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Patch Lubes

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You can go to your local cheese monger and find several cheeses from Switzerland but none of them are called "Swiss cheese".
 
Just about any plant oil or animal fat will work. Just don't use too much. I believe that Dutch Schultz's "dry patch" system worked so well is that it allows for a light lube with out too much lube. Years ago when I had too much time while recovering from back surgery I tested every plant oil and some animal fats I could come up with. Corn oil,olive oil. canola oil, cod liver oil, soy bean oil, castor oil, crisco, lard,sperm whale oil (both the real thing and the synthetic that Dixie sells) butter, coconut oil,and even some clove oil (sweet smelling stuff). They all performed the same!As the old brylcream add said. "Just a little dab will do you!"Two days of shooting and swabbing with alcohol soaked patches between each run and I came to the conclusion it isn't what you use, but how much you use!
 
Today I tried the Dutch Schultz dry patch and a old buckskin ear the dry patch worked great but I did like the old buckskin ear said wipe as you load with a wet patch on your jag as you push the ball down the bore
 
The other day on the range I got frustrated with the mess of using Bore Butter and started doing the spit patch and found that it loaded just as easy than the Bore Butter and zero mess and essentially swabbing the bore at the same time. So for range use from now on I’ll spit on it, I suppose I’ll use the Bore Butter for a hunting load so as to reduce the chance of contaminating the charge that will more than likely be sitting for awhile.
 
So for range use from now on I’ll spit on it, I suppose I’ll use the Bore Butter for a hunting load so as to reduce the chance of contaminating the charge that will more than likely be sitting for awhile.

I just place the patch on my tongue and press it against my upper palate for a few seconds.

A mixture of beeswax and olive oil makes a superb replacement for bore butter. Won't separate like bore butter and is less greasy IMO.
 
The Dollar store sells a household cleaner called Totally AWESOME. Mixed 50-50
with Murphy's Oil Soap it makes a splendid patch lube and cleaner. The Awesome contains a chemical that separates a porous substance from a solid surface. You end up with a big jug that lasts forever, can be found anywhere, and costs little.
 
Deermanct, you shore stepped in it now!
There are as many patch lubes as there are hairs on a blanket sized plew.
I'll end this timeless debate here and now. Everyone repeat after me, "The BEST patch lube ever is the one I like and use".

All funnin' aside, there are two types. Range and hunting. Difference being the range style doesn't sit for very long and the hunting style does.
The "best" tends to be different for our individual opinions. My "ideal" one keeps fouling soft, is slick enough that loading isn't too hard but not so slick that the PRB will "skip" the rifling and make for poor accuracy, protects the patch so it doesn't burn though (accuracy again), doesn't leave the patch smoldering badly and start fires, can stay loaded for some time without fouling the powder charge, and isn't too messy.

I have gone to just using a hunting style all the time. Like several above I've become fairly partial to TOTW mink oil. A tin lasts quite a while and it is very stable over a wide range of temps. It is very slick, I can change group sizes just by how much I apply. It doesn't take much at all. I apply mine by swiping the patch across the lube and then rubbing it out to the edges. Best way I can describe the amount I use on a patch is I use just barely enough that there is enough to rub it out to the edges. No more. Other than the Dutch style method that is how I apply all hunting type lubes.
I've also shot decent groups with bee's wax / olive oil, chap stick style like Bore Butter, Water/Ballistol (6:1 ratio Dutch style), Denatured alcohol / Castor oil (6:1 Dutch style), and Frontier's.
 
I also use Totally Awesome but I mix it 3:1 (3 parts water) no Murphys. It works well but I might try 50-50, stronger could be better. I clean with this before I go home, a 1 hour trip, and a quick clean at home and I'm done.
 
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