# Barrel lube question



## yellowhammer73 (Oct 7, 2014)

I'm shooting the 240 grain Thompson/Hornaday hollow point this year and the reviews I've read on this sabot says it's all most impossible to load into some guns. 
The package recommends using barrel lube in between shots. 
The question I have is do I run a dry patch down the barrel after applying the lube or just load up after applying the lube? I've never used barrel lube in between shots. 
I'm very new to black powder and the way the package reads it seems to apply to just load up after the lube. 
Won't the lube effect the powder charge?
Sorry for such a basic and beginner question but I just can't wrap my brain around that one. 
Thanks in advance for any and all replies.


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## NCHillbilly (Oct 7, 2014)

No, the lube won't affect it, unless you put in too much or use some kind of liquid oil. Most bore-sized conical bullets are covered in lube, as is the patch on a round ball. I'd just smear some lube on the outside of the sabot, myself. Or throw away those plastic bullets and get some real ones.


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## kidd1134 (Oct 7, 2014)

I would try putting a small amount of lube on the hollow point itself to make it easier to load... you are correct, to much lube, especially between every shot, will affect Accuracy.


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## yellowhammer73 (Oct 7, 2014)

NCHillbilly said:


> No, the lube won't affect it, unless you put in too much or use some kind of liquid oil. Most bore-sized conical bullets are covered in lube, as is the patch on a round ball. I'd just smear some lube on the outside of the sabot, myself. Or throw away those plastic bullets and get some real ones.





10-4. Thanks so much. 
Do you recommend one lube over another?
Should I just pick up some bore lube from Walmart?
Thanks again.


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## Wild Turkey (Oct 7, 2014)

Bore Butter on the bullet/sabot itself.


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## NCHillbilly (Oct 7, 2014)

Any kind of non-liquid lube will work, including that can of Crisco in the pantry.


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## yellowhammer73 (Oct 7, 2014)

You know this is why I spend so much time on this site. 
Ask a question and you get a knowledgeable answer. 
Thank all of y'all. I really appreciate it. 
Love this place.


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## dwinsor (Oct 7, 2014)

I would stay away from bore butter if I were you, cost me 4 Thompson center barrels.  Over time it gets between the lands and groves of the rifling and hardens, almost impossible to get out.  Here is a procedure that you won't have to worry about what bullet to lube or when to do it.  I use Slip 2000 gun lube as it is a clp and will not react with modern powders or black powder fouling.  Also I use hope's Elite gun cleaner as a solvent, but I shoot BH 209 I am not sure how elite works with black powder.  Take one patch of Solvent and chase the bore with both sides of the patch, then use a dry patch, save this patch. Then put your lube on a patch and patch the barrel, now use the patch you saved, turn it over and dry patch the barrel.  Now load and shoot with no worries.  Chase the barrel between every shot with this procedure, it takes very little time to do this and every shot will load the same, great for accuracy.
    Since you lubed you barrel you don't have to worry about lubing a bullet sabot.  Also all your groups will be tighter for cleaning the fouling out between shots.  If you adjust your sights using this procedure, A gun fresh out of the safe will shoot true with no first shot fliers, and will not need fouling the barrel before hunting, or popping primers before loading, etc.  Cleaning the gun after a range session is a breeze, guaranteed white patches when finished.  Good Shooting


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## leoparddog (Oct 7, 2014)

I never had trouble with Bore Butter, but Crisco works well too.


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## AliBubba (Oct 7, 2014)

I use pre-lubed patches..
https://www.google.com/#q=pre+lubed+patches&tbm=shop&spd=4752657377300037443


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## WOODSWIZE (Oct 7, 2014)

dwinsor said:


> I would stay away from bore butter if I were you, cost me 4 Thompson center barrels.  Over time it gets between the lands and groves of the rifling and hardens, almost impossible to get out.  Here is a procedure that you won't have to worry about what bullet to lube or when to do it.  I use Slip 2000 gun lube as it is a clp and will not react with modern powders or black powder fouling.  Also I use hope's Elite gun cleaner as a solvent, but I shoot BH 209 I am not sure how elite works with black powder.  Take one patch of Solvent and chase the bore with both sides of the patch, then use a dry patch, save this patch. Then put your lube on a patch and patch the barrel, now use the patch you saved, turn it over and dry patch the barrel.  Now load and shoot with no worries.  Chase the barrel between every shot with this procedure, it takes very little time to do this and every shot will load the same, great for accuracy.
> Since you lubed you barrel you don't have to worry about lubing a bullet sabot.  Also all your groups will be tighter for cleaning the fouling out between shots.  If you adjust your sights using this procedure, A gun fresh out of the safe will shoot true with no first shot fliers, and will not need fouling the barrel before hunting, or popping primers before loading, etc.  Cleaning the gun after a range session is a breeze, guaranteed white patches when finished.  Good Shooting



-Been using Bore Butter for mite near 30 years now with no problems on my 7 smokepoles.


