silicon.  Replacing some of the carbon atoms in a grease molecule with silicon atoms makes a "silicone lubricant" and often the silicones have a much broader temperature range.  Sounds good so far, right? 

When a natural animal grease burns you get carbon dioxide when the carbon atoms are burned.  With a silicone you get silicon dioxide.  Other names for silicon dioxide are: glass, quartz, sand, flint, chert...  Burning a silicone grease will leave an abrasive in the barrel.  Is that what you want?

I like gear grease with some bees wax added.  I'll get 50 rounds or more with both the .54 and the .36 without the need to wipe or change in point of impact.  Besides, that lube is great for chapped lips!

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[JCKelly]

One cannot put on any other finish on top of silicone.
I'm sure you don't want to paint your rifle, but neither will you refinish your stock with anything if it has silicone on it.

[catman]

put a dab on your patch & rub it in it with with your thums, all will be fine..

I've got a tin of Track's mink oil but haven't gotten around to trying it, or Dixies' zip patch.  How do you guys apply these paste type lubes to your patch?  Melt the lube and dip the patches or just grab a patch and swipe across the lube?

Has anyone had a problem with smoldering patches when using these?

[BrownBear]

put a dab on your patch & rub it in it with with your thums, all will be fine..

I've got a tin of Track's mink oil but haven't gotten around to trying it, or Dixies' zip patch.  How do you guys apply these paste type lubes to your patch?  Melt the lube and dip the patches or just grab a patch and swipe across the lube?

Has anyone had a problem with smoldering patches when using these?

Roughly the same here. I just lay the patch strip on the surface of the grease, press down and drag it a little.  Doesn't take a lot.

[Daryl]

I put it on a low temp hot plate in a tin, and then pour it into a tin of pre-cuts, then squeeze them out back into the mink oil container, one stack at a time. Since I'm lubing only about 80 patches at a time, it goes very quickly - maybe 10 minutes altogether. Most of the time, I use WWWF and that's even quicker. Shake the bottle of pre-mix, then pour it into the container of pre-cuts, then pour it back into the bottle, squeezing down on the tops of the stacks a bit to remove the excess. Tipping the container of lubed patches on it's side does not drip, but it's fairly close.
 
I use wet patches, not just damp ones.

NEVER do I have a smoldering patch - those ONLY happen to people who use 1/.- too thin a patch and 2/.- it might happen if the patch is dry, but the MAIN reason is too loose a combination- and it HAS to be very loose to do that. If your fired patches are not reusable, then they are potential fire starters.

[prairieofthedog]

Daryl,When you use windshield wiper fluid as a lube do you use it straight or mixed with something?I have heard so many different recipes,but if I can use it straight I would do that.Do you use Summer or Winter Mix? I can still get it for about a buck a gallon,so it sure would be economical.I do use the Mink Oil in the Fall/Winter.Thanks for the info.

[Vomitus]

 I can answer for Daryls on this one. We both use the winter variety.(40 below). I mix 3 tablespoons of pure neatsfoot oil in one pint of washer fluid. Add more or less to your taste. More makes it more slippery of course, and you might have to jack up your powder charge more. I don't like mine over slippery.A little "drag" on the patch is fine with me. With a tight combination, it shoots,cleans and loads real nice. Shake well before applying.
 This is for plinking,range use or trailwalks.(continuous loading and shooting) Hunting,just straight neatsfoot oil.

[prairieofthedog]

Leatherbelly,Where do you get your pure neatsfoots oil?Online I'm guessing.Most places don't carry much for shoe care anymore.Thanks for the info.

[Daryl]

I can answer for Daryls on this one. We both use the winter variety.(40 below). I mix 3 tablespoons of pure neatsfoot oil in one pint of washer fluid. Add more or less to your taste. More makes it more slippery of course, and you might have to jack up your powder charge more. I don't like mine over slippery.A little "drag" on the patch is fine with me. With a tight combination, it shoots,cleans and loads real nice. Shake well before applying.
 This is for plinking,range use or trailwalks.(continuous loading and shooting) Hunting,just straight neatsfoot oil.

DITTO!!

Prairiedog - we buy neetsfoot oil at any one of the "Home" hardware stores or pay more for the same stuff at the cattle and horseman's feed store.  I would suspect Home Depot would probably also have it - or Walmart.  You should be able to buy it online as well.  100% pure neetsfoot oil, not the Neetsfoot oil compound- that is synthetic. I've never used it, just repeating what has been said to me since the early 70's.

For hunting, you may want to put a 'spare' barrier patch or wad of some sort between oil-wet patch around the ball. If using a wad or extra patch, make sure you check the point of impact and accuracy.  My big gun is not adversly effected with a wad, but the smaller bores were.

[Vomitus]

Prairie,
 Most tack shops will have it also. It costs around 12 bucks a quart IIRC.

[Far Atwill]

I use spit about 99.9% of the time. For that one shot, maybe 2 that may be left overnight while hunting I use Crisco.  I've tested many kinds of oily lubes and as for accuracy not much difference. I have alox/beeswax for centerfire rifles, it also works good with PRBs.
FA