Tried Balistol / Water today

[Daryl Crawford]

Ballistol is petroleum based?
White mineral oil based with a petroleum distillate added that is skin safe.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

The medicinal grade mineral oil used in Ballistol is made from a paraffin. A paraffin is a saturated hydrocarbon distilled from petroleum or shale. So, it is "technically" petroleum based. However, the extensive refining processes the paraffin & subsequent mineral oil derived from it go thru eliminates any petroleum characteristics detrimental for Black Powder uses. You can drink Ballistol with no ill affects & it was actually recommend for certain stomach ailments, dressing open wounds, as a skin moisturizer & a lip balm. Certain people seem to have a distain for it, but to dismiss it purely on the grounds it is "petroleum" based or to use non-facts to argue against it's use is unfair, IMHO. If you don't like it, just don't use it. Seems everybody has an axe to grind these days. Many other people are quite happy using it & feel it provides many benefits to their muzzleloading activities. I've used it for years & not experienced any of the "issues" others bring up. Maybe it's a user problem, not a product problem. Just my two cents!

 

[user 34300]

Bore Butter and others contain petroleum products too. There is nothing wrong with many petroleum based lubes, it is urban myth. I would not use automotive bearing grease, that goes make a mess.

 

[dynabase]

Ballistol works great on sunburns and minor cuts. If I get a sunburn or other outdoor related skin irritation I just rub on Ballistol for instant relief. I also use it on all my BP stuff.

 

[Jayhawkdan]

Distance?

Read his second sentence--it's pretty obvious.
Jayhawk

 

[The Crisco Kid]

WD 40 is also a water soluble oil. I mixed some up on a 2 to 1 water to WD ratio and with some shaking it looks white like the other moose milk cleaners. It also seemed to work as a bore cleaner. Never tried for a patch lube though. Have any of you tried it?

 

[DuncNZ]

The site looks like it hasn't been maintained for a while now. I'll paste the section about using water and Ballistol here so you can read it.​

​

Finding the correct amount of “slickness” for your patch lube​

The final variable that affects the accuracy of your load and the size of your group is the patch lubricant. A patch that is slicker than others because it has more lubricant on it is not going to have the same amount of friction going out of the barrel. Less friction equals less pressure which will equal a lower velocity. That ball with lower velocity will not strike the target in the same place as the others. Getting a consistent amount of lubricant on every patch equals consistent velocities for every shot.

You can control the amount of lubrication on and in the patch material by using a water-soluble oil. Yes, you read that correctly. An oil that dissolves and mixes thoroughly with water. The cooling fluids used by machinists to keep the cutting head of their machines from overheating is one of these types of oil. ‘Ballistol’ is an easy to obtain oil of this type and is available in smaller quantities. This is also one of the ingredients in moose milk recipes so you will need to have some on hand. Most good gun stores will have it, if not it can be ordered over the internet.

Mix this oil with water and soak your strips of patching in it until they are fully saturated. Then lay those strips out flat on a non-porous surface to dry. The water will evaporate out of the fabric leaving only the oil. Always lay the fabric strips out flat. If you hang them to dry the water/oil solution will run down the strip leaving more oil at the bottom and less at the top.

You want the same amount of oil equally distributed through the entire strip of patching material. Once dry, roll your strips of patching up and store them in a plastic baggie or air tight container such as an empty pill bottle or Tupperware container. With this method you insure that every patch you load will have the exact same amount of lubricant, thus eliminating one more variable that affects the accuracy of your load.

To use this method to control the exact amount of oil that is distributed in the patching material you will test different ratios of water to oil. Start by putting one measure of oil in a glass jar. I use a one ounce measuring cup similar to those used to measure a dose of liquid medicine. Then add five measures of water and mix well. Soak one strip of your best thickness of patching material in this mixture, squeeze the excess out of the fabric back into the jar. Lay that strip out flat to dry and mark it 5-1. Then add another measure of water to the mix and soak another strip. Lay it out to dry and mark it 6-1. Continue to add one measure of water and soak one strip for a 7-1 mix and so forth until you reach a solution of 9-1.

