Hey guys, I recently bought a Colt 1860 in .44 caliber. When I bought it I asked the fella selling it to me at Cabelas what type of grease to cover the cylinders with. He told me TC Bore Butter would work fine. So I bought some and went along my merry way.

Well, when I went out to the range with it, the Bore Butter was a goopy mess. (105* Texas heat apparently does not agree with it.) It worked, however, and I never got any chainfires. It did it's job, but it's just too messy for me. So when I was at the local Sportsman's Warehouse, I noticed these on the wall for about $5:



They claim to prevent chainfires and help reduce fouling. Have any of you cap and ball types used them? Do they do their job well, or are they just a waste of money?

Yes, i have used them.
They seemed to work because i did not get any chain fires.  But then, come to think of it, i never got a chain fire.  I've used grease, no grease, wonder wads, and nothin at all!

I also use wonder wads in my TC Hawwken .45 when shooting conicals.  Seems to make subsequent loading easier. YMMV

RB

Quoted: Yes, i have used them. They seemed to work because i did not get any chain fires.  But then, come to think of it, i never got a chain fire.  I've used grease, no grease, wonder wads, and nothin at all! RB

+1

I bought some to use in a couple rifles, but still haven't fired them.  Gotta do that this week!!

As long as an even ring of lead is shaved off the bullet when it is seated, a "chain fire" is highly unlikely.  The grease may cut down on your fouling, but it didn't seem to matter.  

I loaded up my revolvers and have my two fire sticks staged for tomorrow evening.  Glad I saw this post and dusted them off.  

We never used overwads when we shot dads .36, and never had problems.
I do use their wonderlube pre-lubed patches in my rifles.

Quoted: I bought some to use in a couple rifles, but still haven't fired them.  Gotta do that this week!! As long as an even ring of lead is shaved off the bullet when it is seated, a "chain fire" is highly unlikely.  The grease may cut down on your fouling, but it didn't seem to matter. I loaded up my revolvers and have my two fire sticks staged for tomorrow evening.  Glad I saw this post and dusted them off.

Hmm, well that helps ease my mind concerning chainfires. I was under the impression that if you don't lube it correctly then your chances of the fire jumping to the next cylinder was very high. Thanks for the information. FWIW, when I took mine shooting last, I noticed that there was a clean ring coming off pretty much every time.

One other thing: I know black powder is very corrosive, but is it only corrosive after it's burned? Say I were to keep my revolver loaded (de-capped, however), would the BP corrode the cylinder walls?

Thanks,
Yugo(Black-powder n00b)sksfan

No. The Powder itself will not, if its uncontaminated, corrode the cylinder walls. I have seen people use wax over the balls to help with storage, of course the nipples will breath and may let in moisture, who knows.
The corrosive part is the salts that are left after firing.  They are highly hygroscopic.  That is why one should clean asap after shooting. I use warm water, and lots of it.  Then dry (the warm water heats up the metal so it speeds drying), and lube and you're done.

Quoted: No. The Powder itself will not, if its uncontaminated, corrode the cylinder walls. I have seen people use wax over the balls to help with storage, of course the nipples will breath and may let in moisture, who knows. The corrosive part is the salts that are left after firing.  They are highly hygroscopic.  That is why one should clean asap after shooting. I use warm water, and lots of it.  Then dry (the warm water heats up the metal so it speeds drying), and lube and you're done.

Thanks!

They are great ! no more crisco melting in the sun !

when i was shooting Cowboy action there all i ever used.

the convience factor made them well worth it.

I use them in both of my 1860 .44's.  After using them I never went back to Bore Butter. No muss, no fuss.  

I use them when I shoot Pyrodex.  Lube helps clean-up, and this is the most convenient lube I've found.

But I usually shoot Clean-Shot now, and it specifies to not use any lube.  So far, so good.  


In a single shooting session, I've fired 60+ rounds with the Clean-Shot, and was still able to pull out the cylinder pin.  

YMMV

Quoted: I bought some to use in a couple rifles, but still haven't fired them.  Gotta do that this week!! As long as an even ring of lead is shaved off the bullet when it is seated, a "chain fire" is highly unlikely.  The grease may cut down on your fouling, but it didn't seem to matter.   I loaded up my revolvers and have my two fire sticks staged for tomorrow evening.  Glad I saw this post and dusted them off.

+1 i used grease at first but man was that messy so i decided i would try no grease. i allways get a nice lead ring every time i seat bullets in my 1851 navy steel frame, and so far no chain fires. i cant find the patches anywhere local... but so far i have been fine.

Being the somewhat anal-retentive type...I usually used both Wonder Wads under the ball & grease over.  Kind of "belt & suspenders" overkill.  The Wonder Wads work great by themselves though.