Hello all. I was reading a thread posted by a Mr. Flintlock a while back about a patch lube of 50/50 olive oil and water. I was wondering if anyone has tried this and what they thought of it as a patch lube.

Thanks.
~Robert

I haven't tried that but I do get better accuracy using a "dry patch lube method". I use 7 parts water with 1 part ballistol. Soak my patches and then let them dry. The water evaporates and the patches are uniformly lubed with the ballistol. A 7 to 1 ratio is my most accurate. Other than that I use plain bore butter but it isn't as consistant in regards to accuracy as the ballistol. Like everything else even lubed patching seems to require some experimentation. That's what makes it so much fun I guess.

Interesting stuff that Ballistol, I had never heard of it before today.

Do you have any difficulty getting the ball and patch down the barrel using that dry patch method? How often do you have to clean the barrel between shots?

Using a 7:1 ratio I don't have any problem loading. If I use less than that it gets difficult. 8:1 is even easier to load but not as accurate for me. I clean after every shot but that is because I use triple 7 .. on my .54 I use a .530 ball and .018 patch. On the .50 I use a .490 ball and .015 patch. Both of those loads are for hunting . For target shooting I use a .495 ball and a .012 patch. It loads a little harder but is the most accurate. The ballistol soaked patches seem to last awhile. I have stored some for over 6 months and they were still ready to shoot. Film canisters work great to keep them in.

I just made a batch of "olive oil" patches and was trying to think of something to store them in once dried. Film canisters are a great idea!!

I am planning to shoot the olive oil patches on Thursday. I will post a review after that session.

After a lot of experimentation with various lubes I've settled on pure olive oil for all of my patched ball shooting. It works as well or better than any of the other lubes I've tried.

I put the oil on a stack of two or three dozen patches and massage it in with my fingers, then wrap the stack in a couple of paper towels and squeeze with my fingers so the towels absorb the extra oil and the patches are almost dry to the touch. I store them in empty musket cap tins.