I have rendered beef tallow to make lube. It works fine. According to the experts, lambs tallow has higher lubricity.

Here is what you want..OFF-WHITE FELT material for wide variety of usages. Made from 100% wool in 1/8" thickness in Hard density (0.36 gm/c3 - F-1).

And 8 yrs later u still inspired me to make my own got the pearl beeswax waiting on punch set , lamb tallow and felt from durofelt great customer service btw

I'm not a fan of fillers, but to each his own. I use a 2:1 mixture of lamb's tallow to beeswax for all my B-P lube. I use it to grease patches for flintlock rifles, and to cover the chambers on cap & ball revolvers and to lube bullets for B-P cartridges...and to lube felt wads as in this video.

I Love the expression "Close enough for government work" or "Close enough for social work" It's just soo telling, yet just PC enough to be "ok".

I find that it is easier to dip a full sheet than to fish out individual wads from the lube. My lube dries very firm, so the sheets and cut lubed wads are not messy to handle at all...about the same as Ox Yoke wads. I find that the pre-lubed sheets of felt cut cleaner for me than the un-lubed sheets. I punch plenty of un-lubed wads for my flintlock fowler, and I prefer punched the pre-lubed ones,.

OK KZfaq is watching me!!! I was making patch lube for shooting long rifle tomorrow, Filled my little tin with felt wads and soaked them in some Avocado oil so I can shoot my ROA as well, while waiting for the lube to melt. Then I came in here and clicked on YT home page and this was in the recommendations

Oh you gotta love black powder on a calm day!

about 25 yrs ago we were looking for something to seal off our bp hunting rifles when hunting in wet weather.the patched balls weren't working...i came up with an idea & purchased some frost king weather striping from one of the hardware stores..it came in 2in. wide by 3/16 thick felt strips ... i left it in the roll form & pined it not to unroll. then i mixed up several batches of sealer until i came up with equal parts by wt. of paraffin wax & wax toilet seal.i placed the roll in an old cake tin & poured the hot mixture over the felt roll . we punched out to 1/2 in. dia for the 50 cal & made it a habit to lay 1 or 2 over the ball.....this worked great ..we tested it by filling a barrel over night then shooting it the next day..it worked...since then i use them for my bp pistol & shotgun.cut to different dia. of coarse ..i found a bag of the originals the other day & they seem to still be soft & pliable.........thanks for posting...bugzy

You can go wad-less. I don't use wads or chamber mouth grease to stop chain fires. I do it to keep the fouling soft.

15 yards? I used to shoot my 1860 Army at 50 yards, even though the sights are rudimentary, the pistol is actually pretty accurate. I could consistently hit an 8" plate at 50 yards, it would really impress the onlookers, they found it hard to believe an antique design like that could be that accurate.

Yes, about 30 years ago in a Remington replica. Some caps came off under recoil and I had two cylinder go off at the same time. didn't do any damage, but it is disconcerting.

Been shooting black powder for about two years now, always find your videos to be helpful.

Mike, thanks so much for these. I got my felt from Durofelt last week, and the tallow from US Wellness Meats arrived yesterday. I made sure to tell both I was buying from them on your recommendation.

I use it sometime in the big Dragoons and the Walker. It gives lower pressure, lower velocity and lower recoil.

Nice shooting Mike, And now, thanks to you, I will make my own lubed wards. Merry Christmas to you and your Family

Merci Mike for the vids and all the advices, just ordered the book you recommended. Wish you the very best for the new year. Bonne Année ;-)

I'm always impressed with his aim, even while wearing funny hats.

I just punched out 16,000 felt wads using your video. Using these ingredients from your suppliers mentioned here, the cost was 3 cents apiece in Jan. 2018 prices. Awesome! Lubed wads let me shoot much longer. I have Uberti Colt replicas, and a Pietta 1858. The Remington clone seems to really like the lubed wads. I gets tighter than Dick's hat band without lube after just a few rounds. I have gotten so much good information from your articles and video I just had to Patreon up! Thanks.

Man 10 years later and the video quality looks like it could have been made today.

I pt my cast round balls in my tumbler for 2-3 hours, no more sprew

Another great video Mike!

