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tried a new patch lube today

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daniel collums

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tried some new lube today and it gave me super results. patches came out good enough to use twice,fouling was easy to wipe out,and most important the bullets hit the mark every time. i tried it in my t/c hawken first and it worked so good i got out my kentucky long rifle and tired it with it also. the lube worked perfect in both guns but the crazy thing is its been sitting right in front of me my whole life and i never tired it, always had to buy something or make something up. all it was, was bacon grease.
 
Someone will come along to warn about salt content. But grease that works is grease that works. You're gonna scrub your barrel any way right?
 
I have always thought that in the old days the patch lube of choice was the one available at the time! Geo. T.
 
Not suprised. I have been using 80%lard 20%beeswax ever since the middle sixties when they outlawed the sale of sperm whale oil. :idunno:
 
I've actually thought about using it as well. Good to know it worked for ya.
 
problem with bacon fat as lube is the hardening of your arteries from eating all that bacon you fry to
get more lube
 
Bacon grease has salt in it and the salt is not good for your rifle. However, you can get rid of the salt by boiling your grease in water 2 or 3 times. Just put your grease in a pan of boiling water for a couple minutes and then let it cool until the grease rises to the top and congeals. Scoop it off and boil it again. About 3 times should get rid of the salt and little brown bits and you will end up with a nice clean white grease. Simpler yet is just going to your local store and buying a pound of lard. Lard is nothing more than pork grease the same as bacon grease except that it is already clean and salt-free. And it is cheap. Lard or bacon grease can get a bit messy in warm weather. To avoid this, just melt your grease and add some bees wax to stiffen it up a bit. Exactly how much bees wax to add will depend on how hot or cold the weather is. You discover the answer to this question by experimentation. Back when I used to make my own patch lube, I made it pretty stiff and poured it into Altoids cans to harden. I'd make it about as stiff as shoe polish. Then I would cut a strip of patching material and drag it across the surface of my lube holding it against the lube with my left thumb while pulling the strip with my right hand. That would put just the right amount of lube on my patches which I would then cut at the muzzle. That was then. Now, I prefer to use straight Ballistol on my patches.
 
I always heard when using bacon fat as a lube you needed to add a filler of corn meal between the powder and patched ball :grin:
 
You can get pork belly pretty cheap from Asian or Mexican grocery stores if you have those in your area. $2/pound. That's what bacon's made from (in the US).

Of course, once you have a supply of pork belly you should learn to cure and smoke your own bacon, which is much, much better than the commercial stuff.
 
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