tow mink oil patch lube

[Kenny]

ive read a hundred or more discussions on patch lube and was wondering, IF you could only use ! patch lube for hot, cold or wet, snow hunting what would it be?

the most references I could find for this was totw mink oil... what do you all think

so many speak of one for warm weather, one for target, and one for hunting, and then go on to say it changes the POI

help please

[frontier gander]

After trying mink oil on my patches, I love it for an all weather hunting lube.

[Dave Marsh]

Count me in as a satisfied user of TOTW's mink oil and generally most of what I buy from them. 

[Standing Bear]

Summers in central/South Texas get hot. I found the mink oil gets too thin for my likes in hot weather if hunting feral hogs etc or otherwise needing to leave a load for more than just a few minutes. Range shooting in hot weather gets saliva. POI shift to 50 yards is negligible.
TC

[Candle Snuffer]

I like the Mink Oil for both my flintlocks and cap locks for hunting situations.  A spit patch works good for me when just plinking and target shooting.  I haven't seen/noticed a difference worth mentioning - accuracy wise - between the two, so I'm very satisfied with the Mink Oil.  Normally at our last club shoot in the Fall, I will use Mink Oil patches since I'll be going into the hunting season soon afterwards, and this is more of a checks & balance thing due to checking my load for the up coming hunting season.  Mink Oil - Good Stuff!

[Frizzen]

Teflon

[Daryl]

The mink oil works for me as does Neets Foot oil. I use a water based lube with some oil added. That would be Winter Windshield Washer Fluid (WWWF) with some Neets Foot oil added to the mix - about  couple ounces oil in a point bottle of WWWF. The amount is not import and and I only add the oil to slow down the evapouration. I use this 'mix' winter and summer for trail walks.  No wiping is required with any of these lubes,
IF your combination of ball and patch is tight enough.

 

[frontier gander]

it requires very very little mink oil on a patch. I just swirl the patch around on top of the lube and then rub it in with my thumbs.

[moleeyes36]

The mink oil works for me as does Neets Foot oil. I use a water based lube with some oil added. That would be Winter Windshield Washer Fluid (WWWF) with some Neets Foot oil added to the mix - about  couple ounces oil in a point bottle of WWWF. The amount is not import and and I only add the oil to slow down the evapouration. I use this 'mix' winter and summer for trail walks.  No wiping is required with any of these lubes,
IF your combination of ball and patch is tight enough.

 

Daryl,

You've said a number of times that you use a pretty wet patch and you just said your lube is a water based lube.  Do you use the same thing for hunting when the gun will be loaded for hours at a time or even all day?  What do you do to prevent the powder from becoming damp or even wet when the gun is loaded for long periods?  I also use a pretty wet patch on the range with no problem, but the gun is only loaded for a couple of minutes at most from the loading bench to the firing line.

[frontier gander]

water based lubed rust my barrels within a day, not good a hunting lube!  Mink oil has been in my barrel for a week now, outside in the cold, inside with the heat and no rusting.

[Pete G.]

I prefer "Ol Zip" from Dixie. I think it is mutton tallow based. Whatever it is it is good in the cold, good in the heat and doesn't stink, like so many other grease based lubes

[woodburner]

I like the results from TOW mink oil.  Not greasy, no peppermint smell.Tim

[heelerau]

 I got some mink oil last year, have not used it much, but did leave a rifle loaded with a patch rubbed with same and seemed to be no ill affect.   Does Mink oil cause any rust if left in long enough? Just don't want to reinvent the wheel.
 When hunting prior to purchasing TOW  mink oil I just used spit patch.
cheers

gordon

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Mink oil for me. One caution, if storing mink oil in the container in the trunk of your car, keep it level, in hot weather it will melt, and might leak out if the container is on its side.

I experimented a little with Hoppes 9 Plus. it did some weird things. First, with Oxbow pre-cut white patches, the Hoppes made them curl up like a little sausages, very anoying. Went to the ticking and no curling. The other thing about Hoppes 9 Plus, when pre-cut patches were pre-lubed with Hoppes 9 plus and stored in an airtight tin container after some time a substantial waxy deposit started building up on the tin, enough that you could scrape it off. I assumed it was something in the Hoppes 9 Plus leaching out of the patches. I don't use it any more for prolonged use.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I use TOW's "Mink Oil" for hunting lube.  But I take a gob of it and rub it thoroughly into the patch, until it will take no more.  I keep the patches lubed in a snuff tin in my bag, to replace the spent rounds from my loading block as needed.  When I press a ball into a patch in my loading block, I smear the mink oil, which is more like a grease than an oil, over the bottom of the patched ball, so that when I introduce it into the muzzle, there is LOTS of the grease to lubricate the patch going down the bore.
Neets Foot oil works very well for a trail walk in cold weather when you don't want to risk the patch freezing to the muzzle using spit.  Also, the oil is easier on the fingers than spit, with regards to cold.

[Daryl]

My .32 (and .69) shoot identically with track's mink oil, Neetsfoot oil and the WWWF lubes so any of them will work for trail walks - but - only oil or grease for hunting- in any rifle.

Many rifles need different loads for accuracy when switching from oil to water based lubes and therefore produce different points of impact depending on the lube and/or load used.

 

[iloco]

Where do you guys get pillow ticking in rolls for patching round ball......?
 I have a brand new can of TOW Mink Oil but need some patch material to make my own patches.

[drago]

Most fabric stores carry it, but have different names for it. Utility cloth, mattress ticking , just take a caliper with you, some blue jean denim works too.

[Tony N]

I usually get my pillow ticking from Wal-Mart, by the yard.

~tony

[Candle Snuffer]

Same here, Wally World.

[moleeyes36]

If you have a decent fabric store in your area take your caliber or micrometer with you and look for the cotton drill cloth or canvas area.  You can generally find a good selection of close weave cotton fabric in a selection of thicknesses in that area.  Pillow ticking generally is found in most stores only in one or two thicknesses and some of it isn't all cotton. 

I always like a tight ball and patch combination and I got several yards of a tight weave, untreated cotton canvass that measures .023 thickness at a Joann Fabric store.  I don't have a gun that won't shoot that and a .005 under bore size ball really well. 

[Kenny]

My .32 (and .69) shoot identically with track's mink oil, Neetsfoot oil and the WWWF lubes so any of them will work for trail walks - but - only oil or grease for hunting- in any rifle.

Many rifles need different loads for accuracy when switching from oil to water based lubes and therefore produce different points of impact depending on the lube and/or load used.

 

thanks Daryl, that's kind of what I was wondering when I asked

[Curt Lyles]

Has TOW changed the formula in there mink oil,i noticed it is yellow now .Also has anyone priced PURE mink oil lately .Curt

[Candle Snuffer]

Has TOW changed the formula in there mink oil,i noticed it is yellow now .Also has anyone priced PURE mink oil lately .Curt

Don't like to hear that.  That's usually a sign of beeswax added.

[satwel]

Jojoba oil.