Different circumstances sometimes require different solutions. That's a good reason to have backup loads and lubes.
I've been hunting with black powder since 1996 and have tested many lubes and combinations. I started out with crisco and it worked great. I used it for years with no problems. I trust it to leave my rifles loaded with crisco as a patch lube for days or weeks.
Here in Georgia we have a season that lasts nearly 3 months. After preparing a flintlock for hunting it may stay loaded for weeks before a shot presents itself. Through experience my choice of a hunting lube is greasy, not liquid. And to be considered it must show me it's accurate and will not cause a rust ring in the barrel.
After several years I changed my lube to Wonderlube for both hunting and general shooting, it works well as a hunting lube. So does Mink Oil from Track of the Wolf. Be aware that Mink Oil boot dressing is not the same as Track's Mink Oil. The boot dressing type contains many additives that I don't want in my barrels.
When I was breaking in my .40 Rice barrel the only lube that worked was LeHigh Valley. It was the most accurate, easy shooting lube I had ever shot. It remains my favorite lube for general shooting. So I had to try it for hunting. I shot a deer and reloaded with LHV, it had a rust ring where the ball was sitting the next day. Not really convinced at that point about the cause I loaded with it a short while later for spring turkey season. That first day I didn't shoot so the next day I pulled the ball, checked the barrel only to find a rust ring. I do remember it was very high, wet, humidity.
The reason I reference LeHigh valley is because Mr. Fllintlocks lube is said to be the same formula as the original LeHigh valley. I have read posts where Mr. Flintlock (centershot) himself has said this. It is a wet lube and seems to be a good substitute for LeHigh valley. It will dry out after only a short time. Lubing a patch and allowing it to dry out is not a good test. If you load into a clean barrel and use a unlubed patch it will still shoot fine. What have you proved?
I use my .40 primarily for Turkeys and small game, sometimes never shooting and sometimes shooting a lot. I wanted to use Mr. Flintlocks but I had already had a rust ring in that barrel and didn't want another so I tried Canola oil. It was accurate and didn't rust. But I still wanted the cleaning and easy loading of Mr. Flintlocks so I now spray one shot on top of the Canola oil. Also during testing I found that it sometimes migrated to my powder charge. My solution was to add a layer of dry wasp nest between the prb and powder charge.
So here is my list of patch lubes I hunt with. Wonder Lube in my .54 as the first shot when big game hunting. Canola oil in my .40 for all hunting. Crisco and Track's Mink Oil are excellent as back ups. These have been thouroghly tested in all weather conditions and have proven themselves to me. I don't need another patch lube.
