Mink oil on patches

[cotcrab]

Hi. I got a can of mink oil from TOTW. I have some precut dry pillow ticking patches. How much mink oil should I put on the patches? Should they be slick to the touch or should it be thicker on the patch. I put them in an altoids tin.

 

[Black Hand]

I melt lubes, allow them to fully infiltrate stacks of pre-cut patches, gently squeeze to remove excess and store lubed patches in a tin (or the freezer) until needed.

 

[necchi]

How much mink oil should I put on the patches?

That's something YOU have to experiment with.
Nobody knows your entire loading regime but you.
There is no magic answer,,
,,they will try,,
But you still have to experiment with what works best for you.
Shoot a bunch using a little,
Shoot a bunch using more,
Shoot a bunch using a lot.
Which works best for YOU?

 

[Crewdawg445]

:applause: :thumbsup:

Well said, many people forget to actually get out and TRY multiple combos. As mentioned, a rifle will handle a different load combination each time a variable is changed. Get out and make smoke!!! Most importantly, HAVE FUN!!! :hatsoff:

 

[azmntman]

Above 2 posts about cover this to a "T" :thumbsup:

FYI I find "less slick" works best in most my loads. I now use the Dutch system and find the higher ratios work best (so far).

 

[coloradoclyde]

How much mink oil should I put on the patches?

That's something YOU have to experiment with.
Nobody knows your entire loading regime but you.
There is no magic answer,,
,,they will try,,
But you still have to experiment with what works best for you.
Shoot a bunch using a little,
Shoot a bunch using more,
Shoot a bunch using a lot.
Which works best for YOU?

What Necchi said,,,, :thumbsup: :hatsoff: ...Just be consistent whatever you do.

 

[BrownBear]

My guns are pretty consistent in what they like, but yours could be different. I agree that you should try lots of "dosages."

BTW- Mine like a light smear, about like what you'd do if applying Chapstick to your lip.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I kinda have a rule about how much to put on....but it's not set in concrete.

Generally, the thicker or stiffer the lube, the less I put on.

Too much lube can cause problems....as can too little lube.

 

[DarrinG]

BTW- Mine like a light smear, about like what you'd do if applying Chapstick to your lip.

^^^ Mine likes this also.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I melt lubes, allow them to fully infiltrate stacks of pre-cut patches, gently squeeze to remove excess and store lubed patches in a tin (or the freezer) until needed.

That strikes me as being a very unnecessary and wasteful procedure. Soaking the fibers and the side touching the ball contribute nothing to shooting qualities. My procedure is to make my lubes in a semi-hard cake and rub onto the side of the patch that will touch the bore. I store the pre-lube cloth in a baggie and tear into strips for cutting at the muzzle as needed. But, it's yer money. Spending money is what makes our economy great. :v

 

[Bob Gular]

Mink oil lubed patches have a tendency to smolder after firing. I used them on a woods walk and almost started a fire.

 

[hanshi]

I much prefer mink oil in the bush and use it at the range sometimes. I guess I fall between the two extremes by wiping the patch on the cake and rubing it in for a second. I like a good bit of lube on the patch but not nearly as much as the soak & squeeze shooters.

 

[Black Hand]

I melt lubes, allow them to fully infiltrate stacks of pre-cut patches, gently squeeze to remove excess and store lubed patches in a tin (or the freezer) until needed.

That strikes me as being a very unnecessary and wasteful procedure. Soaking the fibers and the side touching the ball contribute nothing to shooting qualities. My procedure is to make my lubes in a semi-hard cake and rub onto the side of the patch that will touch the bore. I store the pre-lube cloth in a baggie and tear into strips for cutting at the muzzle as needed. But, it's yer money. Spending money is what makes our economy great. :v

It works for me and puts meat in the freezer...

 

[Elkeater]

[/quote]
It works for me and puts meat in the freezer...
[/quote]

For a lot of us that's what it's all about.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

I keep a pet mink on a leash. It comes with me on my shoots and aside from lube, it provides protection during reloading. All it needs is a little wringing to get some of the oil out of its fur. Not enough to hurt it.

 

[Elkeater]

Have you tried his spit patch?

 

[Black Hand]

But, it's yer money. Spending money is what makes our economy great.

I buy the material regardless and the Bear grease comes with the cost of rendering it myself or using one of the jars I have stored.

In other words, it costs me nothing to use the lube. What I gain is not needing to fumble around with lubing one side of the patch to load - grab one from the tin and go...

 

[SgtMaj65]

I use TOW mink oil exclusively and love it. I probably lube my patches somewhere in between a little and a lot. Has worked for me. A slightly bit drier patch when it's warm, a bit more when it's cold. That probably doesn't help you, but like everyone here says, experiment and see what your rifles like. I lube pre-cut linen patches before I head out to shoot at the range and keep them in a one of those old plastic 35mm film cans that I seem to keep finding EVERYWHERE. I was a news photog for many years. They work great. Same with Altoids tins and I have a 40-plus-year-old Sucrets tin I stripped of paint and spray painted flat black and it's still going strong. You can stand on those old tins and not dent them. They have a variety of uses for shooters.

 

[jon math]

Ages ago one of my customers was making something out of wool blanket material. They had a dumpster full of trimmings that they were throwing away. I asked for some and ended up with a giant garbage bag full. I purchased an arch punch from a company called Osborn, who even at that late date was still offering all kinds of old leather and sail making type tools, sized to fit my 12 gauge shotgun’s bore. I punched many wads from the scraps, often only getting one or two per piece but it was a shame just tossing the stuff away. I did the same heated/melted lube treatment as Black Hand mentioned, and ended up with a nice homemade lubed wads. The odd colors including, a hot pink, certainly were not historical but they worked and being a thrifty Yankee at heart I did not mind.
I used a wok so the lube was in a puddle in the center of the dish shaped pan and I slid the blanket circles down the sides till the edge just reached the liquid and the material just soaked up the stuff. When the color of the blanket just darkened completely I removed the wad. The lube really went a long way. They were not as firm as a true felt wad but the shotgun patterned pretty well and fouling was not an issue so I have to assume the lube was doing it’s job.