Is bullet lube required?
 

Just getting back into shooting the muzzle loaders again after being out since the late '60's. Back then it was mainly round patched balls. Bullets for muzzle loaders was just starting. Now will be shooting cast lead bullets and saboted cast bullets. I know the saboted bullets do not need lube, but what about the cast bullets? Shooting a Knight .50 cal in line, straight cast .500. Sabot with .458 cast bullet. We used to use Crisco as a lube on the bullets. No such thing as sabots back then. Thanks much for bringing this old timer up to date a little.

Won't a .500 cast be to small to catch the rifling ?

I am not sure as I have not received the mold yet. Going by what I was told from Knight. .500 without the sabot and .458 - .459 with a sabot. You would know more about that than I would for sure. I'm learning all over again.

i use a sabot with .459 bullets , you might be able to paper patch them some people do this here....other than that I'm thinking there too small

power belt. Been shooting lead conical last 3 years. I have various. 50 cals, TC Hawken, White Bison, CVA Accura, Pedersoli Missouri River Hawken. They all different bore. TC .501, White. 504, CVA .499, Pedersoli right at .501. I had my mild built at .504. When shooting either Hawken I size down to .502.
CVA I can do .501 or .502. Not sure what Knight is but if that .500 just slides down it may not work so great. JMO...

Yes. You definitely use lube. Best to make your own lube with beeswax, crisco, etc. Lots of formulas out there.

Well actually you don't NEED lube. But what lube does is lessen the amount of lead fouling in the bore and also helps to keep the black powder (or substitute) fouling soft for easier removal. I imagine it also helps a bit in preventing corrosion for a short period depending on what lube you're using. Failure to use lube will likely lead you to a tough cleaning job once your shooting session is done.
Frontier Muzzleloading has a bullet/patch lube that has an anti-rust agent in it that I've been using as a patch lube in my round ball shooters.

Thompson Center Bore Butter= cant go wrong

Jimmy in your other post you say you are "new to all of this and slowly learning".

I would suggest you look at other lubricants of much higher quality than "bore butter". There are numerous better products. It does not even begin to compare to several synthetics for preservation and pretty poor as a bullet lube. Seems ok as a patch lube but thats about it.

i am just throwing out what i have learned. maybe this advice was given to me due to ease of access. they sell that anywhere. but in the age of the internet i guess i should research and get a better quality material. you have any suggestions?? i like to use it as a patch lube and also general barrel lube