Patch Lube?

[Scott Bumpus]

I have read some old info that refer to using lanolin. Seems like Dixie gun works had some reference to it in the back of their catalog. I use mink oil and it works great. Don’t know why we all love trying different stuff. Just fun I recon.

[bones92]

Ok, after seeing how many of you use the TOTW Mink Oil patch lube, I ordered a couple tins of it.

So my question is... how do you use it?  Do you just rub one side of a dry patch across it?   Do you put the oiled side down when laying on the muzzle?

Sorry for the green-horn questions, but I've only ever used patches lubricated in a liquid.

[smylee grouch]

If I use pre cut patches, I put a dry one on a paper plate followed by a saturated one ( i melt the lube in the micro wave ) then a dry one then a saturated one, etc. until I get what ever I need for the events shooting or hunting season. I cut mine with bear oil only because I have a good supply of the oil.

[Mike from OK]

Ok, after seeing how many of you use the TOTW Mink Oil patch lube, I ordered a couple tins of it.

So my question is... how do you use it?  Do you just rub one side of a dry patch across it?   Do you put the oiled side down when laying on the muzzle?

Sorry for the green-horn questions, but I've only ever used patches lubricated in a liquid.

It might be a green horn question but it's a fair one... I use strips of pillow ticking and cut at the muzzle. To lube the strips I smear them across the lube in the tin and rub it in with my fingers... It usually soaks through the material so lube side up/down isn't much of a concern to me... Although I orient the patch strip on the muzzle the same way every time for the sake of consistency in loading.

I may grow up one of these days and warm the tin of lube and do the dip/wring method that others talk about.

Mike

[MuskratMike]

Bones92: There is no right or wrong way. On my small calibers I use strips and cut at the muzzle. On my larger bores I use pre-cut patches. Either way I use T.O.T.W. Mink or a 50/50mix of mink oil and pure Neatsfoot oil. I keep some in an old saucepan, when ready to do patches I slowly melt in on the stove over very low heat until just melted. If strips I dip the strip in the melted oil and pull off any extra with a pair of Needle nose pliers. If pre-cut patches I just dip a dozen at a time in the oil again using the pliers to push any extra out then lay them out on paper towels to soak up any extra. Works for me but again this is just my method, neither right or wrong. The 50/50 mix leaves the patches less "greasy" than the straight mink oil.

[Hungry Horse]

Don’t overthink this, its a primitive lube for a primitive weapon. Animal grease, or spit is what the old timers used and they did pretty well.

  Hungry Horse

[hanshi]

I always precut patches and lube a few at a time.  With mink oil I just wipe 'em good on the grease and rub it in well.

[Darkhorse]

I do things a little different than most. But I'm comfortable with it at this time as I am planning on another series of tests for lubes I'm not presently using.
Down here in the deep south humidity and heat can be real problems. Some lubes just can't be used unless cleaned immediatly because they will cause a rust ring in the chamber area. And no matter how accurate those lubes might be I can't use them for my hunting patches.
I cut strips of my patching and cut all my shots at the muzzle. The hunting strips, mostly a grease type lube is rubbed in by hand and carried in a tin. My general shooting and accuracy lubes are wet lubes and are applied "per shot". I hunt with 2 rifles, both flintlocks one has a .54 caliber  colerain barrel and a .40 with a Rice barrel, both of which I built. The .40 was built to be my turkey rifle as it is legal in Georgia to hunt them with a ML rifle. All the lubes I mention are the most accurate I've found for the intended purpose.
For deer hunting I load the .54 with round ball and Wonder Lube on my patches. Wonder Lube will not cause rust rings and that's important as my hunting rifles are left loaded until I shoot at game. For general shooting I use Mr. Flintlocks.
For turkey's in my .40 I use Canola oil as a patch lube. With 60 grains of 3f Canola oil will shoot the X out of a target at 50 yards. The Canola oil also will not cause rust rings. My general shooting lube is again Mr. Flintlocks.
It should be obvious but my first priority is finding a hunting lube that won't cause rust and is very accurate. I have not yet found one lube that suits my standards though several come close.
Our heat can sometimes cause a lube to become watery to the point it contaminates the powder charge. So in the spring turkey season I use wasp nest between the powder and the patch. This has stopped all contamination. So far.
And yes, the 2 lubes often shoot to different POI's. All it takes is a few taps of the rear sight and a powder charge adjustment to bring the sights back onto target.
The powder charges and any amount of sight drift has been worked out well in advance. This process has been working for me for over a decade.

[Daryl]

With Neetsfoot Oil or Track's Mink Oil, I dip a stack of pre-cuts into the lube, then squeeze out the excess back into the container. I then put the lubed
precuts into a tin or plastic bullet box.  I've also used Track's tinder boxes as well as their snuff tins. They all work well.
Most of these are available in nickle, copper or brass.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/23/1


I have and use all three of these types.
I like the middle one for the .69, the best.
The top one works well with small patches for the .32 though .45.
The bottom one is good all-round.
Sucrets or other candy-tins work well, too.

[Jerry]

I have been satisfied with using Hope’s 9 patch Lube at the range for cleaning and patch lube. For longer loaded times (hunting) I use a tallow based lube.

[hanshi]

After wiping the patches on the mink oil I rub it in with my fingers.  The grease melts when rubbed and I like patches to be greased all the way through the material.  If it's too much lube the excess scrapes off at the muzzle.  When fun shooting, shooting at the range or just roaming the bush I use mainly Hoppes.  But even then I sometimes use mink oil.  So Hoppes, generally, and mink oil all other uses.