Go back to the range and load your best powder charge and ball combination with the 5-1 mix lubricated strip and fire a five shot target. Do not add any additional lubricant to these patch strips. Record all the data on the target and repeat with a new target changing only the patching in your load to the strip marked 6-1. Do this until you have shot a five shot target with each strip of patching or until it becomes too difficult to seat the ball due to the patch strip being too dry. You will again notice that the groups on the targets show a pattern of becoming smaller and rounder until the load becomes so tight that pounding the ball out of round causes the group to open up or the load is so tight you can’t get it started in the muzzle.

The reason this works is because the oil mixes evenly with the water and the fabric will only absorb so much of this mixture until it is fully saturated. Once it reaches total saturation the material will take no more. Allowing the fabric to air dry lets the water evaporate away leaving only the oil in the material. Mixing more water into the oil causes the fabric to absorb more water and less oil so less oil remains in the material after the water has evaporated. In this manner we are able to control precisely the amount of oil applied to our patching. Now study your test targets again and there on the target with the smallest group will be written the best mixture of water to oil for your patching in that particular rifle.

This water-soluble oil method is absolutely the best, most consistently accurate patch lube method in use today. Unlike grease or straight oils, you can precisely control how much lubricant is applied to every patch. Unlike spit or wet lube mixtures this will not freeze in cold weather. It will not dry out if the load sits in the barrel during a long hunt or while waiting to take your shot on the range. It won’t soak into your powder charge. It will not leave a built up layer of crud in your bore like some of the concoctions of lip balm, waxes and grease. It will not cause a ring of rust inside your barrel if it is left in the bore over a period of time. Unlike Crisco, lard, or olive oil, you don’t want to use it to cook your breakfast. But you can control precisely the amount of lubrication on your patching in order to discover exactly how much “slickness” your barrel requires to shoot its best groups.

Typically, most shooters who use this method will find their best groups to be with a 7-1 or 8-1 mix of water to oil. When I lived in a more humid area of the country that was the best mix for my guns. But after I moved to the High Desert of New Mexico with its drier humidity, I found that I had to change my lube mix to a 3-1 mixture. The 8-1 mix that shot so well before was now so dry that I could not get that load down the barrel without pounding the heck out of the ball. This is because the amount of water that will evaporate from the patching material cannot exceed the amount of moisture in the air. In a dryer climate more water can evaporate from the patching. So consider that your results may vary according to your local conditions of humidity and adjust the mixture accordingly. Nonetheless, this method will reveal the correct amount of lubricant for your conditions and the most accurate loading for your rifle.

Thanks for that , Dutch's first dry patch recipe used water soluble machine oil , cutting oil . I told him about Ballistol many year's ago and he tried it and the rest is history . The cutting oil lubed patch cloth rotted within a few months of being made , the Ballistol ones don't . I buy Ballistol by the Liter .

 

[William Lincoln]

Back in the day they used whale oil from the sperm whales---now with the green new deal
we are stuck with soluble light machine oil/Ballistol developed by the Germans.

 

[david w]

Thanks for that , Dutch's first dry patch recipe used water soluble machine oil , cutting oil . I told him about Ballistol many year's ago and he tried it and the rest is history .

So, you're responsible for Dutch's dry patch?

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

So, you're responsible for Dutch's dry patch?

No, just the oil used, Dutch orginated the dry patch system as coach for the US Olympic Muzzleloading Team for years.

I have Dutch's original write up and it gives the code# for a NAPA brand machine cutting oil, a water soluable oil used as a coolant on machinist's metal cutting machines.

 

[TrapperDude]

The site looks like it hasn't been maintained for a while now. I'll paste the section about using water and Ballistol here so you can read it.​

​

Finding the correct amount of “slickness” for your patch lube​

The final variable that affects the accuracy of your load and the size of your group is the patch lubricant. A patch that is slicker than others because it has more lubricant on it is not going to have the same amount of friction going out of the barrel. Less friction equals less pressure which will equal a lower velocity. That ball with lower velocity will not strike the target in the same place as the others. Getting a consistent amount of lubricant on every patch equals consistent velocities for every shot.

