Dry patch???

I use my gun strictly for hunting so Ive been using the solid type patch "greases" (bore butter). Its my under standing that "wet"lubes can saturate the charge if not shot as soon as its loaded.
How does the dry patch technique ( lubing patch and letting dry) affect a charge when left all day?
My plan is to soak my precut patches in a wet lube like moose milk, stack them between 2 blocks of wood, then squeeze with a C clamp over night to drain the excess.
Am I just begging for a missfire with this Idea?

Sounds like you might squeeze too much lube out for my taste with a technique like that.

Just dump in the powder, add a piece of toilet paper, tamp down some wasp nest, or use my personal favorite, a jumbo cotton ball, for an over-the-powder wad.

After that, you don't have to worry about lube contamination.

Josh

ffnh243 said:

I use my gun strictly for hunting so Ive been using the solid type patch "greases" (bore butter). Its my under standing that "wet"lubes can saturate the charge if not shot as soon as its loaded.
How does the dry patch technique ( lubing patch and letting dry) affect a charge when left all day?
My plan is to soak my precut patches in a wet lube like moose milk, stack them between 2 blocks of wood, then squeeze with a C clamp over night to drain the excess.
Am I just begging for a missfire with this Idea?

Click to expand...

Dry lubing does not affect th charge in any way. However, you seem to be going overboard with the C clamp. Try soaking your patches and place them on a paper towel to let them dry. You need to maintain the lube, NOT squeeze it back out.

I have used wet patches for years (Falukenberry Juice, and you can't get any wetter than that) and have never had a contamination problem with leaving it loaded all day, and without using ANY over the powder wad. I have though, begun experimenting with dry patches. Dry patches require wiping the bore between each shot, wet patches (Faulken Berry, Ballistol, NAPA cutting oil) allow the rifle to be shot much longer without cleaning crud out of the bore.

I suggest two of the following for dry patches; Ballistol or NAPA cutting oil. Both can be mixed 7 parts water and one part lube. Some people use 6:1 mixtures.

I have used Bore Butter and do not like it. For greases, my choices are either Old Zip Patch grease (Dixie Gun Works), or Mink Oil (TOTW).

GOOD MORNING, I shoot the dry patch I use it because it allows me to shoot in very cold weather. But better than that it allows more ball tension in the barrel allowing the powder to build up more pressure while the ball moves down the barrel . The gun shoots a better standard devation between shots because the lube left on the patch is the same with every shot,you can shoot the grease patch or the oily patch but are you getting the same amount of lube every shot ,that can make a difference.
Now for the process of the dry patch I use water base cutting fluid or ballistol, cut my patching material in 1.5 in wide strips depending on your cal, could be wider, about 3ft long then I mix up my ratio of 7:1 water to cutting fluid you would need to make several strips in different ratios say 5:1 ,6:1 ,7:1 and so on and try them in your rifle you will fine a ratio that your rifle will like. After you soak the patch material lay them out flat so the fluid will not collect at the end making the lube thicker on the end, let the water evaporate and what you have left is dry lube on the patch. Good Luck :wink:

The Dry lube method described by Dutch Schoultz mixes water and oils, like Ballistol, or water soluble oil from NAPA auto supply, or similar products, then lets the fabric dry off the water, leaving a much less Oily residue in the fabric to use for patches. The low percentage of oil in the patch protects the powder from oil migrating into the powder charge over time, in the barrel.

You get fouling problems whenever you use a water based lube, and use TOO Much of it. I have seen guys foul their rifles at the club range using just spit patches- if they let the gun sit around long enough to let it happen. Every other kind of water based lube- including just water- can also cause these same problems of wetting the powder( fouling it) so that it either doesn't fire, or you get a "squib" or "weak" load, that puts the ball to a lower POI on target.

The only benefit of the non-water lubes, like Wonderlube, is that you don't have this problem. My problem with wonderlube is that is made using paraffin wax, not beeswax, and the wax used is much harder and more brittle. It does not stand up well in really cold weather, when I want an effective, non-water based lube the most.

If you mix beeswax with oil-olive oil works for me, but others also work( Take a look at Stumpy's Moose milk, and Moose snot recipes up under "Articles, Charts, and links on this forum's index)--- you get a much more flexible "hard" lube, and the beeswax has some enzymes in it that are antiseptic, which keeps mold from forming on your greased patches if you store them for any length of time. That, in turn, keeps the bacteria(mold) from "Eating" and weakening the fibers in the patch material, so that the lubed patches last longer.

