Patch Lube, Cleaner, Cheapest online Black Powder source

[jay29]

I have a Lyman Great Plains Rifle in .50 Flint, round ball shooter. I want to save money as much as possible with my shooting. I cast my own .490 lead balls. I was using and will use up my remaining T/C Bore Butter Patches at almost $10/100. Yesterday I purchased a yard and a quarter of pillow ticking which costs $8.76 and yielded 870, 1.5 inch squares I cut watching TV. A common patch lube is 50/50 beeswax and olive oil (or crisco). However Sam Fadala has stated these types of lubes don't attack fouling. What should I add to the lube that will help dissolve the fouling? I have recently read that Windex and Simple Green are great cleaners. Have you ever used them and what do you think? I use T/C Number 13 now, but would like to switch to something cheaper, and a homemade version. What do you use? Finally, what is a great online source for Geox 3F black powder? Here in upstate NY the gun shops normally don't carry black because of the $200 annual permit/tax just to sell black powder.

Thanks.

[cayugad]

I use moosemilk as my patch lube.

Moose Milk

A general purpose black powder solvent and liquid patch lube. Shake well before using

Castor Oil 4 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.
Witch Hazel 4 oz.
Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) 8 oz.
Water (non-chlorinated) 16 oz.

I dip my patching material in this twice and let it dry between dunks on an old window screen. This makes a semi-dry patch material that's easy to carry & use. If you don't mind carrying a little bottle of moose milk liquid, it's a GREAT liquid lube as is. I carry it in an OFF Pump bug spray bottle and just spritz a patch. You can use it just like that if you want.

Be sure when making the Moose milk to mix the alcohol and castor oil together first. Then add the witch hazel. Add all of this to the water and shake. Finally after that mixture is all together, add the Murphy’s oil soap. Shake it well and it will turn the color of milk.


This can be used to swab the bore of a rifle also. As it is all natural, it does seem to cut fowling. I do not use this to swab a bore , but have used moosemilk to help clean a bore. Remember to oil the bore after you have cleaned your rifle.

I have used, and still use Simple Green to clean my rifles. Especially my inline rifles. That stuff just plain cleans things. I mix it 1/4 to 3/4 water for cleaning the rifle. I use Simple Green for about all my cleaning needs around the house.

I buy my powder from Graf's and Sons. I shoot Goex or Graf's and Sons black powder. G&S is made by Wano of Germany. Its a good powder. About the same strength and fouling characteristics as Goex. I started using it, because Goex was scarce for a while so I purchased 15 pounds of the Graf's. That helps cut the haz mat costs a little.

[jay29]

Thanks for the great info cayugad. I have just been bitten real hard by the black powder bug. I always liked it, but not like this year. I take my flinter out twice a week. The other shooters at the range love it. I get a lot of attention! Since you gave the recipe for moose milk I am now torn between making that or homemade bore butter regardless of what Fadala says in his book. The only time I clean my flinter at the range is when I am going home. I run a patch of number 13 down the bore and clean up the pan area with a patch. I can shoot over 40 rounds using bore butter and the balls still go down easy. I do have to clean the pan area occasionally or I start to get flashes in the pan only. I also have learned only to fill the pan half way and make sure the powder is all on the farthest side of the pan, opposite of the touch hole, to get near instant ignition. That is one heck of a tip to pass around, otherwise with all the powder clogging up the touch hole, it acts like a fuse. I see youtube shooters that don't do this and it shows!

[HEAD0001]

Stupid question. What is Witch Hazel??

Cayugad I can picture you with a witch's broom stirring a big pot with Dragon Teeth and Lizard eyes to mix up your concoction. Tom.

[cayugad]

Witch Hazel has many medical uses. I bet your Grandmother used it all the time. It can help with inflammation of the skin, sunburn relief, will take the itch out of bug bites, and some people use it on skin rashes like poison ivy, poison oak, even diaper rash.

What Witch Hazel does for the moose milk I can not say. I was given this recipe many years ago. Before this, I made my moose milk using NAPA Auto Parts #765-1526 Soluble Cutting & Grinding Oil. It did the same thing as the castor oil.

[cayugad]

Here is my method of setting my patch...

I spritz the cotton pillow tick with moose milk. I use an old bug juice bottle as my spritzer.




I then set the material over the muzzle of the rifle.



I then use the short starter and set the ball under the muzzle of the rifle.



Then pinch the pillow tick together and cut the material off under your fingers with a sharp knife or scissors.



You now have a perfectly centered patch and ball. Now just finish it off with the short starter and your ramrod.

You can carry a small bottle of the juice in your possible bag, and also use a piece of the pillow tick, should the need to swab the bore ever come up. I do not use moose milk to wipe out the pan because of the oil in it. I use pure alcohol (91% isopropyl alcohol from a drug store) because it dries fast, pulls fowling, and is not leaving any water in the bore.