I'm not putting down anybody's cleaning method or choices of gun cleaner/lube/preservative. You can go 21st century or 18th century or even earlier, and if you're happy, that's all that matters. From what I've read, and I don't know much about it, sperm whale oil was the preferred gun oil a couple hundred years ago, but it was expensive and hard to get. I would imagine Daniel Boone and friends probably used bacon grease, hog lard, etc. because that's what they had on hand and it worked good enough. They couldn't hop on Amazon and get sperm oil delivered to their cabin doors but if they could have again I bet they would've preferred that. My 2¢ worth is if you are concerned about keeping rust at bay to try a few modern products any of which would probably be superior to the bacon grease type diy stuff. Think back to the 70s or 80s when lots of guys spent good money to get oil filter cannisters that took rolls of toilet paper. The company that sold them touted the super filtration, low cost, ease of replacement etc. that their TP method offered. I wonder how many engines got locked up a few miles down the road when that roll of Charmin turned to a soggy lump of paper. Neither the old ways nor the latest gee whiz ways are always the best ways.
