bore lube

[buggybuilder]

I've not had super accurate results with my TC Hawken. So much so that I had considered using plastic parts and "J" word bullets. I had been using Bore Butter but then found that shooters have been using TC 1000+ with good accuracy and bore cleaning. My question is: Is T 1000+ a separate kind of lube? I just returned from the sporting goods store and found that they have Bore Butter with T 1000+. I am not happy with regular bore butter. A little guidance please.
Thanks much!

 

[wayne terry]

I use to use the store bought stuff also years ago, I just use a mixture of unsalted lard, bees wax and castor oil.

 

[swathdiver]

What are you using the bore butter for? How specifically are you not happy with it? Accuracy, loading, cleaning, swabbing?

 

[buggybuilder]

Disappointed primarily with having to swab between shots after having read about using T1000+ and shooting all day. After 5 shots, I have a real mess.

 

[Zonie]

I guess I'm confused.

I'm pretty sure, TC 1000+ Bore Butter is the same thing as regular Bore Butter with some advertising jargon added.

As for "shooting all day", a lot of that depends on what the powder was.

I have yet to find any real black powder that doesn't foul the bore to the point that some damp wiping isn't required. I think about 5 shots was the most I have ever fired before loading the next patched ball became difficult.

Using a synthetic black powder like Pyrodex on the other hand, I've fired over 40 shots without needing to wipe the bore once.

When using Pyrodex, the first shot loads very easily in the clean bore. The next shot loads with a bit of resistance.
Every following shot loads with the same resistance.
It's like a thin layer of fouling is left behind after the first shot but all subsaquent shots don't really add any more fouling to it.

Anyway, getting back to Bore Butter, IMO none of it contains enough fluid of any kind to actually soften up black powder fouling so that wiping is not needed.

If I want to use a patch lube that wipes the bore nicely each time I load, I use Stumpkillers "Moose Juice", applied wet to the patch just before loading.

Because it's wet and applied directly to the ball's patch, every time you ram the ball down the bore, it softens and wipes off the fouling from the last shot.

If you don't know how to make Moose Juice, here is the recipe to make about 1 cup of it.

Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) 4 TABLESPOONS
Castor Oil 1 1/2 TABLESPOONS
Murphys Oil Soap 1 1/2 TEASPOONS
Witch Hazel 2 TABLESPOONS
Water (non-chlorinated) 1/2 CUP

I should add, I've made several cups of this and stored it in clear plastic Mustard squeeze bottles, complete with plastic cap and removable lid.
One bottle I made over 4 years ago and it is just the same as when I made it.
More importantly, it did not damage the plastic squeeze bottle and try to leak out of it. :grin:

 

[coloradoclyde]

What powder are you using?
what ball diameter and patch thickness?
How much lube are you putting on the patches?
What is your powder charge....More powder = more fouling.
For target shooting I use spit or something similar.

 

[buggybuilder]

Zonie
Thanks for your reply. Yours was the info that I was looking for.

 

[hanshi]

It's all the same. And although the stuff isn't useless, it's far from the best. By using Hoppes #9 Plus BP Lube, I shoot dozens of rounds without any wiping or decrease in accuracy; can't get any better than that. I do, however, lube my first shot with Mink Oil - here, BB works almost as well - and all subsequent loads are with Hoppes. By using a grease lube for the first shot there's no chance of rust forming as there might be with a liquid water based lube; unless, of course, the rifle is fired. If it isn't fired it can be put up for weeks with no worry. But if it is fired you got to clean it as usual.

 

[swathdiver]

I use the simpler recipe by Dutch Schoultz as described in his "The System". Best $20 I ever spent on shooting.

Make your own bore butter, 5 Parts Extra Virgin Olive Oil and 1 Part Beeswax. This doesn't run in hot weather as much as the store bought stuff neither. I use BB for lubing the guns and cleaning them sometimes.

I use Dutch's recipes for shootin' patches and wipin' patches.

Then I have two more for lubing conical grooves and lubing over the ball which I sometimes also use to lube the arbors and such. But that's gettin' to be too many different recipes and stuff to keep after so I'm thinkin' about trimming the list down... maybe... naw... think I need them all, different purpose for each.

 

[CrackStock]

If you are shooting a string of shots at the range, you might try a sprayer with plain water. Try to be consistent in the amount of water that gets onto the patch and how it is distributed. This was the only way that I could shoot an extended string without wiping between shots. The more consistent that your process is, the more predictable and consistent the results will be.

For me, the best accuracy did involve wiping between shots - even if the other method was a bit more convenient.

CS

 

[Don Steele]

Like He Said...
"For me, the best accuracy did involve wiping between shots - even if the other method was a bit more convenient."

Depends upon what your personal acceptance criteria is for your own shooting.
Do you want Minute-of-Angle...or Minute-of-Deer..???

 

[Stumpkiller]

Or, would some tweek in your load get minute of angle accuracy AND easier loading.

You can learn muzzleloading in an afternoon but spend the rest of your life learning more about it. And when you figure out one rifle there is no guarantee the next one will prefer the same procedure and load.

Some people like to have a simple load and shoot from the pouch and some like to set up a pharmacy at the range and have minutes to spend on each shot with lots of support equipment on a table. Like Don said: "personal acceptance criteria".

Personally, I want a hunting load that allows me to grab the rifle, horn and pouch off the pegs and go out and shoot a few rocks or gongs down by the stream after hiking a quarter mile to my shooting spot. I'll take all the accuracy I can get; but my fixed sights are regulated for one load so it has to work in all situations. Even when it's so cold my fingers are bananas and I'm fumbling in my pouch with lots of snow waiting to hide anything I drop.

 

[Flintlock]

As long as the weather is reasonably warm, I use a mixture of bee's wax, deer tallow, and pure Neatsfoot oil. I've been using this for close to 20 years now and it's the same thing I grease my Moccasins and boots with. Looking for something perfect when the weather gets below freezing though, might try lubing patches with plane old olive oil.

 

[Archer 756]

:haha: I was just at a drug store and was asking for Caster oil :idunno: The answer was what! well that's todays wonders

 

[nhmoose]

:haha: I was just at a drug store and was asking for Caster oil :idunno: The answer was what! well that's todays wonders

Walmart. Try a search there.

 

[AZbpBurner]

I began using a mix of 1 part castor oil to 5 parts denatured alcohol. When applied to patches or fiber wads, the alcohol evaporates, leaving behind a fine amount of castor oil on a dry patch. I use it in all my rifle patches, musket & shotgun wads, and will soon try it for paper wads between powder & ball in cap & ball revolvers.

It's the only thing I'll ever use from now on. I can shot my fusil all day long & never get enough fouling for hard loading or need to swab the barrel.

The 'dry' patch doesn't leave a heavy amount of lube in the bore to attract & build fouling as borebutter, olive oil & beeswax/tallow lubes do.

 

[dwr]

 

[Danny Ross]

As asked how much lube are you using on the patch? As I learned on here, MORE IS NOT better on the patch. The least amount of lube you can get away with on the patch is better. Another thing what kind of patching material are you using? That may also be contributing to your accuracy problem. Yeah you are going to get fouling no matter what lube you use, it is just the nature of the beast. DANNY