safe cold weather lube

[sickle hocks]

So i don't really need to shoot these days, I just wondered what the old-timers used when they had to...when it was cold...say -10F to -40F

I've been using spit so far with my gun because it's handy...but when it freezes solid it's probably not a great lube. Olive oil is solid. Bore butter was solid months ago. Spit and make sure you load and shoot really, really fast??? Are there any animal oils that aren't solid?

 

[Stumpkiller]

Old Timers probably used bear oil or olive oil kept close to the body to stay warmer. I wear my shooting bag under my outer layer when it's below zero.

I've hunted and reloaded my Moose Snot to -15°F. Forty below I don't think it matters as I couldn't get my fingers working well enough to unplug the horn and fish a ball out.

 

[sickle hocks]

Thanks. Bag under the coat definitely. Still kind of a short working time, once everything touches that cold barrel. Maybe the bear oil was the magic.

I've noticed when the cabin gets cold at night that canola oil stays liquid a lot longer than the olive oil, so maybe I'll try that. Or maybe just stay inside and throw another stick in the stove...

 

[Jim Evans]

Mink oil from TOW

 

[wattlebuster]

My favorite is bear oil, second is mink oil from TOW :thumbsup:

 

[dbutch]

My favorite is bear oil, second is mink oil from TOW :thumbsup:

What he said! X2! deer tallow/bear grease first....second.... mink oil

 

[Birddog6]

I would say they seldom had to.... They had enough common sense to stock up for the bad days & get what they needed on the good days.

But grease was made & saved from almost all animals & especially Bear.

Keith Lisle

 

[sickle hocks]

For sure the thing to do would be to lay up lots of meat in the fall in a bear proof cache. I was just thinking of the guys travelling up here all summer and throwing together a quick cabin before winter, hoping for the best..the cold snaps can last a long, long time..

 

[TGJaeger]

I can verify that Mink Oil from TOW will work at -10*. -40*...it might still work but I don't so I couldn't tell you...??

 

[Vaino]

At temps much below zero, does it really matter what lube is used w/ a PRB? Using lubes that solidify at minus 20 degrees, is there evidence that this increases pressure to a dangerous level or if function is affected using a PRB? Do the hot gases on ignition melt whatever the "frozen lube" is on the tangent circle of the patch contacting the bore? I've hunted snowshoe hares in minus 20 temps w/ a flintlock and suffered no ill affects to the rifle using Oxyoke 1000 ,but w/ me...that was not the case. I think conicals are a different story because of the length of the bullet causing the heat of ignition to not reach the frozen lube. Even in this case though, how much higher pressures are generated because of the frozen lube and is performance affected? Have there been definitive tests conducted on both the conicals and PRBs w/ variuos lubes frozen at minus 20 degrees...haven't heard of any. The loading process can be more difficult in below zero temps and therefore a non-freezing lube can offer an advatage, although keeping loading components next to body heat will surely help......Fred

 

[Rifleman1776]

As stated, almost any grease/oil or beeswax will work in any temps.
But, in reality, when/if it hits minus 10 degrees, I move further south. :wink:

 

[rabjr]

Bear oil, bear oil/deer tallow grease for me. :thumbsup:

 

[Dan Hogue]

when it gets that cold, I would be more concerned with how my lock internals hold up, springs and such.

 

[LRB]

That temp would have little to no effect on the lock, but I would worry how I would hold up. I have never experienced cold below 16F above, and don't care to.

 

[excess650]

As stated, almost any grease/oil or beeswax will work in any temps.
But, in reality, when/if it hits minus 10 degrees, I move further south. :wink:

When its below 20*F I'm gonna feed the stove. My old bones don't appreciate the cold very much.

Sperm oil? I seem to recall that it was used for oiling locks. The modern replacement for sperm oil is ATF . I've not tried it "straight up", but have used Dexron III ATF mixed with lanolin and beeswax as a blackpowder lube on groove bullets in cartridges for silhouette shooting. Too, I've also used synthetic motor oil in a similar recipe with no problems from either from a fouling standpoint.

Maybe a mixture of Dexron III or Mobil 1 synthetic mixed with lanolin would be worth exploring.

BTW, I tried lanolin as a patch lube and didn't like it for some reason...

 

[ohio ramrod]

Above freezing I use 80% lard 20 % beeswax. Below freezing pure lard! :idunno:

 

[Dan Hogue]

about 10 below for me, but not shooting, afraid I would end up like the kid from caristmas story with my tongue stuck to my barrel :rotf: . I always figured that 20 - 30 below would do weird things to steel springs, I would stay in if I had a choice.

 

[sickle hocks]

Just for your interest...it was -24 F at my place this morning, and after reading your posts I went out to the shed where I keep my honey bee equipment. At this temp, the bees wax was rock hard and brittle / crumbly under my thumb..it sort of shattered under pressure. Then I went over to the bird feeder and felt the lard I had set out there...it was stiff to solid, but I could feel it soften under my thumb.

I'm not sure if I'll bother trying, but I think in the absence of bear oil and whale oil, some lard kept under a jacket might be workable....maybe with a lighter vegetable oil mixed in?

 

[rabjr]

When theres nothing else good ole olive oil will work for ya.

 

[sickle hocks]

I've been disappointed at breakfast many times to find the olive oil solid, and the cabin doesn't get all that cold at night. But it might be a softish solid...definitely would be a good candidate to try under the coat.