Navy Six 2
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Thanks, Articap. I now remember seeing that. I will have to come up with several similar tools in a variety of sizes. I generally use a lube disc in .357, .375, .400, .430 and .450.
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Put the grease under the ball
- Thread starter kell
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There's a lot of ways to get to the same end. For me, black powder is not real high tech or precise. It's a lot of fun. I've got extra cylinders, so - powder, ball, meal, lube works great. I can do 6 cylinders (36 rounds) and have an easy (???) clean-up.
dickydalton
Member
Well, here's three wads to look at, two of them stuck to the balls. If you enlarge it you will see rifling marks on the wads and on the ball that didn't expand. Also you'll see that no flame went past the wads. I've been using these wads, from The possible Shop, and my homemade Gatfoe #1 lube for many years. I've also left cylinders loaded for over a year and they still fired fine so I guess the lube didn't ruin the powder.
TheOutlawKid
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When it comes to lube and storing it in a cartridge of paper or brass or in a cap n ball cylinder...i always separate the lube from powder and ball/bullet using a single wax paper disk, milk carton disk, or moisture proof paper plate (they are wax coated on one side)...even certain poker cards can be used to make disks. You just want a material that wont allow the lube to contaminate the powder or stick to the end of the bullet/ball. Also keep in mind that when making paper cartridges that this method may not work as the lubes oil/fat will soak into the paper cartridge material and then into the powder...completely bypassing the protective disk. Thats why i use a very stiff thin lube disk that wont migrate oils into paper and has very little contact with the paper. I also use RAW rolling paper as it doesnt soak up oils as much. I have a friend who stored his gun loaded with gato feo #1 lubed wads between powder and ball and it always shot well after being stored and didnt think that the lube was contaminating the powder. One day he chronograph tested his loads and found that his chambers that were stored for a few days were shooting about. 2/3 to 3/4 the speed. He was sure it was due to powder contamination...to be sure he decided to do a control test and load two cylinders with weighed powder loads and ball but one cylinder had a lubed felt wad with gato feo #1 lube and the other didnt. He let the cylinders sit for a week. Then shot them over a chronograph and got the same results of lower speeds that ranged from about 50 fps to 300 fps slower, which is a large range which im guessing is due to some chambers had more contamination that others. He then decided to put a barrier between his lubed wads and powder and it resolved the issue. For years he had always put the wad directly on top of powder and never noticed powder contamination as the chambers always went off...which i think was because gato feo #1 lube mix is pretty stiff so it didnt release alot of oil into the powder but a softer lube would have contaminated the powder even more. Again...he didnt notice until he shot over a chronograph. Hes the one who got me to always use a barrier. I got him to use a second barrier between lube and ball/bullet because i noticed the lubed wad/disk sometimes sticks to the end of the bullet/ball which caused inaccurate shot placement. Made the bullet go all over the place. Just thought id share why it can be a good idea to seperate the lube from the powder and bullet/ball....a simple card or wax paper disk can work wonders and improve your shooting experience. Results may vary depending on lube/powder/card material/bullet or ball used...so experiment and have fun!
I have been using soy wax as my lubricant. I started using pure soy wax, that crumbled easier than I thought it would. The last mixture was 3 parts soy wax and 1 part beeswax. This mixture I cut into a disk using a 357 case. No more crumbling. I am still experimenting with the thickness. The wax disk is placed over the powder, then a .375 round ball on top. I have had good luck with this combination as the accuracy stays good, and easy cleaning. I don’t keep my ‘51 loaded. If I did then I would rethink the loading system, probably putting a card over the powder then the wax disk.
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.38 Special
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As best as I can tell, the most common original load was paper cartridges, and the great majority of those contained a conical bullet lubed by dipping into melted tallow/beeswax mixture. Since turning to that method I have been able to fire more that 100 consecutive loads without cleaning - and without blowing Crisco and breakfast cereal all over the landscape.
Folks are free to pursue the hobby however they choose, of course, but lordy some of us make it complicated!
Folks are free to pursue the hobby however they choose, of course, but lordy some of us make it complicated!
DocRock
member
Insert paper cartridge, complete with lube cookie, into cylinder. Place ball on top. Ram home. Cap. Enjoy. Repeat.
Insert paper cartridge, complete with lube cookie, into cylinder. Place ball on top. Ram home. Cap. Enjoy. Repeat.
What kind of lube you are using, and do you separate somehow lube from powder?
DocRock
member
It’s ye olde beeswax-Crisco-coconut oil. And yes, I use a waxed card between powder and lube to keep them separate.
woodnbow
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I’m using a blend of Stihl synthetic HP chainsaw oil and SPG blackpowder bullet lube. (One bar of lube mixed with one 2.5 oz. bottle of the Stihl HP.) For summer I add a quarter cup of peanut oil and for winter about twice that much vege oil. Most any vege oil will do. Zero leading even from a Ruger Old Army which leaded terribly with round ball. I shoot bullets from it mostly at velocities up to 900 fps and no lead. Easy cleaning too.
woodnbow
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Love the smell of coconut oil!
I use FFF Goex, and round ball mostly. About 27 grains. I still haven't had any leading. Not sure how many shots, but a few hundred. I was shooting round balls past 1100fps with Pyrodex RS, full cylinder. Still no leading. Fouling comes out with water. I clean it with motor oil, and shoot 100 or fewer most trips, and just the oil residue is enough to keep it lubed and clean. I shoot a Pietta Remington .44
DocRock
member
I use it in the summer for a slightly “harder” lube. I also throw a little Murphy’s Oil Soap in there in the almost certainly mistaken belief that it aids in cleaning
pacolt
Member
I use black powder then the ball and bore butter on top. Thats it. I have lubed felt wads but dont use them because i keep mine loaded for carry and the lube can seep into the powder and screw it up. Im pretty sure they didnt have wads back in the old west when these guns were used. Change my mind........
DocRock
member
They certainly had wads - figured in muzzle loading and cartridge loading. Whether anyone used them or not in cap and ball revolvers, I can’t say.
But they didn’t have Bore Butter
You need to get some bear grease...
woodnbow
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Most black powder revolvers I’ve shot do not lead much if at all. This Ruger? Oh yeah! It’s not really a rough bore and it’s been lapped but sans lube it leaves tiny streaks of lead in the bore. Chambers are a thousandth or two over groove diameter and it’s very accurate.
At any rate. I use this lube for bore riding rifle bullets as well and those reach leading velocities 13-1400 fps easily without any evidence of leading.
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