Grease groove bullets in black powder rifles

[Chaspuss]

Has anyone caught a bullet after firing to see how much grease is left (or not) in the grooves? I want to try a different method of of greasing:lubricating a bullet and ask out of interest!
Many thanks
Bob T

[dromia]

Yes!

[Chaspuss]

Excellent Dromia! How much grease did you find on the bullet??? sign92

[dromia]

That really depends on the depth of the grease groove, velocity/RPM and the hardness of the lube.

When using BP the lube is usually soft so a lot of it leaves the bullet due to centrifugal force when it leaves the barrel and there is usually just some lube in the corners of the groove, harder lubes will remain in place. Shallow grooved boolits can use up the lube in the barrel with the rifling digging well into the groove. As in all things shooting the results are specific to the rifle and component combinations.

What exactly are you trying to do?

[Chaspuss]

I would like to make my own moulds just for the hell of it. But my inside boring skills on the lathe are not great. So I hope to make parallel sides bullets, undersize, and knurl them. I hope to capture enough grease to lubricate the bullet in the barrel, even if I need a grease/wax wad as per a paper patch. Bit zany perhaps, but why not???

[dromia]

Paper patching would be the way I'd go, I've never had any success with knurled boolits for lubing and BP, I still got my Wamadet knurler from the old boolit swaging days.

Plain sided made to a suitable diameter for paper patching, grease cooky and a dolop of udder cream on the boolits nose when chambering and you are good to go.

Of course your mileage may vary so try it knurled and let us know how you got on.

[Chaspuss]

I will try both methods Dromia, I suppose I just like being perverse! By the way, where do you get the udder cream? I might have difficulty in that since I live in France! Must get you to send some lanolin to my friends who are coming to work, er, I mean for a holiday in September!
It's almost 20 years since I last shot with The Yarners, in the days of old Derec Race!

[dromia]

You are going back a bit now, the old wooden hut was burnt down and we got a new brick range in 2004, did you shoot in that?

You can get udder cream in a chemists nowadays as skin cream, they also sell in it cycling shops for the cyclists arses the most common brand name I've come across is Udderly Smooth but it is a lot cheaper from a friendly dairy farmer.

[bigfathairybiker]

Udder Cream!!!!!

Does the bullets complexion matter that much?

Wouldnt an ordinary grease be ok and far cheaper? Or am I looking down the wrong barrel?


Or is it down to having a lube that is easier to handle due to the fact you dont have to wipe it off your hands?

I wouldnt be surprised as Ive seen everything from E21 cream or whatever it is called to Lard being used.


Mark

[dromia]

Well over 30 years of BP shooting and I must have shoved everything that was vaguely greasy in with the bullet to keep the fouling soft and udder cream is the one that has worked best so far. It is that effective that on my Snider and Martini's I don't need grease cookies any more, it was "discovered" on another forum and others have found as effective as I have.

Regarding cost mine is free from a friendly farmer who hands my out dollops whenever I need it.

Most greases do a job with BP so long as they aren't petroleum based but as good "moist" BP is hard to get now fouling control is the biggest issue for BP shooters wanting to shoot long strings without cleaning.

It is good that such scepticism as yours isn't rife or we wouldn't get anywhere.