On the importance of fresh lube

[jonk]

Lube... well, it's like a butthole I guess. We all have one, they all stink. Or, at least anyone else would say.

That said: generally I have held to the belief that freshly lubed bullets were a must, as most BP lube formulas dry out.

At a recent skirmish, I had leading in the carbine and shot poorly with both it and smoothbore; I go the dipped in musket lube routine.

When I was using SPG for everything, I lubed as close to the skirmish as possible, and sealed each box with saran wrap. Teammate turned me on to mobil-1/beeswax. It grouped well for me so I switched over thinking it would be cheaper. He also said, "It doesn't dry out!"

Well, the only thing that changed was, this batch of bullets was dipped in the Mobil-1 lube a few weeks ahead of time.

It looked noticeably curdled. The leading and subsequent climbing of the carbine (by the end I was hitting 10" high) and poor sb performance with a coked bore tells me that the Mobil-1 synthetic even DOES dry out.

A recent post by a fellow shooter who was suddenly having climbing issues only reiterates to me, drying out lube IS a thing.

What are your own experiences with this?

[Muley Gil]

About 8 years ago, I shot some ammo that my dad had lubed and loaded just before he dropped out of the N-SSA. It shot fine in my 1858 Parker-Hale.

BTW, those Minies were cast and the tubes were loaded about 1978! No problems with the powder either. It was kept in a .50 metal ammo box and stored in the basement.

[Rob FreemanWBR]

"Fresh" lube is important.

There are different receipies, methods and experiences, as with ANY aspect of our sport.

Bottom-line Jonk - lube is one of the many "variables" that you have to factor in your equation. What works for me, won't work well for others.

For musket I typically try to load "batches" that will last no longer than 2 months. After that I find the lube to go "stale" from exposure to air.

I use an RCBS lubri-sizer to size and lube in one step for all my arms, except for Smooth bore (Alox is the exception in that it will last "indefinitely").

As for cased ammo, my Ballard, Henry and Maynard rounds can last a bit longer. Some argue that these rounds should last "indefinitely" due to the lube not being exposed in the brass casings to the air. HOWEVER, I've found that in shooting "stale" Maynard ammo (for ex.) I experience much more fouling than if I used recently loaded rounds with "fresh" lube.

It's been said that Crisco (a main staple of my lube concoction) changed their formula a few years back to be meet the demands of the growing Muslim consumer market in the US. I have NO idea if this is fact or fantasy, and I've never wasted the time to investigate the truth in this regard.

What I know to be true is: 1) lube is important; 2) the freshness plays a key role in accuracy; 3) lube hardens (goes stale) after a few months; 4) consistency is paramount esp. in ammunition loads if anyone hopes to attain repeatable results (practice helps a lot too!).

[ian45662]

I use SPG and in me experience it will in fact go stale.

[fullertc]

I agree. I pan lube Pioneer Lube in my .45-70 silhouette rifle. I have
pulled an "old"
hand seated round and found that the lube has dried out, wanting to fall out of the grooves. Lesson learned is to cast and pour powder ahead of time. Size and lube before the match, put the rounds together.

[jek279]

I believe in fresh lube as well. I make my cartridges like the original with this exception, I use wax paper to line the powder cylinder and the inside of the outer wrapper as well. This keeps the lube from wicking into the powder and from softening the paper cartridge. Then, when I put the ten rounds into the arsenal package, I again have it lined with wax paper. This makes it nearly air tight. I have arsenal packs that are two years old and look almost new. Some guys use a 50/50 bee's wax and crisco. I would recommend using 75% crisco as there will be a slight loss of moisture. I use mink oil because it seems to be more stable than crisco when in storage.