I stopped at the range today and did a little testing at 25 meters with my CVA .45 caliber Kentucky Rifle. I used a load that was known to shoot 1" or better at 25 meters. I compared loads with pure Murphy's Oil Soap rubbed into a pillow ticking patch and pillow ticking patches treated with lube consisting of 1 part Ballistol, 1 part Murphy's Oil Soap and 20 parts water. The treated patches were allowed to get almost dry before I stored them in an old medicine bottle a few days ago.
When I applied the pure Murphy's Oil Soap, I rubbed it into the side of the pillow ticking with the darker blue stripes. The side I rubbed with my thumb was placed on the muzzle toward the powder charge with the unrubbed side facing the ball for every shot for consistency.
I found patches on the ground and all burn marks were centered. All three loads were measured with a chronograph placed 15 feet from the muzzle.
AV = Average Velocity, HV = High Velocity, LV = Low Velocity, ES = Extreme Spread, SD = Standard Deviation. M.O.S. = Murphy's Oil Soap.
Load 1: 40g Pyrodex P + Hornady Round Ball + CCI # 11 cap + Patches Treated with pure M.O.S. AV-1410 fps, HV/LV-1460/1353 fps, ES/SD-107/47 fps. Group size was 1-3/8" W x 3" H. Pushing the load with the ramrod was easier with the M.O.S. patches vs the patches treated with home made lube.
Load 2: 40g Pyrodex P + Hornady Round Ball + CCI # 11 cap + Patches Treated with Home Made Lube. AV-1445 fps, HV/LV-1461/1413 fps, ES/SD-48/18 fps. Group size was 7/16" W x 15/16" H with all shots in one ragged hole. Pushing the ramrod took more effort and there was more felt recoil when I fired the rifle.
Load 3: 40g Hodgdon Triple Se7en FFFG + Hornady Round Ball + CCI # 11 cap + Patches Treated with pure M.O.S. AV-1464 fps, HV/LV-1493/1438 fps, ES/SD-55/25 fps. Group size was 7/8" W x 7/8" H. On a previous outing the same load using home made patch lube chronographed at 35 fps faster and printed a 1" W x 9/16" H group.
It would appear my rifle does not like pure Murphy's Oil Soap for patch lube when shooting 40 grains of Pyrodex P powder. Using pure Murphy's Oil Soap for patch lube made no difference in accuracy when shooting Triple Se7en FFFG.
The Triple Se7en FFFG load shot to the same Point of Impact at 25 meters and 50 meters on a previous outing. When the opportunity presents itself, I will shoot groups at 50 meters using pure Murphy's Oil Soap for patch lube. If the 25 meter group was not a fluke, I don't anticipate shooting a decent 50 meter group with Pyrodex P and pure M.O.S..
I have only had the rifle a few weeks and have only fired 235 rounds to date. In time, I should have more data.