Lube-Pills. Got to love them.

[Ugly Sauce]

I was going to take the Remington 1863 on a hike, and do some in-the-field shooting with it, for some "real time" with the "lube pills". But, been busy so I went out back, which is woods, and pretended I was in the field. Wow, the pills are slick. Just no mess. Yeah, when you press the pill in and "swipe", you get a tiny bit of lube on the end of your finger. Wipe it off on a tree or rock. Good to go.

The really cool thing is that when I broke the pistol down for cleaning, I discovered that the lube is blowing onto the cylinder pin, and lubing it. There was no fouling on the pin. I did not lube the pin in advance with the bullet/ball lube-pill lube. That sucker was clean, with a thin layer of lube on it. Again, it had some oil on it before shooting, but no lube. ?

I have never had my Remington foul the cylinder pin, or start to retard the rotation of the cylinder from fouling, but I've heard others complain about that. But I don't usually fire a large round-count.

As usual, bore was/is very clean, and other than a very thin layer of lube on the cylinder face, no gooey mess.

So, not for everyone, but I find it a real winner for field use.

 

[shootemup58]

Remind us again of your lube recipe

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Oh, I just mix bee's wax and wonder lube 1000 until I get a consistency I like. I throw in a little canning-wax, but have no idea if it does anything. But I think any kind of wax and lube would work. I have used bacon grease and bee's wax in a pinch, and that seemed to work the same. I "think" the Wonder Lube has some cleaning properties. When I cleaned the pistol yesterday, I kid you not, one patch wet with Windex, one more damp one, and a dry patch, and that barrel was clean. The oily patch came out clean as new. The rest of the gun had the normal amount of soot on it, although I'm pretty sure it is much less with 4fg, than with the bigger granulations.

 

[Navy Six 2]

I am a fan of the "lube pills" as well. I like them better than the wool wads as they seem to do the same thing with less work to make. I finally bought a pair of Uberti Remingtons last year. Using the pills I kept waiting for the guns to start dragging due to fouling but after 40 rounds each they were still running pretty good. Since I intend to use these guns occasionally at Cowboy Shooting Matches, this was good news. I did this on only two separate occasions before the weather turned cold, but I intend to continue the experiment now that Spring is just around the corner.

 

[J-Bar]

Lube in front of the ball always made more sense to me. I did it that way for 20 years of cowboy action competition with a similar recipe and for the same results you describe.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I'm impressed that others know of the Lube Pills. I've never heard of them or the technique before I "discovered" or "invented" them myself. I re-invented the wheel! Lube over the ball has gotten a very bad reputation, due to using crisco, which indeed is a big mess, and will melt and run into the holster on a hot day. Been there done that!

It certainly provides more lube for the ball or bullet, other than the "big lube bullets" which for me are heavier and longer than I like, or that one can get under a ball with a lubed wad (which will contaminate the powder over time) or that a bullet will hold in the lube-grooves.

 

[hawg]

Lube pills or cookies have been around a long time.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Lube cookies I'm aware of. I've been around for a long time, but often only semi-awake.

 

[noelf2]

Never use them. Always figured they have to foul some powder getting squished into it by the ball like that.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Never use them. Always figured they have to foul some powder getting squished into it by the ball like that.

They go over the ball or bullet. Nothing touching that sweet Pixie Dust but lead.

 

[Navy Six 2]

I use my lube pills under the ball. However, at a Cowboy match they aren't loaded for any length of time before being fired. Also I make the lube a bit stiffer for that purpose. If loading the cylinders the night before a Match, I will insert a thin milk carton wad between the powder and lube. It really doesn't take a large amount of lube to work. The nice thing about percussion pistols is you can tailor your powder/lube/bullet combinations to suit a particular need.

 

[armoredman]

Ok, never heard of this - how do you make a lube pill? Interesting idea, for certain.

 

[woodnbow]

Sadly it’s already being done commercially…

18 bucks a hundred before shipping… dang! I’m in the wrong business!

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Ok, never heard of this - how do you make a lube pill? Interesting idea, for certain.

