Using loading blocks?

[Ray of the Yankees]

I just went to my first rendezvous and noticed several shooters with loading blocks on a trail walk. When using loading blocks, do you have to use grease type lube like mink oil or can you use something like moose milk? if you do use moose milk, do you have to lube the patch again just prior to using it?

 

[coloradoclyde]

For a woods walk you could do it any of the three ways.....Whatever floats your boat. For the most part a woods walk isn't long enough for patch to dry out completely....But if it does, you can drop some lube on the bottom side.

 

[tenngun]

Almost any lube will dry out or oxidize if left too long in the air. Lard or mink oil and such will work for a month or two. Spit patch starts to dry real quick in warmer weather. I don't have any experience with moose milk or moose snot. I know both can be kept in a gun ready to shoot in the field while hunting. That should work for a woods walk.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I have used loading blocks for many many years. I have found that the lube will start to dry out after a few days and accuracy suffers. But if used with in a few days no problems. :idunno:

 

[BrownBear]

...do you have to use grease type lube like mink oil or can you use something like moose milk?

I use a lot of loading blocks with my small calibers when hunting snowshoe hare. No closed season and no bag limit adds up to a lot of shooting in a day when their abundance is high. I carry three 8-shot blocks, and on occasion I've had to reload one of them in the field, to give you a clue of what's going on. The blocks just make it easier to handle those teeny balls and patches on cold days with cold hands.

I carry so many blocks even if some days give you only 2 or 3 shots, because of the big days that come along. And I don't get to hunt all day every day. Sometimes life dictates I can go weeks or months (horrors!) between hunts. A guy can only eat so many rabbits, and there are other calls on my days.

Sort through my drivel, and you'll start to see that my blocks can sit around quite a while between uses. But I need stellar accuracy for head shooting.

Lots of dinking around with lubes. What works best for me is a last step AFTER loading the blocks. TOW mink grease has worked best for me. That last step is to get a little on my finger and rub it into the little gap on the back side of the block between the nose of the ball and the edge of the hole. Fill er right up. That extra grease seems to make all the difference for long term storage and accurate shooting with blocks.

 

[Vaino]

I use Oxyoke 1000 Plus which is a waxy lube and it doesn't dry out as fast as a thinner lube. In fact, have used Oxyoke lubed PRBs in a loading a month later and didn't notice any difference.....loading or accuracy.....Fred

 

[Rifleman1776]

Almost any lube will dry out or oxidize if left too long in the air. Lard or mink oil and such will work for a month or two. Spit patch starts to dry real quick in warmer weather. I don't have any experience with moose milk or moose snot. I know both can be kept in a gun ready to shoot in the field while hunting. That should work for a woods walk.

If mine dry out between seasons, our uses, I just rub with whatever lube/grease I have handy or dab with neatsfoot/peanut oil whatever. For hunting or woodswalk, I'm not too fussy about 'X' accuracy.

 

[Billnpatti]

It has been my experience that Bore Butter does not dry out. I have kept strips of patching lubed with Bore Butter for long periods of time (over a year in more than one example) and it has never dried out. Many swear by Bore Butter and many swear at it. Me? I think it is a pretty good patch lube. I have no complaints about Bore Butter other than it is not a rust inhibitor so do not use it for such on your guns and it does not "season" your bore. The only way to "season" your bore is to use it long enough for the bore to wear smooth. I don't mean to wear out the rifling, I mean to smooth the bore by wearing down the machine marks. Usually a couple hundred rounds does the job.

Alas, I digress. I can't tell you all of the lubes that will not dry out in your loading block but I can tell you that Bore Butter has worked for me and has not dried out from sitting in a loading block. It's not the only lube that will not dry out so listen to what some of the others on this forum have to say about the subject. There are many on here who are far more experienced than me. I'm just saying what has worked for me but it ain't the only way.

 

[RonRC]

I keep my loading blocks filled with balls and patches in plastic baggies. That keeps the patches from drying out quickly.
Of course I use historically correct plastic baggies. :grin:
Ron

 

[MSW]

BrownBear, thanks for the tip about rubbing some lube in the space between the bottom of the hole in the block and the curve of the ball ... gotta give that a try!

:bow: :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[BrownBear]

BrownBear, thanks for the tip about rubbing some lube in the space between the bottom of the hole in the block and the curve of the ball ... gotta give that a try!

:bow: :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

Gotta give credit where credit is due:

I think I learned that trick from looking at a photo from our very own Claude here on the site. It's a dandy! :thumbsup:

 

[Onojutta]

I have no complaints about Bore Butter other than it is not a rust inhibitor so do not use it for such on your guns and it does not "season" your bore.

I used it for years in my barrel after cleaning, and for wiping down the outside of the barrel, and never developed any rust. It may not be classified as an official rust inhibitor as a petroleum product might, but I believe that the simple nature of it leaving a wax-like coating keeps the metal from oxidizing.

My only complaint with the stuff is that the viscosity changes too much with temperature. I've had the stuff get so hard in the winter than I can't get any out of the tube without first soaking it in warm water.