Anyone tried Ballistol?

[Hawkeye]

I hesitate to change the direction this thread has taken, however. Has anyone tried other oils rather than castor oil in these lubes? I was wondering specifacly about Ballistol, I have a bunch I use with my BP cartridge guns and am thinking about substuting it in the moose recipies. Thanks for any input anyone has.

Hawkeye

 

[William Joy]

I am using Ballistol since 10 yr. This is the only oil I use in my shop anymore. Seems to work perfect for everything from patch lubricant to medical use..... Y

 

[RiverRat]

I use ballistol for everything except patch lube.
It is too expensive for that. Virgin olive oil works good when I run out of bear grease.

 

[Maestro]

I use ballistol for everything except patch lube.

Me too - I find it to be an exceptional rust preventative.

 

[Darkgael]

Hawkeye: I use Ballistol on all my BP guns. In addition, it is an ingredient in my version of moose milk. Great stuff.
Pete

 

[Coot]

The formula for Stumpy's Moose Juice calls for:

3oz castor oil
1oz Murphys oil soap
4oz Witch Hazel
8oz isopropyl alcohol
16oz water

Since I have everything on hand except the castor oil, I am considering substituting Balistol for the castor oil.

Any thoughts, suggestions?

 

[Darkgael]

The version of moose milk that I use (I believe that I got it from one of Paul Matthews' books) has only three ingredients - detergent, Ballistol, water. Amounts of each are similar to Stumpy's, just no Witch Hazel (mostly alcohol isn't it?) or alcohol.
Pete

 

[Coot]

Hi Pete -

The bottle of Witch Hazel says 14% alcohol and 86% Witch Hazel (which is an extract from the Witch Hazel shrub).

 

[Darkgael]

Thanks for that detail. I was wondering how much there was.
Witch Hazel is an astringent mostly used as an anti-inflammatory in treating skin conditions. I wonder, now, what purpose it serves in the cleaning of a BP firearm, other than it's alcohol content.
Pete

 

[2172]

I tried Ballistol in a 4:1 solution as a patch lube..soaked patch material, let it dry, used it. I found I got only about a half dozen shots before I had to swab. I've gone back to Wonderlube. I still use the Ballistol as a rust preventative...Hank