Since I started shooting BP, which from my join date you can see was not that long ago, I have been one of those "Crisco Shooters". Riding back from the range on the bike was sometimes difficult if I had been shooting upwind as my glasses were opaqued by BP soot and Crisco mixed together. But alas, the gunk always just washed away with soap and water and never a bit of fouling to scrub out of the barrel that a few strokes with a bore brush couldn't fix.
So.....After reading more than a couple of posts from TheRodDoc as well as starting to load cartridges with Black Powder, I gets to thinkin'.... These guns weren't really made in the 19th Century with the express purpose of going out to the local shooting range and eating up lead and powder just for fun. These guns were made for one reason, to protect the person carrying them from either bad guys or the government (sometimes the two are interchangable). Lube i.e. lard, tallow, beeswax etc. was largely to render the firearm water-resistant or to prevent corrosion.
Given that I rarely shoot during a rain storm then it stands to reason that blowing litterally pounds of Crisco down the barrel of a six-shooter might be over-kill when it comes to lubrication.
Sometimes I've been referred to as a slow learner, slow but I eventally get it. Most of the time.
So here's my little un-scientific experiment that I conducted last weekend.
I packed up my 2nd Model Dragoon and my 1862 Police and went up in the mountains purposefully leaving my trusty can of Crisco at home. I did take my small oiler filled with Ballistol as a security blanket of course. Here's what I discovered.
1862 Police (Uberti)
I fired 48 rounds through this little gem. Given that my fat fingers can't cap it with the cylinder in place nor will my snail cappers work on it, I have to pull the barrel and cylinder to cap it. After 48 rounds, she never bound up, cylinder arbor (pin) never stuck in the barrel and basically I saw NO difference other than I didn't have shortening splattered half way to the target and I could still see through my glasses well enough to navigate home.
2nd Model Dragoon (ASM)
As with the Police I fired a total of 48 rounds through this one as well but unlike the Police I use a snail capper on this one so the barrel and cylinder never had to come off during re-loading. After three cylinders I noticed a small drag on rotation when cocking. To solve the problem I put a couple of drops of Ballistol on the fore and aft end of the cylinder at the arbor, problem solved. This was necessary every couple of cylinders to keep things smooth. I probably could have shot four or five cylinders without problem but I don't want to put any more stress on the cylinder hand than I have to. Other than that, as with the Police, no difference.
Cleaning
Here's where I did see a little difference. Not in hard fouling but in the lack of mess by just shooting BP without lube. The only problem that I encountered was removing the barrel from the Dragoon. Powder fouling had made getting the arbor out of the barrel very difficult. In the future I will remove the barrel every three cylinders and wipe it down and re-apply Ballistol all the way back to the recoil shield. Since I had to pull the barrel and cylinder every time I capped the Police, this problem was limited only to the Dragoon. As far as fouling in the barrel, no difference period.
Footnote
The Dragoon is loaded with 45gr 3f Goex and apprx 8gr cornmeal filler. Police is loaded with 16gr 3f Goex and 8gr cornmeal filler. It is my belief and opinion that by using compressed cornmeal two things happen: a substantial "Gas-Check" is created since the cornmeal burns at a substantially slower rate than Black Powder, basically it's a wad that doesn't cost much. And... the course nature of cornmeal acts to shall we say "Scrub" the barrel on its high speed exit thereby keeping fouling to a minimum.
In closing I will state that I am a religious user of Ballistol during re-assembly of any gun. Nipple threads, cylnder arbor and when full dis-assembly is done the internal parts get treated. Also the chambers and bore get coated with Ballistol at each cleaning. Does the Ballistol help with keeping these guns functioning without shooting lubricant of some sort down the barrel in front of the ball every time you fire?? I think so.
I believe that my can of Crisco will now be donated back to my wife to bake cookies with. And while sitting in front of the TV one nite happily munching upon a homemade chocolate chip snack if I happen to feel a little crunch and get that slight taste of charcoal and sulfer, I'll know that my little can of shortening has been returned to its original purpose.
