OK - I have bees wax & mutton tallow

[Cowboy Rick, SASS #49739L]

I scrounged around and found some of each, and I want to shoot unlubed bullets in my pistols. I've seen some pretty good shooters apply lube over the bullet from the front of the chamber, so I'm looking for a formula using what I have.

 

Please don't try to talk me out of it - just looking for something stiff enough and yet not too hard that I can apply with a Popsicle stick or the like.

 

Thanks - I know there must be at lease 1,000 recipes, but I am hoping for simple. Got cross eyed reading the Cast Boolits forum.

 

CR

[Tennessee Stud]

Well... what you got... don't mean nothin'....

 

I got me some possum-fat and some beaver-carcus-renderin's. Which... accordin' to most experts... are the absolute top-of-the-line barrel-sliders fer most bullets of magnificent guns.

 

(joshin')....

 

You have a good start there... CR...

 

Keep on... keepin' on...

 

ts

[Pit Bull Tex]

Add some paraffin to that bees wax and mutton tallow melt it all and put some 1/8" felt in the hot lube.Drain and let cool and punch some round disk and put in on top of the ball after you seat the ball.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Pit Bull Tex

[J-BAR #18287]

Start with a teaspoon of each melted together. Stir with a popsicle stick and allow a dab of the mix to cool on the stick. Is it the consistency you want? If not, add 1/4 teaspoon of tallow to make it softer or 1/4 tsp of beeswax to make it harder, stir with another stick and let the dab on the second stick cool for your second test. Record your additions until you get what you want, and you will have created your own recipe for proportions.

 

Beeswax and canned Crisco about 50/50 works for me. Never tried tallow myself, I'm eager to hear what works for you.

[Cusz M. Dutch SASS Life 55326]

I use equal amounts of bees wax and lard. Would suggest that you start there. You can always add a little bit of olive or corn oil to the mix if to stiff.

[Mud Marine,SASS#54686 Life]

Oh, retro me, I use SPG!

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

Hey Rick:

Hope you & DD had a wonderful Christmas, and are planning a nice New Year celebration.

Hope to shoot with you two in 2017

 

You know, I hope, of Gatofeo's #1 lube.

 

All parts by weight:
1 part beeswax
2 parts paraffin wax
2 parts mutton tallow

 

Works great on wads in percussion revolvers.

Soften it a bit with some olive oil to use it in your cartridge guns.

--Dawg

[Cat Brules]

I would not use paraffin, as it is o hydrocarbon derivative, which causes fouling when burned with black powder. Paraffin is a by-product in the refining of crude oil.

 

Mutton tallow? Unsure what it is (refined sheep fat?), but lanolin (also a sheep derivative) might be easier to get.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Cat Brules, SASS #14086

[Cannon]

I've used the mixture Prairie Dawg mentioned. I drained the liquid into small canning containers when it was still warm. The seal on the containers actually depressed to my surprise. Still have some packed away that I made up about two years ago. I just warm up a chunk of it and then soak it up in a felt pad. Punch whatever caliber I need out of the felt pad for cartridges. There's some waste but I have plenty. I forget what I read at the time, but I bought some 100% wool felt to make the patches. I've not shot a lot compared to the black powder shooters here. Worked pretty well for me though.

 

If you'd like to try some out send me a PM. I have more than I need. It was a fun project though.

[Deuce Stevens SASS#55996]

I'm pretty sure Rick is looking to use this method for his cartridge pistols so the wads are not a option.

[Kid Rich]

I would not use paraffin, as it is o hydrocarbon derivative, which causes fouling when burned with black powder. Paraffin is a by-product in the refining of crude oil.

 

Mutton tallow? Unsure what it is (refined sheep fat?), but lanolin (also a sheep derivative) might be easier to get.

Paraffin works just fine with BP. It has been refined enough that it does NOT create problems with BP.. kR

[Warden Callaway]

BlackMZ. No goop needed.

[Cowboy Rick, SASS #49739L]

BlackMZ. No goop needed.

Blasphemy!

 

Actually, I have a very reliable and cheap source of the real deal, so it is my only consideration at half the cost of the subs. This makes it easy to have all the good and evil of smoke and flame.

 

CR

[Cowboy Rick, SASS #49739L]

Hey Rick:

Hope you & DD had a wonderful Christmas, and are planning a nice New Year celebration.

Hope to shoot with you two in 2017

 

You know, I hope, of Gatofeo's #1 lube.

 

All parts by weight:

1 part beeswax

2 parts paraffin wax

2 parts mutton tallow

 

Works great on wads in percussion revolvers.

Soften it a bit with some olive oil to use it in your cartridge guns.

 

I'm pretty sure Rick is looking to use this method for his cartridge pistols so the wads are not a option.

Dawg,

 

Thanks for the recipe - looks like a good place to start.

