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Barrel swabbing between shots

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Rifleman1776 said:
I cannot find ballistol here in Wasilla, Alaska.

That is very fortunate. :grin:
Being in Alaska you have access to many natural fats and oils that will work well for you. e.g. whale, seal, walrus, bear, snow snake, etc. Try 'em, you will like them.



....plus the fur snakes also supplies high quality and valuable fur. :grin:
 
I can't find Ballistol anywhere in NY. Just order it from track of the wolf or other places.

I really like the dutch shoultz method myself. Not only the gun groups great. The gun shoots many shots before any misfiring act ups.. It is also not too greasy or messy. And when your done shooting, you gun is much easier to clean up afterwards too.

A 16oz can would last a few years for the avid yet not overly fanatic shooter.
 
I am gradually converting to the modern method of merchandising.
I spent a few days trying to find something in stores with no luck. My daughter found it right away on the internet.


Ballistol is available all over the internet.

Don't buy the spray variety.
As you say, a 16 oz. will last a long long time.

The internet has become an amazing source of just about everything.
Dutch Schoultz
 
I can't find Ballistol anywhere in NY.

As I said, you are very fortunate for that. I hate to disagree with Dutch, but I strongly dislike Ballistol. Bad luck with it on several counts. :cursing: And, I don't see the use of alcohol as being beneficial. :shake: The stuff evaporates so fast it's gone before it can provide any cleaning benefit.
Do like the original mountain men did, use windshield washer fluid or Windex. :wink:
Seriously, I find a flannel patch dampened with saliva excellent for between shot swabbing. And, cleaning after a shooting session is fine with soap and water. I use whatever soap is handy, often my wife's dishwasher stuff. Of course, water rinse and oiling are mandatory to the process of caring for yer rifle gun.
 
you don`t need Ballistol. you just need water soluble oil. Lenox Protool oil works wonders, and I have found it in every province that I have lived in or visited in Canada in the last 3 years, so 8 out of 10. comes in a little bottle and I use it in Dutch`s dry patch recipe in place of ballistol.
I find it at most places that specializes in selling metal machining tools, that kind of thing. I don`t suppose home dept or harbour freight will have it, I`ve never seen it there
 
You are not disagreeing with me as I am not arguing. Whatever works best in your experience is what you should use.
I mention Ballistol because so many have been pleased with it.
Edgewelder, an apparent Canadian praised Lennox water Soluble Oil as the best solution.
I don't know if the Lebbox product is an exclusively Canadian product or if it is available in the US.

I used water soluble oil, unbranded back in the olden days so feel the Lennox product might be better than Ballistol.

I am somewhat firm agains Hot Soapy water, but here again that is my opinion based on my experience which has the result of seasoning to steel of the barrel .
My rifle barrels , after wretched vision kept me from the range, (as apublc service) were storedin humid St. Louis and acquired no rusk or corrosion.



Has anyone found the Lennox product in the Continental US States?

Dutch Schoultz
 
If you want I can send you small amount of water soluble oil. I just used it today and was very happy with the preliminary test. I use it to make Dutches "Dry" patch. It works no doubt.

Thank you Dutch your paper was definitely a worthy read!!!!!
 
Dutch Schoultz said:
Has anyone found the Lennox product in the Continental US States?

Dutch Schoultz

For what it is worth, Lenox water soluble oils are available through MSC Industrial Supply. The oils are probably available at shops that supply metal working shops. Of course there are many other water soluble oils that may also be suitable for our application in bottles from 16 oz to 55 gallons.
 
And by the way, if you use Windex, you are using the definition of a concoction. A concoction is a mixture or combination of ingredients.
Windex contains:
WaterӬ
2-HexoxyethanolӬ (Cleaning AgentӬӬӬ)
IsopropanolamineӬ (Cleaning AgentӬӬӬ)
Ammonium HydroxideӬ (Cleaning AgentӬӬӬ)
Lauryl Dimethyl Amine OxideӬ (Wetting Agent)Ӭ
Sodium Dodecylbenzene SulfonateӬ (Wetting AgentӬӬӬ)
FragranceӬ
Liquitint (Sky Blue Dye”¨”¨)
and occasionally Windex with ammonia

You are using a "concoction," and didn't know it. :v
 
Homemade window cleaner....
gallon of water
cup of vinegar
cap full of ammonia.

Works great on windows when using a squeegee. never tried it on a muzzleloader... :grin:
 
I began shooting flintlocks back as a kid. An elderly gent showed me how to load and prime. He had an ancient recipe supposedly passed down thru several generations. It was simply beef tallow and beeswax. More beeswax in warm weather & less in the winter. I used that recipe for all my patches for several decades.

I read of many people using olive oil concoctions and of Dutch's "Dry Patch" using the demon Ballistol.

I'm no fan of Ballistol, either, but I had some old castor oil leftover from childhood model airplane engine fuel use. Straight castor oil should be avoided, since it produces a hard and nasty fouling, but for a dry patch, 1 part castor oil to 5 parts denatured alcohol, it's the best I've found yet. The DA evaporates out to leave a 'dry' patch lightly and evenly saturated with a fine amount of oil. Treated 'dry' patches load easily, and since there's not a heavy film of lubricant coating the barrel, produce next to no fouling. And, unlike Ballistol, they don't smell like you've been picking at a goat's butt. This is my ultimate patch lube and I'll never need to find anything else. IMO, It's the best there is.
 
Muamero,
Since the invention of gun powder it has always been considered wise to keep shooting equipment away from the visually impaired. Therefore don't send me the sample of the Lennox oil. I appreciate the offer. I've sent my rifles to Kansas city..

If one does an internet search for Lennox oil on the internet does it show multiple places where it can be obtained?

Ballistol was invented by the Germans in the late 1800's for both interior and exterior use on rifles. It is alleged to be good on bug bites.

I used to recommend NAPA Citting & Grinding Oil but they apparently changed their formula so some glycol goo that no doubt being good for cutting and grindin was not at all good as a ptch lube.
The mistake on patch lube that I originally believed was that Slicker was Better.
.
Yoo lick would allow the patched ball to leave the barrel when the powder had only begun to expand its gasses./
A wee bit of resistance with a perfect fitting patch seem to work wonders, to my very complete surprise.

Dutch Schoultz
 
AZmtnman.
The old time rifleman who guided you was like the very old timer ( God! I;ve become one) who gave me my Mosse milk recipe which I have since edited to eliminate the twoshots of Hydrogen Peroxide.
If there are a thousand riflemen there will probably be 800 different recipes.
While ine is basically water which I hate to put down a barrel, I used it sparibfly, only damp oo the wiping patch.

Dutch Schoultz
 
While your recipe for a between shot barrel swabbing liquid is a bit different from most, it obviously works. Your target says so. You just may have hit on something good. If I were you, I wouldn't change a thing. As you probably know, the purpose for swabbing between shots is not to completely clean your bore, it is to remove the heavy part of the fouling and to keep the bore consistent from shot to shot. Your concoction is doing that. Stick with it. :thumbsup:
 
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