over ball lubricant recommendation

[Mean Gene]

Hello gentlemen, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good over the ball lubricant that will hold up to repeated recoil and also not melt out in summer heat.

 

[FishDFly]

I use a mixture of "Gulf Wax", vasoline and mineral oil and use the last 2 to make it softer or harder depending on the ambient temperature. Our state shoot might have temps around a 100 or so.

 

[hawkeye2]

I've used a number of commercial lubes but beeswax and Crisco or even better yet, beeswax and olive oil made stiff enough that you have to force it in place with a knife seems to work best.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I used to mix up a combination of bees wax shortenitn and vaseline like Mr. Eames does. There was some stuff called pistol patch, from blue and gray products, that came in a plastic squeeze tube like tub caulking, and was about the same consistency. When I could no longer find the stuff, I switched to tubs of bulk white high temperature lithium grease from the auto supply store. One pound will last a couple years. I put the grease in a metal icing press to use at the range.

When I first started, old timers used fibered water pump grease. It was pretty stiff as grease goes. Don't know if it is still available.

 

[Sasquash]

Nivea creme works fine for me.

Cheap.
Easy to get.
Easy to clean.
Your hands will smell good after a shooting session.

 

[bob308]

I used plan Crisco for years. then one place I worked had to use food grade grease on the machines. they changed brands and were throwing away the old. I brought some home and tried it. it works great now I have 2 barrels of it out in the shop. it works on my m1 also.

 

[nkbj]

I use LOOB (lanolin, olive oil, beeswax) for a known base. But hey, I try to use it for most everything any how.
Add a little of this, a little of that and presto it does whatever I need. Old crayolas let me color code a batch and not loose track of what's in it.

 

[hawkeye2]

This is one instance where the recommendation against petroleum based lubes doesn't seem to apply as the lube is not exposed to the flame and is pushed out the barrel ahead of the ball. One of the most effective over ball lubes I have ever used was from a quart can of Korean War vintage "Aircraft Screw Actuator and Instrument Grease" which I suspect was a lithium based grease.

I have never used wads and always shot 3f with Cream of Wheat filler however I'm going to try some lubed wads when I find the time to do a little shooting again. I won't abandon over ball lube even if the wads work well as I feel it lubes the forcing cone and to some extent the bore ahead of the ball.

 

[Billnpatti]

Many people use a lube of some kind over the ball in their revolvers. For some it is to prevent chain fires. For others, it is to lubricate the bore of their revolvers and for some it is supposed to do both. Personally, I have tried a few different lubes over the balls in my revolver and what I found was a mess was being created by the lube. So, I have chosen to use a lubed wad over the powder and no grease over the ball. The lube that I use is Bore Butter. I make my own wads from Duro Felt. I lubricate the sheet of felt before punching the wads. Then I punch out the wads and keep them in a small jar. Is this the best way to do it? :idunno: Well, it has seemed to work quite well for me and I have eliminated the greasy mess caused by putting grease over the ball.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Some (many?) use Crisco. But, I found it to be the wustust stuff ever. :shake: Too hard in winter and too messy in hot weather. Never used, but I saw champion shooters using white water pump grease. I tried lots of stuff over the years but eventually went to lubed wads and never looked back.

 

[Nativearizonan]

I think Crisco must be a different formula then it used to be. I bought some recently, probably the first time in decades, and it seems to become liquid at a much lower temperature than it used to; unless it is just my perception.

I'm just guessing, but it may be the desire to make it more acceptable to health conscious individuals.

 

[hawkeye2]

You are quite right, it was changed quite a number of years ago and while it may be healthier (I don't eat my lube or cook with it :grin: ) it doesn't work nearly as well as a lube.

 

[smoothshooter]

Why would you want to use lubricant over the ball?

It has no effect at preventing chainfires and makes a horrible mess.

 

[hawkeye2]

Look at my 2nd. post. It's not about chainfires. I never felt it made much of a mess if you use a stiff lube and when we shoot matches, specially team matches, we are never more than 3' apart at the most.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I also use lubed wads made with durofelt. I use a lube made with beeswax, parafin, and lard. Many use lamb fat instead of lard. After the wads are punched. I save the greased leftovers to use as fire starters.

I've used crisco and other lubes over the ball in the past. Wads are easier and cleaner. I even made wads from some leftover washed wool my wife bought for a project.

 

[sprucefly]

I've got a old can of Wolfshead water pump grease that I use. Wondering what I'll use when its gone. My father used it in an old original 1860 colt and a ruger OA. I've got about a third of it left.

 

[Golfswithwolves]

My lubricant in revolver chambers is a mixture of beeswax and Crisco to make a thick lube. I believe that beeswax has almost magical properties for this purpose but some other natural greases/oils probably could be used instead of the Crisco (but it's SO easy to get
Crisco at the store). I use this lube not over the ball but between a felt wad and the ball though, because it stays in place nicely without making a mess or attracting dirt and because it keeps the fouling very small, soft, and easily cleaned out.

 

[Mean Gene]

I recently started using 30 grains of powder under 20 grains of cornmeal with a .450 lead ball pressed down onto it, the lube isn't for chain fires it's just to lube the bullet.
I'm trying out the theory of getting the ball as close to the cone as possible to improve accuracy, however in the summer heat we have here most lubricants would melt rapidly.
I tried using lithium grease but most fell out of the chambers before they were even fired do to recoil of the gun.

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

Have you tried firing without and lube at all? When I shoot my Remingtons at CAS matches, I just shoot them with 40 grains of 2fg and just a ball. No wad or lube at all. Very accurate load and when I shoot Gunfighter category it makes a great spectacle. Now I must add that I rarely reload cylinders at the match. I replace the empty cylinder with a loaded one and while I am doing that I spray the cylinder pin with a shot of moose milk and wipe it down. But the load is accurate as can be and I can get 10 to 12 cylinders through in one day without a hitch.

 

[nkbj]

Anybody tried this stack?

Ball
Lube
Meal
Powder

I'd thought about it years ago but didn't have the means on hand to deposit a consistent lube amount from one chamber to the next. I tried to create a meal and lube mix for an over powder "wad" but that posed the same metering problem.
The idea was to make a lube cookie squish up around the backside of the ball and at the same time have the small meal dam that seals the grooves around the less than groove diameter ball and squeegees the rifling.
If any of yall have played around with it please give a shout.