I haven't tried smoothing the crown yet, but I did find a load that'll shoot minute of elk. 100gr 2F, .530 ball, 0.018 pillow ticking spit-lube patch, with a 0.010 Cabela's lubed patch directly over the powder. 3 balls almost in the same hole at 50 yards. Going to take it out to 100 yards this weekend to confirm zero. The Cabela's patch seems to take the brunt of the scorching allowing the pillow ticking to seal around the ball better.
I've been on the lookout for TOTW mink oil and signed up for in-stock notifications many months ago. Just looked at the website and it says product is no longer available. Will need to find a substitute lube before hunting season.
The guy who makes that stuff is old and I believe is likely retiring. I think he was having health problems. I don't think there's any plans for continued production.
A lot of guys will mix Crisco and olive oil together for a hunting lube. I can't remember the ratio and I haven't tried it yet, but I bet it works just fine as a hunting lube.
I'm currently trying out frontiers bearpaw lube. It is some sort of blend of oils along with bear oil in it. I don't like it quite as much as mink oil. It's lubricity is not as high as mink oil, so it is harder to load a tightly patched ball without swabbing the bore occasionally.
The important thing for a lube that is strictly for hunting is that it does not contaminate the powder if you leave the gun loaded for hours or weeks on end, that it won't rust the bore, and that it will remain soft enough in the coldest temperature. You'll hunt and firm enough in the hottest temperature.
Mink oil does all of those things, but it also has the benefit of being very lubrous and will pick up the fouling pretty well if your ball is tightly patched. That is why it is so great.
Frontiers bearpaw lube seems to be good, but it is liquid at about 90° and it is not as lubrous.
A lot of guys also like to use pure neatsfoot oil But usually mixed with some type of grease or wax to thicken it for hunting. I haven't tried this either, but have been thinking about it. I'm not sure what grease or wax would go well with it.
Unless you use a ball and patch combination that is tight enough and a a blued that is wet enough, you'll probably need to swab occasionally between shots. If you have a really tight patch and ball combination and your lube is wet enough, like a mixture of ballistol and water, you should be able to shoot continuously without having to swab and maintain the same point of impact. But you can't use that for hunting as the liquid would contaminate the powder. That's where mink oil is really nice to have.
For patching.... I recommend getting some minute men patching. It is the best stuff there is. You won't need to use an over powder patch at all.
https://www.theminute-menpatches.com/
As with any patching material, you'll need to wash it warm, and rinse it twice. No fabric softener junk. Dry on medium or high. It will get a touch thicker and tighter woven. For your Kibler barrel and 0.530 ball I bet the 0.017 or 0.018 non coated will work well. Never do the Teflon. It will bake in and not come out. You'd probably need to use a short start to get the ball started but tighter is always better so long as the patch doesn't get damaged.
