Hunting lube question

[Jim K]

I’ve been using mink oil to lube my patches. Recently I started using Mr Flintlock at the range. I was wondering why so many use wet lube at the range and mink oil for hunting. Is it because the wet lube dries out over the course of the day or it might freeze in the colder months? Thanks for any input. Jim

 

[Archer 756]

Make your on "Moose Juice"

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I think it's the opposite. If you use a wet lube and it's loaded all day, and in some cases sit all day barrel up..., the thought is the lube may migrate into and damage the powder charge.

LD

 

[Jim K]

I have moose milk. The same question would be asked about that. Why do so many hunt with mink oil but use wet lubes at the range?

 

[Jim K]

I think it's the opposite. If you use a wet lube and it's loaded all day, and in some cases sit all day barrel up..., the thought is the lube may migrate into and damage the powder charge.

LD

Now that makes sense. Probably no problem on a few hour squirrel hunt then I suppose. My patches aren’t sopping wet. More like damp.

 

[Grimord]

I use MinkOil lube for hunting for many of the reasons already mentioned. The lube does not freeze in cold weather, it stays soft. I keep my gun loaded during the season until fired. I don't have to worry about the lube contaminating the powder charge when using Mink Oil.

 

[Crow-Feather]

Moose milk because you can shoot all day without wiping and the first shot will go where the last one went. For hunting, an oil will not dry out. I would expect that with the heat of the ignition, there would be little chance of ice commin outta the barrel.

 

[sawyer04]

I lube heavy for range work. The longer the lube is in the barrel for hunting, sometimes days at a time it is likely to diminish the performance of the charge. I lube with bees wax, olive oil, or Crisco, No fancy formulation or mixes. I refrain from any water based product use on my weapons.

 

[SDSmlf]

Now that makes sense. Probably no problem on a few hour squirrel hunt then I suppose. My patches aren’t sopping wet. More like damp.

I agree with @Loyalist Dave and the possibility of the lube fouling the powder charge. With the 12 to 15 grain powder charges I typically use in my 32 caliber squirrel guns, a wet patch will change things up if it sits on the powder for even a short length of time. I have just learned to use a dry felt wad over the powder.

 

[Black Powder Guy]

If you look at the top of this part of the forum you can see Stumpy's two types of moose milk. One is for target or plunking and the other for hunting. He is a moderator here.

 

[Art Caputo]

I use Mink Oil for the range and hunting, finding consistency with un-swabbed follow-up shots across a the wide range of temperatures from hot summer to the freezing winter. Given I’m rarely, if ever exceeding a couple of dozen shots/session, it’s uncomplicated, and a tin of Mink Oil(TOTW) lasts years.

 

[Darkhorse]

I use those wet lubes for casual shooting but not for hunting. My reason is they will dry out and in a short amount of time cause a rust ring in your bore. For instance I had my .40 loaded for turkey hunting with a patch saturated with a wet lube, didn't shoot my rifle, so I left it loaded. On the 3rd day I shot it and when I cleaned the rifle there was a rust ring right where the ball sits. 3 days is an extreme. I had the same thing happen on another rifle but it took longer than 3 days.
For deer hunting my first shot is with a bore butter lubed patch and ball. My rifle is sighted for this load and if loaded into a clean barrel it will not cause that rust ring.
My .40 is a dedicated turkey rifle, legal in my state. The first shot is with a canola oil lubed patch and ball. I have experienced migration to the powder charge but this is how I fixed the problem. I pour my powder charge into the clean barrel, followed by a layer of wasp nest torn into small pieces to absorb the lube, then I seat the lubed patch and ball. Started doing this about 5 years ago with no lube migration so far.
A lot of shooting went into testing those 2 loads listed because I was looking for a lube that would not cause rust in my rifles, and both those lubes were tested by me and I trust them.

 

[renegadehunter]

Damp type lubes may dry out completely or even leave a rust ring in the bore if it is left loaded for several days. They may also leech into the powder and foul some of it after sitting against it for so long. At the range it is fired out right away.

 

[Jim K]

Interesting observations. Thank you all for answering my questions. Jim

 

[hanshi]

Make your on "Moose Juice"

Or get it yourself, naturally.

I don't worry about powder contamination from wet lubes; the heat generated from firing takes care of that and negates the problem. In the bush my first load is always mink oil. For deer hunting where only one or two shots are likely to be fired, the bore can be left loaded indefinitely if the gun hasn't been fired. Liquid lubes containing water will dry out and can cause rust, as has already been mentioned. For squirrel hunting, as an example, multiple shots are often fired and wet lubes are fine after the first shot.