Bore butter

[Froogal]

Instructions for my new percussion revolver suggest smearing some bore butter over the ball after seating, so I bought some. Reading the label on the bore butter indicates that it can also be used for seasoning the bore, or barrel, and doing so will result in less fouling.

Any insight into this? Does it work? Can something else be used in place of the bore butter?

For what it's worth, the bore butter has an odor very similar to bag balm.

[Mogorilla]

Vegetable shortening works well.   Bore butter is food grade, just with an odor I would not want to eat.     There are loads of mixes, etc that people use.    I use bore butter for oiling the gun after cleaning.    For lubing over the ball, when I do it, I use olive oil/beeswax (varying percentages depending on the season, heat of summer 30:70)  This is also what I lube bullets for blackpowder cartridges, and I like paper cartridges for the cap and ball and I will dip the end in this warmed mix.   Definitely use this on the cylinder pin of colts.   Shoot all day just fine.

[Crow Choker]

I know alot of mag writers, manufactures, and shooters advocate the smearing of some sort of lube over the ball after ball seating, but I gave up on that messy procedure 15-18 years ago. Instead, after alot of shooters do, I seat a treated felt wool wad that is impregnated with either a homemade lube or one that can be found for sale over the powder, then seat the ball. Precut wads of the appropriate size can be bought or punched out with a tool from felt, both of which can be bought from different sources.

I used to buy wads from Midsouth Shooters Supply in 100 and 250 quantity bags. I've read of some who say the lubed wad will contaminate the powder, but I've never had that problem, even when shooting in 90* weather. Sure, if ya load with a grease wad and leave the revolver loaded for a real extended period of time in hot weather that could be a possibility, but I don't know of anyone who does or needs to. I even treat wads with homemade lube differently depending on what type of weather I'll be shooting. The wads I used to get from Midsouth came prelubed, but I added a bit more which seemed to work better. Old felt hats can be used, also sheets of felt of varying thickness can be bought from Duro-Felt, a online outfit. Punches can be bought from leather craft or from various hardware outlets. There's alot of lube recipes I've seen on this site and others made from paraffin, sheep tallow, bees wax, olive oil, candles, etc.

The reason for is if you lube over the balls with some lube after ya fire the first shot you'll have grease all over the revolver from the cylinder/barrel junction forward. This is due to the flame exiting the cylinder/barrel gap melting grease on nearby grease covered chambers. The hotter the air temp, the worse it seems to be.. Yer hands will eventually be greasy also. Back in the day a grease rag was required addition when shooting greased over balls. Still carry one, but not for that mess. Shoot a cylinder full greasing over the balls and you'll see what I mean.

A lubed wad will lubricate the barrel from shot to shot and even help to scrub out the barrel when shooting. I can shoot alot of cylinders full of felt wadded balls and still maintain a clean foul free barrel. Check the Dark Arts and archives of the Darksider and you'll find alot of info on using wads vs smearing grease over the balls. Wads are less messy, IMO and from alot I've read of others who use them will clean the barrel better between shots, and seems to be faster loading a cylinder vs using grease.

[Coffinmaker]

  PLUS ONE FOR Crow Choker 

There are lots and lots of "old wives tales" our there as well as "he did it that way" without much in the way of purpose.

Grease of any sort doesn't "season" the bore. The first shot blows the grease off the adjacent chambers as Choker mentioned.  The original reason for the grease was ostensibly to prevent Chain Fire.  Doesn't.  Grease does keep fouling soft for easier removal (that cleaning thing).   A grease wad does just as well and no, the grease wad doesn't contaminate the powder unless you leave the loaded gun laying around.

Chain Fire is prevented with a properly fitted Cap and using a Ball that shaves a ring of lead from the ball ALL the way around.

Well, I managed to pretty much say exactly what Choker said didn't I.  So much for originality.  I need more Coffee.

Play Safe Out There

[Froogal]

I've heard and read about the grease wads. Looks like something I need to get.

This black powder thing gets deeper and deeper, but is definitely giving me something to do.

[hellgate]

I use an under ball lubed wad to swab the bore with each shot. I buy exact chamber fitting wads from Track of the Wolf (wads made by Circle Fly) in bags of 500. I then make up my lube (beeswax and olive oil but any lard, Crisco, or other cooking oil will do in a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio by volume) and pour the wads into the melted lube to soak it up, let harden and then split them to the desired thickness with a box knife. I buy the 1/2" wads and split them into 2 or 3 thinner wads for shooting. The 45 cal wads work great for the 44 cal revolvers and 45/70. The 3/8" wads work great for the 36 cal revolvers.

[Bunk Stagnerg]

A pure grease wad, not a felt lube soaked one, left out in hot weather (Central Texas July) for one hour  resulted in two revolvers that is all 10 chambers loaded with a ball and a lot of sticky black goo that was misery to clean.
The lube was a very hard wax/tallow mix dis-remember the exact proportions. It could not stand the Texas high 90's summer.
Taking good advise I went to making my own wads and make a point to not leave loaded guns out in the sun.
In cool weather that kind of  wad is good but not in the heat.
Respectfully
Bunk

[cpt dan blodgett]

I ordered some 1/8 inch wool felt and a punch, cut my own wads and soak in a beeswax mutton tallow parafin lube works great.  Also use grease cookies in some applications putting a fiber wad between powder and cookie

[River City John]

Or switch to APP and forget lubes altogether. It makes its own "lube".

