THE End- Lube War

O.K. I'm done now. Last time I posted I'd charged with shot #16 using only Stumpy's Moose Snot for lube, NO swabbing between shots, and NO CLEANING of any kind save for wiping the outside metal down with Balistol, oil, whatever.
Well I've fired #16, that sat in the barrel in the humid garage for several days, then shots 17, 18, 19, 20, and left #21 downbore, only running a Moose Snot patch down bore on top of the charge. #21 sat for several more wet , hot, humid days. Today I wiped the bore with a dry clean patch and it came out reddish stained, but no visible rust in the bore. I fired #21 and #26 is now down bore.
The five shots at 25 yards went into a reasonable 1.5".
I,m done. I think I've made a point. You don't have to clean your gun at the end of the day's shooting.
Will I clean mine? Hell yes!
I think the point is that the frontiersman, mountain man, did not , nor was is feasible to clean his gun every time it was fired.
My little test has been going on for two weeks now and I've fired 25 shots without swabbing and no cleaning of any kind and NO RUST!
Stumpy's Moose Snot is a real winner. I'm sure Stumpy supplied the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Moose Snot as Musketman say's Stumpy is old enough to have been around back then. :haha:

 

Finished the Moose Snot test. Total shots...30, no swabbing and NO cleaning of anykind over a period of two hot, humid WEEKS, and NO rust. Yes there were some light brown stains on the patches, perhaps a trace of oxidation, perhaps dilute fouling mixed with Moose Snot. Dunno.
Do know this. It took only 4, that's right, 4, M.A.P. patches and the barrel was lean of fouling. I rant two 91% alcohol swabs downbore, then two dry patches, then oiled it good.
I'll check in a day or two for oxidation but there won't be any.
Good lube ya made there Stumpkiller. ::

 

[musketman]

I'll check in a day or two for oxidation but there won't be any.
Good lube ya made there Stumpkiller. ::

Now if you could only talk GM into using it for an undercoating on their new Cobalt, ol' stumpy will be able to buy us all our dream muzzleloader for christmas... :winking: :haha:

 

[riarcher]

Well,, you convinced me into trying some, that's for sure! ::
I go thru a lot of Bore Butter in the course of a year.
Going to be interesting to see how it'll work on my shotgun wads. BB has the negative "diarrea" effect of settling to the low point of the wads (and anything else in contact). depending how they are setting, the lube on a hot day afield (sporting clays) may not be the cleanest thing to enjoy. Think I wear more BB than the wad! :curse:

 

[sse]

THE End

:applause:

Regards, sse

P.S. :blah:

 

Oh- BTW- what was the formula again??? I've lost the specs.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Here's the latest, most goodest formulation:

2 oz. Beeswax (4 tablespoons)
8 oz. Castor oil (16 tablespoons)
1 oz Murphy's Oil Soap (2 tablespoons)

Through various batches I have arrived at the following proceedure for the best results.

Set the containers you intend to hold the lube out on a sheet of newspaper (I use mint tins that have had the paint scorched off with a propane torch).

Heat beeswax in a soup can set a pot of water. ( I keep my beeswax in a one pound coffee can and measure pot what I need by melting it). Add just enough water so the can does not begin to float (should be just short of the level in the can). Heat the water. In a seperate can, add the castor oil and Murphy's oil soap (cold). Once the beeswax is melted, swap the castor oil can in the pot of water for the beeswax. Add the beeswax . It will clump up. Stir with an ice tea spoon as the mixture heats up. When it fully melts there will be a 'scum' that floats to the top and just won't mix in. Be patient. DO NOT COOK THE MIXTURE. Skim the scum off. Remove the mix from the heat and wipe the water off the outside (so it won't drip into the container when you pour it out). FINAL TOP SECRET STEP: Add a teaspoon of Murphy's Oil Soap and stir vigoursly. This last step makes the lube frothy and smooth - really adds to the appearance; though it doesn't seem to matter to the function of the lube. Clamp the can in the jaws of a vice-grip plier and pour into the waiting tins. Allow to cool a half hour.

Note: it if is a hinged tin - line the edge that has the hinges with a strip of aluminum foil so it doesn't ooze out before it cools.

 

THE End

:applause:

Regards, sse

P.S. :blah:

O.K. sse. That's it! I'll come up with 'nuther post that will keep me yakking daily fer at least a year! :haha: :haha: :bull: :bull:

 

[sse]

sse

P.S. :shocking:

 

[hwalker]

Damn, I knew I should have asked first!

