Black Powder lube

[OLD and GRUMPY]

Question for you black powder smokers.  We don't use gun oil to lube BP guns. This is because the Sulfur in BP reacts with the petroleum oil and heat to make asphalt. It "paves" the bore. In  cap&ball revolvers the cylinder pin gums up fast with natural lube.  On breach plugs and nipple threads I have been using Birchwood Casey Choke Tube Lube&Universal Lubricant so they don't stick. This is the same stuff as Permatex Anti-Seize .Temperature range: -60?F to 1600?F . I am thinking of using it on the cylinder pin and guts (not in bore or chambers).  What do you think?   

[top dog]

O&G,
Thompson Center (now out of business) made a vegetable based product called bore butter that did not react to BP the way petroleum based products do.

I am sure that there are other products out there that are similar. Frog Lube is vegetable based but needs the parts to be warm to be effective.

Check out Dixie Gun Works or Buffalo Arms,I am sure that they have the proper product for you.

                                                                                                 Top Dog

[pietro]

.

Bore Butter 1000+ is still available everywhere on the www (google it), and it's still made by the original producer - Ox-Yoke

I've been using nothing else other than that product and the No.10 Bore Cleaner since they were first introduced about 40 years ago - w/o any issues, in my BP long guns & C&B revolvers.

( I do use running hot water to clean nipples after I remove them for cleaning)

ILO just using the product, I highly recommend first reading the manufacturer directions regarding bore seasoning.

.

[OLD and GRUMPY]

I have Bore Butter and it works good  in cool/cold weather. 80s/90s it's a little too soft. Anything over 100 it turns to liquid and the pin needs to be re done every few cylinders. Big mess.  What I am asking is if there is any reason not to use the anti seize on the pin only? Reading up on it there is nothing in it to react with the slufur. It won't hold any more grit than Bore Butter.

[top dog]

O&G,
What ever works best for you. Give it a try,if it works that's great.

                                                               Top Dog

[bearcatter]

What did the old timers use, back when Black Powder was state of the art?

[OLD and GRUMPY]

What did the old timers use, back when Black Powder was state of the art?

Animal fat. Brits had trouble  with Colonial Troops. In India there  Islamic troops would not use the cartridges lubed with pig fat.

[top dog]

Bearcatter,
There was an old time primitive BP hunter I knew who use deer tallow to lube the patches.  No petroleum products at all and his BP guns were in perfect condition.

I think some of the old time lube used for mini balls and such was a mixture of fat and beeswax.

                                                                                                     Top Dog

[OLD and GRUMPY]

2 parts tallow/ 2 parts Paraffin wax/ 1 part Bees Wax. By Weight.

[top dog]

O&G
Yep,that is the old formula. Probably would work better than some of the stuff out there now.

                                                                    Top Dog

[Surculus]

What did the old timers use, back when Black Powder was state of the art?

Animal fat. Brits had trouble  with Colonial Troops. In India there  Islamic troops would not use the cartridges lubed with pig fat.

Specifically, the muslim native levees were averse to pig fat, and the Hindi levees were averse to cow fat. Ironically, the Brits never used anything but sheep tallow for their lube recipe for official purposes. So the Sepoy Mutiny never had a valid reason to cook off [heh. I may be indulging in some hyperbole there. Sue me!  ]

Regardless, I use triple-desalted lard collected from bacon drippings & the holiday ham. [Boil it, stick in the fridge. Scoop off the layer of fat, pour out the water. Rinse, lather, repeat. Eventually, the water is pretty clear & doesn't taste salty any more. Then you're done.] Mix w/ beeswax and rest easy knowing that if you're ever forced to shoot a terrorist w/ your smokepole, he won't be getting his 40 virgins in paradise...

I'd use sheep tallow but I'm poor & make do w/ the freecycled product, saving my ducats for the expense of the beeswax.