Cheapest/easiest way to lube Minnie balls?

[ChapK]

I am new to shooting reproduction rifled muskets and am wondering about the cheapest way to lube Minnies? Specifically for .58 cal bullets. Isn't there a push through hand press that you can use in the field? Is bore butter sufficient as a bullet lube? Thanks for all suggestions.

[Harley1247]

I would not recommend using bore butter. It's mostly used for round ball shooting lubing the patch. It's much too thin and most likely would melt and run on a hot summer day.I use lard, beeswax and bear oil that I mix up and dip my bullets in. There are so many varieties of lubes out there. SPG is a good lube that U can melt and dip your bullets in. Northeast Traders sells lube and John is a skirmisher. Check out his website. As far as sizing I make my own dies and use a Lyman lube sizer. With my setup I can size and lube at the same time, but i dip my bullets and then size. It gives me something more to do. There are sizing dies U can purchase that screw in the top of the press that serve as a push thru sizer. Rapine did offer a bench mount sizing die setup that U could probably use in the field, however Ray is no longer in business. You may want to try Buffalo Arms, they may have them.
Hope this helps

[Fred Jr]

Many guys use lubrsizers but they are not cheap. I use a push through die and then just dip the bullets in a pan with melted lube. As to the best lube you can get many many opinions as to that. I use one called Len's Lube and have been using it for 40 years. I have never used Bore Butter so I can not speak to that. The way we shoot necessitates an firm type of lube. There are many commercial brands available. Check the list of sutlers listed on our page.

Hope this helps,

Fred

[Maillemaker]

Cheapest way is just to dip them in a container of melted lube.

A Lyman Lubrsizer lets you size and lube at the same time.

Steve

[Jud96]

Just smear lube into the grooves with your hands, quick and easy without any special steps. If you are using a harder lube, melt it and dip the minies like others have recommended. I like to use plain Crisco for lube. It's easy to get and allows me to shoot all day without having to run a patch down the barrel or do any scrubbing. Crisco mixed with about 25% beeswax is another good lube, may need some scrubbing after a good bit of shooting.

[Muley Gil]

I size my Minies through a hand sizer, using my drill press. I load my tubes with powder and seat the Minies, base up. I heat my lube in a small pan, turn off the Coleman stove and then dip the Minie in the lube. I set the finished cartridges base down on either waxed paper or foil until the lube cools.

[Lou Lou Lou]

I have been doing it the same way as Gil for 35 years. Simple and it works

[Michael Bodner]

ChapK,

Since you're asking for the cheapest method, the all-Crisco method will do just fine.

Basically, dip your finger into the Crisco and smear it into the grooves on the bullet. Then, add a small amount to the base of the bullet (do NOT fill it in, however). Pour your powder, insert bullet, etc.

Since you live in the more temperate areas of the country, the Crisco will not over-melt even during the summer. Regardless, the cooler it is, the less likely it is to 'run'. Do NOT lube way in advance with Crisco, as it will dry out and become more like wax than soft lube...

You only need to size your bullet if you're trying to get the most out of accuracy (it trues the roundness of the bullet). Of course, accuracy for the N-SSA is trying to keep all shots at 50-yards inside a 3-inch circle. If you not trying to achieve that accuracy, then sizing isn't worth the trouble. In fact, you'll achieve more just knowing that your bullet of a suitable diameter for your gun (about .001-inch below actual bore size). Too small and it will not engage the lands/grooves. Too big and you won't get it past the muzzle.

Hope this helps!

-Mike

[Lou Lou Lou]

Machine Gun on our team, only Crisco's the base and leaves the rings naked. Works for him and is less messy

[jonk]

As to the idea of using only crisco... well with any question of lube that kind of starts a fight.

I've done this myself, in my pre N-SSA days. It worked, more or less, in that it kept fouling and leading down. I certainly didn't get the accuracy I got lubing the grease grooves, but I am happy to agree that for any particular gun, it may be a treat.

Where I take exception here is the idea that living in Illinois or what have you is 'cool' or 'temperate' enough not to melt crisco.

My first year in I still lubed the bases with crisco in addition to lubing the sides with wax/crisco mix. (When I went to SPG I got to stop that). More than once the crisco turned to soup on an otherwise not horribly hot day... say 80, 85. I live in Ohio, similar climate to Illinois. If the bullet was stored base up, this made it messy to handle and hard to load after a time, both due to being slippery and the lack of lube now in the base. When stored nose down (which I did at the time for a bullet like the Hodgdon for instance, with the sharp shoulder, but now have gotten better tubes where I can seat them all base up) it contaminated the powder charge and it was fortunate that I had one pound of powder and a brass measure in the car 'just in case.' Point of fact, on one particularly nasty day, my 50/50 mix of wax and crisco was starting to melt out of the grooves. Temp was about 98 degrees, 100% humidity, not a cloud in the sky, and no shade at the range in question at Pleasant Hill.

If you're going to go the lube the base only routine, or for that matter, base and sides, I would suggest either mixing the crisco with wax (which can STILL melt when it gets over 100 and you're out in the sun) or keeping your ammo on ice, or simply going to another lube. For base lubing lithium grease works well, or synthetic axle grease.

Personally I switched to SPG and that meant I never had to lube a base again, and never had to worry about things melting again. Fouling remains soft all day. Worked for me, and is accurate in 100 degree heat or 10 degree winter conditions. I couldn't say that for the wax/crisco. Which, whether you lube base or sides or both, is what I'd suggest; find a lube that works that is hard enough not to melt on hot days.

As for the cheapest way to apply it, it's surely dip lubing. If your bullet drops from the mold under bore size- ideally 1-2/1000ths- that plus a 'cookie cutter' or piece of tubing machined to just over bullet diameter is cheapest, followed by a push through sizer. I'd recommend the sizer in any event, as I like to be sure the bullet is 'trued up' and concentric. For a push through die, you're looking at maybe 15-25 dollars, depending where you get it.

[Maillemaker]

Down here in the South you have to watch to make sure the sun doesn't shift and put your ammo box into broad sunlight. It will turn your ammo box into an Easy-Bake Oven in minutes and run your lube right off your bullets! :)

Steve

[Michael Bodner]

Jonk,

I shot in the New England region for years. Now in the Carolina region (10 years). I only use pure Crisco on my Muskets. New England Sunday mornings, even in July/August tend to be on the chilly side, so pure Crisco stays pretty stiff. Day warms up quickly, but the shooting box stayed in the shade.

But, I lube just before the match starts, and if I need more ammo, I lube some more between relays. Always keeping the Crisco in the shade. Prevents a total melt-off. True, it may get a little slimy, but recall, the author of this post wanted to know 'the cheapest way to lube'. I for one can't think of anything cheaper than a 3 year supply of lube for $2...

-Mike

[jonk]

Well if you lube just before the shoot, or between relays, that would of course negate the problems with crisco, yes.

[Michael Bodner]

BTW: I made the mistake (once...) of lubing a day or two early - Not much left by Sunday morning..... LOL

Another lesson learned the hard way. Oh wait. We call that 'Experience".... LOL

-Mike

[ChapK]

Here is the wrench that I ordered from Dixie. Hopefully it will work.

[Curt]

Hallo!

60/40% mix of Crisco and beewax in a metal peanut can melted on my Coleman stove.
Minie's are grabbed wqith pliers and dipped to the chanelures (rings).
Then run through a sizer press.
The loaded cartridges have their base filled with automotive brown (root beer looking) lithium grease.

My second Skirmish was at Greenfield Village in the Way Back Daze before red "plastic/vinly" cartridges. We had thin cardboard tubes. I had 100 in a surplus army ammo box. It was a 98 degree day and sunny. After the first event, I went to add some cartridges to my box and opened the ammo box to find my cartridges floating in have an inch of melted Crisco from the base lube.

:( :(

That experience, and the talk of base-lubed Crisco being linked to cook-offs, ended my further interest in using it.

Of course, as with many things, we all have our druthers and personal preferences which may vary the mileage...

Curt
Who used to like watching the burning Crisco smoke "contrails" go down-range at events like tracer bullets.