[Froogal]

Well, alrighty then, I shot it for the first time today, reloaded, and shot it again. I now understand completely why you guys don't like that bore butter. Messy stuff. I have it stored in the basement where it is relatively cool, but it still comes out of the tube way more runny that I think it should be. Pretty sure that on a HOT day, it would turn into liquid.

I'm gonna get some of those cookies.

[Navy Six]

Also my experience with it was that it shouldn't be left in the bore long term. By that I mean more than a year at least. When I have done that the Bore Butter had turned hard and a brownish color. I guess the color change could be attributed to contamination from some residual black powder, but I am pretty meticulous about cleaning before that final step.

[Deadeye Dick]

I've never had a problem with bore butter in the barrel long term. I run a final bore butter patch down my hunting muzzleloader before storing until the next deer season. I think it's good stuff!

[Froogal]

I've never had a problem with bore butter in the barrel long term. I run a final bore butter patch down my hunting muzzleloader before storing until the next deer season. I think it's good stuff!

Good to know. Thank you!

[Dave T]

I have a historical question for all of you who are more experienced in percussion revolvers than I am (I shoot BP Cartridges).  How did folks in the 1850s, 1860s, and well into the 1870s, manage to carry their revolvers in West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, the Southern California deserts, Nevada, and any other hot dry part of the West?  The didn't have all this modern stuff to keep their guns shooting, or even loaded through the day/days.

Inquiring minds want to know!

Dave

[River City John]

Bill Hickok used to fire off his Navy's and reload each night.

People weren't shooting 6-10 "stages", so keeping a revolver functioning through multiple discharges wasn't a concern.  Talk to a gunsmith about old black powder front-stuffer longarms or rifles that were hung on a wall for occasional use and found their way into the gun shop. A surprising number will be found to still have a charge in them. 

[Dave T]

John,

I'm familiar with Hickok's practice and I know old firearms have been found loaded.

A gunsmith friend was given an old revolver covered in rust and corrosion and asked to clean it up.  He got enough crud off it to establish it was a '51 Navy.  A couple chambers still had lead balls in them and he dug one out along with the hard, compacted powder behind it.  Thinking it couldn't possibly be good after all those years of being buried he dumped it in the ashtray on his work bench.  The next time he lit his pipe and dropped a still burning match in the ashtray he got a huge surprise.  He said after he stopped shaking he chewed himself out for being so careless.

Anyway, my question was more along the lines of how did those who carried a percussion revolvers daily make sure their pistols were ready to use?  I've read enough accounts of Hickok's practice to understand most folks found it unusual.  I can't see everyone in a wagon train on the way to Oregon in the 1850s, firing off their revolvers every night (or morning) and loading them with fresh charges.  Powder and lead was too precious to waste in that way.

Still curious,
Dave

[Froogal]

I have a historical question for all of you who are more experienced in percussion revolvers than I am (I shoot BP Cartridges).  How did folks in the 1850s, 1860s, and well into the 1870s, manage to carry their revolvers in West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, the Southern California deserts, Nevada, and any other hot dry part of the West?  The didn't have all this modern stuff to keep their guns shooting, or even loaded through the day/days.

Inquiring minds want to know!

Dave

I am curious about that myself. I know from experience how a rifle barrel can become fouled to the point it will still fire, but the bullets go everywhere other than where it was aimed.

[Ranch 13]

I have a historical question for all of you who are more experienced in percussion revolvers than I am (I shoot BP Cartridges).  How did folks in the 1850s, 1860s, and well into the 1870s, manage to carry their revolvers in West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, the Southern California deserts, Nevada, and any other hot dry part of the West?  The didn't have all this modern stuff to keep their guns shooting, or even loaded through the day/days.

Inquiring minds want to know!

Dave

Hair felt wads and paper cartridge carrier boxes are common items in catalogs from back in the day, from the major supply houses such as Great Western, Homer Fisher, James Brown& sons etc.
Grease wads over the ball were commonly a fairly heavy hard wax such as bayberry etc.

[River City John]

There were pre-boxed paper cartridges from before the CW, so carrying reloads was easy. Usually each packet included caps, too. They were protected from weather.

Holsters, especially flap or half-flap were common. Sidearms carried in a wagon or under a coat for protection during weather. Common to turn the cylinder and blow dirt and particles away from the side of the cylinder if traveling in dusty weather. Arms stored in wagons or chest were wrapped in an oilcloth.

I'm guessing the same precautions we've adopted in modern day.

I know of several remarks from the CW about inclement weather affected both sides, as far as any shooting. Reports of Sentry's would pull their bullets via bullet screw and empty powder load after duty to clear their muskets.

[Froogal]

There were pre-boxed paper cartridges from before the CW, so carrying reloads was easy. Usually each packet included caps, too. They were protected from weather.

Holsters, especially flap or half-flap were common. Sidearms carried in a wagon or under a coat for protection during weather. Common to turn the cylinder and blow dirt and particles away from the side of the cylinder if traveling in dusty weather. Arms stored in wagons or chest were wrapped in an oilcloth.

I'm guessing the same precautions we've adopted in modern day.

I know of several remarks from the CW about inclement weather affected both sides, as far as any shooting. Reports of Sentry's would pull their bullets via bullet screw and empty powder load after duty to clear their muskets.

I might need to get one of those bullet screws.