Can Crisco Lard be used for Patch lube?

[eaglesnester]

This is probably a stupid question but bare with me as I am a newby to the sport of shooting rock locks. I understand that a vegetable based lube is used for patches. Would Crisco vegetable based lard work, or would Crisco pork fat based lard work for patches? I have heard that beeswax works and is mixed with another product. If so what do you mix beeswax with? I am an avid reloader of center fire rifle and I use a product called RCBS case lube and or Imperial Sizing Die Wax to lube my brass before resizing in a sizing die. Would either of these two lubes work for round 490 balls with .015 patches? I have put a few balls downrange with both Imperial Sizing Die wax and RCBS lube and it seems to work, balls go down the bore with the ramrod easy, clean up seems not to be a problem. Hope I am not or have not damaged my bore.
I live in Canada, (the I cant get it country no matter what it is). I will try and order some ballistol from Brownells and see if I can get it shipped in the mail. I know they did have some restrictions on the shipping of liquids but I think that has been lifted.

Cheers & Tighter Groups: Eaglesnester

 

[Jblk]

I used crisco soaked denium as patch material in my squirrel rifle for several years and it worked great.

 

[old ugly]

i have used crisco lard . my gun fowls up real quick with it . the only time i use it now is hunting and i know that the gun will only be fired a few times. good in the damp climate .
all other times i spit patch.

 

[BrownBear]

I tried it, and it does a great job of keeping the fouling soft. The downside for me was use in warm weather. It get's real soft, and because I lube and cut patches at the muzzle, pretty quick I had it all over the place. I thought of stiffening it a little by blending in a little beeswax, but then I had close to a gallon of rendered deer tallow looking for a reason to be kept. I ended up "thinning" that with a little olive oil to come back to near the texture of crisco. Go for it with the plain crisco, but think about alternatives for warm weather.

 

[longcruise]

The crisco works fine. I use the veg based. In fact, was not aware that there is a crisco "lard". Is it made from animal fat?

I add about 10% bees wax to crisco for a good hunting lube. Throw in a piece of red or purple crayon for a fancy color.

It's easy to overdo the amount of lube regardless of what you use. Brownbears problems might have been related to too much lube. I had the same problem he had when it was overdone. Definition of "overdon" being purely subjective and subject to endless experimentation of course!

 

[J.D.]

If the case lube prevents fouling, why not stay with it? However, for plinking or target shooting, liquid soap and water type lubes work well. Even windshield wiper fluid works pretty well, as does saliva. Just suck on a coupla patches as you are loading and shooting.

UNSALTED Crisco works, as does mutton tallow, olive oil, bear grease or bear oil. Natural neetsfoot oil, not the synthetic neetsfoot, but the real thing, works good too, as does mink oil and almost any other non-synthetic oil, either alone or blended with roughly 40-60% beeswax.

I haven't had all that much luck with Balistol, as a patch lube, though I haven't tried blending it with beeswax. IMHO, Balistol is over rated as a bore preservative too.

As with all things, your mileage may vary
God bless

 

[B.Habermehl]

I used to use Crisco, I found stuff I like better. I use olive oil for hunting, and Simple Green soap for target shooting. There is nothing wrong with Crisco, it's just messy. I like the Simple Green soap better for target shooting, and general clean up. The reason I don't use Simple green for hunting is any soap will have some water in it. Needles to say "Keep your powder dry!"

 

[BrownBear]

Brownbears problems might have been related to too much lube. I had the same problem he had when it was overdone.

Nah. My problem was keeping it in whatever container I had it in. Pop the lid to use a little and it seems to migrate all over tarnation. Up and over the lip of the tin as you swipe the patch, onto my hands, and lord help you if the lid's not tight when you drop the tin back in your bag.

I want a lube that's firm enough not to smoosh out ahead of patching when you drag it over the surface. Firm, but just soft enough to leave a thin film on the patching with a single pass. I actually have two versions of my tallow/olive oil concoction. I use 3:1 in warmer weather, 2:1 in colder weather.

