Shiloh Rifle Forums

About a month ago a discussion about lubing or not to lube paper patched bullets, was on the forum. Being a person that lubes paper patch, a quick reminder showed up this past weekends practice. My best friend has an original long range Ballard in 44-100. Prior to engaging our 700 yard target, a conversation started that some of his rounds were not lubed. He had an idea which ones were not lube. We proceeded to shoot. All rounds were hitting in a nice group. Then the bottom fell out, 4-5 minutes low. A puzzled look and the answer, "No Lube"! Put the lubed rounds thru the gun. All rounds went back in the original group. Try lubing you might be surprised in the difference it makes.

MAH

MHA.

A PP with lube on the paper I found shoots higher than a dry patch.

I was shooting a .44-100 straight with a cloned original chamber at the 1000 yard target at Alliance using the lubed bullets because of talk here on this forum about using lubed patched bullets. After shooting 10 rounds on the iron I switched to the dry patched with the same bullets and powder loads and those fell short of the iron. I don't recall what the elevation difference was but all fell short before raising the sights.
But in conclusion I did not see any difference with accuracy how they printed on the 1000 yard iron.

A wet chamber will also print higher than a dry chamber.

Do they print higher because they are faster , or some other reason?

so now the can of worms...........what lube to use???

bpcr shooter wrote: ↑Tue Nov 19, 2019 5:05 pm so now the can of worms...........what lube to use???

Let's add "how to lube.........." to that can.

Glenn, you can rub it on, paraphrasing Paul Matthew's, "about the size of a paper match head between thumb and forefinger".

I find that running the bullet through a sizing die afterwards helps make it more uniform. That said, I get substantially more verticals with lube than without. So, I don't use it anymore.

I have used many lubes. SPG is as good as any. If it turns the paper translucent, you don't want it.

Lubing would be VERY far down my list of experiments.

I have tried two different lubes. Whale Oil and Jo Jo bean oil. Since Jo Jo bean oil is easier to locate, I would use that. Application is very simple, I apply the oil the evening before the match. Using two cotton patches, place a small spot on one patch and lightly wipe the PP bullet. Just enough to dampen the first layer of paper. The second patch is used to wipe the oil off the PP bullet. Do each one the same way Takes about 15 minutes to do 50 rounds. It is that simple. Kurt you mentioned it did not help your accuracy. I have two rifles that get terrible accuracy with dry PP bullets. But if lube both come alive in the accuracy department.

MAH

I tired lubing patches a few times, never liked the results.

I do lube my barrel between shots. That is much easier and seems to work pretty well for me. YMMV

MAH wrote: ↑Tue Nov 19, 2019 6:08 pm I have tried two different lubes. Whale Oil and Jo Jo bean oil. Since Jo Jo bean oil is easier to locate, I would use that. Application is very simple, I apply the oil the evening before the match. Using two cotton patches, place a small spot on one patch and lightly wipe the PP bullet. Just enough to dampen the first layer of paper. The second patch is used to wipe the oil off the PP bullet. Do each one the same way Takes about 15 minutes to do 50 rounds. It is that simple. Kurt you mentioned it did not help your accuracy. I have two rifles that get terrible accuracy with dry PP bullets. But if lube both come alive in the accuracy department.

MAH

If it works for you; go with it.

I'm the guy shooting with MAH. When I lube my patches,
I use a dampened patch with hahoba sp? bean oil. I leave my bullets in the case to be sure not to get any oil on the portion of the bullet that is in the case. I just wipe on and wipe off. I had some rounds that had been lubed for a couple of weeks, I pulled the paper off of a couple and the lube didn't migrate into the second layer. The only reason I lube the patches is, lower s.d.,easier cleaning between shots, and higher velocity.
Tom

Distant Thunder wrote: ↑Tue Nov 19, 2019 7:16 pm I tired lubing patches a few times, never liked the results.
I do lube my barrel between shots. That is much easier and seems to work pretty well for me. YMMV

Jim - This seems to be the least effort of all the methods listed. What liquid do you use to wipe (sounds kinky )?
Will compare dry, lubing the bullet, lubing the paper (most labor intensive) and wiping with a mix of water soluble cutting-oil when testing at 300yd in the new year.
Thanks to all for the input.

One year I lubed my 420 gr PP bullets for my 40-70SS. It was necessary because I needed a 0.3995" patched bullet, but I only had 0.4035" patched bullets. They got ugly when trying to size them down without some lubricant. I used standard [DGL I think] bullet lube.
I did not see any elevation change in my sight setting that were recorded at the 800 yard Quigley Buffalo. My previous years at the Q was with typical PP bullets, no lube, but not blow tubing either. Wipe with 10:1, water:Napa cutting oil.

Keep on hav'n fun!
MikeT

Glen,

I use distilled water and Mobilcut 100, a water soluble oil, in a 10 to 1 mix. I've used it for years, even back in my gg days. Some say you don't need the oil, but I have always felt the lubrication and rust inhibiters were beneficial. When using bore pigs, as I do, it all seems to work together very well. Other people do it differently, there are lots of ways to get there. Pick the one that works best for you.

A little extra lubrication never hurt!