Lubricated Wads Contaminating Black Powder or Substitute

[CVA Enthusiast]

I just use Crisco over the balls, it's simple, it works and nothing touches the powder!!

 

[CVA Enthusiast]

Crisco melts easily. I once put Crisco in the bases of my minies while at a competition shooting match. Stored in a plastic box behind the firing line, Crisco went to liquid in the heat. I had to pour the mess out before putting the loads in my cartridge box.
Take a sample and put it in the sun. Watch it melt.

I have often heard the such, as far as crisco I am leaning towards a wax/crisco mix which some say is firmer and holds up better.

 

[rickpa]

When I first started shooting C&B revolvers in the 70s I used Crisco over the balls until it occurred to me that after the first shot there was no Crisco left on the rest of the chambers. I started using lubed wads under the balls and never had a chain fire nor a misfire but then I shoot after loading and don't leave the gun loaded when leaving the range. YMMV.

 

[smoothshooter]

Just caught some fall out, However the title is as TRUE as it is False. I am going to explain, Wads are Lubricated contain some form of grease, be it animal or manufactured Now I load today and shoot today there is no issue but say you live in a State,Country or Jurisdiction that only allows Black Powder Carry or can only afford black powder hand gun and the powder/substitute remains in contact with the lubricated wad. YES there is a level of contamination how much or how bad depends on a lot of different factors, temperature, body heat, humidity so on and so fourth. So yes if you are in the position as described, you may need to shoot em every few days to keep the powder/substitute good when using a lubricated wad. But alas I will digress and say to each his own. Because grease that melts under normal circumstances is just crazy.

I do not think long-term contamination is an issue.
I would also not assume that a few granules of contaminated powder will fail to burn with the rest of the charge.
If the contamination issue still bothers you, put a small piece of wax paper , aluminum foil, etc under the ball before seating it.
Even if a few granules of powder do get soaked with grease, the amount and effects would be so small as to be inconsequential.

 

[Relic shooter]

when making up a supply of paper cartridges for my revolvers I place a thin card over the powder before adding the lubed wad., no contamination issues.

 

[flntlokr]

Yes, I used it during a couple 100+ heat waves although Tallow works a little better

Don't expect to be holstering or walking around with a Crisco'd gun in 100 degree weather but slather it on and pop off your rounds, I've fired over 20 cylinders without wiping out guns with just Crisco over the balls in the dead of July .

Crisco melts at 120F

It's a quick and dirty Range fix to keep guns going for punching paper and having fun

If you're a competition shooter or you can't immediately shoot, probably use something firmer or a homemade beeswax mix , etc

I like to keep things simple and I just shoot to pass time and have fun, so I use what I can just buy for a few bucks

I've even used the wads over the ball as an expedient if I happen to have wads on that range day

I used a lube I made of beeswax+crisco melted together. You can vary the 'stiffness' for use in hot/cold climes; more crisco=softer lube. I used it over ball in my revolver and as a minie and bullet lube.

 

[Stantheman86]

I used a lube I made of beeswax+crisco melted together. You can vary the 'stiffness' for use in hot/cold climes; more crisco=softer lube. I used it over ball in my revolver and as a minie and bullet lube.

I used the Traditions wads today and they weren't enough to keep the gun running. The wads are convenient and keep the bore from caking up but do nothing to keep the arbor fouling soft .

I have a lube melting setup and a bunch of beeswax, I may just make a batch of revolver lube

My Minie lube has a lot of beeswax and is hard . I'll make a + more Crisco batch

 

[barnettshale]

Reading through all the comments, there are many opinions and experiences. I merely added mine as an example of building cartridges using a lubed wad over powder and subsequent wicking of the lube into the powder and the paper when stored under less than ideal conditions. I only started building combustible cartridges about two years ago. All my shooting prior was loose powder and ball. Sometimes I lubed over the ball, sometimes not. Regardless, I have used a C&B revolver for a finishing shot a couple of times and I absolutely want that to be full power. With my experience of the lube wicking into the paper and powder, the two hang fires, my loads for hunting backup will be full power loose powder and ball, no wad. I am attaching a picture of me with an Axis spike I killed during a hunt north of Uvalde back in the late 80's. Nicked him with my Lyman GPR 54, ran up and finished him with the brass frame 1858 44. I will use up my cartridges at the range and then when I manufacture more will change the assembly process to leave out the wad. I do like the cartridges because they are handy and faster to load than loose components. Have a great day.

 

[smoothshooter]

I used the Traditions wads today and they weren't enough to keep the gun running. The wads are convenient and keep the bore from caking up but do nothing to keep the arbor fouling soft .

I have a lube melting setup and a bunch of beeswax, I may just make a batch of revolver lube

My Minie lube has a lot of beeswax and is hard . I'll make a + more Crisco batch

I use my home made wad lube on the arbor too.
Works great.
I once got 96 shots without cleaning on my Uberti .36 navy.
I use a mix of bees wax and olive oil ( or whatever cooking oil the wife has in the cabinet ).

