How long do "pre-lubed" patches last?

[CoHiCntry]

I hear frequently on here that pre-lubed patches don't last and can create some issues when they get old. How old are we talking? I don't plan to use pre-lubed patches again but I did buy some a year or so ago and am wondering how long they might last? Or should I just pitch them and be done with it?

 

[FishDFly]

Why pitch them until you try them?

 

[Bob McBride]

Don't pitch them. Shoot a few and find them and inspect them. I try to make just enough for a few weeks shooting but I've shot them as long as a year after dunking them. I do use the same material and lube for everything so I'm confident in it but all patching isn't equal and all lube isn't super stable....

(Remembering store bought prelubes could be any age at all by the time you get it....)

 

[Tom A Hawk]

The only problem I have experienced is when patched balls are left in a loading block for an extended period of time. After a few weeks the patch becomes fused to the ball.

 

[Crawfish]

This past week I shot using some very old patches. They had been well lubed when I put them away 20+ yrs ago. They were is a tightly sealed container, and stacked tight together, though. Seemed fine, and loaded ok

 

[Carbon 6]

It depends on what they are lubed with.
Store bought pre-lubed patches are over lubed IMO.
I lube my patches as I need them or for the day. If they don't rot, or dry out they will gather dirt.

 

[user 48679]

They were is a tightly sealed container, and stacked tight together, though.

+1 This is the Gold Standard......

 

[Musketeer]

If they don't feel crusty or gummy they should be fine, though they may be dry, in which case just give them a little squirt of Ballistol or your lube of choice and shoot away.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

This past week I shot using some very old patches. They had been well lubed when I put them away 20+ yrs ago. They were is a tightly sealed container, and stacked tight together, though. Seemed fine, and loaded ok

If I grease up a stack of patches I'll pop them in the historically correct microwave for a few seconds then press the stack together. After they cool you have to peel them off with a fingernail.

 

[Zonie]

I don't have any idea how long a pre-lubed patch will last before it loses it's strength but I wouldn't trust any that were over a year old.

My last experience with factory pre-lubed patches was years ago. I saw some pre-lubed patches for sale on a guys table at a gun show. The package looked old but the prices were right so I bought them. I'd guess based on the condition of the packages they had hung in a gun store for well over a year.

My next trip to the range gave me a chance to shoot some of them. The group size at 50 yards was over a foot in diameter. Normally, it would be about 2 inches.

I looked for some of the fired patches but I didn't find any so, I loaded up another patch and fired the rifle, keeping my eyes on the area in front of the barrel so I could see where the patches were going.
After the shot, I walked over to the place the patch landed and found maybe half of the patch, ripped and torn with the rest of it blown away.
I repeated this a couple of times, always with the same result. That's when I pitched all of those pre-lubed patches into the trash and vowed to never do that again.

 

[Ames]

Very little effort in lubing 10, or 20, or 30 fresh yourself. Use them and toss the leftovers. Its the expensive black powder you are wasting trying to figure out if cheap old patches are still good. Stop wasting powder.
Mink oil in the winter, good ol' spit in the warmer! Toss the store bought.
The answer to your original question is...they last till I feed them to the chickens.

 

[Frontier's]

Microwave them and squish the lube around.

 

[Musketeer]

To give a different perspective: When I first got into MLs back in the late '90s, the owner of the local gun shop I used to hang out at frequently gave me a small box of ML accessories that had been in the back of his shop for several years. They didn't deal in BP guns, but he'd picked up this box somewhere along the way and just stashed it. Hearing that I was getting into ML shooting he gave it to me. Along with a short starter, a couple adjustable powder measures, a few nipples and a wrench, etc. were some round plastic containers of pre-lubed patches. I shot up two containers back then, but then I started making my own patches, so I stashed the last container away and still have it to this day. The patches shot fine back then, despite being several years old at the time (at the very least), and the patches in the last container (pictured) still look and feel good as new and whatever lube was used is still slippery and not crusty or gummy (though I have no idea how they'd actually shoot at this point 20-some years later). This seems to confirm that it depends on the lube used and how they were stored. Having said all that, Ames does make a good point in his post above.

 

[Okie Hog]

The pre-lubed patches i bought in 2014 went bad within 2-3 years. They tore while loading.

 

[CoHiCntry]

Its the expensive black powder you are wasting trying to figure out if cheap old patches are still good. Stop wasting powder.

Good point...

 

[Josephg]

I have pre-lubed patches purchased over twenty years ago. They work fine.

 

[Colterkid]

Don't pitch them. Shoot a few and find them and inspect them. I try to make just enough for a few weeks shooting but I've shot them as long as a year after dunking them. I do use the same material and lube for everything so I'm confident in it but all patching isn't equal and all lube isn't super stable....

(Remembering store bought prelubes could be any age at all by the time you get it....)

8U

 

[Colterkid]

We'll, I guess I made a huge mistake. On a rainy day yesterday I greased up a lot of .015 natural linen patches with homemade sheep tallow and mineral oil combination.
Will the sheep tallow make any difference in the longevity of the natural linen patches compared to over the counter stuff?
Help!

 

[LME]

I put my prelubed patches in a percussion cap tin. fit perfect no problems. I shot the other day and used the patches and they were old ,old ! They were begining to dry out a little but I will rejuvenate them.

 

[Colterkid]

I have them in a sealed tin and long strips in a tube. I guess I can always rejuvenate them with the tallow if they dry out. Thanks LME.