Lubricated Wads Contaminating Black Powder or Substitute

[CVA Enthusiast]

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.

 

[pacanis]

If I was going to leave a C&B loaded for an extended period I'd seat the ball right on the powder and use a stiff lube on the cylinder face.
If it was a single shot like my Kentucky pistol I'd do as I did for hunting season, use a mink oil patch. That did not appear to affect the performance of the powder at all when I discharged it after the season.

 

[Frontier's]

Depends on your lube. I used to made wads and lube them. Very little powder ever stuck to them. It's no different than a lubed patch.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

This would be a fun experiment for a chronograph owner.

If the lube does compromise the powder charge over time, a natural decrease in velocity vs a fresh load would be telling.

 

[SDSmlf]

This would be a fun experiment for a chronograph owner.

If the lube does compromise the powder charge over time, a natural decrease in velocity vs a fresh load would be telling.

No need for a chronograph.

Purchased some pre-lubed wads from Cabelas quite a while back, forget the date. Loaded up a number of cylinders using the wads for a SASS shoot the following morning. None of the roundballs from the first cylinder I shot made it out of the barrel. Had to knock the roundballs out after each shot. A few of them got stuck in the forcing cone. I was a DQ for the match. By the time I got home every load was contaminated to the point of being being dead. Talked to Cabelas. They said it must have been too hot and I left the loaded cylinders in the sun. Saved the package for something to look at any time I though about buying something from Cabelas. There are some places where the sun doesn’t shine I guess.

Purchased punches and hard felt (Durofelt) that day. Used my own lube since. Have not used a purchased wad since.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

No need for a chronograph.

Purchased some pre-lubed wads from Cabelas quite a while back, forget the date. Loaded up a number of cylinders using the wads for a SASS shoot the following morning. None of the roundballs from the first cylinder I shot made it out of the barrel. Had to knock the roundballs out after each shot. A few of them got stuck in the forcing cone. I was a DQ for the match. By the time I got home every load was contaminated to the point of being being dead. Talked to Cabelas. They said it must have been too hot and I left the loaded cylinders in the sun. Saved the package for something to look at any time I though about buying something from Cabelas. There are some places where the sun doesn’t shine I guess.

Purchased punches and hard felt (Durofelt) that day. Used my own lube since. Have not used a purchased wad since.

My handmade Durofelt and beeswax/tallow wads are so far superior to the store bought ones it’s more than worth the effort, and they’re MUCH cheaper to boot. I can shoot all day and all the fouling wipes out of the bore with one patch, leaving shiny rifling and just some residue to finish cleaning.

 

[SDSmlf]

My handmade Durofelt and beeswax/tallow wads are so far superior to the store bought ones it’s more than worth the effort, and they’re MUCH cheaper to boot. I can shoot all day and all the fouling wipes out of the bore with one patch, leaving shiny rifling and just some residue to finish cleaning.

Yep.

 

[Stantheman86]

I don't often keep a percussion revolver loaded for more than a few minutes but if I am, I just load dry

I feel that lubed wads and over the ball lube are both meant for range use or in the case of the Texas Rangers using pork fat over the Pickett bullets of their Walkers, probably just after loading in expectation of soon being in battle

Skeeter Skelton was big on lubed felt wads when he was shooting Colt Navies in the 1920s or 30s but I think they used them for recreational shooting, not carrying them around loaded

 

[barnettshale]

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.

 

[david w]

I quit shooting C&B a long time ago. I had a Ruger, it is high quality, but just didn't cotton up to the modern sights. A friend of mine swears by paper cartridges in his 1851.

 

[LST-1185]

After I make paper cartridges, using dry duro felt wads, they are then stored in plastic jars until I'm ready to use them. I use a small amount of lube between the wad and ball when I shoot.

 

[Stantheman86]

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

 

[david w]

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

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

 

[ord sgt]

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

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.

 

[SDSmlf]

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

Kind of. As long as you are not out in the sunshine or there is no additional heat source, say from the burning of blackpowder. Believe Crisco melts just over ~115°f, a little higher than when crystallized honey starts to melt (~110°f).

Crisco was the go to lube when first got into blackpowder shooting, but it can be messy and melts easily. Nearly impossible to cover the balls in a revolver cylinder with it and not have it run everywhere in the North Carolina summer sunshine. When I shot SASS during the summertime in NC and you used Crisco, it would be running out of the bottom of your holsters before your shooting stage would begin.

 

[Stantheman86]

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

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

 

[Matt85]

I had those pre-lubed wonder wads contaminate my powder AND rust the chambers in a Pietta 1858.

 

[CVA Enthusiast]

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

My points proven, Thank You. if it remains loaded, powder does become contaminated from a lubed wad, if you shot those the day of, probably would not have an issue

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

Never heard of any lube actually causing rust, @Matt85 . Now if the WW had absorbed moisture from the environment, I could see it happening though.

I seldom carry a C&B revolver for very long while it is loaded. When I do so in hot weather, I generally use a WW atop the ball. Mostly though, I don't carry C&B revolvers around much. I load 'em up and shoot 'em within a few minutes. If I gotta carry something, it will be a metal cartridge revolver.

 

[CVA Enthusiast]

Never heard of any lube actually causing rust, @Matt85 . Now if the WW had absorbed moisture from the environment, I could see it happening though.

I seldom carry a C&B revolver for very long while it is loaded. When I do so in hot weather, I generally use a WW atop the ball. Mostly though, I don't carry C&B revolvers around much. I load 'em up and shoot 'em within a few minutes. If I gotta carry something, it will be a metal cartridge revolver.

I can see that also, the absorbents of water/condensation above and below the wad, yes I can so see that as moved from hot to cold, humidity I can so see that