 

[Stantheman86]

I use my home made wad lube on the arbor too.
Works great.
I once got 96 shots without cleaning on my Uberti .36 navy.
I use a mix of bees wax and olive oil ( or whatever cooking oil the wife has in the cabinet ).

With the weather warming up, I'll have to make some for my range trips

 

[Cliffdweller]

Just caught some fall out, However the title is as TRUE as it is False. I am going to explain, Wads are Lubricated contain some form of grease, be it animal or manufactured Now I load today and shoot today there is no issue but say you live in a State,Country or Jurisdiction that only allows Black Powder Carry or can only afford black powder hand gun and the powder/substitute remains in contact with the lubricated wad. YES there is a level of contamination how much or how bad depends on a lot of different factors, temperature, body heat, humidity so on and so fourth. So yes if you are in the position as described, you may need to shoot em every few days to keep the powder/substitute good when using a lubricated wad. But alas I will digress and say to each his own. Because grease that melts under normal circumstances is just crazy.

Powder
Thin .455 card wad
Cushion wad
Ball
No Problem Haha

 

[Johnny Tremain]

The concept of grease over the ball is still the dumbest thing Ive heard of.
Burning gunpowder is hot and melts what it comes in contact with. Grease burns.

Taking from my BPC experience, Powder in, then a .030 veggie wad, THEN a wad with No. 13 T/C cleaner. Then a well fit ball.

The veggie wad stops contamination. We use them to stop the boolit lube from getting to the powder in BPC.

https://www.buffaloarms.com/45-caliber-rifle-030-vegeta.html

 

[Stantheman86]

The concept of grease over the ball is still the dumbest thing Ive heard of.
Burning gunpowder is hot and melts what it comes in contact with. Grease burns.

Taking from my BPC experience, Powder in, then a .030 veggie wad, THEN a wad with No. 13 T/C cleaner. Then a well fit ball.

The veggie wad stops contamination. We use them to stop the boolit lube from getting to the powder in BPC.

https://www.buffaloarms.com/45-caliber-rifle-030-vegeta.html

If it works on the range to let me get through a 100 round box of balls , it's good enough for me

I'm not an Indian fighter, I'm a paper or steel plate killer I've smeared Tallow or Crisco over balls and fired revolvers for a whole afternoon without having to clean them. It blows everywhere, but that's what I want. I need it all over the arbor , cylinder face and forcing cone.

Plus Tallow is good for your hands, just rub it in like manly hand cream in between strings

I like Crisco less than Tallow but if I'm too lazy to scoop tallow into a small jar , I'll just put a tub of Crisco in my range bag.

Over the ball goop is pretty much for the range only when you're about to immediately shoot but that's what I do with percussion revolvers 99.9% of the time

 

[alcessapiens]

I use wool felt (no synthetics to melt under the heat of firing) lubed with beeswax/ linseed mix and a thin cardboard (cereal box) wad over the powder in my rifles with minie or conical. With rb just the card between patch and powder.

 

[Vtmountaindeerhunter]

As I posted in another thread here are examples of combustible cartridges made with lubed felt wads. Wads came from Sagebrush Outfitters. The cartridges I made nearly two years ago and they were stored in my shop and have been exposed to extremely cold and hot temps. 9 degrees F up to about 110 degrees F. If you notice the discolored paper from the lube melting out of the wads and wicking into the paper. All fired first cap but there were two hang fires.
View attachment 203463View attachment 203464

They look like half smoked joints . I will have to try them out sometime, it seems easy enough to load

 

[Vtmountaindeerhunter]

Honey where's the crisco ? . For what dear ? . For my balls sweetie

 

[Dave Markowitz]

I punch revolver wads from 1/8" wool felt from Durofelt and lubricate them with 100% pure neatsfoot oil with the excess squeezed out. This keeps the fouling in the bore under control for my typcial range session of 40 - 50 shots, and doesn't require me to mix up or melt any lube. If the cylinder starts dragging I dribble a bit of neatsfoot oil on the back and front of it from a small plastic bottle with a flip-top lid.

 

[Ed C.]

Will crisco work in 100 deg weather? Asking for a friend.

Crisco and bore butter are a mess in Florida!

 

[david w]

Crisco and bore butter are a mess in Florida!

I've been to Orlando for boot camp in July and August. You ain't telling me nothing! Love those little 5 minute thunderstorms where it cools of 30 degrees, then the sun comes back out with a vengeance.

 

[Ed C.]

I use my home made wad lube on the arbor too.
Works great.
I once got 96 shots without cleaning on my Uberti .36 navy.
I use a mix of bees wax and olive oil ( or whatever cooking oil the wife has in the cabinet ).

That is also my choice and I'm sticking to it!