moose milk?

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Griz

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First off let me appologize for being so stupid. I know that I seen a recipe for home brew moose milk on one of the subjects in the forum but after a search and looking till my eyes are blurry I still can not find it. Does any one know what the mixed was made from and the amounts. Thanks for all your help.
 
Never apologize for being stupid. You won't get to be president that way. ::

Moose milk is a generic term for a blackpowder solvent used for a patch lube and bore cleaner. Note that it is not a rust preventative!!

My current mix:

16 oz. water (non-chlorinated)
8 oz. isopropyl alcohol, 91%
4 oz. witch hazel
3 oz. castor oil
1 oz. Murphy's Oil Soap

Generally accepted:

Moose milk is made easily at home. To do so you will need the following ingredients:

Napa water soluble cutting oil (if your local napa store doesn't have it in stock the part number is 765-1526 for 1 pint)
Murphy's oil soap
1 liter water bottle
water
rubbing alcohol (optional)

Fill water bottle half full with WARM water. Add 2 oz. each of the water soluble oil and the murphy's oil soap. Shake well and watch it turn white. This means it is mixed. Once mixed it won't unmix. Fill bottle up with water.

If you live in or hunt in an area that has alot of sub-zero temps. you can replace the water with rubbing alcohol to prevent it from freezing.


I have tried the above recipe with mineral oil instead of cutting oil and it seems to work as well. I thing the water is really the most important ingredient. After all, spit does the same thing. With any oil/alcohol mix be sure to shake it well before using it.
 
My mix is ( 1/3 Murphy's oil soap)+(1/3 Napa water soluble cutting oil)+(1/3 T/C #13 bore cleaner or any black power solvent)
 
Thanks guys for both the mixes. I am looking to be more self suppling instead of relying on factory made stuff. Now if I can figure out a mix to be like Lehigh Valley for patch lube. :eek:
 
Check the Lube Wars #1 post. I'm currently working on a liquid lube that I hope will replace Lehigh Valley Lube in my clean-up ritual. I'm testing 15 different lubes/mixtures/oils/substances on a sheet of steel to see if I can match the rust prevention and powder solvent qualities of Lehigh. Just set the sample plate outside last night under my car-port.

The lube mix I mentioned up above is my running contender for the liquid lube category. Smells a lot nicer than what I assume is the water soluable oil in the Lehigh.
 
Keep me updated on your results. I just tried a experiment also last night, no not that :), I cleaned off a piece of steel and put Rem-Oil, Browning Oil, Tetra Gun Lub., and Birchwood Casey Sheath on at the four spots I cleaned, I wanted to see which one would hold rust off longer. Some times I think I rethink things to much and make it harder than it should be. Oh well, just one more of my faults :shocking:
 
If I were a bettin' man, I'd put my money on Birchwood Casey Sheath. I conducted a similar test with nails thru a board -- then left outdoors for several months.

Lehigh Valley works fine for three-month short-term rust prevention, but I found a couple rust-colored patches when I tested it for six months last summer in my climate-controlled, dehumidified basement.

I also was unhappy using it for bore swabbing at the range. I was trying to conduct a test allowing me to shoot the same groups with clean & dirty barrel. My 1st clean to 2nd fouled shot group tightened using Lehigh Valley, but soon afterwards, 3-4-5th shots, the bore became "tacky" -- thus finding it more & more difficult to load tighter-fitting sabot/bullet loads in my T/C Omega.

Since then, I've switched to having Ballistol in the bore for my first & 2nd shot. Same group reduction (went from 6" average to 4")& no tackiness in the bore. This may sound a little "goofy"... but when I arrive at the range table, I completely remove the Birchwood Casey Sheath with Windex Plus Ammonia/Alky patches -- then insert Ballistol in the bore. I fire three caps -- then insert one dry patch using both sides of the cotton.

In another test I'm trying soon, I've saved prior fouling patches in a sandwich bag -- stuck a rubber band around them (10 of em") -- then stuck them in my freezer. I will lightly coat two of them next trip to the range with Ballistol.. then dry-patch the bore b/4 shooting. The next/following time I go to the range, I will coat two fouled patches with water.... then dry patch.

One of these days I'm going to shoot my 2nd shot at the range in the same hole as my first. I'm convinced I can find a suitable method. Now don't ya'll start typing crazy things like Bore Butter will give me 1st-to-2nd shot replication, .... I've been there -- done that in several different combinations.

