So maybe kinda outta place here, but... Old Zip Patch Grease

[oscarflytyer]

So maybe kinda outta place here, but... Old Zip Patch Grease

I ran into the recipe while bouncing around Dixie Gunworks for some BP Rifle stuff I needed. AND - I just so happened to have a big tub of mutton tallow (bought awhile back for BP lube) and a bunch of beeswax (for std bullet lube). Wallah - perfect match, so I made up 8 oz (50-50 tallow/bw)! And had a small and medium tin empty to put it in!

Supposed to be the Bee's Knee's for BP... We shall see! I HATE the Bore Butter. And figure if guys make a homemade, it will prob work better than anything you buy off the shelf - I KNOW Ben's Lubes and Ed's Red ARE!

PS: I am REALLY loving shooting the 58 cal ML! Wasn't sure about the 58 (vs 50 or 54) - thought the 58 might be too much - NOPE!!! I LOVE it!

PSS: my one previous trial with a BP rifle was abysmal. Pawn shop find that I am sure someone couldn't get to shoot. Neither could I. Was bummed on BP rifles for awhile. But decided to try again, as kid has a rescued 50 which is awesome (and I am jealous) which was gifted to him by Bob Levine years ago. And since I had a bunch of black powder, and found the 58 in almost new condition for $150, figured I'd give it another go. Damned glad I did!

 

[JonB]

I saved the rendered fat from the second Lamb split breast plate that I couldn't eat. It half filled a cottage cheese container. I was gonna use it for woodstove fire starters, but maybe I mix it 50-50 with beeswax for BP?

 

[JustJim]

Most of the people I know who use/have used Ol' Zip are loading with .010-.013" patches and a ball ~.010" under bore diameter, and couldn't make it through an aggregate without cleaning. Many of them eventually went to using spit patches, and saved the smelly waxy stuff for hunting. I tested it in my Douglas barreled .54 (110g FFg Elephant/.019" patch/.535" ball) but couldn't get to 20 rounds without cleaning. It did make a decent lube for Minies in the 1841 I used to shoot.

In contrast, over the course of several days 200+ rounds through my GM barreled .54. Same load (except using neatsfoot oil for patch lube). When I finally cleaned the rifle, the fouling was no worse than if I'd shot 10 rounds.

 

[358156 hp]

I was just researching tallow processing earlier today. I found a good video that seemed to answer all my questions:

 

[Rick H]

I'm not sure about all the salt she uses. I wonder if it is necessary?

 

[Bret4207]

No to the salt.

 

[358156 hp]

I would be disinclined to use salt outside of food grade usage. Rust doesn't need any help.

 

[JonB]

I filtered my lamb fat/grease today. I weighed it, and heated it up in my trusty lube cook'n pot, then added some of randyrat's fresh smelling beeswax to the lamb fat (50-50 per weight). Yield was 2 half pint jars of Lube. This will hopefully get me out to the range with a BP rifle, sooner than later.

Photo (stolen from interwebs) for attention only

 

[richhodg66]

Would venison fat work for this? The deer here in rural Kansas are quite well-fed on soybeans and milo and when I butcher one,I'm always amazed at how much hard fat gets thrown away and have wondered if it might be good for something.

This seems like a lot of work, but probably one of those things that one time doing it would produce enough to not need to do it again for a long time.

 

[L Ross]

Yes venison fat works. All animal fat has a tiny bit of natural salt in it. I melt it down, then finish cooking it in water and let it cool floating atop the water in the kettle. Then I carefully scrape the jelled crap off the bottom of the snowy white tallow. I have a jar in the root cellar that must be 15 years old and it still has no smell. If my tallow/beeswax is too hard I add some jojoba oil or whale oil to it to soften it just a bit. Especially when I need to pack it in the end of a cap&ball cylinder.

 

[richhodg66]

I may have to save some nexttime I butcher one out. I've been kinda wanting to get back into muzzle loaders lately.

 

[Maven]

All, If you're looking for an excellent BP (and Pyrodex) patch lube that is easy to concoct, google Stumpy's Moose Snot. You can get at least 8 shots and perhaps 12+ depending on the condition of your gun's bore and ambient humidity. Btw, although the recipe calls for castor oil, you can substitute EVO, peanut oil, etc, for it without negatively affecting its performance.

 

[JonB]

Yes venison fat works. All animal fat has a tiny bit of natural salt in it. I melt it down, then finish cooking it in water and let it cool floating atop the water in the kettle. Then I carefully scrape the jelled crap off the bottom of the snowy white tallow.

I am sure this is a smart thing to do. I didn't do it with this lamb fat, kind of wish I did after reading your post.
.
Back in the 1990s I shot a lot of BP with bear grease (rendered bear fat that didn't have the water cook method of removing salts) and also used the bear grease as rust preventative on, and in, the barrel of my MLs, and never had an issue. BUT, I have noticed the beginnings of verdigris on the edges of brass hardware...I bet those small amounts of salt in the bear grease are part of that problem. I don't slather it on the stock, but I'm sure it gets there via finger prints, LOL.

 

[Ian]

As far as patch lube goes, I don't worry about salt in the fat because after you pull the trigger everything is coated with corrosive salts and sulfides. For preserving or cartridge loading, yes of course de-salt it. Otherwise, no matter.

I've been meaning to try Stumpy's but for non-aqueous hunting patch lube I got some mink tallow and it seems to work fine straight. I don't like complicated. For all my other shooting I've been using either spit or a mix of Dawn, water, castor oil, and ester oil.

One thing I read about that interested me a LOT was mixing Dawn and NAPA water-soluble machine oil 50/50 to make a grease that cleans up with straight water. This could be used in loading blocks and also not dry out in the barrel if the rifle is left loaded for several days. Novel idea if it doesn't dry out too fast and doesn't screw up accuracy.