Crisco?

Z

ZVP

New member
Well as a safety, flash-over preventitive I cannot guarentee that the Criso will last over the Balls. Mine melted within 3 shots at a veryslow fire rate of one shot each 6 seconds. So as far as being an anti-flashover preventitive I can't say the Crisco would last at this chore?
The Crisco did transmigrate throughout the revolver and I think it will aid in clean-up It got everywhere so I KNOW it lubes!
As an experiment I am waiting 2 days to clean the revolvers and see if the Crisco helps the clean-up? I have tested Wad clean-up and have waited to clean the guns for up to 6 days without pitting or rust. I just used Water and Windex to clean the guns completely!
So much for quick clean-up needs...
Now I am not suggesting that you leave your guns unmaintained, OK?
I think that you should clean up the same day that you shoot!
This delayed cleanup is just a test.
I'll let ya know.
ZVP
 
I've gone nine days with Pyrodex. You really don't need to fill the void. All you need is a thin ring around the edge of the balls.
 
Mine melted within 3 shots at a veryslow fire rate of one shot each 6 seconds. So as far as being an anti-flashover preventitive I can't say the Crisco would last at this chore?
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So? That always happens. If you filled the space properly to begin with, it melted and wicked into every bit of space between the edge of the ball and the surface of the chamber, perfectly sealing it.
 
You could take an eye dropper and run just a couple of drops of any vegetable based oil like olive oil around the edge of the balls and be just fine.
 
This problem will go away if....

....you mix your crisco with the wax rings from toilets available at Home Depot for about two bucks. I use a mix of about half and half and I can get the lube to stay put even on a hot day after the revolver is hot.

There are plenty of fancy recipes out there using mutton tallow, bees wax, olive oil, paprika and such but this works for me.
 
What!?

Oooh. did I say "paprika"? Silly me. I meant nutmeg.

But seriously, I don't mean to poo poo the various recipes that are out there for bore lube, but pure Crisco only works during the cooler season. Need to have something to thicken it up when it is hot or when the revolver is hot.

What does NOT work is thompson's bore butter. (Thats right...I did not use capital letters for a reason....I does not deserve them.) It smells like it should be used as a topping for ice cream. Ice cream would do a better job as a bore lubricant and gas check. thompson's bore butter is more expensive than ice cream. I don't like it.

Tnx,
 
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i have used crisco for about 50 years in a 58 cal mini rifle with the hollow based lyman mini .575213 filled with crisco, and have tried just about every lube under the sun and always have a can of unsalted crisco close by. eastbank.
 
I use a 19th century bullet lubricant recipe I found in a 1943 magazine, listed as tallow, beeswax and paraffin.
With that as a guide, I used the same ratios but used very specific ingredients: mutton tallow, beeswax and canning paraffin. Shortly after I began posting this recipe, it was named after me by someone else: Gatofeo No. 1 Bullet Lubricant.
This, I melt at low temperature and soak 100 percent wool felt wads in it. The lubricated wad goes between the ball and powder. I find it better than lubricant over the ball; it's easier to use and not as messy. It also keeps the bore far cleaner.
The above lubricant is too stiff to put over the seated ball. For that, I mix beeswax and olive oil until I get the consistency of mayonnaise. This is also good on the cylinder pin, to resist cylinder drag.
 
I usually follow what comes from on high, that is-from Gatofeo, but for the lube I use a formula I got from 4V50 Gary.

50% Beeswax, 40% Crisco, 10% Olive Oil.
I like this one because I have lots of olive oil, and crisco laying around.
Had to get the Beeswax off Ebay, but that was really easy too.

Makes a brown hard paste that melts easily that I soak my wool felt wads in.
It will also over paste over the cylinders if you want to. You can cut it with a knife or spoon and then mash it over the balls in the cylinder with your fingers. I don't do that often, because I use wads, but you can if you want.

I pour the hot lube in small canning jars, and put the lid on it, couldn't be any easier. Just finished punching out .36 and .44 wads from my last old hat, so I'll be calling durofelt soon and going that route too.

This is one fascinating hobby. Love making my own stuff to shoot with, it is so much more fun than just buying bullets and punching paper.
 
I don't like it.
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Come on, tell us how you really feel. ;)

Bear grease works the best- that's what the old time hog rifle shooters told me, but you have to kill a bear to get it.

Most fellers are pretty tight with their bear grease down here, so a concoction of lanolin (since I can't get tallow quite as easy anymore) beeswax and paraffin is what I use too. I figure the paraffin is only used to make it more hot weather tolerant. I do use pure crisco on my revolvers, with circle fly wads between the ball and powder to be able to use less powder and still seat the ball close to the end of the cylinder.

All I can say for a definite, is my loading techniques keep changing- for the better I hope.
 
I use DDs Pearl lube melted into a Durofelt wad under round balls in my 1860 Piettas.
I don't like the over bullet grease because of the mess it creates. Lubed wad works for me. I have been known to use the same lube formula on 44-40 bullets and the arbor of the pistols. One item to do multiple things. I like things simple.
$20 worth of felt from Durofelt will last more than a year. An 11mm hollow punch from Harbor freight make a perfect sized wad for a "44" caliber pistol.
I have a small griddle that the teflon has worn off of. I set it on 250 degree, dump a couple of tablespoons of Pearl Lube on it and a big hand full of wads. Stir them around until they all show signs of lube, dump them out and go again. Three or four hours makes enough wads for a WHILE.
 
robhof

I've heard deer fat renders into some superb lube, but I haven't tried it yet, next deer. I just recently found out what I had been leaving behind, when I tried some venison heart and liver.
 
Dan Dastardly has a website (http://www.biglube.com/) where he sells lube, molds etc. He is now selling Pearl Lube 2 that has a secret ingredient. The original pearl lube recipe is free.

1 part soy wax(available at any craft store, 1 part toilet bowl ring(unused is prefered) 1/2 part vegetable shortening.

As I said, I use this for bullet lube on my MavDutchman 44-40 bullets, my cap and ball wads and as an arbor lube on the cap guns.

Read the label on the vegetable shortening to ensure you are not buying a product that contains salt.
 
I use store band, works fine. I confess I never thought about checking it for salt, though I think there are enough saline compounds in black powder that salt in the lube really doesn't add much.
 
Just wondering

This is not intended to be a criticism nor is it intended to question the value of any specific lube recipes.

Several of you have mentioned lubes made from natural materials trusting the words of shooters of old. Bear grease, mutton tallow, deer grease, bees wax and so forth.

But I wonder if the old timers who developed those recipes before the advent of modern, easier to obtain substances would have been just as happy with more recent recipes.

I know it is a good idea to stay away from synthetics for wads opting only for wool. I also accept that there is value in sticking to original recipes for the sake of ... well...originality.

The experimenting I have done with lubes is very limited. All I know is that I a) don't like Thompson's. b) can't get pure crisco to stay put most of the time. c) can fix that problem by using wax rings in the lube. d) can keep the pistol shooting for as long I want using that lube by wiping things down about every third round. e) can keep the revolver in good condition using that lube by cleaning meticulously after I shoot it.

So for those of you who HAVE done the experimenting, and who have said what it is that you like about your recipe, I don't disagree with you nor do I mean to offend.
 
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