You can control the amount of lubrication on and in the patch material by using a water-soluble oil. Yes, you read that correctly. An oil that dissolves and mixes thoroughly with water. The cooling fluids used by machinists to keep the cutting head of their machines from overheating is one of these types of oil. ‘Ballistol’ is an easy to obtain oil of this type and is available in smaller quantities. This is also one of the ingredients in moose milk recipes so you will need to have some on hand. Most good gun stores will have it, if not it can be ordered over the internet.

Mix this oil with water and soak your strips of patching in it until they are fully saturated. Then lay those strips out flat on a non-porous surface to dry. The water will evaporate out of the fabric leaving only the oil. Always lay the fabric strips out flat. If you hang them to dry the water/oil solution will run down the strip leaving more oil at the bottom and less at the top.

You want the same amount of oil equally distributed through the entire strip of patching material. Once dry, roll your strips of patching up and store them in a plastic baggie or air tight container such as an empty pill bottle or Tupperware container. With this method you insure that every patch you load will have the exact same amount of lubricant, thus eliminating one more variable that affects the accuracy of your load.

To use this method to control the exact amount of oil that is distributed in the patching material you will test different ratios of water to oil. Start by putting one measure of oil in a glass jar. I use a one ounce measuring cup similar to those used to measure a dose of liquid medicine. Then add five measures of water and mix well. Soak one strip of your best thickness of patching material in this mixture, squeeze the excess out of the fabric back into the jar. Lay that strip out flat to dry and mark it 5-1. Then add another measure of water to the mix and soak another strip. Lay it out to dry and mark it 6-1. Continue to add one measure of water and soak one strip for a 7-1 mix and so forth until you reach a solution of 9-1.

Go back to the range and load your best powder charge and ball combination with the 5-1 mix lubricated strip and fire a five shot target. Do not add any additional lubricant to these patch strips. Record all the data on the target and repeat with a new target changing only the patching in your load to the strip marked 6-1. Do this until you have shot a five shot target with each strip of patching or until it becomes too difficult to seat the ball due to the patch strip being too dry. You will again notice that the groups on the targets show a pattern of becoming smaller and rounder until the load becomes so tight that pounding the ball out of round causes the group to open up or the load is so tight you can’t get it started in the muzzle.

The reason this works is because the oil mixes evenly with the water and the fabric will only absorb so much of this mixture until it is fully saturated. Once it reaches total saturation the material will take no more. Allowing the fabric to air dry lets the water evaporate away leaving only the oil in the material. Mixing more water into the oil causes the fabric to absorb more water and less oil so less oil remains in the material after the water has evaporated. In this manner we are able to control precisely the amount of oil applied to our patching. Now study your test targets again and there on the target with the smallest group will be written the best mixture of water to oil for your patching in that particular rifle.

This water-soluble oil method is absolutely the best, most consistently accurate patch lube method in use today. Unlike grease or straight oils, you can precisely control how much lubricant is applied to every patch. Unlike spit or wet lube mixtures this will not freeze in cold weather. It will not dry out if the load sits in the barrel during a long hunt or while waiting to take your shot on the range. It won’t soak into your powder charge. It will not leave a built up layer of crud in your bore like some of the concoctions of lip balm, waxes and grease. It will not cause a ring of rust inside your barrel if it is left in the bore over a period of time. Unlike Crisco, lard, or olive oil, you don’t want to use it to cook your breakfast. But you can control precisely the amount of lubrication on your patching in order to discover exactly how much “slickness” your barrel requires to shoot its best groups.

Typically, most shooters who use this method will find their best groups to be with a 7-1 or 8-1 mix of water to oil. When I lived in a more humid area of the country that was the best mix for my guns. But after I moved to the High Desert of New Mexico with its drier humidity, I found that I had to change my lube mix to a 3-1 mixture. The 8-1 mix that shot so well before was now so dry that I could not get that load down the barrel without pounding the heck out of the ball. This is because the amount of water that will evaporate from the patching material cannot exceed the amount of moisture in the air. In a dryer climate more water can evaporate from the patching. So consider that your results may vary according to your local conditions of humidity and adjust the mixture accordingly. Nonetheless, this method will reveal the correct amount of lubricant for your conditions and the most accurate loading for your rifle.

Thanks for posting this. I didn't realize how consistent lubing of patches affected velocity, and this looks to be a very solid method of customizing it. I am definitely going to do this.