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## Wrangler Hunter (Oct 7, 2014)

I use bore butter, but I have used 1/2 crisco 1/2 bees wax for lube


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## ALB (Oct 8, 2014)

Past two years I  lubed my barrel before the morning hunt. Had misfires both years. Found out that when I loaded my round I was pushing all that lube to the pellets. After a few hours the pellets soaked up the lube. 
So now NO I don't lube at all. I learned that lesson. 
Oh and after the first miss fire i had to push the sabot back down cause it did move with the primer only. after that the gun fired.


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## dwinsor (Oct 9, 2014)

ALB said:


> Past two years I  lubed my barrel before the morning hunt. Had misfires both years. Found out that when I loaded my round I was pushing all that lube to the pellets. After a few hours the pellets soaked up the lube.
> So now NO I don't lube at all. I learned that lesson.
> Oh and after the first miss fire i had to push the sabot back down cause it did move with the primer only. after that the gun fired.




The first thing you don't do is to use too much solvent or too much lube.  take your patches after you put either on a patch and squeeze the patch between your fingers.  If you squeeze out one drop of chemical you are using too much.  The purpose of the dry patch after the solvent or lube is applied is to remove any excess chemical.  If you use this procedure as described you will never have any kind of problems with the firing of a cap lock or a inline muzzleloader.  If you were pushing lube to the pellets when loading your gun, I would recommend you get the commercially ready, lube and solvent patches T/C or CVA sells.


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## dwinsor (Oct 9, 2014)

WOODSWIZE said:


> -Been using Bore Butter for mite near 30 years now with no problems on my 7 smokepoles.



As far as time being a concern for using bore butter, I was using it back in 1984, I used it enough for it to destroy 4 .54 Cal T/C Renegade barrels.  On the 5th barrel a Knight representative told me what was happening and I quit using bore butter.  I still have the .54 Renegade and it shoots like a champ.  If I had not stopped using bore butter I would not have it now.  I would not use bore butter to lube a maxie bullet now.


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## BarnesAddict (Oct 10, 2014)

leoparddog said:


> I never had trouble with Bore Butter, but Crisco works well too.



I picked up two T/C Hawken rifles at a garage sale, one was a .50 and the other a .54.  Both these rifles were in excellent condition but, I was a little concerned about the barrels, as they appeared to have some rust.  But for $150 for both rifles, I took the chance.

What the lady told me was that neither of the rifles had been shot in at least 16 years.  They had been her husband's rifles, who had passed.  What I ended up finding out was, he used Bore Butter on them and quite a little bit.

IT TOOK ME SIX (6) HOURS............ OF NON-STOP BRUSHING AND CLEANING!  I used *hot *water and let them set for about 20 minutes first.  Didn't touch it.  I could hardly get a .30cal brush down them.  I brushed until I thought about just throwing the darn things away.  Before I could get the bore butter, that completely hardened rock hard out, I plugged the nipples on each rifle and sprayed them full of Carb cleaner.  After letting them set for 15 minutes or so, the bore butter started to come out easier.  I still had to use smaller brushes and work my way up.  If the carb cleaner hadn't loosened it up, my next step would have been filling them with Savage Acid.

ON THE BRIGHTER SIDE.......... after six hours of cleaning two barrels, the barrels came out in great shape.

I don't use that stuff and certainly wouldn't now for long term storage.


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## shawshank (Oct 14, 2014)

BarnesAddict said:


> the rifles had been shot in at least 16 years.
> 
> 
> Ford is better. No wait Chevy is the best. Yall crazy, Dodge is king  ..found a can of Crisco in hunt camp that had fell behind the shelf from 3 years ago -you could not break that stuff up with a screwdriver it was so hard. I have a couple of ya beat with using the Butter when it was in a can back in the 1970's -main problems you will have , as I have learned, is "filling up the barrel" the stuff. Just a light coat is all you need. It too will set up hard after a few months. But, to me the Bore Butter is a proven and a better alterative to Crisco. -Botttom line is use ,um don't let them set a spell. Good shoot'n.