 

Deuce - you got it. I wanna be like Boaz

 

All-

 

The cost of Big Lubes has me searching for options. I can get as cast bullets for less than half the cost, so adding a lube over the chambered round seems to make sense. While not a prolific shooter, I go through about 6,000 pistol rounds a year. At $.13/ bullet vs $.06 ea, I could buy a new gun every now and then

 

Start with a teaspoon of each melted together. Stir with a popsicle stick and allow a dab of the mix to cool on the stick. Is it the consistency you want? If not, add 1/4 teaspoon of tallow to make it softer or 1/4 tsp of beeswax to make it harder, stir with another stick and let the dab on the second stick cool for your second test. Record your additions until you get what you want, and you will have created your own recipe for proportions.

 

Beeswax and canned Crisco about 50/50 works for me. Never tried tallow myself, I'm eager to hear what works for you.

Great idea using small quantities to determine the mix.

 

Thanks for the input. I will be retired as of the end of the day today, so things like this will fill my time for a few weeks until we head south for the Arizona curcuit.

 

CR

[Cowboy Rick, SASS #49739L]

Hey Rick:

Hope you & DD had a wonderful Christmas, and are planning a nice New Year celebration.

Hope to shoot with you two in 2017

 

You know, I hope, of Gatofeo's #1 lube.

 

All parts by weight:

1 part beeswax

2 parts paraffin wax

2 parts mutton tallow

 

Works great on wads in percussion revolvers.

Soften it a bit with some olive oil to use it in your cartridge guns.

--Dawg

Forgot to mention that Ohio State is chiseled in for this year. Looking forward to seeing you and Skipper again!

 

CR

[Noz]

I would not use paraffin, as it is o hydrocarbon derivative, which causes fouling when burned with black powder. Paraffin is a by-product in the refining of crude oil.

 

Mutton tallow? Unsure what it is (refined sheep fat?), but lanolin (also a sheep derivative) might be easier to get.

Cooking paraffin is an acceptable component of a good black powder lube. I'm no petroleum engineer but it has to do with the amount of refinement that a product goes through that determines it's acceptability for black powder.

 

KR beat me to it.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Noz

[Goody, SASS #26190]

I have used Bee's wax and crisco for my C&B's, forcing some on top of each loaded ball. I will tell you that whatever blend you use it will change with the weather. Something that seems a good stable consistancy in the winter will melt like hades in the summer heat. Keep that in mind.

[Cowboy Rick, SASS #49739L]

I have used Bee's wax and crisco for my C&B's, forcing some on top of each loaded ball. I will tell you that whatever blend you use it will change with the weather. Something that seems a good stable consistancy in the winter will melt like hades in the summer heat. Keep that in mind.

Therein lies the rub. I use Bore Butter over my cap & ball loads, but a spatula type process at the loading table seems easier when using cartridges. The Bore Butter is testament to your observation. I really need to keep it covered in a rag when it's hot, and hold the turkey baster applicator in my hand to warm up when it's cold. Experimentation will be the key.

 

CR

[Warden Callaway]

Blasphemy!

 

Actually, I have a very reliable and cheap source of the real deal, so it is my only consideration at half the cost of the subs. This makes it easy to have all the good and evil of smoke and flame.

 

CR

I can walk in and out of Grafs with real black powder from most makers in any granulation at what I figure is competitive prices. But BlackMZ is (was) $9.99/lb from Sportsmans Warehouse. Even with shipping and hazmat it's less per pound than the least expensive powder at Grafs. (When buying 10 lbs at a time.) And no goopy bullets needed.

 

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/3501

 

http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/sportsmans/Alliant-Black-MZ-Muzzleloader-Powder/productDetail/Powder-and-Primers/prod99999030268/cat100011

[Tyrel Cody]

I can walk in and out of Grafs with real black powder from most makers in any granulation at what I figure is competitive prices. But BlackMZ is (was) $9.99/lb from Sportsmans Warehouse. Even with shipping and hazmat it's less per pound than the least expensive powder at Grafs. (When buying 10 lbs at a time.) And no goopy bullets needed.

 

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/3501

 

http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/sportsmans/Alliant-Black-MZ-Muzzleloader-Powder/productDetail/Powder-and-Primers/prod99999030268/cat100011

 

But no flames from the BlackMZ.

[Goody, SASS #26190]

Therein lies the rub. I use Bore Butter over my cap & ball loads, but a spatula type process at the loading table seems easier when using cartridges. The Bore Butter is testament to your observation. I really need to keep it covered in a rag when it's hot, and hold the turkey baster applicator in my hand to warm up when it's cold. Experimentation will be the key.

 

CR

 

in the Texas heat (90-100) I was at about 75% Bee's wax to 25% crisco. In the winter this was as hard as candle wax, and no way to spread it into the chamber. I went down to about 50/50 and all was well. I also found that lubing every other chamber is sufficient to keep everything moist and blown out. When lubing every chamber it was melting pretty bad from the flash of the previous shot it seemed.