Just bought a tin of TOW's mink oil grease, and that's looking like just the ticket. I put it in the freezer and it swiped onto a patch just right. Set it in a warm place (80+ degrees), and it still didn't smoosh out when I dragged the patching across it. Cheap, and there's a whole lot of it in that big tin they sell.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Glad to hear that about TOW's mink oil grease. I just bought some to try in my new fowler and I haven't tried it yet. At my age, set in my ways as I am, trying new things is a bit of a challenge.

The old beeswax and tallow mix is still excellent and can be adapted to temperature differences by changing the ratio of tallow to beeswax and even using olive oil if necessary to keep it soft.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Yep god old lard and beeswax. I've used it for over fourty five years. From pure lard down below 10 degrees F to 20% bees wax for up to 100 degrees F. ? I started using it when Sperm whale oil was banned from sale in the sixties.But crisco will work just as well. Turner Kirkland used to recommend crisco even when sperm whale oil was still available.

 

[ozark57]

I just experimented wth Crisco. It works great below about 80 F Gets nasty when it gets hot. If you add bees wax it makes it a lot neater. If you keep this in a container you can throw it in the microwave heat it up and put your patches in to pre-lube. I have found nothing better ( or cheaper) :thumbsup:

 

[hanshi]

My regular is Hoppes #9 Plus but I use Crisco if the gun will stay loaded for more than one day. I've used it a lot over the years and have had no problems with it. I didn't know Crisco made a lard.

 

[ozark57]

My regular is Hoppes #9 Plus but I use Crisco if the gun will stay loaded for more than one day. I've used it a lot over the years and have had no problems with it. I didn't know Crisco made a lard.

Is there a difference in Hoppes#9 and #9 plus? I've used #9in my modern guns for years.

 

[hanshi]

Yes there is. Hoppes #9 Plus is sold as a black powder lube and Hoppes #9 is the one you're familiar with. Hoppes #9 Plus black powder lube is excellent stuff. It allows me to shoot all afternoon without fouling buildup.

 

[Semisane]

I've tried an awful lot of patch lubes and some of them were pretty weird concoctions. I've yet to find anything better than straight olive oil. That's all I use now.

 

[longcruise]

I want a lube that's firm enough not to smoosh out ahead of patching when you drag it over the surface. Firm, but just soft enough to leave a thin film on the patching with a single pass.

I can see that, and have had the same problem when using it that way.

I shoot either square pre-cut or cut at the muzzle patches. If you put a spare amount on a strip of patching, roll it up and give it short trip in the microwave, that pretty much takes care of the goombah problem.

I hear a lot about TOW mink oil. What's it really made of? How much mink oil is in a container? Might be something to try.

 

[ohio ramrod]

If you are interested in the mink oil you might want to try the synthetic sperm whale oil that Dixie sells. I have some and can not tell it from the real stuff. ( I still have a few ounces of the real stuff left from the early sixties. )The sperm whale oil was considered the absolute best in the old days both for guns and watches.It is really reasonably priced I don't have the catalog handy but I think it was about $4.00 for 8 ounces. Their web site should have it.

 

[BrownBear]

I hear a lot about TOW mink oil. What's it really made of? How much mink oil is in a container? Might be something to try.

According to their catalog, it's made from mink fat. It's a white grease, and I got a nice surprise:

The catalog clearly sezz it's a 6 ounce container and that's what's in the picture, but the one I just got is labeled 8 ounces. I wasn't quite ready for how big a container that is. I just measured and the can is 4" across and 1.5" deep. I was prepared for something about the size of a paste shoe polish tin.

Sometimes a good deal jumps up and smacks you up side the head.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I haven't looked to see what Dixie is selling as " Synthetic" Sperm Whale Oil, but Jojoba oil is a natural replacement for the older oil. Its available from suppliers. Its expensive, but it works.( It comes from the Jojoba plant bean, which grows in the high desert plateaus of the American West.) :thumbsup:

 

[catman]

I've tried an awful lot of patch lubes and some of them were pretty weird concoctions. I've yet to find anything better than straight olive oil. That's all I use now.

I agree..