dry patch lube

[mike54]

I read alot of discussion on the 7 to 1 or 6 to 1 oil and water mix and letting them dry and leaving a light coating of oil on the patch and people having good results with it but i don't see anyone using it for hunting purposes and was wondering why? To me it should work well as a hunting lube also. Please comment as i'm curious. Thank You

 

[Rifleman1776]

"lot of discussion" is right. Really, the only way for you to get a good answer is to try several combos for your self.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Use of the dry lubed patches would be fine for the first shot. High accuracy is obtained from shot to shot by wiping the fouling from the bore with a damp patch following the shot. In a hunting situation, the following shots will be hard to load over the hard fouling. A greasy lube such as Track's Mink Oil will keep the fouling sort of soft and protect the bore from rusting. In most hunting cases, not many shots will be required. A lube such as Mink Oil is a better choice.

 

[necchi]

Of course the dry patch system works for hunting.
Why would anyone change it at all?
There's a lot of myth out there about "hunting loads" and what it takes to kill this or that.
Or "I need the max load for the rifle!" bull going on,,
The reality is an ethical hunter will use the most accurate load combination he can achieve with his rifle for hunting.
Another reality is there's a lot of guys that will shoot at a deer, a hunter will shoot at a deers heart.

 

[hanshi]

IMHO a "dry" patch is a patch without any usable lubricant. I like well lubed patches, never need to swab the bore and accuracy stays the same group after group.

 

[Timber Wolf]

I have only used my 1:5 Ballistol to water (dry) patches in a .62 smooth bore so far and it worked well at the range. I would not hesitate to hunt with it. I am going to try some of these patches in my (rifled) .54 Colonial tomorrow but am taking some prelubed also.

 

[longcruise]

I read alot of discussion on the 7 to 1 or 6 to 1 oil and water mix and letting them dry and leaving a light coating of oil on the patch and people having good results with it but i don't see anyone using it for hunting purposes and was wondering why? To me it should work well as a hunting lube also. Please comment as i'm curious. Thank You

It works fine for hunting. Ive used it on several hunts. You do need to wipe after your shots. It's part of the whole system of using the dry patch method. How fast you need to reload is opinion based on experience and experience varies a lot.

 

[mike54]

Thanks guys. I'm going to give it a try. I wipe between shots whether i'm hunting or target shooting so thats not an issue. Now the fun of finding which mix the gun likes most.

 

[Ghost23]

Of course the dry patch system works for hunting.
Why would anyone change it at all?
There's a lot of myth out there about "hunting loads" and what it takes to kill this or that.
Or "I need the max load for the rifle!" bull going on,,
The reality is an ethical hunter will use the most accurate load combination he can achieve with his rifle for hunting.
Another reality is there's a lot of guys that will shoot at a deer, a hunter will shoot at a deers heart.

Not me. I like to eat the heart! Double lung shot with archery. High shoulder shot with firearms.

 

[Kmcmichael]

I used the dry patch ballistol method (1 to 7)for about a year. I killed a deer with it. currently using up some wonderlube. I plan to hunt with mink oil patch this year. It is too windy at my range to judge accuracy to such a fine degree. If I can keep three shots in 3” at 100 meters, I feel like it is my birthday. I often cannot.

i find a wet patch easier to load. I generally run a spit patch between shots

 

[Erwan]

I'm not a fan of the patches dry/lubed: the first shot is good et after nothing cleans the bore. I use pure neatsfoot oil (any other oil can replace it: a friend of mine uses canola oil): that makes perfectly the lubrication and cleans the barrel (soft or rifled barrel)...

 

[mike54]

So far i have tried 6 to 1 , 7 to 1, and 4 to 1. the 6 to 1 and 7 to 1 was no good, the target posted was a 4 to 1 shot offhand at 50yds. I'm gonna give a 3 to 1 a try. still checking patches.

 

[ZUG]

During a few woods walks I started a few fires from smoldering patches - I gave up the "dry patch" method and went with either Hoppies #9 BP solvent or Mr. Flintlocks Lube as my patch lube.

 

[Frontier's]

Because that method requires you to swab between shots. Much better hunting lubes out there.

 

[Scota@4570]

During a few woods walks I started a few fires from smoldering patches - I gave up the "dry patch" method and went with either Hoppies #9 BP solvent or Mr. Flintlocks Lube as my patch lube.

That is my concern too. I too have had smoldering patches at the range. Out here the grass turns brown in May or so. After that fire danger is a concern.

In my experience, dry patch method and swabbing with a damp patch between shots had given my finest accuracy.

Being a target shooter I do not care about how many shots I can get off between swabbing. Those loads have never given me the best accuracy.

 

[Scota@4570]

So far i have tried 6 to 1 , 7 to 1, and 4 to 1. the 6 to 1 and 7 to 1 was no good, the target posted was a 4 to 1 shot offhand at 50yds. I'm gonna give a 3 to 1 a try. still checking patches.

That is amazing. IF you can consistently shoot 47X you need to compete at Friendship.

I do all load testing off the bench with a double rest and a peep sight. I want to eliminate the human element when testing loads. My natural wobble is about 4" at 50 yards. So, testing loads with a goal of 1" @ 50 yards off hand is pointless for me.

 

[mike54]

That is amazing. IF you can consistently shoot 47X you need to compete at Friendship.

I do all load testing off the bench with a double rest and a peep sight. I want to eliminate the human element when testing loads. My natural wobble is about 4" at 50 yards. So, testing loads with a goal of 1" @ 50 yards off hand is pointless for me.

Thank you for the compliment but my competitive days are over(health reasons). The shot that went in the 8 blew a patch so thats why i'm gonna try 3 to 1. My main reason for doing this is consistency and when it comes to accuracy consistency is everything.

 

[mike54]

During a few woods walks I started a few fires from smoldering patches - I gave up the "dry patch" method and went with either Hoppies #9 BP solvent or Mr. Flintlocks Lube as my patch lube.

I understand what your saying and i agree but once you reach a certain point i wouldn't really call it a dry patch as it is sufficiently lubed and won't smoulder but i always check for that just incase. To me a dry patch has no lube at all and i won't do that as it can cause problems none of us want. This is a very good way of consistently lubing patches and also does double duty as a cleaner when a little soap is added.

 

[mike54]

Because that method requires you to swab between shots. Much better hunting lubes out there.

I always run a lightly dampened patch between shots regardless of hunting or target shooting.

 

[stikshooter]

I have only used my 1:5 Ballistol to water (dry) patches in a .62 smooth bore so far and it worked well at the range. I would not hesitate to hunt with it. I am going to try some of these patches in my (rifled) .54 Colonial tomorrow but am taking some prelubed also.

Bring a means to remove your ( obstruction ) ! /Ed