mink oil & spg

[littlefat]

does anyone on here mix mink oil & Spg for a patch lube ? I get good results with mink oil, but it's real greasy. I have mixed up a batch 50%-50% but haven't tried it yet.

[Colonial Riflesmith]

I've personally never used it, but have seen shooters who have. One called it 'weasel !$@!'. then he got in an argument with another fell who uses Murphy's oil soap, alcohol, and water, that said his was called weasel !$@!. Another fella jumped in and said that his home made lube was WP. I don't remember what his was made out of. I just walked away and thought to my self,,, who cares, what a dumb-a** argument. I never did get to ask him how it worked. Give it a try, and let me know.

[david50]

Spg?

[Maven]

SPG stands for Steven P. Garbe, a competitive BP cartridge shooter, who created the lube being discussed.  Mike Venturino, another BP cartridge shooter, gun writer, and Garbe's friend, used the product and encouraged him to market it.  SPG is a semi-soft white solid that's often applied to cast bullets (1 part tin to 16 or 20 parts lead) via a lubrisizer or pan lubing.  I never thought about using it as a patch lube though. 

[david50]

i'll stick with straight mink oil,works for me

[littlefat]

david50 ,it works for me to . just want it a little less greasy ,mostly on warm days

[david50]

maybe thin it with some denatured alcohol

[Colonial Riflesmith]

I use what my old grandpappy taught me to use. Tallow and bee's wax. More wax in the summer so it does not get too soft, and more tallow in the winter so it does not get too hard. Works great.

[Pete G.]

I melt beeswax and crisco together and get something about like SPG. Seems to work fine and I use it for leather dressing also.

[Daryl]

Experiment with various lubes and use the one that suits you and most importantly, your rifle. Rifles vary in what they'll shoot accurately. Also- depending on the lubricity (slipperyness) of the lube, you'll have to change the powder charge, one to the next to get the best load - sometimes the patch thickness as well.  I'ts all about experimentation.
Those who want to wipe often or even every shot can get away with a lube that is a dismal failure for the guy who doesn't want to wipe his rifle except after the shooting's done for the day.  This means different requirements for each type of shooter.

[Ole Doc]

 ... My 2 cents
mink oil and beeswax cut with canola oil... use the canola oil to get it to the thickness/firmness ya want.
 I been steering clear of petroleum based products for shooting lube.

[Jerry V Lape]

I use SPG lube as my hunting lube.  Strips for cutting at the muzzle are rubbed with SPG stick (which is pretty firm normally) on one side only.  I coat that side pretty well with the stuff and that side of the patching goes against the rifling.  It loads relatively easy in a clean barrel which is how my hunting barrel is prepared.  I wipe between shots for consistency.  First started using SPG in conjunction with my black powder cartridge hunting rifle to lube the bullet and to make a grease cookie fitted between a couple of overpowder wads where it functioned to keep the powder residue soft so following shots were consistent. 

[Pvt. Lon Grifle]

Like Colonial Riflesmith, I was taught as a youth to make and use beeswax and tallow mixtures in the M/L.   

I always ask the meat cutter for bull tallow so I can  honestly claim my lube has a high percentage of "bull" in it.  Lon

[erdillonjr]

Whats wrong with spit? Have uaed it for years and havent run out yet. Ed

[Kermit]

I''m with Ed. I seem to have a lifetime supply of the stuff, and I always have it with me. Simplify. Just like I've done away with short starters, precut patches, and priming horns/devices.

[Ole Doc]

  gave up the spit method when I took up snuff.