I ordered a couple more wet patch lubes. One is the Birchwood Casey No.77 Muzzle Magic Cleaner in a 16oz bottle. The other is from Track of the wolf and is called Black Powder Bore cleaning solvent and comes in an 8oz bottle.


Using my .58cal CVA Hawken at 50 yards resting the rifle on the fence as a rest, I loaded up 90gr Goex 2f, .020" patches and .570" round balls. First up was the Muzzle Magic Cleaner which is Water soluble. Patches were soaked in it over night and yes, the tin that it was in, produced rust over that short of time, so it is a Range lube only.

5 shot groups

Muzzle Magic Cleaner - Loaded smooth and easy like a freshly cleaned bore on ALL 5 shots.


Next is the Track of the wolf black powder bore cleaning solvent. On #3 I noticed some sticky fouling causing the patch to get hard and then go down easy and get caught up again.

WOW... good shootin', my friend !!!

Me? I still use hot water with a little soap in it to clean my black powder caplocks and my flinter... it "works" for me and costs almost nothing. But then I'm "cheap"... er... ah... um... I mean "frugal".


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

Yeah I use hot soapy water as well. I have been trying that "Solvent" but still in the testing process. I just wanted to try those 2 products as a patch lube. Muzzle magic cleaner took the winning spot easily.

Do you soak patches in the solvent then let them dry then use them or are they used wet? I have never understood this, seems like a wet patch on the powder is not a good thing? I use TC prelubed patches and swab with TC #13 solvent every 10 or so rounds, dry with a couple patches and go at it again. Does your method eliminate a step?

Use them wet, it mops out the fouling and makes reloading easy. Thats the point behind a wet lube. It eliminated cleaning between shots. I run a tight patch as it gives me the best accuracy. I also lube my own patches.

I'm sure they are not DRIPPING wet...

No you just gently squish them between thumb and forefinger to ring out the real drippy stuff. The Mr.flintlock patch lube is actually alcohol based so it dries out without soaking the powder.

So help me out please. No cleaning, just load as you would normally but the patch is wet with one of the solvents, the ball on top and run down the bore normally. The moisture from the patch is not enough to make the powder wet and blast away. No cleaning because the patch does the cleaning each time a new load is ran down the barrel. Is that correct? And does it work all day or do you need to field clean every once in a while anyway? Would TC #13 Solvent work in the same method? I need to try this. Thanks.

Not sure of your intent, but many years back when I was shooting patched round ball competition, the single best competition patch lube I experienced, which also doubled as the single best hunting patch lube I used, was made from a combination of bees wax and rendered bear grease. Nothing else came close to working as well.

In competition, I could run extremely long strings, with excellent shot to shot consistency, before needing to scrape the breech plug to knock out some chunks of fouling. I used fairly high-end flints, so I could spend more time concentrating on the next shot with far less time spent scraping and knapping during a timed match. Very consistent. I shot very well back then, it was not uncommon for me to clean the 100 yard target off-hand in competition, though the example below I did drop 1-point. So, I was very particular to ball, patch, and lube combos as I could readily notice differences in results. In hunting, it was superior by far, not even a close second. Finding something that kept the fouling soft and the barrel clean like a wet lube, such as saliva, yet did not migrate into the powder charge while staying soft when temps were below freezing, and on top of that kept everything from rusting, this was the ticket bar none.

Back then I was killing bears every year, so I always had an abundant supply. In addition, I had access to a bee keeper, so bricks of bees wax was cheap and easy to obtain. I would cube the fat and store it in my large freezer. The rendered grease would go bad if not kept fresh, so I'd only take from the freezer what I needed that period of time, and render grease from that fat, same as you'd do with lard. I'd use a double boiler to melt the wax and make the mix. I had so much on hand that I was giving the stuff away by the pound to other competitors, and still was running out of freezer space to keep the bear fat. I stopped hunting bears about a decade ago, and still have about 20 pounds of the stuff that I kept because I'd been toying with the idea of competing again.