Thanks for reuploading the complete version. I can sleep peacefully now :D

Nice shooting ! Nice truck !

.38 caliber punches are what you need for .36 C&B revolvers.

Nice video work and nice shooting.

What an informative video. Thanks for the heads up!

I have always used similar waxed felt wads when shooting cap & ball. My best recipe was paraffin wax and red felt (but the pistol doesn't know what color the felt is). I always load up and put the wad on the top layer. A respected gunsmith friend of mine suggested I do it that way and my accuracy improved. Different strokes I guess! Nice video...I'm subscribed now!

The old fashioned remedy is to tilt your revolver at a backwards angle then when you pull your hammer back the spent cap will drop away from the revolver instead of dropping inside it.

I never watched the loading process of these old revolvers. Pretty impressive! I think I'm going to get one of those one day. Awesome video, Thanks!

Great shooting by the way.

I don't pan lube anything. I use a Lyman Lubrisizer. But I do use this same lube for bullets.

Thanks for the update, Mike. I knew there was a stage of the operation missing when you went right from making the sheet to the review of Elmer Keith's book. Isn't editing fun!

Excellent shooting

Grease cookies aren't something I'd use in a cap and ball. The forces of seating the ball enough to compress the powder charge will squeeze the grease into the powder.

Up here in Canada the farmers and retailers treat lamb tallow same as gold, best price I could find without getting hosed for shipping is $32.00 per pound Canadian funds which translates to $24.16 US. So I bit the bullet (.36 caliber of course) bought 2 pounds of LT and 1 pound of beeswax. Split the batches in two, first batch was a disaster, apparently I'm too slow soaking the felt after pouring the mixture into the pan and had to scrape the pan several times and re-melt in the microwave. For the second batch I ditched the aluminum pan, cut the felt narrower and dipped the felt into the same pan that it's melted in, went much smoother, all total did 5 square feet of felt with 2 pounds of lamb tallow and 1 pound of beeswax with some leftover to pour in a tin and put in my BP range bag. 😁

Lay it on wax paper. There are punches for anything. Take your bore diameter and go to the hardware store and find the closest sized hollow punch.

I don't know. I got them fron eith Track of the Wolf or Dixie Gun Works years ago specifically for wad making.

Bees wax and tallow is the best for everything!I use it for lube like you did as well as on wood my knives my cases after firing black powder its also good on leather to water proof it.

I really like those wads, I saw some videos where they fill the chamber with grease after putting in the ball, but someone said it makes the barrel sticky to grab powder on the next powder fill. And looked so messy

Like Gen.Lee i use beef tallow rendered from the kidney fat. It is a bit harder than body fat but rendering it out is definitely an outside project. The tallow smells slightly like a medium rare steak.

It leaver a small flat spot where it cuts the sprue off

I would not use Crisco in any black powder application. The melting point is much too low and it builds a sludgy fouling.

man i love your videos. ive always loved shooting and guns in general, i own a gun for just about any situation, but about 2 years ago i bought my first remington 1858 and i am head over heals in love with black powder shooting. im trying to learn how to make everything to feed my 58' at home, and you are very helpful can i suggest another video? maybe get one of those double barrel flintlock shotguns that are being sold online, and maybe make a video on that?? id watch it like 20 times guaranteed

Nope. My family came to Acadia in Canada in the 1640s. When the British transported most Cajuns to Louisiana ,my family went to Quebec...and eventually to the plains of Saskatchewan in the late 1880s, then to New England in the 1890s. So we missed the War between the States and the Mexican War entirely...and we were on the wrong side of the War of 1812...LOL

Thank you for the reply, I will give it a try it out.

great video just bought the felt form Dura Felt and put in you as a source.

sure. use your favorite formula

Thanks for the update.

You have the exact voice of John Travolta, I'm serious. I have no idea how this is not every single comment posted.

Another great video. I used to do a lot of reloading and bullet casting but sold everything about 10 years ago. Got the bug again and some BP revolvers. Do you prefer the round balls with lubed patches or lubed conicals? I used to grease over the balls before and not a fan of that method. We have black powder hunting here and would love to take a deer with one.