Plain & Simple.... "It too no workie"
 
Here's a shocker (at least to me). The first spot on my test plate to begin rusting - even before the two control areas that were just rinsed with water - was the T/C Number 13 section! That was after one night outside but covered (under a carport). I was not pleased at all. Granted, they make no claims of preservation or rust prevention - but I would have hoped it at least would beat cold water. I'm never buying another bottle. Why bother when water is free.
 
Interesting information. I only use Lehigh Valley for a patch lube and thats all. I use T/C #13 for cleaning after I am done shooting . Right now I oil the bore after I dry it with Rem-Oil. I was looking for a different oil because Rem-Oil has teflon in it and I have heard some questionable things about teflon building up in layers. I am really leaning toward the Sheath. Have you had good luck with it?
 
That does not surprise me. I have already stopped cleaning my rifle half way through to help someone else ( 10 - 15 ) minutes and it already had rust in it from sitting. I do not think it is intended as a rust preventative but It seems to clean very well. Some times I believe I make things to difficult by thinking the crap out of things. The longhunters of the 18th century only use tow. No Lehigh Valley, T/C #13 ...Some times I just have to shake my head and wonder. :no:
 
If I were worried about long term storage or storage in humid climates I would use a water displacement oil in the barrel . My biggest concern is function, when I go to the range, target shooting or hunting I do not snap off caps to dry out my barrel. When my gun comes out of the case it's ready to be fired (no oil residue in the breach plug) the main thing is when you have finished cleaning your gun it cannot be too hot or to clean (you guys that have pinned in barrels have an excuse) then I use a patch lightly coated with natural lube to season the barrel I allso run several dry patches in and out of the barrel. For target shooting , plinking or squirrel hunting I use a moosemilk (knowing the gun will be fired that same day) for deer hunting I use natural lube on my patches (the gun may not be fired for a week) .
 
trip why dont ya just do a fouler shot,then do what ever you do when ya shoot what ever ya shoot just like every other shot?

a good moose milk fer cleanen is 1 part nappa water solauble oil,1 part pinsol,20 parts water.You wont even smell the black powder fouling over the pinsol,and it cleans better than murphys or dish soap.
Ive got a little experment goen on my self,in my quest to try to get a little more traditional i took my old jukar 45 pistol and removed all traces of petroleum products and lubed the bore with melted lard,then patched out the excess an went out an shot five shots outside the back door into a milk jug.this is a caplock an i was using a lightly lubed patches of lard.Very light,the patches held.anyway instead of cleanen with water right away i cleaned with the lard.Took about 3 patches and then 2 dry ones.i then remove the nipple and flushed the barrel with a cut off garden hose an ice cold well water.Dry patched it and put more melted lard down the bore.
Now im think in the old days they used nuthin but animal lards of some sort be it deer,bear ,coon ,bever or what ever they had at the time an dint clean the things unless they had too,so did they really season the bores of there rifles or did they have enough fat mixed in with the fouling that it just didnt rust?I supose in time they did become seasoned but they had to start somewares
I know my 5 shots will not season the bore but it will fill the pores of the metal with fouling mixed with lard.
Will it rust,maybe or maybe not....Time will tell.
Perhaps i sould not have even flushed it with the water but it has very small patten breech hole down there about the size of a pencil an its not centered at all,in fact it is on the oposite side far left and i wanted it flushed anyways.The lard i cleaned with sould have pluged all the pores in the metal anyways im thinken.
If this works i may be able to rid myself of all the bore cleaners and junk and just use lard an water,if it dont work well then its back to what has always worked good before.
 
"trip why dont ya just do a fouler shot,then do what ever you do when ya shoot what ever ya shoot just like every other shot?"
========================================================

Buckknife

We hunt around five miles from where the trailer is. Usually it's three guys packed into one of our SUVs.. once in a while four hunters.

Anyways, I'm the only one flinging around a muzzleloader while others are using their their high powered rifles. It irks em' everytime I ask em' to stop along the way so I can fire a fouling shot. One of us is always late gettin' ready for the hunt -- as a result we always seem to be running late time-wise (turning light outside).

The only time these guys seem to cooperate is during muzzleloading season in December. That's why I'm a experimentin'....
 

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