Blackpowder patch lube

Couldn't find my old powder horn, so I picked one up from eBay for $20. Sure was pretty with a nice carved pattern, so I figured it was a bargain. Until I tried to fill it. Blasted vender never completely drilled the hole through to the hollow part of the horn. Too curvey for me to punch through it. Guess I just got a pretty twenty dollar wall hanger. You would think that by now I should know that ya get what yapay for?
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A bargain horn is never a bargain. You have to fill them from the spout and they leak air like a sieve. Spend a little more and get a good horn with a removable finial and airtight.
 
Hate to see a good horn, go to waste !!!

Blasted vender never completely drilled the hole through to the hollow part of the horn. Too curvey for me to punch through it.
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Hate to see a good horn, go to waste. Send me the EBay link and I may be able to provide some input. Sounds like you got one of the horns, currently made in India. I also do horn and antler work. .... :)

Be Safe !!!
 
There are lots of myths still alive and perpetuated by the unknowing.
I read a rather long & detailed article in Muzzle Blasts magazine about patch lube.
The article was nicely done with data to support ascertions.
Bottom line? The patch lube producing the best overall accuracy results was
"spit" and just enough spit to help seat the ball.
Worse results (for accuracy) were all the greases & heavy oils.
 
I have gotten excellent groups with very lightly oiled patches. That's the whole idea of the water/ballistol patch lube method. You make a mix of water and ballistol, soak the patching material and then let the water evaporate leaving behind an extremely light coat of Ballistol. These will not clean the bore as you shoot, you have to wipe the bore with cleaning patches between shots.
The ratio of water to Ballistol determines how heavily the patch is lubed. The water is just a temporary solvent.

What you want is a completely dry bore ahead of the ball before shooting. That's the idea behind Teflon coated patching material that the ML benchrest shooters almost universally use. Before loading, they wipe the bore with cleaning patches, using Windex or something similar, and then dry the bore with a dry cleaning patch. Then they load a very tight fitting roundball and Teflon coated patch through a coned false muzzle without any other lube. Some will load the powder using a drop tube so no powder grains stick to the side of the bore.
 
I went to the range today with my son's smokepole. Gave Hoppes black powder solvent and Birchwood Casey Muzzle Magic a good try. Both were effective, but the Muzzle Magic worked better as a patch lube. Could feel the difference after loading 7 or 8 rounds. Neither is as good as the white stuff I used over 20 plus years ago, course my recollection of the ease of reloading is when I was 30 plus years younger too. ;)
 
Ya, I used to regularly blanket shoot with a group back then. The milkey white stuff I used as a patch lube let me easily shoot 20 shots without swabbing the bore. It was great stuff. Looks like the Muzzle Magic will suffice since I'm just shooting with my son and grandson now. Thanks for the tips guys.
 
Sorry Kwhi, I misread your post. i'd love to use the stuff again, but it looks like it just ain't made no more. Actually I shouldn't be surprised it ain't around anymore, counting backit was about 30 maybe 35 years ago.
 
Just an update on my search for a great patch lube. I stopped my search for the "milky white stuff" I used a few decades ago, because I couldn't find it, but lo and behold I found something that is better. Shenandoah Valley Blackpowder Patch lube is SUPERB! I used it tonight and after 10-12 shots without swabbing the bore and it seemed like the ball was being sucked down the barrel. It was that easy. Great stuff, that's what I'll use from now on. Oh Midway has it.
 
Synthetic metalworking fluid, SCO-922

Still have a lot left of a gallon after 9 years:

" CONTAINS NO NITRITES, MINERAL OILS, PHENOLS, PHOSPHATES, PCB's, OR HEAVY METALS
EXCEPTIONALLY LOW IN SULFUR, PHOSPHORUS AND CHLORINE
GOOD STABILITY IN HARD WATER SYSTEMS" Extreme pressure additives unique corrosion and rust inhibitors.

KEM-O-PRO SCO-922 20:1

http://jbchemicalusa.com/pds/sco922.html
 
water soluble cutting oil.
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can be purchased at better than average consumer auto parts stores. Store's that do machining and bearing pressing and/ or sell auto parts and deliver to professional repair business's. Here in this local its NAPA Auto Parts. Not O Reily or Pep Boys that primarily cater to us weekend mechanic's.

Ballistol and water soluble cutting oil can mimic each other in their purpose's. Moose milk as I was told is actually cutting oil blended w/ water.
 
grease

CVA made a patch grease, but it was in a tube and more like thick toothpaste.
It was white in color.
No longer made
I got maybe 1/2 a tube left.
 
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