Great vid Mike! I wondered what happened to the first one (Video) I went to watch it and it was gone!

jeeze, imagine being in a gun fight back in the day and after a few shots it's like 10:15. Got a few guys shooting, can't see a few feet in front after everyone takes their first shots

one of the ordinance videos I was watching a while back stated that the wax/tallow mixture should be 8 parts wax to one part tallow. but you went with 1 to 2 parts wax/tallow. when I followed the ordinance mix, it was VERY thick with wax and did NOT drain from the felt, so I think I'm going to try your way next time I make wads. I also could only find a 12mm hallow punch, about .47dia but the seemed to load just fine into my 1958 new army revolver

Dear Mike, thank you for the excellent videos and ideas you have for this wonderful hobby. i have been using with great success plain ol' Bore Butter to lube my patches for .54 cal BP long gun and was wondering if you've ever pondered or tried the idea of Bore Butter on these wads? To me it seems like a tube of this would lube a helluva lot of the wool wads. I do use a petroleum jelly mix with Bees wax (2 parts Bees Wax to 1 part jelly and a stick of Dragonlube through my lubesizer for the lube grooves on cast lead bullets not RB, but that's getting off topic. Your thoughts Sir?

I thought that in the distant past I had read of black powder shooters using Crisco vegetable shortening instead of tallow to make their wad and/or to lube over the bullets in a loaded cylinder?

Very good video that helps a lot 👍.

Until I ran those tests I thought RB was the better projectile. But I'll probably still shoot more RB than conicals. Round Balls are easier to cast, use less lead, and I have a couple of thousand of them already in the can. But, if I was depending on a C&B for self defense, or to stock the freezer, I'd load with conicals.

Another great video Mike! I've enjoyed your comparo videos on round balls vs. conicals. The conicals seem to do better but you always seem to use balls in your videos.... I know when I shoot cap and ball I'm not too worried about performance, it's just fun, but I was wondering why you shoot ball. Thanks again for the great videos.

Jeeze your right on that, they aren't made of cloth the really lubed things and they were falling apart. It still worked behind the ball but I learned something ;) Even after a few hundred rounds I am still learning. The other ones were dry as a desert and were the ones I was squirting the INOX oil on. I used all of them first because the ones I though were the lubed wads just looked weird. I only used a few of the wonder seals the last time I went out.

I keep tubs of this stuff in the basement on a shelf. I've had some of it for years with no rancidity.

after you let them dry is there a certain time period you should cut them out or should i wait a day or two to get them all cut out?

On a side not Duro Felt now actually says WADS next to the proper felt!!

Thanks I appreciate the info.

Thanks Mike for these videos. Just wondering, have or do you plan to make a video for nitrated paper. Can't find the stuff anywhere now, (the only manufacturer of the stuff went out business several months ago) and my .54 percussion Sharps is much easier to shoot with a paper cartridge rather than just dumping the powder in behind the bullet. BTW, the store bought wads ARE expensive.

One thing I was thinking was, I bet the punch goes through like a knife through butter, which is basically is. :) I use a modifed version of Gatafeo's formula from a BP board: 100 grams of beeswax, 200g of paraffin, and 200g of tallow. I substituted lard for tallow because I figured it was similar enough.When I pull the wads out, I squeeze out the excess lube.When I make my next batch, I'm trying your formula and method. :)

Yes. As long as there is no salt in it. a lot of commercial lard has salt.

can you use a .38 punch for wads, for a .36 cal pistol? I went to trackofthewolf and don't see a .36 punch, will a .38 size punched wad work ok in a .36 Pietta pistol? Learning tons from your tips! thanks for your hard work.

Fantastic video . Mike , how many hours would you estimate you spend cleaning cap and ball revolvers each year ?

Just rub the patching material over the solid lube. It picks up enough.

The way I load is to do the powder charge.... then add the wad...then.... push the wad down with the rammer and load the next chamber with powder and wad. The reason this works for me is the wad gets seated straight for one.... and the rammer holds the cyl in place for the next charge. Also... once all six are loaded with powder and wad... I have a visual that they are. then I add the balls. It is actually as fast or faster this way with less fumbling in my opinion

Another thing that you might find useful, I punch my wads out on the end grain of a butcher block made of 4X4's. The punch goes into the grain of the wood to guarantee the wad gets cut cleanly and doesn't damage the wood as bad as with against the cross grain.