 

[DuncNZ]

Back in the day they used whale oil from the sperm whales---now with the green new deal
we are stuck with soluble light machine oil/Ballistol developed by the Germans.

Jojoba bean oil is reputed to be a whale oil substitute . It is now available fairly cheaply . I have a small bottle in my shooting kit and it has solidified in the cool winter temp of about 58 F . I have not tried it as a patch lube as yet ,I doubt if it would dissolve in water so I will try a Jojoba / Alcohol mix and see how that goes .

 

[jefair1]

I have been frustrated by a couple of rifles lately.

I tried the Ballistol and water trick. This is a 40 cal Kibler/Rice barrel at 50 yards. It was fired off the bench, with sandbags and a peep sight. I did wipe with a slightly damp patch between shots. The balls are weighed. I drop the steel ram rod about 1-foot to consistently compress the powder. The powder is swiss 3F

I think there is something to this trick. Having zeroed in on the charge, ball size and patch thickness. I made up more strips with various ratios of Ballistol and water to test the difference. I make the oil mix and soak the patch strips. I then wring them out as much as possible and hang them to dry.

This is the best group of the day. All of the Ballistol groups were smaller than the moose milk or greasy patches with all else the same.

I still hate the smell of the stuff! : )

With a group like that, I wouldn't change anything. Old Navy saying:" If it ain't broke, don't mess with it."

 

[beardedhorse]

I tried a 4:1 ratio and dried the patches and strips. Had to call cease fire on the range after eaxh shot because the patches smolder. I would not use them for hunting and it does not improve on the accuracy of my past lubes. Dutch had a peculiar method of swabbing the bore between shots doing partial and then progressively deeper or longer strokes. I did not find it to push less fouling into the breech area.

 

[Bassdog1]

I am using it in a 32 cal with 15 grain charges so unlikely to ignite patches but I can see that could be an issue with larger charges of powder. Have been retrieving patches to check condition and they could be reused.

 

[user 34300]

I shot a bunch of 5:1 Water to Ballistol and got zero smoldering patches.

For swabbing between shots I use moose milk on the patches. I wet them them wring them out as much as I can. They are then only damp. I use the same patch for each group. After a while the previously wetted unused patches become barely damp. The fouling comes up in clay like dry paste. The patches fit the jag so they go down easy and bunch up a bit to come up harder.

I prepared more weaker dilutions to try soon. Even though the pervious 5:1 accuracy was excellent, everything can be improved. To me that is the attraction of shooting. Like golf, the pursuit of unattainable perfection is the goal.

For curiosity, I made one that was 5:1 Jojoba/MOS in water. Jojoba is supposed to be the closest thing to sperm whale oil. Since I do not have any of the Ballistol emulsifiers on hand I tried the Murphy's Oil Soap. It made a milky emulsion. Soap is a lubricant too. I'll see........

I have also used solvent instead of water. Charcoal lighter actually. I may revisit that. IF naphtha is available in one's area that may be an excellent choice. Other stuff, say tallow or bear oil, could then be used.

 

[kopelli]

Thanks for your info. I am anxious to try ballistol/water. I've presoaked 4,5,6 and 7 and set out to dry. Not yet liking how the strips look (looks like I may not get an even distribution of oil/balistol on the cloth). I may have to re- pre-soak additional strips to see if my test looks any better before I try shooting them.

 

[DuncNZ]

When you are drying your patch strips , lay them on a flat surface , don't hang on a line as you will get uneven distribution of the lube .

 

[Ben Meyer]

Yep. I put aluminum foil on a cookie sheet that fits 6 strips. I soak them, take them out of the solution,and lay them flat immediately. After an hour or two, I'll flip them over. They'll sit there til they're bone dry, at which point I roll them and put them in a zip lock baggie.

When you are drying your patch strips , lay them on a flat surface , don't hang on a line as you will get uneven distribution of the lube .

 

[Grenadier1758]

I have a bottle of my water-soluble oil and water. I prefer to use a damp patch to keep the fouling soft. With the dry patch, I found the fouling getting hard and crusty quickly. Since I wipe the fouling out between shots, I find I remove more fouling on the patch rather than pushing hard fouling to the breech. Of course, taking proper care of the bore while shooting will also keep fouling from filling the breech and flash channel.