I was wondering if anyone knows if you HAVE to use grease specifically madefor lubing breech plugs or if other greases would work. I have some super lube with PTFE and was hoping I could just use that. Thanks in advance for any help.
Any kind of anti seize grease will work. The main thing is you use something. I personally would not use just any old grease, but the anti seize you can purchase at an Auto Parts store, or Slick 50 1 grease, or any of the breech plug greases will work. Some Teflon tape will also help keep that breech plug from getting stuck.
Something you can do to make sure the breech plug does not seize up on you. At the range after ten shots, take your breech plug wrench and just turn that breech plug back and fourth a little. Not that you have to remove it mind you. All you are doing is breaking it free of anything that is starting to seize. If you do this, at the end of your range session you will find the plug comes out nice and easy. Also if you shoot on a range that is a long distance from your home, it does not hurt to take a zip lock bag, remove the breech plug at the range, and the other parts, and put that in the zip lock. That way it will not have a chance to set up.
I know one fellow that carries a plastic jug with a lid. In there jar is soapy water. He throws that plug in there and he "claims" by the time he gets home, the plug has swished around in there enough, it is almost clean. Whether that's true I can not say. This fellow I am talking about likes to stretch the truth once in a while.
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CVA Slick nipple and breech plug grease is the best stuff I have ever used. I have never had a plug or nipple stick using the stuff even with Triple Se7en powder. One small tube will last a very long time.
Just to add another thought... This is something I wrote what now seems ages ago... may be helpful - may not...
Works for me but it nothing works for everyone....
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More pictures more words - you are probably going to be sorry you asked...
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Is there a significance to the color of the pipe tape?
There is differences..
The white tape, plumbers tape, we see all the time is the thinnest tape out their designed for water lines.
The pink tape is a thicker tape and will with stand a greater temp.
The yellow tape is the thickest tape and is really designed for gasoline pipe.
The tape that you use will depend on how tight your breech plug is as it screws in - if it is so tight that it chews the tape up going in you will to use a thinner tape. I have found the pink tape (TC Breech Plug Tape), or pink tape from Home Depot (less expensive) works great in the Remington"™s - but is too thick for the A&H's they need white.
The tape that is patted down over the face of the breech probably does one or two things... a) a lot of it is blown out the barrel with the first shot but b) some of it is blown up and into the gas seal between the breech plug and the barrel creating an even better seal.
One of the keys when tightening the breech plug is not tear or ball up the tape in the threads and when the to faces meet squeeze the tape but do not crush it or tear it.
Here is some information I wrote up along time ago - it works for me but I can not guarantee it for you so experiment a bit at a time...
It is my theory that sealing the breech plug should occur at the face of the breech plug against the rear flange of the barrel. If the blowback can be stopped where these two surfaces mate, blown back powder and more importantly the hot gases will be sealed from the threads of the breech plug. These gases and powder residue are responsible for the seizing of your breech plug. These same gases can cut your breech plug and cause a breech plug failure.
This subject came up again on another forum. This the information I posted and it WORKS, anyway on my four inlines. I really don not even worry about seized plugs - I shoot several rounds each trip to the rock pit.
The following picture shows my efforts as explained below.
This is one of those things that I have really been fortunate with. When I go to the range I shoot 30-40 shots 100 grains of loose t7 with 209 primers. I shoot 2 Remington"™s and 2 A&H's. With all four of these guns I believe I have the breech plug thing whipped. I do not loosen or even fool around with the breech plug at the range. When I get home and get to it I turn it (them) out with very little pressure. I have tried several anti seize products, and anti seize with tape, even tried the finger tight thing, but have settled on just TC's tape or a comparable Teflon tape from a local building supply - one wrap.
From the two side locks that I built I think I have learned something.... I believe the face of the breech plug should mate up with the face flange of the barrel, if this mating is clean and tight, this mating should stop gasses from going back into the threads of your breech plug. I have blackened the face of my breech plugs screwed them in snuggly against the barrel flange - backed them back out and checked the black to see if contact had been made all the way around. The 2 Remington"™s and one of the A&H's showed that there was good contact all the way around on the plug. One A&H seemed to have a very small non-contact spot. The next thing I do is start wrapping Teflon tape from the barrel end of the plug back to the nipple end. The key for me is that beginning wrap - when I am done wrapping the tape on the barrel end of the plug it should extend out from the plug - I then push and press the tape down on the face of the plug - insert it into the threads and I tighten it snuggly against the barrel flange - not tight - do not want to tear the Teflon, but make it snug because you need to compress the Teflon a bit. If you look down into the barrel with a barrel light you should see the Teflon all the way around the breech plug in the barrel. Your very first shot will drive that excess Teflon back up into any gaps there might be and your threads are sealed... (the Teflon might even cover the flash hole when your done wrapping) Popping one cap will take care of that.
That is my formula it has worked well for me - but every rifle is different so I can't say it will work for you all. I really believe it all comes down to how well the face of the plug and the face of the barrel mate up.
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I've been using 3M Anti Seize for my percussion nipples for almost 18 years & since I just got my first inline this year I've started to use it on the breach plug on that too, so far I've yet to have a nipple & my breach plug stick, I also do what Cayugad said & I'm sure that it helps quite a bit.
One thing that I remember "think Cayugad said it" is don't get the plug too tight, just tight enough to be snug is all that is needed.
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I very recently had my first problem with a breech plug siezing.
I used Knight grease as I have used on many rifles over the years and when I finished shooting only 8 or 10 rounds at the range I broke the breech plug loose. It broke loose easily, but as I backed it out it got tighter.
4 or 5 turns and it wouldn't budge any further. I took it home, removed the barrel and put it in a padded vise, then used a 7/16 socket & impact wrench to remove it. It looked like the first 4 or 5 threads closest to the breech were dry & dirty from blowback.
Second trip to the range was a repeat performance!
Third trip I tried the teflon tape (used yellow tape and applied it as Sabotloader instructs) and had no problem at all in removing the breech plug! No evidence of blowback in the threads and it came out with a nice even pressure (heavier than with grease only, but it goes in that way, too) on the breech plug wrench.
From now on I'm using tape on all my breech plugs!!!!!!!!!!!
I use the CVA brand. Comes in a tube like Chap Stick only twice as big around. Never had a problem with it. I do back my plug in and out about every 5-7 shots though.
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? on breech plug grease
