Reasons for Lubing Bullet?

[Hunter]

I've shot maxi-balls with and without lube, and I'm not sure that I notice a difference in the ease of loading between with and without. What's the purpose of the lube? Anyone think it's necessary? I've used Crisco; however, that stuff can be pretty messy.

[82 abn vet]

Hi Hunter.
Lube helps keep a sealed chamber on the powder side.
It give better accuracy at a longer distance.
It also aids in lubricating the barrel for easy loading and cuts down on fouling in the barrel.
Crisco will work.But it can be runny in hot weather.
I use wonder lube.
I only hunt flintlock,smoothbore and caplock.
With patched round ball I will use pillow ticking with wonder lube and my 45 cal. jacob dickert long rifle will put a 30.06 to shame.

[Lodiman]

I always use Bore Butter. I notice with my rifle that you absolutely need the lub to get the bullet seated. If not, you'll be stuck w/ a bullet half down your bore.

[82 abn vet]

Smoothbores are flintlock guns from the 18th century.
They were used among trappers and used as trade with Indians.
They are not really rifles.
The barrels are smooth with no rifleing.
I built a french tulle 1730 smoothbore, 62 cal.
I can shoot a .610 round ball with a.010 patch or I can use it like a shotgun 20 gauge for turkey and other fowl.
These were the types of guns you would find in the trading post.
A poor farmer or trapper could only afford one gun so they would get a smoothbore.
Use it as a rifle or fowling gun.
But with no rifleing in the barrel there only accurate to around 50 to 80 yards.
When I learn how to post pics Ill show what it looks like.

[82 abn vet]

I only use Goex black powder.
It is the only thing that will work in flintlocks.
Pyrodex will sizzle in the pan .
Real black powder will go off instantly in the pan.
I use different loads for different rifles.
80 to 100 for my GPR.
My Jacob Dickert 45 cal. long rifle will use 75 grain for a 120 yard shot.

[Arnie Oakley]

vet,
I'm by no means interested or knowledgable in primitive arms/hunting, but I must say your picture is very impressive. Very cool guns.

Gary

[82 abn vet]

Thanks Gary,
They were both kits I put together.
Took some time but I finally got it.

[rooster52]

The best accuracy I can get with a conical bullet is a 348 grain powerbelt,the ones without the copper coating and I lube them with bore butter.With 105 grains of 777 ,I get some real good accuracy from my Knight rifle.

[tddeangelo]

Others have nailed it....the lube will aid in RE-loading the rifle after the initial shot as well as seal the bore more effectively. Many conicals are made to expand at ignition to seal the bore and mate fully with the rifling. By doing things this way, the bullets are easier to load (don't have to swage the rifling into the them during the loading process), but still deliver acceptible accuracy.

When I hunted groundhogs a lot with my flintlock, I'd simply use spit to lube my patches. I'd send one down the tube for my first shot, and then walk the ore mines and other areas they lived in with the rifle while keeping a patch in my mouth. I carried a satchel with patches, balls, a starter, and a flask. The 50gr. charge the flask spout threw was what I sighted the rifle for so I didn't need a measure, and it was a pretty good arrangement. For deer hunting, I used Bore Butter or Wonder Lube on my patches, and the TC Renegade I have is a little too tight for pillow-ticking patches. I generally used precut 0.015" patches in that one. Pillow-ticking would either go down WAY too tight or would cut patches. The 15's would do just right for me.

While I use an inline at times and have nothing against them, they are certainly a different experience from a flintlock or caplock. =)

[scrat]

i think hunter and the other guys said it as best. Its like this if you do not lube the bullet. When you shoot it the gas can go around the bullet. This will effect your overall performance as well as the fouling of the barrel. When you lube the bullet you are better sealing the barrel on its initial movement to prevent gasses from going around the bullet. This also aids in easier clean up as the fouling will stick to the lube rather than the barrel.

[bphunter]

What everone else said, plus the fact that lube keeps the fouling very soft. I can fire shot after shot when I use the lubed 460 Bullshop slugs without EVER swabbing between shots( 25-50 shots). Whatever fouling that's left over from the last shot gets pushed on top of the charge during loading and blownout with the next shot. I can't go more the 1 or two shots before swabbing when I use the non-lubed bullets like sabots or PB's. Round balls are a little different. They can be loaded with a dry or lubed patch, and swabbing is still required in any case because there isn't enough lube in the patch to keep the residue totally soft.