Here’s a recipe I got from a gent in Hawaii about 7-8 years ago (David F.).
Bore Butter, Hawaiian Style
Ingredients for about 5 pounds of Mixture
1 Lb. Natural Bee's Wax
Olive Oil - about 2 to 4 pounds (1 lb = 2 cups of oil)
1 oz. Cinnamon Oil (oil of cassia) food grade
10 each pound containers
Procedure for Bore Butter, Hawaiian Style
1. Melt the 1 lb. of natural bee's wax in a thick pot Slowly with about 2 lbs. of oil. If the wax is dirty add 1 quart of water to allow bee body parts, pollen and other stuff to accumulate in the water.
2. Remove from heat and let it get solid. Then wash and scrape the bottom of the material to clean it up. Re heat and pour the clean mixture into a large microwave able container.
3. Test poke with your finger. If your finger hurts, add oil.
4. Nuke (microwave) until liquid or about two or three minutes, and stir. Let it get solid again. If your finger hurts go to #3 else continue to # 5.
5. Let it cool and pour into small 1/2 lb. containers. Makes about 4-5 Lbs. depending on how loose you want your Bore Butter. Remember, the more oil the softer the mixture will be. The softer the mixture, the lower the melting point.
6. Continue to reheat - cook about 8 to 10 times total. The mixture will change consistency and smooth out. At the end of the last heating add 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon Oil per pound of mixture.
7. Attach a fancy label, which will impress your friends.
Notes: I have used Oil of Orange, Oil of Lemon, Oil of Spearmint and Maple flavor. I have also used Red candle color for revolver lube. I like it best when it is the natural Bee's Wax yellow and smells like Bee's Wax and Cinnamon. That's the real Hawaiian Bore Butter.
Maple flavor doesn't work because it is water based. The additives must be oil based, both color and flavor, to work well. Oil-based colors and scents can be found in a candle supply or craft shop that has candle-making supplies. The best place to get oil-based flavors is in a drug store or a supermarket depending on which kind of oil is required. Bee's wax can be found on e-bay or look in your local phone book.
Uses: patch lube, cushion wad lube, general purpose lube, bore preservative, vehicle for rottenstone for rubbing powder horns so smooth, water proofs leather, protects leather from the elements (i.e. my Harley Saddle bags), revolver over the ball grease, grease for revolver cylinder pin, lube for various body parts (I was thinking about FEET), great wax for sealing end cuts of green lumber (may work as tree seal as well), burn salve, great for chapped hands and lips, on cast balls to preserve them from oxidizing, in groves of cast maxies, emergency candle fuel as well as a poor fire starter, wax resist for glazing pottery, flux for casting balls, grease to stop the barrel browning process, mustache, hair and dread-lock wax (for real!) and gifts to my shooting friends.
To prepare precut prelubed patches, insert 100 patches and about one tablespoon of bore butter into a baggie. Nuke for 30 seconds or until melted then let the patches cool off and absorb the bore butter. You will find that by varying the amount of measured bore butter per 100 patches you can find what your gun likes to shoot and it will be consistent. Also put 25 cushion wads with 1 tablespoon of bore butter into a baggie. Nuke for 30 seconds or until melted. For long range wax cookies, use plenty of 2:1 ratio WBB and place felt wads in a baggie and nuke. The wads must be separated when cool and placed in a proper storage can - I use a musket cap can. Redhand via Ladobe.