Ballistol?

[Danny Ross]

I have seen a lot of you on here use Ballistol to protect the barrel bore and use it as a patching lube. My question is: If it is used as a patching lube and to protect the barrel bore, is there any Real reason to worry about swabbing the barrel and cleaning it with alcohol prior to shooting it, if Ballistol was used to coat the barrel bore after the last cleaning? I can see swabbing to remove any excess Ballistol that might be in the barrel, but don't understand why any further action would be needed. DANNY

 

[trent/OH]

I've used Ballistol for upwards of 10 years now for patch lube and cleaning afterward. One or two dry patches down the barrel before shooting and I'm ready for action. No need for alcohol on the patch.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Do a search for other posts on this topic. I find it good for cleaning and lubing small parts. My finding is it is not a good bore protector. Others differ. But, I know rust when I see it.

 

[necchi]

Rifleman is right, do a little more looking and you'll find that many do not use Ballistol for storage or rust protection.
It's a water soluble mineral oil,,
It's the water soluble part that makes it a poor rust preventive, it's possible for it to pull in moisture from the air,, bad joo-joo when trying to avoid rust.

 

[Al Wolgen]

I was hoping to find this stuff in my area, but no luck. So I grabbed some olive oil to try as a patch lube. Balls nearly rammed themselves down my barrel, rifle fired just fine each time.

 

[sail32]

I live in Vancouver BC, and we get lots of rain and it’s humid here, and Ballistol is not hygroscopic, it doesn’t absorb water.
Ballistol is water soluble and the water will evaporate and leave a film of oil.
Ballistol was originally developed for the German Army for weapon cleaning.
A friend cleans leaves his weapons with a coating of WD-40, another water soluble oil.
I use a mix of Ballistol and water to pre-soak my pre-cut patches and squeeze them so they are damp for a days shooting.
After a shoot, while at the range, I run 2 or 3 soaking wet patches of the Ballistol and water mix through the barrel of my Pedersoli Hawken. I can leave the mix in the barrel for a couple of days and clean it when I am ready with no signs of rust.
For cleaning black powder, the Ballistol and water mix is great, I mix 50/50 or a greater percentage of Ballistol.
Ballistol is like any other oil or cleaning product, read the instructions.

 

[sail32]

The use of olive oil for patching is interesting.
In the “Muzzle-Loading Cap Lock Rifle”, by Ned H. Roberts, he mentions that sperm whale oil was the preferred lube for muzzle loading target rifles.

 

[Al Wolgen]

Read that recently, too. There are also old ship cargo records of "sweet oil" (olive oil) shipped for use as patch lube. So I figgered "why not" and tried a couple of drops per patch AFTER I had shot a few groups already. Worked very well, easier to find than whale oil 'round here.

 

[bpd303]

I too know rust when I see it. The first time I used Ballistol was when I was working up a load for a Mowrey rifle I had just obtained. The bore was like a mirror when I first shot it. After my first session I thoroughly cleaned the bore with warm water, dried it and swabbed it with Ballistol. The next day when I was continuing to work up a load I ran a tight patch down the bore and it came out rust reddish brown. I will never use Ballistol as a bore protector again, but switched to Barricade and no such problems. http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/280346/

 

[George T.]

Years ago I bought into the one oil does it all claims and soon found that it was a pretty fair cleaner but it did not stop rust in the Texas humidity. I use it in Moose Milk and expect to use the dry patch system but I do bot use it for storing my rifles. Geo. T.

 

[necchi]

and Ballistol is not hygroscopic, it doesn’t absorb water.

Ok, your right, I see how what I said is wrong.

I believe what happens with Ballistol as a rust preventive, is in some areas and in the right temp swing conditions moisture will form on metals (well heck, dew forms on everything) and it's when that type of thing happens a water soluble oil will do ya no good even if it is a barrier inside a bore, if water is present it'll mix with it.

Don't get me wrong,
It's good stuff, I use it regularly, just not as my preferred rust preventive storage oil.

 

[Rifleman1776]

easier to find than whale oil 'round here.

There are still plenty around. Just look in any Walmart store. Unfortunately shooting them in the store is not permitted. :wink:

 

[sail32]

I have run into the red patch syndrome after cleaning my muzzleloaders.
The full procedure for cleaning my Pedersoli 0.54 cal. Hawken is the following.

I run 2 or 3 soaking wet patches of Ballistol and water mix at the range using both sides of the patch.

At home, which may be one or 2 days later, I dismount the barrel from the stock and unscrew the nipple.
With a bucket of clean hot water I used a flexible cleaning (range) rod and patch to pump water in the barrel and through the nipple opening. I do this until the water exiting the nipple opening does not contain black water.
I put the nipple back in the barrel and pump water through it until clean. I find 2 half buckets of water are enough.
I dry the barrel with patches and run ballistol soaked patches through the barrel until they come out clean. The number varies and depends upon the water cleaning stage.

I shot my Hawken on the 2nd of June, about 40 shots, and cleaned it on the 4th of June.
Considering bdp303 rust remarks I pulled it out of the cabinet today, the 17th of June.
The first patch was a oil soaked brown, the second was mostly dry with brown from the groves.
A bore light down the barrel showed a bright shine bore.
Also a wipe of the exterior of the Hawken showed no brown stain on the patch.

In the description of Ballistol’s properties, it is described as having a penetrating ability which I think results in the brown patches which after a few days is stuff (?) that has worked out of the metal pours of the barrel..

I have used any number of cleaning products and any firearm will need to be cleaned more than once with any of the products I have tried. Try cleaning with your favourite cleaner on the day of the shoot , put it away for a couple of days and clean it again, you may be disappointed.

For the ex-service types, remember cleaning every day ?

A number of the shooters over at CasCity.com also like Ballistol.

My apologizes for being long winded, but for black powder guns I prefer Ballistol,
Your opinion may differ.

 

[Al Wolgen]

easier to find than whale oil 'round here.

There are still plenty around. Just look in any Walmart store. Unfortunately shooting them in the store is not permitted. :wink:

LOL! Had to read that twice before it struck me like a harpoon. Good one :haha:

 

[cschibi]

as a newbee I also used this forum to see what the "experienced" guys were doing and recommending.

My humble conclusion... I use Ballistol to help clean and lube my firearms in between range sessions (5-7 days). For longer term storage i.e. - Rust Prevention... I use Birchwood Casey's - Barricade formerly known as Sheath.

So far... when I do a bore check with a bore light and passing a clean patch through the bore before my next shooting date, I have not seen ANY rust...

That's my experience, please take that for what ever its worth.