The 7:1, 6:1 mixes of water and oils, like mineral oil, or ballistol, or water soluble oils, work well,too. But, it takes planning to make up the mix, and then dip in the strips of fabric, then dry them flat in the sun, before they are needed at the range or to hunt. The upside is that you can lube as many strips of fabric as you desire, and when they are dried, roll them up, and store them in a plastic baggie, in your freezer( with the understanding of SWMBO!) :shocked2: :rotf: :surrender: :hatsoff:

When hunting, I have begun using a Vegetable Fiber Wad, from " Walters", as an OP wad. They are available from him, or from many suppliers, including Track of the Wolf( TOTW). This prevents any fouling of my powder charge, and provides a much better seal against gas blow-by. :hatsoff:

Like alabamaboy and paulv, I use Dutch's system.
I'll add that when drying the strip lay it out on a non-porus surface.
I have a piece of 4' shelf I covered with sahran warp for the job, or aluminum foil would work. A wood or other porus plank would pull the lube out un-equally along the strip.
Another problem most new to the system have is sqeezing too much of the mix out of the strip before drying, Just run the strip lightly between your fingers to remove excess, leaving the strip saturated with the solutiuon to evaporate

I use Stumpy's moose milk as a "dry" lube. I soak strips of patching in the lube then lay them out to dry overnight. The next day I soak them again and let them dry. The patching then is a dry fabric with just a bit of oil.

I have left guns loaded for more than a month with no trouble.

fyrfyter43 said:

I use Stumpy's moose milk as a "dry" lube. I soak strips of patching in the lube then lay them out to dry overnight. The next day I soak them again and let them dry. The patching then is a dry fabric with just a bit of oil.

I have left guns loaded for more than a month with no trouble.

Click to expand...

I haven't shot lots with that combo, but have always wondered about fouling buildup and increased loading difficulty over a long string. It's not an issue with grease lubes (nor is wetting the powder), but I sure get tired of the greasy mess.

When I'm at the range I do swab about every 3 shots as I build up a fair amount of fouling. I prefer the moose milk more as a hunting lube. I've used it in temps down to around 0* without a problem.

Thanks! The times I tried it, I was on the range and swabbing every few shots too. I'm contemplating using it with my 32 or 36 for snowshoe hare hunts, which can sometimes mean lots of shooting.

Thanks, every one
Im thinking down the line of using a solvent as a lube and hope it will be easier to clean. the wax type lubes just smear fouling all over the bore and its almost impossible to get it clean even with boiling water and dish soap

ffnh243 said:

the wax type lubes just smear fouling all over the bore and its almost impossible to get it clean even with boiling water and dish soap

Click to expand...

I'm not sure which lubes you're referring to with wax, but my instinct would carry me far away from paraffin and such. Ease of cleaning is why I'm real prone to deer tallow blends, bear, or mink oil grease from TOW. The fouling stays soft and cleans out of the bore with warm water, even if you forget the soap.

I have been listening to these fellows for nearly three years now and I have tried just about every one. Everyone is a good idea because, I find they all work! Just some are more messy and less convienent than others. You still need to clean the gun when all is said and done. And if you use a wetter more than dryer patch make sure it doesn't contaminate the powder, maybe an over powder wad.

I currently lean towards olive oil.

I was reading your post and it mentioned recipes for moose milk. Not sure where I find the articles/recipes etc link on this forum. I am not really computer saavy.

Kevin

Use the "Search" button up towards the top of the screen.

Select the Advanced Search

Type "moose milk" into the Keywords box and be sure you include the quotation marks as I wrote it.

Click the Search button at the bottom.

You will end up with hundreds of posts that contain the search word.

By the way, the Search engine will reject words with only 3 letters or less in them if they are standing alone.
That's the reason it won't give an answer if you put in a word like lye.
If you put the three letter word in quotes along with a bigger word ( like "lye water") the computer will treat it as one big word so it then will find the relevant posts.

ffnh243 said:

I use my gun strictly for hunting so Ive been using the solid type patch "greases" (bore butter). Its my under standing that "wet"lubes can saturate the charge if not shot as soon as its loaded.
How does the dry patch technique ( lubing patch and letting dry) affect a charge when left all day?
My plan is to soak my precut patches in a wet lube like moose milk, stack them between 2 blocks of wood, then squeeze with a C clamp over night to drain the excess.
Am I just begging for a missfire with this Idea?

Click to expand...

Use water soluble oil 1 part oil-7 parts water (or 5 or 8 depending). Soak patches and allow to air dry till all water has evaporated.
But this will give little or no rust protection and will surely require wiping between shots. But accuracy is invariably great.
Patches that are fairly wet with Neatsfoot oil will work fine it should be wet with the oil but not dripping.
A thin layer of tallow on the bore side of the patch will work well and allow followup shots without wiping. Boil a few pounds of beef fat, allow to cool to 40 degrees or so then remove the sheet of tallow and boil it is clean water. 3-4 cycles of this will purify the tallow and in tests it will not cause rust even if left loaded for a about 3 months in Montana this spring then pulled.


I would not use ANYTHING with ANY water for other than range use. Anything with water and soap is even worse.

Dan

I usually use spit for range shooting but for hunting I like Mink Oil. Warm it to melt and dunk the patches, let cool wipe off excess and you're good to go. If you're worried about lube migration try a felt wad over powder. Guaranteed to prevent lube migration. Do Not Use a Water base lube in a hunting situation for chance of rust ring where patch contacts barrel.

I always kept an empty percussion cap tin with crisco in it and did a light wipe with my patch and used the edge to scrape off the extra so it does not saturate my powder. if I am pulling out my rifle after it has sat for a while I usually take off the nipple and put a few grains of powder behind the nipple and that usually staves off misfires.