If you are a bear hunter, or have a connection to a bear hunter, I'd recommend you give it a try. If not, there was a company about 10 or 15 years ago that sold a bear grease lube and bear grease patches that worked as well as the stuff I made. Not sure if that company still exists, but if they do, it might be something worth looking at if you have a need to get the absolute most out of your patch lube. I do not believe there was a concoction used then that I didn't try. Back then, making your own custom roundballs, making your own patching cut at the muzzle, and making your own lube was the pinnacle of the game when seeking top performance. Much has probably changed since, but the old stuff still works very well.

Best

Using a wet patch is just like wetting a cleaning patch and swabbing the bore, only with the wet patch, it cleans the bore and blows the stuff out on the next shot. You can keep loading and shooting all day long without ever having to touch the bore.

You can try that #13 solvent and see how it goes, I'd assume it should do just fine,especially if it has a slippery feeling on your fingers when wet.

Watch this video, No cleaning between shots ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9dBuEAc1vs

Can you doctor up a few patches and have them last for a few days? Like on a hunt - or do they need to be wet up just before using? Thanks.

If its an alcohol based lube, keep them in an air tight can or plastic bag and they'll last for a week. Its not really a hunting lube, but you can use it for an easy to reload follow up shot.

Would suggest that what is being discussed here is not lube, but an exercise in fouling management. Common practice during ML competition. In that venue the use of a DAMP patch (both sides) followed by a dry patch (both sides) is normal between shots. It is not a substitute for proper cleaning.

Have been using the cleaner from Tracks for a long time. Is good stuff. One can do as well with ordinary Windex and water; about 20:80.

Caution for the common good, a wet patch can lead to hangfires etc. Few wee squirts or 3 on a short stack of patches in a small container overnight will get the job done.

a sloppy wet patch might dampen the powder, but i havent experienced one hang fire yet using this method.

What about a lube for a sabot load?....or even a conical like a FPB or PB?

Also anyone try graphite or the like instead of a wet lube?

Use Mr. Flintlock for sabot bullets or sabotless Powerbelt bullets too. But instead of a wet application, use lightly on a normal 2-1/2 or 3" cleaning patch, followed by both sides of a dry patch.

Your range groupings afterwards will determine if it works well for you. It never hurts to try something new.

If you are asking about lubing the bullets/sabots with Mr.Flintlocks lube or any other wet lube, the answer is NO. Its basically just for patched round balls and swabbing your bore clean between shots.

Graphite would just make a huge mess. I rolled some bullets in it once, even the spray on moly, just a mess.

Mr. Flintlock works fine lubing the bore with a flannel patch, then dry patching, as I referred in my post above. It keeps the bore slick for easier bullet-loading..... even sabots.

You could also use a bore butter blend. I thin my bore butter to 40% volume and add a 60% blend of Crisco, Olive Oil and Coconut Oil to it, for roundball patch lubes. That's my extent of use with bore butter. But you can also apply this blend to bore walls for sabot-use, then clean and oil afterwards at home.

I would not lube any sabot personally. Theres no need for it.

Water soluble oil, Lestoil, water. Cheaply made cleans and lubes. Shot all day matches with prb occasional wipe but no major fowling problems. This with Goex fff stuff has been good for me the last 20 years. Lots of other shooters use it also.

Again, my last two posts never mentioned lubing sabots.

i was replying to the user that had asked the question.

Then might I suggest using that person's reply button, not your own "in reply to".
That way we all know who your reply is intended for.

I just added another patch lube to my at-home warehouse of muzzleloader accessories. I just lubed 10-15 unlubed patches with Hornady Clean Shot Cleaner and Protectant - with easy to use Windex-style spray bottle that disperses in a fine spray. One squeeze of the trigger wettened the entire 58-cal patch, from end-to-end.