All types of wad lube? (For continuous shooting)

[Brokennock]

Various ratios of beeswax and either olive oil or coconut oil depending on the consistency/viscosity I want for the task at hand. Occasionally I'll mix in a little Murphy's Oil Soap, but I haven't really convinced myself it helps with anything.
I'll use 100% pure mink oil from Track of The Wolf sometimes. My only "problem" with it is availability. I can't just go to the store and buy some. I wish Track would sell larger containers of it.
Might start experimenting with neatsfoot oil this year.

 

[Britsmoothy]

The only lubed wads I've ever used were the dry lubed felt wads from Ox Yoke. Mostly used Nitro over powder wads and they keep any fouling scraped down pretty well.

well.

Can be tough on a rammer that friend.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Brit, you shooting the Big Ten there, that's what it looks like? If so what's your payload? Those are some mighty big pigeons and crows! Good shooting!
George.

Yes sir, big Ted the ten gauge.
Think I was dropping 1&1/8 oz in him that day.
Since made a measure that throws 1&3/8oz for general use in Ted.

 

[Bigpete]

Never used any lube in old Gerty. Not even for dozens of shots. Have thought about trying it though,just seems too much hassle though

 

[necchi]

where you can shoot on the fly without swabbing it? I’m asking this is that there are numerous options for wad lube,,

Nobody can honestly answer that without knowing what you do use or at least intend to use as wad in a repeated manner

 

[Britsmoothy]

Never used any lube in old Gerty. Not even for dozens of shots. Have thought about trying it though,just seems too much hassle though

I only add lube if it starts getting real crusty down there.

 

[Timber Wolf]

I am certainly not as experienced and many here but I find every barrel is different for me. Some it seems I can shoot all day just using a preluded patch and others need swabbing to ease loading and to have any consistently.

 

[unclelouie]

Hello everyone again! I know I have posted numerous post on different loops but now I want to know what lube best performs for you to where you can shoot on the fly without swabbing it? I’m asking this is that there are numerous options for wad lube like vegetable oil, olive oil, mink oil, ballistol, etc. And I want to hear it from smoothbore hunters.

For example, if I miss a squirrel in the tree I can immediately load the gun while watching him run from branch to branch and possibly take another shot at him or being at a dove field and continuously shoot at doves (by loading over and over again) that are continuously flying in the late afternoon, etc

i have been shooting since the late 50's . i'm a competitive shooter. i also build rifles and pistols. the old old timers liked sperm whale oil because of it's slickness. i shoot smoothbore a lot. what i found was that a water soluble oil works the best. it cleans the barrel when you shoot. the one i prefer is called simcool. go to your local machine shop see if they have some or something similar. it's slicker than snot. it increases speed of the bullet because of less friction, so you can cut 5 grains off of your load. i also clean with it. trust me, it's the best we have found out here in Utah.

 

[Willy]

When crows are throwing themselves at you there is little time.
View attachment 113123

Also when you're on a squirrel den tree at the crack of dawn. You can get into a lot of shooting then. I used to do a lot of crow hunting when I was teenager and crows were considered pests to farmers. I'd get $1 a crow for killing them. Then the Fish & Game Commission got into the act and set a hunting season with limits on crows because folks were hunting them. Plumb spoiled the fun right out of it.

 

[Willy]

Yes sir, big Ted the ten gauge.
Think I was dropping 1&1/8 oz in him that day.
Since made a measure that throws 1&3/8oz for general use in Ted.

1 3/8oz is my preferred load in my 12ga double. Too many years of shooting 10ga cartridge guns I guess.

 

[Doc]

In my SxS 12ga my wife had some trouble starting the 12ga. wad down the barrels. Ordered some 13ga wads checked the patterns and they were still great. So then we used the 13 wads. But recently we’ve changed again to these. Makes for faster and easier loading and still gives good patterns. Two over powder and one over shot.
Doc,

 

[TCMonts]

Can be tough on a rammer that friend.

Probably so. Unfortunately, I don't get the opportunity to run the volume of shot and powder through a shotgun that you seem to be able to so it's not a problem for me. It's a problem I'd love to have, but around here a half dozen shots is a good hunt.

 

[hinamanra]

I soak my fiber wads in ballistol and shoot all day. It cleans up fast at the end of the day as well.

 

[DuncNZ]

I just ordered a ½litre of Jojoba been oil to try as a felt wad lube for my smoothies , I will try mixing it with Ballistol and Isopropyl alcohol to see what happens

 

[Nobade]

I just ordered a ½litre of Jojoba been oil to try as a felt wad lube for my smoothies , I will try mixing it with Ballistol and Isopropyl alcohol to see what happens

I like Jojoba oil but only in the summer. It gets hard at about 45 deg F so not much use now. Might work better mixed with Ballistol though.

Oops, I see you're in NZ. Good now, not great in 4 months for you.

 

[DuncNZ]

I'll let you know how it works , It is so hot and dry here at present that the fire danger has stopped me shooting PRB or wads .

 

[megasupermagnum]

Expecting to swab every single shot in a shotgun is a bad way to go. For special purpose stuff like turkey or deer, fine. There's no way I'm running a swab down my bore after I shot while duck hunting. All I'm going to accomplish is watching flock after flock flare as I waste time.

You don't need lube for a shotgun. You can use it if you want, but you can get by without a problem without it. I did not find any advantage to lube at all. I had days duck hunting where I must have fired 25 shots. Once you get up to that 25-30 mark it starts to get crusty, but before that is no concern at all. If you were hunting somewhere more than 25 shots a day were a reality, all I would do is bring a couple patches, and swab it when it was needed.

Pro tip: when you seat your wads on the powder, bounce your ramrod a few times. It's easier than using your palm. You need to be seated fully on the powder. I've found an air gap ruins patterns.