Author Topic: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!  (Read 1704 times)

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Offline Nobade

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Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« on: May 16, 2010, 03:56:13 AM »
Yesterday I finally got to shoot my repaired Uberti pocket police revolver, and tried wads made from cheap fabric store felt and Gatofeo's lube mix. I fired 50 rounds through it, got great accuracy the whole time and no hard fouling buildup at all. Easy to load, no grease to smear around, and dirt cheap to make. This is the way to shoot revolvers! BTW, now that the revolver has the right length cylinder arbor and small barrel/cylinder gap, it is so much more accurate it's not funny. Beer cans at 40M are a pretty easy target, as was the 12X12" gong at 100M. This thing shoots better than most of my cartridge revolvers.
"Give me a lever long enough, and a place to stand, and I'll break the lever."

Offline Gatofeo

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2010, 04:25:01 PM »
Been saying it for years. I've had a few doubters and detractors but overall those who tried the lube now known as "Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant" have had good results.
But ONLY if they stick to the original ingredients:
1 part canning paraffin
1 part mutton tallow
1/2 part beeswax
All measurements are by weight, not volume.

I still urge the use of real felt, made from wool, and very stiff felt at that. Old hats are one source. A more convenient source is Durofelt, which sells all-wool felt in various thicknesses for punching out your own wads.
Just last weekend, I was trying out a reproduction Remington .36 and using greased wads 1/4 inch thick to take up room in the chamber. I was using only 19 grains of Goex FFFG powder, with a .380 inch ball. I could have used corn meal, but the wad worked well. And the extra Gatofeo No. 1 lubricant it carried surely didn't hurt.
Normally, I use wads of 1/8 inch thick under the ball with larger powder charges. Either thickness carries more than enough lubricant to do the job.
I avoid the limp, hobby shop felt because it's largely polyester, which is plastic. Years ago I swore off polyester felt when I began noticing tiny lumps of melted plastic in the bore, after cleaning. Real wool doesn't melt and leave residue.
Through the years, I've learned to charge the chamber, then thumb a greased felt wad into the chamber just below flush. After charging each chamber, I immediately thumb in the felt wad. Then, I go back and fully seat the wad firmly -- but not hard -- on the powder charge.
After this, the ball follows. This system allows me to better gauge how much pressure I'm applying. Consistent seating pressure aids accuracy. For best consistency, use a loading stand that holds your revolver upright.
"A hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .44."

Offline AtlLaw

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2010, 04:41:52 PM »
Hey!   ;D

As I mentioned in another thread, I got the wx stripping felt you recommended to make wads from.  I was going to order a sheet of felt from the person you recommended, now that I found you post with her information again.   :-[  Is she still in business?  ???
Richard
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Offline Nobade

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2010, 05:01:04 PM »
Yep, I'm gonna get some of that real felt ASAP. I'm looking forward to trying it in my rifles as well, under paper patched bullets. Supposed to work well there as well. Her web site seems to be working fine last I looked, I guess I'll find out soon.
"Give me a lever long enough, and a place to stand, and I'll break the lever."

Offline Uncle Howie

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #4 on: May 28, 2010, 03:35:23 PM »
I was going to order a sheet of felt from the person you recommended, now that I found you post with her information again.   :-[  Is she still in business?  ???

Yep, try http://www.durofelt.com/

More specifically, try http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html  She's got a suggestion for BP shooters in RED on this page. I'm no BP expert, nor am I a felt wad expert, but it gives a guy a starting point. Lots of choices in a 100% wool product.

She ships retail orders for U.S. customers for FREE!!! I think that's a great perk. It allows a guy to try a material, then try something different, etc., etc. without paying a ton of shipping charges.

I've ordered felt from her for a variety of projects, and have always gotten great service.


Offline Nobade

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #5 on: May 28, 2010, 06:09:03 PM »
Just got a big sheet of it in tonight! 1/8" white, hard. This will certainly solve my wad needs for a long time, and it is so much nicer than the fabric store stuff. And kudos to her service - I emailed asking which to get, she wrote back in 5 minutes, I placed the order and had it here in two days. Great folks to deal with!
 
"Give me a lever long enough, and a place to stand, and I'll break the lever."

Offline AtlLaw

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #6 on: May 29, 2010, 05:13:06 AM »
Thanks guys!  Ima gonna put in an order rite now!   ;D
Richard
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Offline AtlLaw

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #7 on: May 29, 2010, 09:15:06 AM »
and I did!   ;D
I could get used to this free shipping idea!  Sure is nice to order something and not get raped by a "shipping and handling" fee!   ::)
now to figure out how to get these hole punches nice and sharp...  :-\
Richard
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Offline Gatofeo

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #8 on: June 01, 2010, 05:05:54 PM »
Glad to hear that my tip about Durofelt gave you good service.
She lives in Little Rock, Arkansas. So does my brother. So a few years ago, one Christmas while visiting my brother, I borrowed his car and went to see her.
Very nice lady. Her inventory is amazing; not just sheets of felt but every kind of felt item you can imagine. Scroll through the Durofelt website and you'll get an idea.
Her all-wool felt is top-notch stuff. I'm still using the large sheet I bought from her about 6 years ago. It will ultimately provide me with thousands of wads, from .30 to .50 caliber, in muzzleloading and cartridge guns.
Durofelt has always provided good service, and I like the free shipping aspect. A very good company to work with.
"A hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .44."

Offline El Gringo

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #9 on: June 03, 2010, 03:34:31 PM »
I too got some in last week; and I dropped your name down as to where I heard of them. ;)
Also ordered a .45 cal punch from Buffalo Arms.

I can sit down in front of the TV and using a stiff piece of leather as a backer on the coffee table, punch out a hundred wads in very little time at all. ;D

I couldnt find mutton tallow anywhere though. I put in the # from my DGW catalog but nothing would come up.  Didnt say out of stock...just nothing.  Perhaps they dont carry it anymore?
Anyhow I substituted with Crisco and enjoyed my shooting session even more using my 'homegrown' fixings.

Just wanted to thank all for the great info;  I wouldnt have discovered all this stuff without you!

Offline beerbelly

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #10 on: June 05, 2010, 07:08:43 AM »
When Gatofeo talks I lesion! a long time back he walked me through the replacing and fitting of the hand on my .36 Navy colt. With out him it would have been tossed in a drawer and forgotten. I shoot regularly, it is the most accurate hand gun I own!
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Offline alamogunr

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2010, 04:16:01 AM »

I couldnt find mutton tallow anywhere though. I put in the # from my DGW catalog but nothing would come up.  Didnt say out of stock...just nothing.  Perhaps they dont carry it anymore?

Just wanted to thank all for the great info;  I wouldnt have discovered all this stuff without you!

I just ran across this thread.  I had a printout of Gatofeo's post on Handloads.com.  I called Dixie and found that apparently their supplier was no longer able to supply mutton tallow, but they were looking for a replacement supplier with no guarantee that one would be found.  I got some through Amazon.  Not cheap but what I got will last me a long time.  Will order some of the felt today.

John
W.TN

Offline crgator

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #12 on: July 19, 2010, 03:17:46 PM »
Can you cut the recipe in half?  I'm thinking almost a quart will last a tremendous long time.  Also, does it keep?  I'm not worried about the paraffin or the bees wax, but the tallow.  Will it sour

Offline Elijah Gunn

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Re: Gatofeo's lube wads work great!
« Reply #13 on: July 19, 2010, 06:17:59 PM »
No, mutton tallow does not get rancid. It will keep for a long time. Thats why I made some for myself.
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