Straight Crisco as a Revolver Lubricant?

[average_shooter]

So a question to which I haven't found a precise answer in my searches here;

Recently I've begun "playing" around with a Uberti Cattleman (Colt SAA clone) in .357 Mag and have been wanting to try out black powder cartridges. I think I got the basics down, and loaded up 50 .38 Spc. rounds using Pyrodex P (FFFg sub.), though I haven't had a chance to shoot them yet.

I've read much about using crisco and beeswax in a 50/50 mixture as a bullet lube for black powder cartridges and made up a bunch to lube the bullets I loaded in my BP .38's. I've also read that BP and substitutes gets really gunky when fired through guns lubed with regular petrolium-based lubricants.

So the question I have is: can I or should I clean/degrease my firearm then re-lube with straight Crisco before shooting BP for easier cleanup after my shooting session? Then perhaps clean and re-lube with a petro-based lube for storage between session?

Also, in case it matters, I've also been wanting to try these rounds through a Marlin 1894C and wondering if the Crisco-lube idea would work there too.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[BCRider]

As I read the resources the Crisco shortening-beeswax mix it is more as a sealant for cap and ball revolvers and as a patch lube for muzzle loading balls than as a general lubricant. The sealing of the cylinders being a good idea so as to avoid any risk of chainfiring and the general dryness of the consistency for patches being thick enough to avoid contanimating more than a few granules of the powder in contact with the patch when rammed home.

You're right about the references to BP residue and petro oils. But you don't need this thick and sticky option. Just regular vegetable oil will do the job. I've been using Canola oil all summer for my BP cap and ball revolvers with excellent results. Canola being another vegtable oil. It cleans up super easily. It's not even all that bad for short term storage so if you plan on shooting again within a week or two just slather it down with canola and put it away. But for long term storage of more than a month the Canola does tend to start polymerizing to a sticky layer that in time will harden into a varnish like coating much like linseed oil. So you'd want to be sure to clean it up with hot soapy water and then dry and re-lube before too much time passes.

Another option is to get and use Balistol. It's a proper gun oil that is both BP and smokeless friendly. Many of the guys here swear by it and report easy cleanup. As soon as I find it for sale around here I'm going to switch to it for all my BP gun use and likely the smokeless guns as well.

Anyhow back to you cartridge loads. All you'll need to do is clean up the petro oil from the cylinder and barrel. From there maybe a bit of Balistol or Canola or even Criso OIL (not the shortening) and a wipe with some dry patches to leave just a light film similar to doing regular gun prep and you're ready for the day.

You'll find that the BP along with any residual veggie oil cleans up easily with hot water with a bit of soap along with a bore brush. If you have just the right depth in a container that the barrel is flooded but not the action you can strip out the cylinder and dunk the barrel without flooding the action which makes for a quick job.

 

[hushnel]

I have to agree with the Balistol. A buddy of mine was shooting his Henry for years with nothing but black powder and couldn't get into the lower action to clean it. Knowing how corrosive the BP is he was worried, so he would just spray the Henry down with a solution of 1 part Balistol to 10 parts water to neutralize the residue. When he finally found a gunsmith that could open up the side plates he said it looked like everything was covered in black grease but under it the metal was perfect, no rust no pitting.

It’s good stuff I order it on line by the case of 12 X 16 oz bottles and distribute it to my buddies.

 

[average_shooter]

All you'll need to do is clean up the petro oil from the cylinder and barrel. From there maybe a bit of Balistol or Canola or even Criso OIL (not the shortening) and a wipe with some dry patches to leave just a light film similar to doing regular gun prep and you're ready for the day.

Thanks much, BCRider, that's what I was looking for. To clarify, I didn't mean to imply I would use the Beeswax/Crisco mixture as the lubricant, just wanted to know if the shortening itself might make a decent general lube. I'll try the canola oil trick though until I can find some Balistol.

EDIT: Hushnel, thanks for that anecdote as well, I have heard Balistol is good, but that sounds really awesome that it would work like that for your friend.

 

[Pulp]

You probably won't have much problem in a revolver, but the lube on most cast bullets is made for smokeless powder. It's too hard for BP, and there's not enough of it. But you usually only run into problems when using them in rifles.

APP is one BP sub that is compatible with the hard wax smokeless bullets. Some of the others may be also, not sure.

 

[average_shooter]

You probably won't have much problem in a revolver, but the lube on most cast bullets is made for smokeless powder.

I read about that, thanks to searching the forum. I took some lead bullets and melted off the hard lube they came with, then made up a beeswax/crisco mixture and pan-lubed them. I am actually pretty impressed with how well the process has worked for me so far. But thanks for the advice.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

There's about 50 popular formulas for black powder cartridge bullet lube. In addition, there are grease cookies, scrubber wads, fillers annd other crazy variables. Beeswax is the old standby, used by Amries around the world back in the day. I know this will sound crazy, but you know that red wax that covers gouda or Edam cheese. I mix that with bees wax and use it for a bullet lube. It works well for me.

IMHO crisco is too soft and gunky.

As for the modern smokeless lube. I have a .357 single shot Martini Cadet rifle, and a 38 S&W Ideal tong tool. I got a deal on a few thousand prelubed lead bullets. My daughter loads her own black powder loads with a grease cookie behind that smokeless lubed bullet. She won a few 100 yd offhand matches against the guys. The grease cookie was 1/8 inch and loaded right on top the powder. It is amazing what can work.

 

[messerist]

I use Crisco as a cover grease for my Cap & Ball revolvers. I think it works fine and is very inexpensive. I am also a Ballistol convert but still use Moose Milk which is another good BP solvent.

 

[madcratebuilder]

I didn't mean to imply I would use the Beeswax/Crisco mixture as the lubricant, just wanted to know if the shortening itself might make a decent general lube

Beeswax/Crisco/Paraffin with a little Ballistol makes a great arbor grease for both open tops and small pin revolvers. Makes great grease cookie too.