I use the method shown in the U.S. Army Ordnance Manual of 1861, only on a slightly smaller scale. It works very well, it's easy to do and the lube is easy to make and is period correct if you're into that. I'll just quote what it says in the book:
To Grease the Balls- "Place them on their bases on a tin frame capable of holding 50 balls and immerse it in a melted mixture of 1 part of tallow and 8 of beeswax, kept warm, until the cylindrical part of the ball is covered. Remove the frame and let it stand until the grease hardens."
If you load the bullet without sizing, the excess will peel off as you put it in the muzzle. If you size it after greasing, the sizer will remove it and make a very neat appearing bullet and I would recommend it if you are to put it in a paper cartridge. Instead of tallow, I use 1 part of Crisco in it's place. If you use it in very hot weather and it does get a little soft, you can decrease the tallow or Crisco and increase the beeswax a little. Some shooters put grease in the base. I don't. It needs to be in the grooves or on the sides of the bullet to do it's job. You're wasting lube putting it in the base and running the risk of contaminating the powder, especially if you use one of the softer lubes and the load is left in the gun for any amount of time. They didn't do it back then either. Even the beeswax/tallow lube could leach through the cylinder case if exposed to high temperatures for a time. CW musket cartridges were made of 3 pieces of paper and the inner one, or cylinder case, kept the powder separated from the bullet.
But, you can experiment with different types of lube and it's placement. Different people get different results. All I can say is that it works for me and it is the way set forth by the guys that designed the weapon system.
:imo: :results:
