Originally Posted by
jrelouhess
Good day all,
I have both original 2nd model Maynard and a original Smith carbine. I have noticed some lube their bullets, some do not. I also use 3fff, 21g for the Maynard, 26g for the Smith. Any suggestions on load and lube or not to lube bullets.
Thanks in advance
The purpose of lube in a black powder firearm is to coat the barrel and mingle with the fouling to keep it soft enough that it doesn't affect the next shot. If you shoot unlubed bullets and do not wipe/clean or brush, the barrel will become filled with a hard coke like fouling that will really mess with your accuracy.
For this reason, lube should contain enough moisture to get to the end of the barrel when in use. A good test to see if your lube is doing it's job is to wipe your thumb over the crown of the barrel and see if there is a quantity of SOFT grease remaining. Very often there will be straight lines of grease radiating out from the rifling grooves of the barrel. The shorter the barrel, the more grease will be present. The ability to carry lube to the muzzle is also affected by the width and depth of the grease grooves on the bullet. The Lyman 575602 Minie that I recently posted for sale has very shallow grooves. Most of the traditional lubes won't make it all the way down in a 3 band musket, causing hard fouling and reduced accuracy in long shot strings.
The only black powder gun I don't use lube with is my smoothbore, but that is another kettle of fish.
Bob Anderson
Company C, 1st Michigan Volunteer Infantry
Small Arms Committee
"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."
- John Wayne in "The Shootist", 1976
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