Ballistol Warning

[stink koat]

Yes HOT HOT water pump through with dish washer solution than rinse , pump, with HOT HOT clear wate end up using G96

Finally someone, other than me, with the right idea about using HOT WATER to NATURALY dry the barrel, instead of using all these concoctions to clean their guns! ( Read my backpost from "STIKKOAT" about the method I have used for 48yrs and NO RUST!

 

[Carbon 6]

Please explain to me why shooters at State shoots and at Friendship clean their guns at the end of the day with tap water and do just fine? After cleaning at the end of the shoot, they travel all the way home and their guns are rust free?

If you drive north when you leave you need to use hot water, if you drive south use whatever.
G96 works extremely well.

M.A.P. is the perfect solution.

 

[user 13896]

Water itself does not cause rust/corrosion.

Very true. It also does not conduct electricity. Both are true for pure water, distilled water. Real world water always has at least some electrolytes dissolved. Real world water does dissolve oxygen (think fish gills extracting O2 from water), and conducts electricity. The upshot is if you leave your barrel wet with water it is going to rust. BTW, O2 also dissolves in alcohol. The difference is that alcohol evaporates faster than water and the O2 drifts away. If you want to really get rid of moisture in your barrel, try acetone, but you'll have to think getting cancer is worth drying your barrel.

 

[firestick]

This thread is kinda away and over the top from "Ballistol Causes Corrosion".

 

[Festus]

Back to the OP’s statement. I have noticed Ballistol will slightly tarnish the brass. Not turn it green. I like it when the brass darkens a bit. I have left it on the brass on my guns and never had it go “green “. I find that odd. I think something else is going on.

 

[cal.43]

I have no clue why there is allways a discussion how to clean a muzzleloader,
after a shooting meeting I forget the Mavi-Hawken in the Garage the whole autumn and winter. This gun got my standard procedure cleaning with two to three wet cleaning patches, one dry one then one oiled one, then more oil in the bore after shooting. In spring i put it out two patches to get the oil out and shoot.
I never cleaned muzzleloader i shoot regularly since that with the hot water thing.

 

[Archer 756]

I wonder how MOUNTIN Men did their rifles.

 

[boombyspark]

Just a thought to pass along. A while back, at Friendship while talking to a barrel manufacturer about cleaning barrels, using hot water for cleaning came up. They claimed (and makes sense) that they would prefer I stay away from hot water. Reason being, the threads will expand creating tiny openings and allow water to become trapped and over time the breech plug would become welded from the rust created. Unheated water does seem to work just fine for cleaning. I have no idea as to the truth of this bit of info. I follow it as it makes sense as well as the guys building these barrels should have an idea of what they are talking about. plus I don't seem to have any problems.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Certainly tap water cleans as well as hot water. The prime operative concern is to dry the bore and remove as much water as possible after cleaning and before applying the rust inhibiting final application.

 

[user 34300]

Original cleaning methods would have used materials on hand. Tow, water/spit/ and some greasy part of an animal. And the gun rusted. Ever seen an original that was actually used hard? They are a mess. There is nothing worth emulating from them in that respect.

 

[Walkingeagle]

These cleaning threads make me laugh anymore. So my many folks speak of how the old timers did things, materials used, or the historically accurate way to clean their firearms. Almost like a cult following in fact. However mention bore seasoning and things go the other way. Modern steel vs. period iron. Absolutely do not follow the old timers!!
In short, modern steel and materials are not period, so clean and lubricate as required based on when your barrel was made!
Walk

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

OMG

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Some of you long time members of the forum must wish you had a jug of powder for every cleaning thread on here....as a new member, I can tell you that thanks to "Google", the most anxiety I had about shooting a muzzle loader was cleaning it!!! If you are new to it like me, do yourself a favor and remember that it's a firearm; enjoy it and shoot the heck out of it. You are turning back the clock to a simpler era every time you handle it, including a thorough cleaning. For myself, it is truly a "get-away-from-it-all" experience, which in today's world is a welcome thing. So my two cents to newbies like me, like any firearm, take care of it and it will take care of you.

 

[Historian]

Cleaning a muzzleloading rifle, pistol or shotgun is pretty easy. People make it much harder than it really is. Use whatever works for you. So simple. I use at the range ballistol and water mix, then at home warm tap water, WD40 and finally RIG to coat the barrels. Sometimes I use straight Bore Butter to coat the barrels. Never any rust. So simple and I live in North AL where we deal with a lot of humidity. To each their own. Good shooting guys.

 

[R I Jerolmon]

I developed a method for my Hawken that I believe is the best ever. Fill a pail with boiling water and a small amount of dish detergent. Get a 2ft piece of clear flexible tubing like is used in small aquariums that is a push fit on the rifle's percussion nipple and put the other end (weighted) in the pail. With the rifle butt on the floor, work a tight cotton patch up and down, drawing and flushing the hot soapy water which cleans barrel, drum and nipple absolutely clean. The barrel will be hot and will dry completely in short order. Maybe everyone already does this, but I'm offering it up in good faith.

This is the method that I use and will add a caution note....On the "upstroke" you should stop just shy of the muzzle, you will get wet and black, you need not ask how I know.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Not to beat a dead horse here but I am off Ballistol now as well due to seeing a little rust on my patches today (I do not use water) while cleaning the patent breech in the rifle. G96 is fine for me from now on just like my other guns. The only thing different on the ML was the Ballistol, I used it because it came with the rifle and lots of guys seem to like it. If it works for you, great, but it's not for me.

 

[chix2111]

Why, on god's green earth would ANYONE EVER mix Ballistol with water. I know people do it, I know people defend it, I just have never heard a reasonable excuse for it, and I'm sure if the German chemist that invented it heard of someone doing it, he would slash his wrists, or wish a long slow viral death on the perp.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

I just used it straight from the little bottle...anyhow, will see how it goes with just G96 instead....

 

[SDSmlf]

Why, on god's green earth would ANYONE EVER mix Ballistol with water. I know people do it, I know people defend it, I just have never heard a reasonable excuse for it, and I'm sure if the German chemist that invented it heard of someone doing it, he would slash his wrists, or wish a long slow viral death on the perp.

I’m guessing the people on God’s green earth that invented and sell the stuff recommend mixing Ballistol and water, that’s probably why people mix Ballistol and water. Maybe you should contact Ballistol and let them know the error of their ways. Bet they would love to hear your expert opinion.

 

[Hawken]

Why, on god's green earth would ANYONE EVER mix Ballistol with water. I know people do it, I know people defend it, I just have never heard a reasonable excuse for it ...

It was developed to be mixed with water, that's what makes it so effective. The instructions on the can recommend the actual mix ratio. 50/50 for BlackPowder, 90% water and 10% Ballistol for corrosive ammunition.

Oil or petroleum solvents can't remove nor neutralize corrosive salt byproducts, a chemical salt is only completely removed in water or water based cleaners. Ballistol debuted at a time when corrosive powders and primers were state of the art.

I suspect this is sometimes why both BlackPowder firearms and corrosive ammunition in general are so maligned by some, because simply running an oiled patch down the bore will not stop corrosion, the corrosive salts become embedded deep in the grooves and pores of the metal. "I oiled the gun, WTF!?" Hot, near boiling water has long been an excellent cleaning solvent for any firearm, but a lot of people screech like wounded eagles at the mere suggestion of it today. Ballistol is a very good firearms cleaner, lubricant, and preservative. It has stench that is unparalleled however.