Bore Butter or gun oil for sabots?

tpcollins · April 15, 2009, 03:38 PM

I use to use Bore Butter (maybe it was Natural-lube) in my T/C Hawkin and really loved it. Then I bought a Knight MK85 when they first came out, used Bore Butter with a .45 cal bullet/sabot and the accuracy was bad. Called Knight and they said to use gun oil with my sabots and not bore butter - this seemed to solve the accuracy problems.

Eventually I moved to a lightweight 180 grain .40 cal/sabot with a boat tail and it shoots great. I still swab with gun oil during storage, but I swab with an alcohol-vinegar-ammonia recipe between shots when I'm shooting. I don't subscribe to the "fouling first" technique and I'm happy with my groups. I'd really liketo go back to some type of bore butter to help reduce fouling between shots even further.

I'm just wondering if it was the bore butter or those stubby flat nosed hp .45 caliber handgun bullets I was using back then. Any help would be appreciated on what you guys are using? Thanks.

arcticap · April 15, 2009, 05:41 PM

Bore Butter is better used as a patch lube shooting round balls, while sabots should shoot better out of a clean barrel.
Some load their sabot first and then apply an ultra thin film of Bore Butter only in the top half of their bore. That can also simulate a fouled barrel so the first shot stays on target with those shot from a fouled bore.
Another alternative would be to try the above procedure in reverse, with the ultra thin coat of Bore Butter applied just before loading the sabot.
Did you ever coat your sabot with Bore Butter?
Nothing will eliminate powder fouling when using heavy powder charges and then having loading difficulties with tight sabots though.
Another product is Hoppes Number #9 Plus Black Powder Solvent and Patch Lube which is a liquid. It's good for swabbing and claims to not interfere with ignition. Try lubing the clean bore with that after loading the powder.
Some folks use Crisco, olive oil, pure mink oil (from Track of the Wolf), Jojoba Oil or even original GoJo hand cleaner.
If plain oil is working good for you why not just keep using it?
What kind of powder are you loading with?
Do you still shoot your Hawkin?

tpcollins · April 15, 2009, 06:00 PM

Thanks arcticap, no I sold the Hawkin, I'm shooting the Knight MK85 now. You've assured me I'm doing it the correct way. I sure do miss those double set triggers, though. Thanks.

Mark whiz · April 15, 2009, 07:56 PM

I use no lube at all while shooting my Knight USAK. I swab it dry with a patch of alcohol before I go to use it, then load powder and sabot, fire, repeat.
Sabots are basically self-lubricating and really need nothing else.
I spit patch between rounds at the range to keep the barrel consistent and to keep the fouling from building up, but that's it until I get it cleaned at home - then I oil the barrel inside and out before storing. And when I get it out to shoot again, I run that alcohol patch and have at it.

NOW, if I shoot those Powerbelt bullets, I definitely lube between the powercheck cup and the bullet........cause if that cups sticks to the bullet you're lucky to hit the broad side of a barn.

Doyle · April 15, 2009, 09:03 PM

Good sabots don't require any lube. I use the Hornady low-drag sabots. They load really easily.

arcticap · April 15, 2009, 10:45 PM

Interesting.
Whale oil was considered to be a superior patch lube and jojoba oil is similar enough to be used as a replacement for it:

Quote:

Jojoba oil is a mixture of wax esters...

Unlike common vegetable oils, jojoba oil is chemically very similar to human sebum...

Jojoba oil is also used as a replacement for whale oil and its derivatives, such as cetyl alcohol. The ban on importing whale oil to the US in 1971 led to the discovery that it is "in many regards superior to sperm oil for applications in the cosmetics and other industries."[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jojoba_oil

April 15, 2009, 03:38 PM	#1
tpcollins Senior Member Join Date: February 18, 2009 Location: SE Michigan Posts: 558	Bore Butter or gun oil for sabots? I use to use Bore Butter (maybe it was Natural-lube) in my T/C Hawkin and really loved it. Then I bought a Knight MK85 when they first came out, used Bore Butter with a .45 cal bullet/sabot and the accuracy was bad. Called Knight and they said to use gun oil with my sabots and not bore butter - this seemed to solve the accuracy problems. Eventually I moved to a lightweight 180 grain .40 cal/sabot with a boat tail and it shoots great. I still swab with gun oil during storage, but I swab with an alcohol-vinegar-ammonia recipe between shots when I'm shooting. I don't subscribe to the "fouling first" technique and I'm happy with my groups. I'd really liketo go back to some type of bore butter to help reduce fouling between shots even further. I'm just wondering if it was the bore butter or those stubby flat nosed hp .45 caliber handgun bullets I was using back then. Any help would be appreciated on what you guys are using? Thanks. __________________ What direction did that last shot at Kennedy come from?

April 15, 2009, 05:41 PM	#2
arcticap Senior Member Join Date: March 15, 2005 Location: Central Connecticut Posts: 3,166	Bore Butter is better used as a patch lube shooting round balls, while sabots should shoot better out of a clean barrel. Some load their sabot first and then apply an ultra thin film of Bore Butter only in the top half of their bore. That can also simulate a fouled barrel so the first shot stays on target with those shot from a fouled bore. Another alternative would be to try the above procedure in reverse, with the ultra thin coat of Bore Butter applied just before loading the sabot. Did you ever coat your sabot with Bore Butter? Nothing will eliminate powder fouling when using heavy powder charges and then having loading difficulties with tight sabots though. Another product is Hoppes Number #9 Plus Black Powder Solvent and Patch Lube which is a liquid. It's good for swabbing and claims to not interfere with ignition. Try lubing the clean bore with that after loading the powder. Some folks use Crisco, olive oil, pure mink oil (from Track of the Wolf), Jojoba Oil or even original GoJo hand cleaner. If plain oil is working good for you why not just keep using it? What kind of powder are you loading with? Do you still shoot your Hawkin? Last edited by arcticap; April 15, 2009 at 10:36 PM.

April 15, 2009, 06:00 PM	#3
tpcollins Senior Member Join Date: February 18, 2009 Location: SE Michigan Posts: 558	Thanks arcticap, no I sold the Hawkin, I'm shooting the Knight MK85 now. You've assured me I'm doing it the correct way. I sure do miss those double set triggers, though. Thanks. __________________ What direction did that last shot at Kennedy come from?

April 15, 2009, 07:56 PM	#4
Mark whiz Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 2004 Location: Wabash, IN Posts: 227	I use no lube at all while shooting my Knight USAK. I swab it dry with a patch of alcohol before I go to use it, then load powder and sabot, fire, repeat. Sabots are basically self-lubricating and really need nothing else. I spit patch between rounds at the range to keep the barrel consistent and to keep the fouling from building up, but that's it until I get it cleaned at home - then I oil the barrel inside and out before storing. And when I get it out to shoot again, I run that alcohol patch and have at it. NOW, if I shoot those Powerbelt bullets, I definitely lube between the powercheck cup and the bullet........cause if that cups sticks to the bullet you're lucky to hit the broad side of a barn. __________________ "Every moving thing that liveth, I give unto you as meat" (Gen 9:3) Aim small.........miss small. Trust God..........but keep your powder dry!

April 15, 2009, 09:03 PM	#5
Doyle Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2007 Location: Rainbow City, Alabama Posts: 7,167	Good sabots don't require any lube. I use the Hornady low-drag sabots. They load really easily.