Patch material for cold weather

[dooltubes]

Is there any choice but to use thinner patches when it is very cold? The grease in my regular patches gets so heavy that loading becomes very difficult after one shot.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Use alcohol instead of grease on your patches in cold weather. For as little shooting as most hunters do in cold weather, alcohol will work just fine.

You can mix the rubbing alcohol 50/50 with olive oil, cooking oil, or ballistol, of you think you need to lube the barrel. The oil will remain behind in the patch after the alcohol evaporates. Take a small bottle ( 2 oz. no more) with you to both clean the barrel, and wet your patches. You might check out Dutch Schoultz's Black Powder Accuracy System, where he described how to make and use his dry lube system. Its the best $15.00 you will spend on an education.
[url] http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com[/url]/

 

[flintlock75]

For shooting at the range I soak my patches in windshield washer fluid, it is made for the cold and works great for cleaning the gun afterwards. I have used it a -10 degrees and it will not freeze or get stiff. For hunting i still use bore butter patches since i will shoot less. The washer fluid also works great on 1/2" fiber wads I use in my smoothbores, just soak them in a bowl for an hour before going out.

 

[Walks with fire]

My TC shoots pretty well with no lube on the patch at all. I use the french fry method and Crisco for my lube.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

FWIW for those that have tried it, the consensus is that the mink oil in a large tin as sold for $5 from Track of the Wolf (TOW) is about the best you can get! This is NOT the processed mink oil you see offered for shoes ....

I have used to 16-degrees F in an extremely dry cold and it still remained slick and soft. I also do NOT use it in the Summer, switching to Hoppe's Black Powder Patch Lube that Roundball turned a few of us to. The TOW mink oil will be runny in warm/hot weather.

 

For several years I have been using Bore Butter for patch lube in the winter and summer. I am now working up some bear oil and beeswax mix that Swamp Rat told me about. I would like to use a truly traditional lube in my rifles.

 

[roundball]

Is there any choice but to use thinner patches when it is very cold? The grease in my regular patches gets so heavy that loading becomes very difficult after one shot.

I keep a couple reloads worth of stuff in an inside pocket (hunting shirt) next to my body so they stay warm

 

[dooltubes]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll try a few of them before putting my muzzleloaders away for the winter.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

I keep my patches in a brass patch box in my pocket, body heat does wonders for the T/C 1000+

 

[Stony]

Suggest you do a search for Stumpkiller's Moose Milk/Juice lubes. If memory serves me correctly, Moose Snot, is ideal for cold weather. I've made some bullet blocks (48 patched balls in one and 50 patched balls in the other) I've been too dang busy to try some cold weather shooting but I'm looking forward to some shooting in a month or two.

 

Use CRISCO and keep the patches in a container close to your body. I keep mine in a small metal container hung around my neck and under my clothing.