Patch Lube and Seasoning

[SDSmlf]

Personally, I am a big fan of barrel seasoning, particularly with Borebutter and Wonderlube. Have picked up a couple of barrels and guns with barrels that were ‘shot out’ for next to nothing. Previous owners claimed accuracy was gone and they pulled brown rust from the bores when they cleaned. They were of the bore seasoning school. Usually some boiling water and a solvent like brake cleaner would clean the ‘seasoning’ out and reveal a good, accurate bore. If bore were true sewer pipes, they became rebore candidates. Or tomato stakes.

For me, a clean barrel with no incremental crap build up (aka seasoning) is what I have had consistent success with. Maybe back in the day they seasoned their barrels, but didn’t they also refreshed them on a regular basis as the ‘seasoning’ became an issue?

 

[nhmoose]

Do not feed trolls.

 

[Zonie]

Personally, I am a big fan of barrel seasoning, particularly with Borebutter and Wonderlube. Have picked up a couple of barrels and guns with barrels that were ‘shot out’ for next to nothing. Previous owners claimed accuracy was gone and they pulled brown rust from the bores when they cleaned. They were of the bore seasoning school. Usually some boiling water and a solvent like brake cleaner would clean the ‘seasoning’ out and reveal a good, accurate bore. If bore were true sewer pipes, they became rebore candidates. Or tomato stakes.

For me, a clean barrel with no incremental crap build up (aka seasoning) is what I have had consistent success with. Maybe back in the day they seasoned their barrels, but didn’t they also refreshed them on a regular basis as the ‘seasoning’ became an issue?

You aren't the only one that has seen muzzleloading barrels lose their accuracy from a buildup of whatever Borebutter and Wonderlube leaves behind.
Over the years, a lot of people have found that cleaning their "seasoned barrels" with soapy water isn't enough and after the bores were cleaned with a good solvent that dissolves oil and grease, suddenly the accuracy of the old barrel returns.
The solvents that seem to work are disk brake cleaner, acetone, lacquer thinner and MEK.

 

[mooman76]

That goes for any gun. I hear all the time of people picking up cheap guns because the owner feels they are worn out when all they really needed was a good cleaning.

 

[Griz44Mag]

With some oils, you are left with residue.View attachment 42128

I have looked and looked and looked, I just can't fins anything like that in any of my guns!
I did however - find some dark residue -

 

[hanshi]

It's an immortal myth that comes up all too often. A steel barrel can't be "seasoned". And even if it could who in their right mind would want a crust inside the bore that will eventually cover the lands and grooves? Always clean down to the bare steel, use a rust protectant and use a good lube - and not any of the "bore butters".

 

[Crow-Feather]

The Hatfield/McCoy dispute was nothing compared to the famous oil - no oil, and bore butter - no bore butter war of the 21st century.

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

With all the scrubbing and use of Dawn etc, any "seasoning" that is built up on the range would be removed during cleaning anyway. When I got my new Lyman GPR 25 years ago. I took an afternoon to "season" the bore. I shot most of the afternoon swabbing with a greased patch (Bore Butter) after every 3 shots. Accuracy was good offhand but 3 was about the limit to load that ball and patch combo.

Well, when the sun started to sink I had several dozen shots through her and she loaded and shot just the same as when I started. I took her home and scrubbed her out, oiled the barrel and put her away. I ended the day fully believing that "seasoning" the bore is hogwash and a good idea from the guy who invented Bore Butter.

Now, 25 years later, The accuracy is still the same offhand, she loads and shoots the same and I get about 3-4 shots before I need to swab the bore (now I use a solvent on a patch). I still scrub the bore well after shooting and use a gun oil to protect the bore from rusting. THAT is what works, not burning fats and oils into the steel. The fats and oils heated onto the steel are thoroughly mixed with BP soot anyway, that is getting scrubbed out after shooting. "seasoning" is a myth.
You dont season a barrel, you condition it by repetitive shooting, cleaning and oiling. All you are doing there is burnishing the surface of the steel through heat and friction making it a bit smoother. The same thing as centerfire shooters call "breaking in" a barrel. If you want to call that seasoning, suit yourself.

 

[Tumbledown]

Hmmm
Just thinking here not arguing one way or other.
Powder burns at a pretty high temp. As I recall about 1700 degrees. You grease your patch and have a ball that works as a great heat sink above it. Still it toast to a dark brown. And if your patch is a bit loose you can get blow by and burn up you patch.
Now when I season cast iron I only get it to hot enough to fry in. Not so hot that my grease would smoke.
And the grease isn’t exposed to direct flame.
Wouldn’t hot flame pretty much burn out any oil in you barrel.
I clean a new barrel but it takes about ten-twenty shots before it really starts to shoot well. I always blamed it on left over oil in the barrel.
When done I clean with water, some times some mild soap. Then after drying I gease. Before I shoot I wipe out the barrel. I don’t think much in the way of oil/ grease/ moose milk in a microscopic film on the inside would stand up to the blowtourch inside the barrel.... just guessing here as I said not arguing just thinking.

Actually, to properly season cast iron, it *should* smoke. That's the oil being converted to a layer of carbon.