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## 7Mag Hunter (Dec 19, 2014)

WOODSWIZE said:


> -Been using Bore Butter for mite near 30 years now with no problems on my 7 smokepoles.





Same here.... 20+ yrs with 2 Hawken rifles in 54 cal..
BB is basically bees wax based and
if any remains in the barrel, it easily
comes out with hot water cleaning...

I suspect the OP problem was fact 
that rifle had not been cleaned in 16 yrs....Likely rust and BP residue build up.....


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## icdedturkes (Dec 20, 2014)

I would skip the lube and look for an aftermarket sabot for that bullet known for easier loading.. 

Have you tried to load one in your gun, "into some guns" as even guns of the same make and model can have different tendencies when loading, yours may load just fine with bullet and factory sabot.


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## icdedturkes (Dec 20, 2014)

BarnesAddict said:


> I picked up two T/C Hawken rifles at a garage sale, one was a .50 and the other a .54.  Both these rifles were in excellent condition but, I was a little concerned about the barrels, as they appeared to have some rust.  But for $150 for both rifles, I took the chance.
> 
> What the lady told me was that neither of the rifles had been shot in at least 16 years.  They had been her husband's rifles, who had passed.  What I ended up finding out was, he used Bore Butter on them and quite a little bit.
> 
> ...



I have heard you go buy the Userhandle "BoreButterAddict" on other forums. Is this true?


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## yellowhammer73 (Dec 27, 2014)

icdedturkes said:


> I would skip the lube and look for an aftermarket sabot for that bullet known for easier loading..
> 
> Have you tried to load one in your gun, "into some guns" as even guns of the same make and model can have different tendencies when loading, yours may load just fine with bullet and factory sabot.



ended up trying without lube in one gun and they loaded fine. but in another gun a little tight. used a small amount of lube for that gun. both guns loved this little sabot. ended up taking one doe each with both guns. amazing blood trails. think i've found my new bp bullet.


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## BarnesAddict (Dec 28, 2014)

yellowhammer73 said:


> I'm shooting the 240 grain Thompson/Hornaday hollow point this year and the reviews I've read on this sabot says it's all most impossible to load into some guns.
> The package recommends using barrel lube in between shots.
> The question I have is do I run a dry patch down the barrel after applying the lube or just load up after applying the lube? I've never used barrel lube in between shots.
> I'm very new to black powder and the way the package reads it seems to apply to just load up after the lube.
> ...



You post that you've already shot the bullets, are they hard to load in your rifle?  That's the real question.  Do they load overly hard in your rifle.  If not, don't lube the sabot.  Sabots shouldn't need lube to load and if so, its time to change the sabot but, you can still use the same bullet, if that's the bullet of your choice.  Harvester and MMP both sell easier loading sabots.
If your sabots just load moderately hard, you could use Butch's Blackpowder Bore Shine to swab the barrel between shots.  VERY lightly coated patch, both sides and only one patch between shots.  It will clean the fouling and also provide easier loading.


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## collardncornbread (Jan 2, 2015)

BarnesAddict said:


> I picked up two T/C Hawken rifles at a garage sale, one was a .50 and the other a .54.  Both these rifles were in excellent condition but, I was a little concerned about the barrels, as they appeared to have some rust.  But for $150 for both rifles, I took the chance.
> 
> What the lady told me was that neither of the rifles had been shot in at least 16 years.  They had been her husband's rifles, who had passed.  What I ended up finding out was, he used Bore Butter on them and quite a little bit.
> 
> ...



I have been shooting BP now since 1980. Always heard to use maxilube. Never have used it although I did buy a tube one year. TC used to pre pack some maxi balls with it, and it looked nasty like something out of a diaper.
Thanks for the advice. I'll just stick to what I been doin.
I have had good success just cleaning the thing after use, then clean and oil before storage.
Last few years I have been making my own cleaner with the "Miracle recipe." and I stopped using pellets.
I did start using BH 209 in my inline. Havent tried it in my Renigade.


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