Scrape it up with a popsickel stick until you get the right amount, for whatever size ball you want/need, (they don't need to be very uniform in size) then roll it into a ball with yer fingers, and SHAZAM!

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I use my lube pills under the ball. However, at a Cowboy match they aren't loaded for any length of time before being fired.

Right, one could do that for target shooting, plinking or competition. My pistols remain loaded for long periods of time, and I carry them hiking/hunting/trekking/exploring/map-n-compass work, so under the ball/bullet would be pretty embarrassing. "Poof". "Oh wait a minute Mr. Wolf or Cougar while I fire off the other four or five, and get some fresh loads in the gun"!!!

Does the pill under the bullet keep the bore exceptionally clean, as does pill over bullet? (or ball)

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Sadly it’s already being done commercially…View attachment 1138255View attachment 1138256

18 bucks a hundred before shipping… dang! I’m in the wrong business!

Ha, yeah, I need to get out more, never saw those before. And I was just working on a patent too. Do'H! However, I think one can make 100 lube pills themselves for like maybe a dollar or less...quite a savings.

 

[hawg]

Right, one could do that for target shooting, plinking or competition. My pistols remain loaded for long periods of time, and I carry them hiking/hunting/trekking/exploring/map-n-compass work, so under the ball/bullet would be pretty embarrassing. "Poof". "Oh wait a minute Mr. Wolf or Cougar while I fire off the other four or five, and get some fresh loads in the gun"!!!

Does the pill under the bullet keep the bore exceptionally clean, as does pill over bullet? (or ball)

FWIW General Robert E. Lee kept a black waxy substance over the balls in his 51 navy.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

FWIW General Robert E. Lee kept a black waxy substance over the balls in his 51 navy.

Wow, didn't know that. I have read that his pistol, still loaded from the war, was fired like 100 years later or something, and fired perfectly. ???

 

[hawg]

Wow, didn't know that. I have read that his pistol, still loaded from the war, was fired like 100 years later or something, and fired perfectly. ???

It was actually 7 years after his death, he died in 1870. I don't remember if they said it was still loaded from the war. I feel like it was more for waterproofing than any lube benefit.

 

[Miguel Loco]

Looks like an easy way to go.......gonna try it out myself. Much easier than felt/wax or whatever other goop I've used. Thanks for the idea US.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

It was actually 7 years after his death,

My memory sucks. I'm pretty sure it was still loaded from the war, that was the big deal about what I read, that after all those years it fired off just fine.

 

[J-Bar]

Mizzoorah redneck version:

Melt beeswax and Crisco together ( I use a small crockpot in the garage to avoid kitchen incidents. 50-50 by volume, about, not rocket science.) After stirring, pour the liquid mix out on a piece of waxed paper covering an old cookie baking sheet. I want a puddle 1/4" to 1/2" deep. After it solidifies, cut the puddle up, put some in an Altoid box for range use.



After charging the chambers with powder and ball, wipe the lube across the chamber mouth; hold the lube stick still and rotate the cylinder under it with your thumb. The edge of the chamber scrapes off enough lube to do the job, and the stick rubs off onto the cylinder face as well. No need to completely seal the chamber, or wipe off the cylinder face...which you can do if you want but it won't be necessary.

 

[hawg]

The main problem with Crisco is most people use too much. They fill the void between ball and chamber mouth and it melts and runs all over the place or gets blown all over the gun. Just a little around the edges of the balls is all you need. It's still messy to some extent tho.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

The first time I tried 100% Crisco, back in the day, I'll never forget popping off a couple loads, and then looking at the front of the cylinder and seeing all this clear and sooty melted Crisco running all over the place. Pretty much none left on the unfired chamber(s). Yes it got blown all over the gun and ran all over the place. !!!

Having said that, a Crisco-wax mix would be as good as any other I'm sure.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

No need to completely seal the chamber, or wipe off the cylinder face...which you can do if you want but it won't be necessary.

I like to be sure to completely seal the chamber. A little extra waterproof protection, and falling in a crick in the spring when they are running hard is a real possibility for me. Yes, a sane normal person would just pack a cartridge revolver...but the cool factor...you can't beat the cool factor of packing a cap-N-ball!