[Warden Callaway]

Last winter I tried a number of lubes over the balls on my 44 51 Navy. Loading was done inside so everything was room temperature. I used Grafs Reenactor for powder. One offbeat thing I tried that really worked was peanut butter. I made some with dry roasted unsaled nuts.

 

The cleanest and easiest thing I found worked was Murphys Oil. I loaded with cylinder out of gun so putting a small drop over each ball was easy.

[Rex M Rugers #6621]

I gotta ask , why unlubed bullets?? Cowboy Rick , if you would have the time and inclination , PM me a small tutorial on the method you are looking to use. Am very interested , lubing bullets is one of those seriously boring chores that up til now I thought totally necessary.

Keep 'em smokin' , Rex

[Cowboy Rick, SASS #49739L]

I gotta ask , why unlubed bullets?? Cowboy Rick , if you would have the time and inclination , PM me a small tutorial on the method you are looking to use. Am very interested , lubing bullets is one of those seriously boring chores that up til now I thought totally necessary.

Keep 'em smokin' , Rex

PM sent -

[Cowboy Rick, SASS #49739L]

 

in the Texas heat (90-100) I was at about 75% Bee's wax to 25% crisco. In the winter this was as hard as candle wax, and no way to spread it into the chamber. I went down to about 50/50 and all was well. I also found that lubing every other chamber is sufficient to keep everything moist and blown out. When lubing every chamber it was melting pretty bad from the flash of the previous shot it seemed.

It'll be Comin' Back Atcha before I get down in ammo enough to try this, so I'll take this into consideration.

 

CR

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

OP-Are you loading for C&B or cartdrige?

GOOGLE up DGL. All you'll ever need and it works well in smokeless too.

https://www.shilohrifle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24478

 

OLG

[Thunder Creek Kid]

I like a 60% bees wax 40% lamb tallow for my grease cookies I load under the bullet and 40% bees wax 60% lamb tallow for a

paste on top of the bullet for cap guns or making my own felt wads.

 

Have shot two day matches and not have to clean either day with the cookie recipe.

[Noz]

I made a batch of 1# beeswax, 1# mutton tallow and 1/2# vegetable shortening. Had to add 2 cups of olive oil to make it usable.

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

Rick:

Stone Creek Drifter carries a tin of very soft lube, I think 50/50 crisco/beeswax, and just rubs the nose of the bullet in it before inserting it into the revolver cylinder.

Works great for him.

--Dawg

[Flatbush]

^{I can walk in and out of Grafs with real black powder from most makers in any granulation at what I figure is competitive prices. But BlackMZ is (was) $9.99/lb from Sportsmans Warehouse. Even with shipping and hazmat it's less per pound than the least expensive powder at Grafs. (When buying 10 lbs at a time.) And no goopy bullets needed.}

 

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/3501

 

http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/sportsmans/Alliant-Black-MZ-Muzzleloader-Powder/productDetail/Powder-and-Primers/prod99999030268/cat100011

 

^{Looks like Sportsmans Warehouse is sold out of the Black MZ. That's too bad. At $9.99 per pound I can learn to live without the flames.}

[Kid Rich]

Therein lies the rub. I use Bore Butter over my cap & ball loads, but a spatula type process at the loading table seems easier when using cartridges. The Bore Butter is testament to your observation. I really need to keep it covered in a rag when it's hot, and hold the turkey baster applicator in my hand to warm up when it's cold. Experimentation will be the key.

 

CR

On the days when I'm shooting no lube bullets I just dip the end in BB before I stick them in the revolver. Very easy to do and makes cleaning the gun very easy at the end of the day.

kR

[Pit Bull Tex]

Mr.Rick,I sent you a PM.

[Cowboy Rick, SASS #49739L]

Mr.Rick,I sent you a PM.

Received, appreciated, and answered.

 

Thanks to all who have replied. I forgot about just dipping the nose of the bullet into the lube before loading the round into the chamber. Consistency of the lube would still need to be the same. I do have Bore butter, but want to expand my options.

 

What a great resource you guys are!

 

Happy New Year

 

CR

[Warden Callaway]

Another option is to poly coat the bullets.

[Springfield Slim SASS #24733]

I used to pan lube with 50/50 Crisco and paraffin, worked pretty well until I bought me a sizer. The thing with unsized bullets is, they are unsized, so they can be more difficult to load as they aren't all the same. Kinda depends on how consistent your caster is and what size the bullets drop from his mould. Might be less time and effort for you if you just buy a lubrisizer and lube all those unsized bullets. If that works, maybe you could talk the Big Lube supplier into selling you unsized bullets for cheaper. Like most things, it is a time versus money thing, what do you have more of.