Mink Oil Paste

[BlackRock52]

I was "advised" to use Mink Oil Paste as a lube - patches and/or bullets.
Any experience? Is this "advice" for real?

 

[Bassdog1]

Yes it is an excellent patch lube have never used it to lube bullets. Track of The Wolf sells it. It is all I use for hunting.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Yes it is an excellent patch lube have never used it to lube bullets. Track of The Wolf sells it.

Note this is not a typical 'mink oil' product sold for use on shoes or boots that may have a petroleum product in it - please don't use that stuff. TOW's mink oil is really wicked AWESOME, as only a boy from Boshstin (that's 'Boston' for you Southerners ... ) can say it!

Once when I was scoring the final shooting station at a primitive MZL biathlon in VT - when it was a balmy 16-degrees out - just in the 1st hour alone, 7 shooters using Bore Butter and 1 using spit patches all broke their wood ramrods trying to attempt a load and shoot. Thankfully no one was seriously injured! Knowing it was ccccccold out, I had a long multi-caliber brass ramrod (tapped 8-32 and 10-32 on opposite ends) with me, along with a tub of TOW mink oil, to help them at least finish out their day ...

FYI, in warmer months I use Hoppe's BP Patch Lube ... shoot all day without wiping the bore! It's not the best cleaner though ...

 

[EC121]

You can mix Track's mink oil with other natural oils to make it as thick or thin as you want. I have a coffee cup warmer that I use. It will melt the mink oil right in the plastic tub for mixing. I saved the plastic tub when I threw out all the Bore Butter it held.

 

[Des52]

TOTW mink oil is all I use anymore, it works in all weather conditions, it gets cold around here.

 

[hanshi]

Mink oil from TOW is my go-to patch lube for the bush, excellent stuff! Flint62Smoothie got it right on mink oil AND Hoppes BP lube.

 

[kyron4]

I just order a "puck" of Mink Oil from TOW. Should have it any day now. Got it to use mainly for cold weather hunting. Do you just rub the patch on the Mink Oil lightly or put a big smear on the patch ?

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Do you just rub the patch on the Mink Oil lightly or put a big smear on the patch?

I myself use the smear it on the patch technique and find I can be more consistent that way.

 

[Art Caputo]

Another hard core proponent of TOTW Mink Oil. Been using it exclusively as a patch lube for LRB’s for years. Great stuff!

 

[tenngun]

I use it for patches and grease my wading with it. Mix it with olive oil after cleaning i oil my bore with it.

 

[Snydly]

I was "advised" to use Mink Oil Paste as a lube - patches and/or bullets.
Any experience? Is this "advice" for real?

For shooting at the range or just general plinking I use spit patches. For hunting I use Mink oil(paste). Works great! Have used it for over 25 years. Highly recommend.

 

[gunpa]

Just got some Tow mink lube. Forgot to try it yesterday, like a dummy.

 

[Des52]

I am in the smear on club two. It works really well in my .36 flintlock, keeps the fouling soft and makes it easy to load. I used to have to swab after two or three shots, after I started to use the mink oil I can shoot up to a dozen times before swabing.

 

[Mad L]

I love TOW Mink Oil, but lately I have been comparing three different lubes:
TOW Mink
Shenandoah Valley Patch Lube
Bear Oil

Not making 'paste' with the Bear or Shenandoah, just use straight from bottle.
I shot 5 rounds (.50cal rb) using each to see how the ball ran down as the barrel fouled, only dry wiped between shots then quick clean wet before changing lube.
I found that the Bear Oil always slid down with the least effort, TOW came in second (imo) and Shenandoah last.

Now maybe if I mixed the Bear oil with beeswax it may perform more like TOW Mink as it seemed, to me, that there was a hint more in the barrel when wiping after each shot with TOW then with (no-wax) Bear Oil.

Another comparison with the three is that I can pre-lube with TOW Mink and with Bear Oil and the don't dry out, Shenandoah on the other hand dries out quickly!
But, following Shenandoah's directions I find that good wet patch or two before leaving the range does make cleaning at home much easier then before I began using it.

But still love TOW Mink Oil, always have two or three cans on hand.

 

[david w]

Just got some Tow mink lube. Forgot to try it yesterday, like a dummy.

Well, have you ever gone to the range and forget to take your round balls?

 

[JackP]

Just tried it yesterday with patched round ball in a .69 cal. musket. Seem to work great so far.

Jack

 

[winter1857]

Plus the TOW Mink Oil containers are great themselves when emptied. I've got two in use right now holding jags, worms, scrapers, patches, etc. I love tough stuff that I can reuse.

 

[Des52]

I love TOW Mink Oil, but lately I have been comparing three different lubes:
TOW Mink
Shenandoah Valley Patch Lube
Bear Oil

Not making 'paste' with the Bear or Shenandoah, just use straight from bottle.
I shot 5 rounds (.50cal rb) using each to see how the ball ran down as the barrel fouled, only dry wiped between shots then quick clean wet before changing lube.
I found that the Bear Oil always slid down with the least effort, TOW came in second (imo) and Shenandoah last.

Now maybe if I mixed the Bear oil with beeswax it may perform more like TOW Mink as it seemed, to me, that there was a hint more in the barrel when wiping after each shot with TOW then with (no-wax) Bear Oil.

Another comparison with the three is that I can pre-lube with TOW Mink and with Bear Oil and the don't dry out, Shenandoah on the other hand dries out quickly!
But, following Shenandoah's directions I find that good wet patch or two before leaving the range does make cleaning at home much easier then before I began using it.

But still love TOW Mink Oil, always have two or three cans on hand.

Did you compare the three in cold weather? I would bet the mink oil would be the winner in a mid winter hunt.

 

[gunpa]

Well, have you ever gone to the range and forget to take your round balls?

I had bunches of prelubed patches with me already.

 

[Mad L]

Did you compare the three in cold weather? I would bet the mink oil would be the winner in a mid winter hunt.

It was a pleasant 65 degrees.
Yes in Winter the Mink would have been choice, however the Bear was not mixed with wax. The Bear Oil straight I have found begins to freeze (turns thick white) around 36 degrees but the TOW Mink mix also hardens up pretty good as well. This last Winter I had around 12+ prelubed Mink patches in my tin, they almost took two hands to separate and were like waxed cardboard.
Now where cold weather comes in, the Shenandoah (sitting on the bench) did not harden, i don't know what its ingredients are? However it does dry up fast as mentioned and not as 'slick' at TOW or Bear Oil so i really don't find it suitable for pre-lubing - but lubed one at a time from the bottle it works great in cold weather.

Now if the Bear Oil was mixed with beeswax then in cold weather I feel (short of testing) it would, maybe, beat TOW Mink mixture.