I made a batch this afternoon, but I just heated the castor oil/Murphy's Oil Soft mixture, then melted the beeswax into it. Seems to have come out alright, texture is smooth and creamy, stays solid but creamy even at the 90 degree heat this afternoon.

I plan on giving it a try one evening this week or no later than the weekend.

FYI, 1 lb blocks of beeswax are on sale for $9.09 at Jo-Ann Fabrics, at least in my area (SW Va).

 

[cayugad]

I picked up all the things needed to make some of this and have bees wax being delivered to the door. What happened to the Witch Hazel? Did you decide you did not need that in this lube? I know you have some in the moose milk receipe and it sure makes things dry up it seems. I was using the moose milk again today with excellent results.

 

Just for general information those of you interested in making your own lube might try eBay. I bought 10 pounds for 36 bucks and change and that included shipping. It was clean in one pound blocks at around 3.60 a pound it's pretty cheap. The downside is that 10 pounds if a LOT of beeswax! ::

 

[Stumpkiller]

The witch hazel didn't seem to help in the M.Snot mixture, so I phased it out. It actually caused a lot of coagulation in the thinner, less waxy mix and was hard to get melted evenly. As you note, it's still in the M.Milk. The firmist of the "moose" line is "Moose Marrow" and that has witch hazel still in the mix, also. I figure this for a Mini

 

I'll have to make up some of the snot mix - stays soft when frozen, eh? That is the sticky thing for a hunting lube -gotta be able to shoot 5 to 10 shots without trouble, and must not change point of impact, 1st to last shot.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Four hours sitting in a two oz. tin on the metal floor of the freezer and still as soft as it is after two hours in my front pants pocket at work. And, is still soft after lubed patches are left for 7 days in a loading block. Highly sceintific testing we're talking here. The first-to-last shot consistancy is part of the shooting tests going on currently. I run a lubed patch before I load and I'm finding the first shot is only slightly low in the groups. Often, not the lowest. In several targets at 25 yards the next shot touched it.

In this group the first three shots are the ones in the 10X.

PRB in a 1:48" barrel, by the way.

 

I have made note (written down on paper kind of note) of this recipe and as soon as THIS FRIGGIN' HOUSE is finished I will try it. I'm confident my results will mimick those of everyone else. I sure hope so!!

Vic

 

Looks just great, however how it will work with hunting loads in large bores will have to wait until I can mix some up. Time to go the the store for murphy's. There should be a quart of Castor oil here somewhere as I mix my own fuels for sme of the engines I use and the beeswax is in a cake somewhere as well.

 

O.K. I made a batch of Stumpy's Stuff. I made it like I cook, no fixed recipie. About 1.5 oz. beeswax, melted of course, added 4.0 oz. of Castor oil, and about an ounce of Murphy's. The Murphy's is just as important as Stumpy says it is as the Castor oil and Beeswax seem to NOT want to mix. The Murphy's mixes, or binds, the two instantly. I whipped the stuff frothy with a fork, poured into containers and let cool.
It looks and acts just like the stuff Stumpkiller sent me.
I think he's onto a GREAT lube here.
So I now have about 6 ounces of the marvelous stuff, enough to lube a lot of patches.
I'm going to try it as a bullet lube next. I don't see why it wouldn't be just as good on conicals as it is on patches.
Great job Stumpy! :applause: :applause:

 

As-is might be just fine, or with the addition of some more beeswax to stiffen the mix, to prevent inadvertant rubbing the lube out of the bullet's grooves.
; I'm off to the store for some Murphy's.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Good work! I was getting crummy lookin batches with lots of 'curds' until I stumbled on the soap lathering final step.

Just remember not to lick the spoon or you'll be spending a bit of time in the little room. ::

By the way - I now use vice grips when pouring because I had a can slip out of my gas pliers while pouring into containers. :shocking: It's a little thin for a bikini wax but it may have some future as a anti-personnel agent with the military. Get that stuff on a linoleum floor and you can figure skate. Cleans up nice with Windex and a putty knife, though. :shake:

Luckily, wife was not home at the time.

Yours is a little heavier on the beeswax than I have been mixing, but that ought to make for a better conical lube. I have to get busy and run some conicals so I can try it myself. I don't go through many of them in a year, and all the ones I have on hand are already lubed.