White Lightning Bullet Lube

[JonnyV]

One lost lube recipe at a time please LOL....

I saw that in the old threads and was curious about it. Dan seems to have had a feud going with this Bagwell person? Apparently, that influenced his decision to not use canola oil in his recipe...

[SchuetzenDave]

Charlie Dell author of "The Modern Schuetzen Rifle - 1999" did extensive testing of numerous bullet lube recipes.

Many of the variations of bullet lubes were built based on his research including the development of "Alberta Schuetzen Lube".

Not sure if we have to go back and retest these old recipes again.

But there are always those who wish to reinvent what has already been invented.

[ole pizen slinger]

I dearly love how you guys per-sue the perfect bullet or the perfect load thinking that’s the secret to winning. I’ve been shooting these black powder rifles for over twenty years and it’s been amazing at the shooters who substitute load development over shooting skills. Sight picture, follow through, fouling control, wind reading, muscle memory, mastery of shooting position, etc. These are the things that will improve your ability. I see far too much “chasing what someone has done and has won.” For example, I remember when the money bullet hit the game, then it was the dual diameter bullet, then it was the prolate design. The guys who were winning then are still winning and the guys losing are still losing in-spite of chasing the magic load. Fellows like Gullo, Chilson, Gazaway and others are champions because they developed shooting abilities. Take the BPCR Silhouette game. If you can hit all the lay downs but can’t hit chickens you’ll never shoot master class scores. Another point! You may do well in the silhouette game but poorly at midrange. In silhouette a hit anywhere on the animal is a point. Midrange is a different story. Hits in the center scoring rings controls the winner. My advice; emphasize improving shooting skills. The dividends are worth more. I once saw shooters congregated around the winner of a match. They were interested in bullet weight, load, bullet type, primer, brass, compression, etc. The winner asked for a cartridge from each of 5 shooters. Next came the shoot off. The winner shooting the mixed cartridges against the 5 shooting their match loads. Guess what? The winner won the shootout. Oh, one more thing. White Lightening was a good hot weather lube. No one has mentioned that the sterates and steric acid in the lube will corrode the lead in the bullet. It is not a good lube to use if your loads are going to sit around for some time before using.
OPS

[JonnyV]

Why would anyone lube bullets and then not immediately load them? None of these lubes are very good at long term exposure to the air. Loading ammo and expecting it to have a shelf life of months or longer is probably not a good idea. We don't hoard BP loaded 45-90 ammo for the zombie apocalypse. That's what 7.62 and 5.56 NATO are for.

I actually agree with the rest of what you wrote. One question though....why would you assume that because this particular lube recipe (or load development for that matter) is being aggressively pursued, would somehow "take the place" of all the other training and exercises needed to develop oneself into a master class shooter?

Every time I see this argument presented, it's always from the assumption of "since you're so focused on loads, you must be ignoring these other basics (X,Y,Z)"...

[JonnyV]

Why would anyone ever think that drilling down on only one facet of things would somehow push them to the top of the game? I guess some people might hope for the "magic bullet load" as a shortcut....lots of people try and take shortcuts. Maybe it makes some kind of backhanded sense....

[JonnyV]

After thinking on OPS's story about the match winner shutting down the other guys with a bunch of mixed up ammo:

There's only one way this story could have actually happened. The "match winner" was a guy who greatly outclassed the other shooters in the match that day. He knew that he could outshoot them with rifles, sling shots, or spitballs, the gap was so wide. He probably won the shoot by double digits. So he decided to show off to the villagers and beat them again in a demeaning way.

If a match took place where a winner had emerged from a crowd of competitors with comparable skills, no such grandstanding offer would have been made. In a field of closely matched competition, an offer like that would result in that shooter having his ass handed back to him on a platter.

Also worth noting...lots of people can stand up and perform very well when there's no consequence for failing. Winning a prize is one thing, however, it's still largely a zero pressure situation. If missing means you and your family don't eat, then things change dramatically. The guy who can approach it with that mentality, then calm and clear his mind, stand and deliver on the spot has an overwhelming advantage.

[omgb]

I'm the O{P and I never said a story like that. Are you sure you tagged the right guy?

[JonnyV]

I'm the O{P and I never said a story like that. Are you sure you tagged the right guy?

OPS..."Ole Pizen Slinger". He's been on this forum for years. His post is a couple up from the last couple I posted. His main thrust was that we were wasting our time messing with the lube recipe and off hand practice would be a better thing to pursue.

[omgb]

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification. My quest for a White Lightning replacement, strms from a warm weather leading issue in my 45-90. I will tinker with the items listed. What harm can it do?

I dont think lube is a huge factor in winning matches but the convenience factor when shooting in hot weather is my prime motivator.

[Coltsmoke]

I know a shooter in Florida that is working on a recipe especially for diabetics, if your sugar is getting low you just lick the bullet as you load. It has some amount of grape jelly in it. By licking the bullet you also keep the fouling softer in the barrel.

[JonnyV]

Hopefully he can make cherry flavor too!

[RB1Shooter]

If you have a vampire problem, mix some garlic in your lube recipe; it's a lot cheaper than a silver bullet!

[JonnyV]

Does anyone ever remember Dan mentioning candililla wax?

[JonnyV]

After considerable thought on this, a few thoughts come to mind. 1, Dan is right in that using a wax that contributes less fouling than beeswax is likely a good idea. 2, Increasing the oil content of the lube to the max possible is also a good idea. 3, Some waxes and oils are better than others, some a LOT better.

In theory, you could make a huge increase in your oil content by turning the oil into a soap. This would also raise the melting temp of your final product. It's also an another bit of hassle. Getting a homemade soap recipe right with the right oils is it's own problem...

Ozokerite wax can carry up to eight times its own weight in oil, although it's difficult to work with and it likes to develop chunks as it dries. Dan must have found a way to mix this stuff as the guys I've talked to who use WL report that the lube is poured into their plastic containers and not hand packed in there. If he was using a big blender to mix the lube, it would be a hand pack situation. Also, we know at least three of the ingredients for sure now:

For sure in the lube:
a. ozokerite wax
b. meadow foam oil
c. organic, unrefined peanut oil (not the cheap stuff you use in a turkey fryer)

Very likely in the lube:
a. kokum butter (not sure how he mixed this in)

50-50 chance of being in the lube:
a. anhydrous lanolin

[Kurt]

I used to use a mix of OZ wax, peanut oil and Vaseline mixed at different hardnesses depending on the temperature and it worked as good as anything. I even soaked pillow ticking in the melted lube and screened it off with a putty knife and used it for muzzle loading patch lube or just straight vaseline. It would let me shoot a 30 pound turkey shoot with out having to clean the bore and the round ball would seat very well on the power with out having to pound on the ball to get it seated.
Most lubes work well as long as the lube don't turn the brass green after a fe days loaded.
With the paper patched bullet I have not used lube for many years. It's just an averrable to have to put up with.

As far as oils, peanut oil I found is the oi of my choice. It has a high flash and smoke point and it stays put in the wax a lot longer with out leaching if the mix ix proper.
I also render a very dry hard tallow from the deer or bison I took and it also works well mixed with vaseline.
The lubes I mentioned I use in my .444 Marlin and the .45-70 95 Marlinas well as the 93 Marlin .30-30 with black powder and with out getting a jam.