• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades
  • Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.

    We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.

    Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103

Patch lube for round ball shooting..........Lawdy.

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I pre-cut patches with an arch punch and stack them in prescription bottles. I squirt a small amount of detergent in next to the stack, and fill the bottle with water. Then I squish the stack of patches to force out air and draw in the soapy water. I usually remove patches in little stacks of 10-15, squeeze the wet stack as hard as I can to get rid of excess H2O, and put the patches in my 'ready' box (cap can). If they seem to be getting too dry, they can be re-wetted in the pill bottle, or just give the patch you are loading a big, sloppy, lick. I have been doing this for many years, and tried lots of techniques and lubes, andthis works best IMHO. I just wish detergents tasted better.
 
I have on hand now, Bore Butter, Mink Oil, and Go Jo. The Bore Butter I have on hand is an older can that is fairly firm. The other is in tubes and much thinner.

And indeed, there is all kinds of stuff people use for patch lube.
You can’t go wrong with mink oil, except in very hot weather if the arm has to stay loaded for a very long time.. then I use castor oil/alcohol mix.
 
I don’t use spit since I’m usually chewing tobacco, though it probably wouldn’t hurt any. I use Track’s mink oil or my homemade beeswax/crisco mix. Both work very well.
What ratio of beeswax versus crisco do you use?
 
What ratio of beeswax versus crisco do you use?
I start with equal parts of melted beeswax and crisco. I'll then add a bit more crisco or canola oil or olive oil to then thin it some for winter use. I want it thick enough to always remain solid but thin enough to melt under finger pressure while rubbing the patch into it.
 
I start with equal parts of melted beeswax and crisco. I'll then add a bit more crisco or canola oil or olive oil to then thin it some for winter use. I want it thick enough to always remain solid but thin enough to melt under finger pressure while rubbing the patch into it.
thanks!
 
I have used Dry patch Balistol and water, Hoppes BP lube and TOW mink oil all with good results. The Mink Oil and Hoppes I can tell zero difference between the two. When I am at the range I usually have a small dropper style bottle that i use to put a drop of Hoppes right in the middle of the pre cut patches that I use then rub it in with my finger before loading. I can shoot more rounds than I care to without the need to swab in my 32 while doing this.
 
I have used Dry patch Balistol and water, Hoppes BP lube and TOW mink oil all with good results. The Mink Oil and Hoppes I can tell zero difference between the two. When I am at the range I usually have a small dropper style bottle that i use to put a drop of Hoppes right in the middle of the pre cut patches that I use then rub it in with my finger before loading. I can shoot more rounds than I care to without the need to swab in my 32 while doing this.
Thanks for that information. I have a little Hopes left so I will most likely give that a try out of my Crocket rifle.
 
I can't say for sure if this was good lube or not. My Pa used his Pa's old Perc. .45 n the lube he used on the patching was lard, n Bag Balm also bear grease from the Bears he killed. I got to shoot it with my Pa back in the 50's n 60's. He gave the ML to his older Brother around 1970. Think i will try the Lard n the Bag balm, i don't have bear grease n i don't hunt them.
 
The original GoJo hand cleaner is excellent patch lube.

Is the newer Gojo formulation without Lanolin any good as a patch lube and cleaner still? I see some very old recommendations for this as a patch lube but wondering about the current version?
 
Back
Top