Newbie question. Just getting into BP revolvers and I have aquired some supplies , powder measure, caps, BP, and various other items. What the heck is bore butter? "I use bore butter for this and that", "Put bore butter on the cylinder", "I have even used Bore Butter as a preservative in the barrel" I know you can buy Bore Butter but what is it made from, crisco/beeswax/lanoline etc. Anyone know?
What is Bore Butter?
- Thread starter hunter64
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fisherman66
New member
used better judgement after the fact
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Don't have a clue
I don't know what it is made of, but I know it smells nice, and I get more shots before having to clean than I do otherwise.
Bore Butter is a compound that you place above the bullet in a cap & ball, or on the ball side of a felt wad above the powder, or on the base and side of a minie ball or conical ball.
It lubes the ball, softens the powder residue and acts as a barrier to the powder corroding the metal of your gun. Gives you a little more time to clean it, but clean it soon, no matter what you do.
Don't have to use a lot of it, just enough to cover the ball in a revolver or grease the grooves on a conical.
Comes in a tube, can be found online at most gun outlets, and/or at places like Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas.
It's well worth the price.
The Doc is out now.
I don't know what it is made of, but I know it smells nice, and I get more shots before having to clean than I do otherwise.
Bore Butter is a compound that you place above the bullet in a cap & ball, or on the ball side of a felt wad above the powder, or on the base and side of a minie ball or conical ball.
It lubes the ball, softens the powder residue and acts as a barrier to the powder corroding the metal of your gun. Gives you a little more time to clean it, but clean it soon, no matter what you do.
Don't have to use a lot of it, just enough to cover the ball in a revolver or grease the grooves on a conical.
Comes in a tube, can be found online at most gun outlets, and/or at places like Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas.
It's well worth the price.
The Doc is out now.
Old Dragoon
New member
It's made by Ox Bow I believe, but Thompson Center sells it in tubes. it is made entirely from food grade ingredients. Do not use any Petroleum based cleaners or lubes with Bp it'l cause hard fouling. Bore butter and olive Oil is all I use. Olive oil for the innards and the cylinder pin and on the pawl. bore butter over the balls. i can usually get through 5 stages without a slowdown or a stop due to fouled cylinder in my Remy's Originals or the repro's.
I used to use Bore Butter a lot, but don't so much anymore. It works good, but will turn to liquid and run just from warm fingers. On a haot summer day, it kind of ends up everywhere, and by the 3rd or 4th stage I'm working just to keep my hands clean. I prefer Ballistol. About the only thing I use Bore Butter for anymore it for the cylinder pins on percussions or the hinge on double barrel shotguns. It does smell nice, though.
Traditions WonderLube and Thompson Center Bore Butter both have the same ingredients. You may as well call it "WonderButter". 
From what I understand, the ingredients are essentially mineral oil mixed with some paraffin waxes, with some tincture of Wintergreen added as a scent.
Now, some folks would say that since mineral oil comes from petroleum, it's not natural. But others consider petroleum to be natural since mineral oil does have medicinal uses and is considered to be a food grade product. The paraffin waxes might not be exactly the same as bees wax, but they are fine enough to be considered an acceptable substitute.
It's intended to be a patch lube, bullet & bore lubricant, and has many other uses too. It replaced what many BP shooters used Crisco for in the older days, and also replaced other less desirable petroleum products that actually interacted with BP to cause a tar like fouling in barrels.
So, WonderButter with NL 1000+ (Natural Lube 1000 Plus) can help cure just about anything that can afflict a BP gun. (And I've heard that there is a new clear version being pre-applied to patches now too.)
From what I understand, the ingredients are essentially mineral oil mixed with some paraffin waxes, with some tincture of Wintergreen added as a scent.
Now, some folks would say that since mineral oil comes from petroleum, it's not natural. But others consider petroleum to be natural since mineral oil does have medicinal uses and is considered to be a food grade product. The paraffin waxes might not be exactly the same as bees wax, but they are fine enough to be considered an acceptable substitute.
It's intended to be a patch lube, bullet & bore lubricant, and has many other uses too. It replaced what many BP shooters used Crisco for in the older days, and also replaced other less desirable petroleum products that actually interacted with BP to cause a tar like fouling in barrels.
So, WonderButter with NL 1000+ (Natural Lube 1000 Plus) can help cure just about anything that can afflict a BP gun. (And I've heard that there is a new clear version being pre-applied to patches now too.)
Some parrafin doesn't seem to be a bother for BP. I use conicals in my percussions for CAS, and I lube them and my bullets for cartridges with a roughly 50/50 Crisco wax mix. The wax portion is a mixture of beeswax and parrafin, as this is what's easily available in my area. It works fine in revolvers, pistol cal. lever rifles (24" bbl), and my Rolling Block (39"bbl). Soapy water takes it right out.
Wild Bill Bucks
New member
When you buy a new cast iron skillet, the first thing you do is put cooking oil in it, and place it in the oven until the metal seasons. This keeps food from sticking and gives the skillet a protective finish that lets you clean it a lot easier.
Thats basically what I use Bore-Butter for when breaking in a new powder gun. By smearing the metal with bore butter, then placeing it in the oven until the metal gets hot (not so hot as to hurt the metal) will make the weapon easier to keep clean and will result in less break in time at the range.
Most guys that shoot conicals or shoot patch and ball, use it to lube the bullet or patch. To much lube on either can result in a fouled powder charge, since bore butter is water soluable, and heat will also make it turn to a liquid. Use it sparingly if you intend to hunt in warm weather.
I shoot sabots so I don't use the stuff at all except to keep in the barrel between seasons. The dryer the barrel is, with sabots, the better accuracy you will have. If you lube a sabot, it slides to easy out of the barrel and your riflings don't function the way they should and will result in poor accuracy.
There is no down side to useing bore butter to season the barrel of your powder weapon or to use as a patch or bullet lube, just use it sparingly.
It is vegetable grade and will in no way hurt your weapon like petroleum based products will, if used with black powder.
Thats basically what I use Bore-Butter for when breaking in a new powder gun. By smearing the metal with bore butter, then placeing it in the oven until the metal gets hot (not so hot as to hurt the metal) will make the weapon easier to keep clean and will result in less break in time at the range.
Most guys that shoot conicals or shoot patch and ball, use it to lube the bullet or patch. To much lube on either can result in a fouled powder charge, since bore butter is water soluable, and heat will also make it turn to a liquid. Use it sparingly if you intend to hunt in warm weather.
I shoot sabots so I don't use the stuff at all except to keep in the barrel between seasons. The dryer the barrel is, with sabots, the better accuracy you will have. If you lube a sabot, it slides to easy out of the barrel and your riflings don't function the way they should and will result in poor accuracy.
There is no down side to useing bore butter to season the barrel of your powder weapon or to use as a patch or bullet lube, just use it sparingly.
It is vegetable grade and will in no way hurt your weapon like petroleum based products will, if used with black powder.