neetsfoot oil as patch lube?

[adkmountainken]

I have saw that many have said they use neetsfoot oil as patch lube, I would like to hear what people think about it? I have a big bottle for leather that I do not use much and had thought of trying it out.

[P.W.Berkuta]

Why don't you try it and let us know how it works out. I also have a large container of the stuff and would like to hear other's reply to this question. I think for hunting it would be good as for paper punching I use more of the H2O stuff or windex.

[adkmountainken]

for all my hunting loads I use rendered bear grease just looking for another alternative for paper punching and woods walks. happen to have a full bottle and I know many use it so figured I would get some in put.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I use it all winter long for shooting our trail.  It is a little harder to load than other liquid lubes, but it works fine.  Mink oil and bear grease are wonderful as well.  Choke up on your ramrod and load only about eight inches at a stroke until you bottom.  Just firmly on the powder...don't bounce your ramrod off the ball.

[Joe S]

I use both for target shooting and hunting.  I think the neatsfoot oil is a little easier to clean than the mink oil.  Mink oil also gets pretty stiff around -20 or so. That would be about -30 Canadian.

[longcruise]

Are you guys using the compound or the genuine article?

[Joe S]

Genuine article only. 

Full disclosure: I buy mine at the saddle shop.  I've tried to make my own, but I haven't managed to wring even a single drop of oil out of a hoof.  How do they do that anyway?

[longcruise]

Guess I'll have to get some of the real stuff.  I skid of the Trad tracks with the leather work and use the compound.  Probably have to do extra time in purgatory... if I qualify to get in at all.

[Daryl]

Mike - I use and have used it and other oils & greases.  In the .69 with it's big loads and low pressure, 100% Neetsfoot oil works fine, but as Taylor indicated, it is not as 'slippery' as other lubes. Tracks mink oil, I find quite slippery in comparison, but the Neetsfoot oil is easier to apply to the patches - pour it into the container of pre-cut patches until they soak it up, squeeze the excess back into the can of oil - done.
I prefer to use the water based lubes for trail walks, but the alcohol/water/oil mix is a LOT colder on the fingers, than the oil, when temperatures plummet.

With track's mink oil, heating is required to soak a stack of patches, then when they are squeezed out - the Mink oil is thicker, slipperier and messier than Neetsfoot oil, but it sure works well.  After a day's shooting with the .32 for a day and the mink oil, the last shot loaded, loads easier than the 1st one down a clean, but dry barrel.  The WD40 I put in there after cleaning has dried, thus the barrel is not lubricated as it seems to be after firing.
 
That said, I have not found cleaning with cool or cold water to be any different, whether using Neetsfoot Oil, Track's Mink Oil or WWWF on the patches for shooting.  The last shot fired leaves very little oil or grease in the bore.  The fouling is just barely soft.  There is NO oil or grease film needing oil-cutting-solvents for cleaning.   There is no oily film in the fired tube - just 1 shot's worth of fouling, that actually dries out in a few minutes time, whether using oil, grease or water as a lube.

Taylor has found the same - cleaning with tap water as normal results in a clean barrel.

[Pukka Bundook]

I stick with my deer tallow for hunting or any time a ball has to live down the barrel for a good while.

For target shooting where the load doesn't lye too long in the barrel, have a go with "Udderly Smooth" from Wally World amongst other places.  Tell me what you think.
Thinner and cuts any fouling V well. can be fired all day.

Once tried lanolin. 2 shots and seemed half a week to get the bore clean!

[L. Akers]

I have used neetsfoot oil for over 40 years.  It gives the best accuracy in my rifles, next to spit, which I didn't want to use in a hunting situation.

[OldMtnMan]

I use both for target shooting and hunting.  I think the neatsfoot oil is a little easier to clean than the mink oil.  Mink oil also gets pretty stiff around -20 or so. That would be about -30 Canadian.

I've always said the Mink oil didn't harden up in cold weather, but those are ugly temps. Too cold for me.

[Daryl]

I use both for target shooting and hunting.  I think the neatsfoot oil is a little easier to clean than the mink oil.  Mink oil also gets pretty stiff around -20 or so. That would be about -30 Canadian.

Yes it does, but - as soon as you touch it, it's liquid. I've use Mink Oil and used it down colder than -30, to good effect. Always accurate and did not stick in the bore like other oils want to when it's cold.

We don't shoot or hunt in those temps any more, but for hunting, there is not much to beat Mink Oil for hunting. In warmer temps, Neetsfoot oil works just fine as well. Seems to me, it got a bit draggy going down my .69's bore at close to -40.

I have not noticed any problems with cleaning the gun (tap water) after shooting, with any of the lubes. Everyone, of course, knows not to use water soluble oils or water based lubes for hunting. Bore damage will result if you do.

[Joe S]

I'd say a bit draggy is about right.  Both mink oil and neatsfoot oil treated patches can be loaded with a wooden ramrod at least down to -40.  When it gets that cold though, I don't like to shoot.  Metal does strange stuff at those temperatures.  Is barrel fracture a real possibility at those temperatures?  I don't know.  Maybe.  Maybe not.  These days, I'm good down to about -10(F) or so. Any colder than that and I go home.  Getting old I guess.

[OldMtnMan]

That's about my limit too, but even warmer is a lot better. I lose all the strength in my hands when they get too cold.

[Joe S]

I don't know if my hands are strong or not at -20 these days. At that temperature I can't even move them anymore....

[OldMtnMan]

No kidding. One time I got my hands so cold I couldn't turn the key to start my Jeep. I stuck my hands in my armpits for 1/2hr before I could turn the key. I felt kind of silly. I told myself......what kind of mountain man are you?

[Joe S]

Old?

[OldMtnMan]

I'm 75. How about you?

[Joe S]

I'm only 64!

[OldMtnMan]

Just a youngster. 

[Marcruger]

Y'all are killing me!  -20?  -40?  I was freezing at 15 degrees F here last week in the South.  My blood is way too thin for the likes of below zero.  I guess we Southerners are wimps.   ;-)

[OldMtnMan]

Y'all are killing me!  -20?  -40?  I was freezing at 15 degrees F here last week in the South.  My blood is way too thin for the likes of below zero.  I guess we Southerners are wimps.   ;-)

We're all wimps in our own way. I wilt in humidity. Can't stand it. One of the reasons i'm in Colorado.

[Joe S]

Marcruder

15 degrees in the south is a lot colder than it is here in the western mountains.  Here, -5 is invigorating, -10 freezes your mustache, but it’s nice, – 20 is seriously cold and -40 is dangerous.  Back east, 30 degrees and a wind is very nasty, at least in my book. 

This thread started out with lubes, and now we're talking about the weather.  Dennis is going to get after us PDQ.

[Pukka Bundook]

Jose,
We have a defense...
Lubes all depend on how Cold it is!
Coldest here recorded years ago was minus 91 with the wind chill.  Lot of cows froze standing up.
Patch lube wouldn't be my first thought at -91.

(See I'm keeping it on track!)