[Scota4570]

I used to think it did not matter much. 

I have been working with a 32 cal rifle that has wide lands and narrow grooves.  This is opposite of what I think is best.  IT causes major friction with a ball and patch combo that gives compression in the grooves. 

I tired Jojoba, moose milk, spit and others.  I had high hopes for jojoba.  It is supposed to be close to sperm oil.  With a 310 ball and a o.018 patch I had no luck.  Jojoba is a poor lubricant, the balls loaded with great difficulty.  They required several wacks with a steel rod, the wood rod was impossible.  The steel rod got oily and gripping it was a problem.  It was messy. 

On a whim I tried a mix of venison tallow and about 10% anhydrous lanolin.  I made strips of cloth and dunked them in melted lube, then rolled them up.  This stuff is amazing.  Loading effort is reduced 90%.  I can easily load a .310 ball with a 0.025" denim patch.  IT is clean to work with.  The consistency is waxy, not goopy or oily.  It shots really clean, I swabbed every five shots because I thought I should.  NO fouling build up was noticeable.  As an added bonus, cutting patches at the muzzle is easier for me than centering tiny patches and balls. 

I need to work up some loads off the bench and see how it goes.  I shot some respectable off hand groups at the monthly club shoot, that does not mean much though.  Sometime a lube can be too slick.  I hope the tighter combination with tighten things up on the target. 

So, patch lubes are a cut and try thing.   

[MuskratMike]

.32's can be fussy. I went through every ball size, patch thickness, powder strength and lube I could think of during load development on mine. I found a .310 ball with 35 grains of Goex 3F a .020 patch and a lube of TOTW mink oil mixed with equal part pure neatsfoot oil was the magic. Might not be for yours but worked for me.

[Dphariss]

Well dang y’all got me wondering what tastes like on toast.   Has anyone tried lanolin, as a patch lube, not on toast.

Scott, a cousin of mine used to use apothecary's Lanolin as a metalic-sizing lubricant. I do not know how it would work as
as patch lube.

Tried this mixed with alcohol as a sizing lube works great but  very difficult to get off the brass suppositories. So I went back to store bought.
Dan

[Daryl]

Dan - you have a PM.

[Bushfire]

I still haven't figured out a good option for hunting lube here. Id happily try mink oil but postage is about $75 at the moment so not worth it to me.

I've used olive oil in the past and it's OK, but at the range I find I'm swabbing every two shots. I've got some wonderlube, it seems better in terms of more shooting at the range. But I've read about it getting clammy and sticking in the bore which I don't want.

I like to keep the same lube for hunting and target, I like consistency.and I can have my gun loaded for a few weeks at a time so I want a lube that will last in the bore ok too.

Any suggestions?

[smylee grouch]

Bushfire, using a tighter ball/patch combo MIGHT help. Also some use an bore size shot card over the powder then the patched ball. I didn't have any luck using wonderlube.

[Bushfire]

Bushfire, using a tighter ball/patch combo MIGHT help. Also some use an bore size shot card over the powder then the patched ball. I didn't have any luck using wonderlube.

I don't know how much tighter I'd want to go, I only have 54's in round ball calibres. Use a .535 ball and a .015 patch which I need to tap down the whole way, getting it started with a short start is a bear and my palms are always sore at the end. Within a couple of shots I feel like I'm beating it down the bore.

I do have some .018 patches, I tried to use them once but couldn't even get them started.

[DavidC]

Mike Brooks recently taught me to combine marmots with an old wine press. I leave the patches underneath to soak up the... Oil...

Beeswax and mutton tallow. I'm about to play with jojoba oil after reading about it as a modern alternative to sperm whale oil.

[Jim Filipski]

Without reading every post here: I use mutton tallow, beeswax & Bayberry wax!   
Goex asked me to make this formulae available to them in the late 1990's... i Did , but they could not procured enough Mutton tallow to make it available
on the American Market in bulk!
They did dispense my mix to the US Team....but it never panned out.... Or I never heard otherwise!
Jim

[Daryl]

I don't know how much tighter I'd want to go, I only have 54's in round ball calibres. Use a .535 ball and a .015 patch which I need to tap down the whole way, getting it started with a short start is a bear and my palms are always sore at the end. Within a couple of shots I feel like I'm beating it down the bore.

I do have some .018 patches, I tried to use them once but couldn't even get them started.

For a hunting lube, ordinary Neetsfoot Oil works just fine, is available just about anywhere. Use it just as it comes from the can or bottle. 100% Neetsfoot Oil, not Neetsfoot Oil compound, which is a synthetic, I think.

[WadePatton]

I don't know how much tighter I'd want to go, I only have 54's in round ball calibres. Use a .535 ball and a .015 patch which I need to tap down the whole way, getting it started with a short start is a bear and my palms are always sore at the end. Within a couple of shots I feel like I'm beating it down the bore.

I do have some .018 patches, I tried to use them once but couldn't even get them started.

For a hunting lube, ordinary Neetsfoot Oil works just fine, is available just about anywhere. Use it just as it comes from the can or bottle. 100% Neetsfoot Oil, not Neetsfoot Oil compound, which is a synthetic, I think.

Not so much synthetic as simply watered down with the much cheaper mineral oil, a petroleum product. IN any case I got no use for mineral oil and shooting.

[Daryl]

Interesting, thanks Wade.  I've heard for many years that Neetsfoot Oil Compound was useless as a patch lube & as well, not to
rub it into your ball mitt - only use 100% Neetsfoot Oil.
I did not know it had mineral oil in it.