Crisco for Round Ball?

[Smokey Plainsman]

I use a 4/5 beeswax lard mixture.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Once or twice until the Crisco melted, made a big mess.
Actually, if you use the proper size round ball in your revolver, you don't need Crisco or anything else over the chamber mouth. You're shaving a 0.001 to 0.002 ring off the ball when you load it.
No sparks or flame is getting past the ball. Not when the clearance of the ball to chamber wall is absolute zero.

I once observed a multiple ignition crossfire in a c&b revolver just after the shooter said the same thing. I strongly believe an over chamber grease seal is used unless there is a wad between powder and ball.
I agree, Crisco is a mess. Tried it long time ago. Too hard in cold weather, too soft and watery in hot weather. Gets everything dirty. Makes a mess like nothing else.

 

[Barrie Dale]

I use a comercial white grease from a small can I buy at Canadian Tire stores here. Basically wheel bearing grade grease. Cheap and works really well in my Sennaca 45 cal rifle.

 

[jan_buchwald]

Sure it is not because of caps falling of.
I use cows utter, contains 30% water

 

[jimirwin]

I use a 4/5 beeswax lard mixture.

In all my years of competing, I've never seen nor had a multiple discharge with C&B revolver (well, single shot neither!). As an engineer, I've considered all the folk-lore around this reported phenomenon. To my mind, such seems impossible at the front of properly loaded cylinders. Properly meaning oversize ball that shaves a ring when rammed in.

Some have postulated that it's far more likely to occur at the rear. Loose caps, being a very likely issue.

Sadly, I've never seen any testing done to actually nail this down. I do use lube, but to help improve accuracy. I've seen most of any lube thusly applied blown away with the first shot fired. Poor choice to my mind. Wonderwads seem by far the best approach.

Let's hear some personal experiences, observations, test results, and conclusions that can pass the BS test.

 

[tenngun]

I’ve never needed a seat belt, or air bag, but I’m glad I got them.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

In all my years of competing, I've never seen nor had a multiple discharge with C&B revolver (well, single shot neither!). As an engineer, I've considered all the folk-lore around this reported phenomenon. To my mind, such seems impossible at the front of properly loaded cylinders. Properly meaning oversize ball that shaves a ring when rammed in.

Some have postulated that it's far more likely to occur at the rear. Loose caps, being a very likely issue.

Sadly, I've never seen any testing done to actually nail this down. I do use lube, but to help improve accuracy. I've seen most of any lube thusly applied blown away with the first shot fired. Poor choice to my mind. Wonderwads seem by far the best approach.

Let's hear some personal experiences, observations, test results, and conclusions that can pass the BS test.

What are you talking about and why did you quote me? You think what I said was BS? That’s what it sounds like you’re trying to say am I wrong?

READ THE OP. He was asking about using crisco as a PATCH LUBE for his Kentucky rifle. Not sure when we got started on cap and ball revolvers and chain fires, but I was answering the OP’s opening question. I use a 5/4 lard and beeswax mixture as I’ve found straigh crisco or lard is way too runny for most of my lube needs. A lard and beeswax mixture works great and is just stiff enough to hold together but not super hard. I’ve had excellent success with patches and using it as a lube for Minie balls, and use a similar mixture for lubing wonder wads in my revolvers. It passed MY BS test just fine!

PS: Hope I’m misunderstanding you here. I probably am and if so my bad.

 

[Tanglefoot]

Well, jimirwin, it happens. Two other shooters and myself were comparison testing several different C&B revolvers years ago for an article in a now-defunct magazine called The Trade Blanket. One of the revolvers - a .36 Navy replica - chain fired on the second shot, even though it was carefully loaded with felt over-powder wads and sealed with grease over the round balls. It made a believer out of the man holding the gun at the time, and out of me too. I was standing just behind him. When we examined the revolver afterwards, we found that the slot in the screw holding the barrel wedge had been packed with lead. Gary (the shooter) said it was weeks before he got rid of a tendency to flinch whenever he fired a handgun of any variety after that.

 

[Dphar1950]

i am new to muzzle loading. I have a .50 cal Kentucky rifle by Traditions. I am using .490 ball and pillow ticking (.015) patch. I was wondering about lubing the patch with crisco. Is that an issue?
Thanks
Jeremy Bays

There are better products for this. I would use lard over Crisco. Or mix REFINED beeswax with Neatsfoot oil to form a grease like lube 1:2 or 3 BWil by weight. This works a lot better than almost any store bought lube.

 

[flntlokr]

In all my years of competing, I've never seen nor had a multiple discharge with C&B revolver (well, single shot neither!). As an engineer, I've considered all the folk-lore around this reported phenomenon. To my mind, such seems impossible at the front of properly loaded cylinders. Properly meaning oversize ball that shaves a ring when rammed in.

Some have postulated that it's far more likely to occur at the rear. Loose caps, being a very likely issue.

Sadly, I've never seen any testing done to actually nail this down. I do use lube, but to help improve accuracy. I've seen most of any lube thusly applied blown away with the first shot fired. Poor choice to my mind. Wonderwads seem by far the best approach.

Let's hear some personal experiences, observations, test results, and conclusions that can pass the BS test.

I have been present for a few chain firings, and had at least one myself. In my case, I found an unfired cap on the bench, so I'm pretty sure that the second cylinder was lit up from behind. In at least one of the other cases, the person was told by the range officer (who obviously didn't know s** about c&b revolvers) to only cap the cylinder he was going to fire. What he didn't say was to only load one at a time if doing so. Usually, the person doing the shooting doesn't even know that it happened; the normal recoil covers up the minimal recoil from the extra balls escaping. The shooter finds out when he goes to shoot the next round. Bystanders can sometimes hear a sort of 'RRIP' sound instead of the usual 'Bang'' but often that is not even noticed. The pistols are designed to allow every ball to get clear without damaging the guns, so I guess the old timers were quite familiar with the phenomenon. I grease every second cylinder with a bit of Crisco, just to keep fouling a bit softer, and perhaps prevent a bit of leading, and I press my caps down very firmly.