Truth is most anything would "work".
Hey jOe:
How about Crisco, tortilla frying lard or olive oil....?.......
I have heard that STP is a vegetable based lube, and I have used a jojoba oil engine additive. Thompson Center Natural Lube 1000 is a vegetable based patch lube that does a better job of preventing after rust in my flintlocks than anything else I've tried. I used it on the exterior of my gun with excellent results, but wondered if the anise smell might spook game. Probably no more than the odor of Hoppes No. 9 or anything else would. Prior to Drake's oil strike in 1855, animal and vegetable based lubes were used in guns and everything else because petroleum oils were not readily available. Sperm Whale oil was once the lube of choice for guns and fine mechanisms. I recently saw a pint of Brownells Sperm Oil sell on E-bay for over $100.00.