 

[ohio ramrod]

You just can’t compare cast iron frying pans to modern barrel steel. The grain structure is totally different.
You preserve cast iron by “seasoning”, you preserve muzzleloader barrels by keeping them cleaned and oiled. The oil that you remove prior to loading.
( you want the cleanest conditions possible if you want accuracy)
A lot of Pauls rants were lengthy and some bordering on insane, but without going back and rereading that one, it sounds like I would agree.
You don’t season barrels.
You must have been digging a long ways back, Paul passed away at least a couple of years ago.
Good luck with your quest.

I always considered Paul a friend and worked with him on writing an article for muzzle blasts (unfortunately he died before we finished it).When we wrote back and forth he used his office envelopes which highly upset my wife since she thought I was up to no good contacting an attorney. Paul, as an attorney was a stickler for details. I believe he was completely right on seasoning barrels.

 

[tenngun]

Actually, to properly season cast iron, it *should* smoke. That's the oil being converted to a layer of carbon.

I do it a bit different. After washing in just plain water I heat it enough the water is boiled off. White heat still on I add the oil, olive, lard, tallow, as I alternate. Wipe inside with a wadded paper towel or thin rag. Let cool. And store
My first cooking on the pot is bacon. Cook a pound, remove the meat, let fat cook to hard, add a new pound then cook that, let cook and pretty much deep fry the bacon one more pound, let cook. Heat and pour off, let cool then wash in plain water oil with olive oil next.
Just made baked Mac and cheese in a deep edged frying pan two nights ago. A pan that I’ve had thirty three years, and got used. Stuff came out of the pot as easy as well baked glass sand tasted whole lot better.

 

[hanshi]

Can't beat cast iron for cooking!

 

[FishDFly]

This has been argued who knows how many times.

If you can season a barrel, why are so many barrels ruined?

Arguing about this subject is kind of like wrestling with a pig in the mud. After awhile you realize the pig is having fun.

 

[Archer 756]

Can't beat cast iron for cooking!

Cant bet a good wife for cooking

 

[The Crisco Kid]

When it comes down to the shooting those of us who'd be lucky to hit a frying pan offhand at 100 yards most likely can't tell a seasoned barrel from an unseasoned one.

 

[Sidney Smith]

Seasoning a barrel is horse dung, plain and simple.!

 

[FishDFly]

Seasoning a barrel is horse dung, plain and simple.!

It seems that the fat lady has sung.

The opera will be sung again in 30 days or so.

 

[TomV]

With all the scrubbing and use of Dawn etc, any "seasoning" that is built up on the range would be removed during cleaning anyway. When I got my new Lyman GPR 25 years ago. I took an afternoon to "season" the bore. I shot most of the afternoon swabbing with a greased patch (Bore Butter) after every 3 shots. Accuracy was good offhand but 3 was about the limit to load that ball and patch combo.

Well, when the sun started to sink I had several dozen shots through her and she loaded and shot just the same as when I started. I took her home and scrubbed her out, oiled the barrel and put her away. I ended the day fully believing that "seasoning" the bore is hogwash and a good idea from the guy who invented Bore Butter.

Now, 25 years later, The accuracy is still the same offhand, she loads and shoots the same and I get about 3-4 shots before I need to swab the bore (now I use a solvent on a patch). I still scrub the bore well after shooting and use a gun oil to protect the bore from rusting. THAT is what works, not burning fats and oils into the steel. The fats and oils heated onto the steel are thoroughly mixed with BP soot anyway, that is getting scrubbed out after shooting. "seasoning" is a myth.
You dont season a barrel, you condition it by repetitive shooting, cleaning and oiling. All you are doing there is burnishing the surface of the steel through heat and friction making it a bit smoother. The same thing as centerfire shooters call "breaking in" a barrel. If you want to call that seasoning, suit yourself.

Barrels are steel not wrought iron, no seasoning is possible.

 

[Art Caputo]

I tend to agree that comparing the seasoning of a frying pan, cast iron, or steel is not comparable to the process that occurs with the a modern muzzleloader barrel. I think that the greatest effect that may take place in a muzzleloader barrel is the build-up of carbon, the most difficult to remove chemical component left by the ignition of black powder. The type of lube may result in more or less carbon build-up, but if this build up is not controlled or eliminated, the dimension or lubricity of the bore will not be constant and the build-up will continue. In days of old, or with perhaps those that still use the method, cleaning the barrel would with water, whether hot or cold would not rid the barrel of the corrosive components of the residue but leave an amount of carbon that may initially give the impression of “slickening” the bore, but in time would build up unless physically or chemically removed. IMO, this is the “seasoning” that is referred to. Whether it gets polymerized or not, is hard to tell, but it’s still going to build up and posses similar characteristics to basic carbon. Various detergents and chemicals, as well as physical abrasion(ie.bronze brush) can effect the the carbon removal, as can chemical reactors such as MAP(Murphy’s, Alchohol, Peroxide). With carbon removed using one if these approaches, shooting is then effected by the type of load, patch lube, swabbing practice, and general condition of the barrel bores surface. In my experience the most consistent accuracy, barrel life, and simplicity of shooting has been achieved by bringing the barrel to fully cleaned(with carbon removed), state after a shooting session that requires cleaning the rifle of all residue. Were if 200 years ago, I’d likely be cleaning my rifle down by the river, and a proponent of the seasoned bore.

 

[Mulebrain]

Why would anyone want something that could contain contaminants inside the bore?

I am with the horse dung comment.