What do you guys lube your C&B revolvers with?

[Smokerr]

I mean I could shoot up the 451s and then pour 454s.

What I can say is Chain fire issue starts at .451 (and likely below but .451 is a good point to call for remedy)

FWIW, I shoot some .451 just to see if there is an accuracy gain. When I do I used a lubed felt wad.

I had done some testing with felt wads ahead of the bullets, removed the wad from the chamber that indexed up for the next shot.

You could see the blast marks on the wad, but it did not go much below the surface. In my world we would call that a flame arrestor (fuel tanks and flooded cell batteries).

My take was if anything did work its way around the ball (checked the seal, it was there, not as wide as .454 of course). The Wad would snuff anything flame wise. No issues so far though the Wad goes under the bullet.

I suspect it more like .448 that you would see no seal, but .451 is a good spot to take precautions.
the only sure way to ensure a seal band is to put a ball into each chamber and then pop it out with a punch via removed the Cone.

 

[Flint1]

Back in 1980 when I bought my Remington I bought at the same time a number of tubes of Navy Arms revolver sealant in yellow tubes. That stuff may not have been made in decades now. I decided to keep one unopened just to have one so it's around my house somewhere. CVA used to make something similar in black tubes. That Navy Arms lube worked well for me. Later I started using Crisco, then tried some Blue and Gray sealer. What you use does make a difference. When I first used the Blue and Gray it was at a state shoot where if I remember correctly I bought it. I shot the entire aggregate with it. Most horrible targets I ever shot. No two shots on any target were even close to one another. Instead of a pistol at 25 yards looked like I shot with a Brown Bess at 150 yards. Went back to Crisco and acceptable accuracy returned. Now whenever I use a lube it's Mink Oil since I lube rifle patches and minis with that. Most times I use Wonder Wads with no over ball sealer.

 

[buttap]

I follow colts instructions and just lube the arbor.

 

[Red13]

Appreciate all the knowledge and experience shared here.

 

[D Yager]

trying 50/50 beeswax and tallow. After the mix hardens use a 1/4 teaspoon measure and scoop up enough to roll into a little pill. When you load the revolver take the pill and squish it into the chamber over the ball, no fuss no mess. I made up a small container full the other day so they are ready to go. The real test will be this spring when the burners come on. Hoping the mix won't get gooey from the heat.

 

[French Colonial]

Why anyone would put anything in the chamber after loading is beyond me, messy and accomplishes nothing.

Maybe if your ball/bullets are not a good fit but that needs solved by correcting the size, not with a greasy band-aid.

 

[Frontstuffer070]

trying 50/50 beeswax and tallow. After the mix hardens use a 1/4 teaspoon measure and scoop up enough to roll into a little pill. When you load the revolver take the pill and squish it into the chamber over the ball, no fuss no mess. I made up a small container full the other day so they are ready to go. The real test will be this spring when the burners come on. Hoping the mix won't get gooey from the heat.

Back off on the tallow a tad in the warmer months. The Ordinance manual called for a 1:8 ratio ( 1 part tallow, 8 parts beezwax) which results in a nice stiff lube great for hot weather.

Why anyone would put anything in the chamber after loading is beyond me, messy and accomplishes nothing.

Maybe if your ball/bullets are not a good fit but that needs solved by correcting the size, not with a greasy band-aid.

Maybe, I find it DOES accomplish something, Maybe my balls and bullets fit just fine, Maybe I find my revolvers shoot better without those wads (tested and verified by me) , maybe I find that the correct mix of lube is not messy, I ain't using crisco, maybe its the way I want to do it. Maybe, folks have differing ways to do things and maybe that's ok. My revolvers are not messy when I'm done firing them. The large amount of lube over the chambers makes clean up a cinch.

 

[French Colonial]

Back off on the tallow a tad in the warmer months. The Ordinance manual called for a 1:8 ratio ( 1 part tallow, 8 parts beezwax) which results in a nice stiff lube great for hot weather.


Maybe, I find it DOES accomplish something, Maybe my balls and bullets fit just fine, Maybe I find my revolvers shoot better without those wads (tested and verified by me) , maybe I find that the correct mix of lube is not messy, I ain't using crisco, maybe its the way I want to do it. Maybe, folks have differing ways to do things and maybe that's ok. My revolvers are not messy when I'm done firing them. The large amount of lube over the chambers makes clean up a cinch.

GREAT!

Glad your happy, I found that all grease in front of the chambers did was get blown out all over the pistol when I fired the first shot and with properly fitting balls I have never had a chain fire.

That is my experience and putting grease/beeswax whatever in front is a waste of time and effort for me.

 

[wiscoaster]

Why anyone would put anything in the chamber after loading is beyond me, messy and accomplishes nothing.

Maybe if your ball/bullets are not a good fit but that needs solved by correcting the size, not with a greasy band-aid.

I bumped into this interesting video with a different take on the "ring of lead" chain-fire prevention:

 

[D Yager]

My problem with this video is he still insists on cutting a ring off the ball. With a 5 degree reamer one can open up the chamber mouth just enough to swage the ball into place and still have it be good tight fit without shaving lead off the ball. I have yet to see any documentation from Colt saying the ball has to have a lead ring cut off when loading.

 

[Frontstuffer070]

I haven't watched the video yet, I will in a sec. But, I've always thought that shaving that ring of lead created a greater bearing surface for the ball to engage the rifling? Just by my experience recovering round ball out of the back stop and looking them over. Compared to a fresh round ball there indeed is a bigger bearing surface created by the cylinder cutting that ring. I guess that would ring true if the chamber diameter was correct. But I'm sure swaging a ball in from a reamed cylinder would create the same effect, no? I've just always made sure I had a tight fitting ball and a WELL FITTING cap. I've never had a chain fire (knocks on wood). I don't ever wanna have one either.