Good job Mike, During off season shooters can supplement Tallow with Co CO Nut Oil. That is great about Six Guns being available, great job on the 15% Discount code. Are the Round Balls cast from LEE molds? As I thought the LEE RB mold has no sprue?

I have another question. after you pull out this sheet of wool "to dry", how do you dry this? lay flat on wax paper? hang up? how do YOU do it? also, is there a punch for .32 cal BP rifle?

Very informative and good shooting! I'm curious as to how the tallow stands up at room temperature for extended time periods...does it get rancid or does it stay locked in the bees wax matrix and remain stable? I know honey is the "wonder" food as it never spoils!

Being new to this, I can't figure out why you can't just put the ball on the powder without a wad in between. Is it ok to do? Surely in the thick of a battle, they wouldn't be trying to stuff a wad into each cylinder.

Awesome! Thank you!

Mike this Black powder lube I take soft and can be used for all kinds of Black powder bullets and conicals not just cap n' ball ? You can pan lube your 45-70s as well as your .45 colts ?

What size punch are you using for each? Are you using a 12mm for the .44?

Duelist, I was looking on durofelt site, I see it in 24" lengths, am I looking at the right stuff? Should I buy the soft or hard?

Do you have to refrigerate the lamb's tallow & bee's wax mix after you're finished with it or can it be stored at room temp? THANKS...

I am have a problem with the spent caps falling in the action on my 1861 , and my 1849 I filled the hammer notch with J.B. Weld but I am still having around 2 out of 6 falling off I have been using number 11 Remington caps do different brands work better as in CCI? I don't have any problems with my Ruger O.A. or my 1858 .36, or .44.

With the Cabella's starter kit that came with my most recent purchases it came with 30 dry and 30 lubed wads. I went through the lubed ones pretty quick and with the toolbox I have set up as my black powder kit I put the dry ones in the top compartment. I just squirted several sprays of INOX lubrication gun oil I use for all my guns onto the patches until they were moist to the touch. Would this still be sufficient if I decide to start making the wads myself?

mike you use 8 oz of beewax to how much lamb tollow when makeing smaller a batch?

When you use it as a flintlock patch lube, how do you apply it? Pre-soak the patch while the lube is liquid or rub the patch in the lube when solid (how?)?

wow! very well done! how many inches or mm is the section of the wad for the .44 ? is it possible to use tallow of porc/pig + beeswax?

Hi Mike. Why not use without a wad at all? If the ball is a tight fit and shaves a ring, cross fires should not be a problem.

What ratio do you use for 100+ weather?

I use Remington #10 caps in both Colt and Remington type pistols ,...I have no problems with caps locking my guns.

am learning a lot from you videos, big thanks! your recipe for the wads; 2 lb lamb tallow, to 1 lb bees wax. can we use regular Crisco, in lieu of Lamb tallow?

good vid mike I was wondering if you had any ancestors in the civil war and north or south?

Mike, what is your source for wool felt?

Great video. Quck question...why lamb tallow instead of, say, beef tallow?

ok, i'm looking at the Traditions Crockett .32 cal long rifle from Cabelas, but can't find a .32 size punch for making my wads? any idea here? what punch and where?

The Cabelas kit does not come with both dry and lubed wads. What you are referring to as "lubed wads" are actually called "wonder seals" and are supposed to be used on top of the ball rather than on top of the powder. There is no felt in them. You can smash them into oblivion with your finger. I believe the other wads that come with the kit are actually lubed wonder wads even though they seem to be pretty dry. I believe (from the way they smell) that there is lube already on them.

Will this lube go bad or will it store for a long time. Thanks for posting.

An ackowledged expert at the local range disregards wads in favour of an inert filler, in this case Polenta. As a result I need to grease the ball once pressed home. Do you have any particular preference?

Good ole Axel!

What size punch would you recommend for my 1858 Remington?

Using the wads , do You have to use grease to seal chambers to avoid chainfire ? thank for your videos an time.