So.....After reading more than a couple of posts from TheRodDoc as well as starting to load cartridges with Black Powder, I gets to thinkin'.... These guns weren't really made in the 19th Century with the express purpose of going out to the local shooting range and eating up lead and powder just for fun. These guns were made for one reason, to protect the person carrying them from either bad guys or the government (sometimes the two are interchangable). Lube i.e. lard, tallow, beeswax etc. was largely to render the firearm water-resistant or to prevent corrosion.
Given that I rarely shoot during a rain storm then it stands to reason that blowing litterally pounds of Crisco down the barrel of a six-shooter might be over-kill when it comes to lubrication.
Sometimes I've been referred to as a slow learner, slow but I eventally get it. Most of the time.
So here's my little un-scientific experiment that I conducted last weekend.
I packed up my 2nd Model Dragoon and my 1862 Police and went up in the mountains purposefully leaving my trusty can of Crisco at home. I did take my small oiler filled with Ballistol as a security blanket of course. Here's what I discovered.
1862 Police (Uberti)
I fired 48 rounds through this little gem. Given that my fat fingers can't cap it with the cylinder in place nor will my snail cappers work on it, I have to pull the barrel and cylinder to cap it. After 48 rounds, she never bound up, cylinder arbor (pin) never stuck in the barrel and basically I saw NO difference other than I didn't have shortening splattered half way to the target and I could still see through my glasses well enough to navigate home.
2nd Model Dragoon (ASM)
As with the Police I fired a total of 48 rounds through this one as well but unlike the Police I use a snail capper on this one so the barrel and cylinder never had to come off during re-loading. After three cylinders I noticed a small drag on rotation when cocking. To solve the problem I put a couple of drops of Ballistol on the fore and aft end of the cylinder at the arbor, problem solved. This was necessary every couple of cylinders to keep things smooth. I probably could have shot four or five cylinders without problem but I don't want to put any more stress on the cylinder hand than I have to. Other than that, as with the Police, no difference.
Cleaning
Here's where I did see a little difference. Not in hard fouling but in the lack of mess by just shooting BP without lube. The only problem that I encountered was removing the barrel from the Dragoon. Powder fouling had made getting the arbor out of the barrel very difficult. In the future I will remove the barrel every three cylinders and wipe it down and re-apply Ballistol all the way back to the recoil shield. Since I had to pull the barrel and cylinder every time I capped the Police, this problem was limited only to the Dragoon. As far as fouling in the barrel, no difference period.
Footnote
The Dragoon is loaded with 45gr 3f Goex and apprx 8gr cornmeal filler. Police is loaded with 16gr 3f Goex and 8gr cornmeal filler. It is my belief and opinion that by using compressed cornmeal two things happen: a substantial "Gas-Check" is created since the cornmeal burns at a substantially slower rate than Black Powder, basically it's a wad that doesn't cost much. And... the course nature of cornmeal acts to shall we say "Scrub" the barrel on its high speed exit thereby keeping fouling to a minimum.
In closing I will state that I am a religious user of Ballistol during re-assembly of any gun. Nipple threads, cylnder arbor and when full dis-assembly is done the internal parts get treated. Also the chambers and bore get coated with Ballistol at each cleaning. Does the Ballistol help with keeping these guns functioning without shooting lubricant of some sort down the barrel in front of the ball every time you fire?? I think so.
I believe that my can of Crisco will now be donated back to my wife to bake cookies with. And while sitting in front of the TV one nite happily munching upon a homemade chocolate chip snack if I happen to feel a little crunch and get that slight taste of charcoal and sulfer, I'll know that my little can of shortening has been returned to its original purpose.
and think "why, why lord, why?". Not that it bothers me that people like to do that but what surprises me is the stubborness of some folks that just insist that ample amounts of goo must be on top of the ball. They'll insist that accuracy suffers if you don't or your revolver will bind up. In the end many of them end up with melted Crisco everywhere. No wonder some need checkered grips to keep their revolver from squirting outta their hands. 
