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Best barrel rust preventer ?

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IMO. It all depends on how long you are going to store a gun until it’s next shooting. If you shoot it each weekend almost any oil or grease will do as long as it is cleaned properly and all traces of BP removed. For longer periods of time I believe the more viscous the better. You are basically trying to keep oxygen and moisture away from the metal. The military found out cosmoline was the best for long term storage, but I am sure most don’t want to go to that extent. In the past synthetic motor oils ie Mobile one have not been well thought of for long storage with engines, because they are are so thin and slippery, they don’t stay on parts and they corrode.
 
IMO. It all depends on how long you are going to store a gun until it’s next shooting. If you shoot it each weekend almost any oil or grease will do as long as it is cleaned properly and all traces of BP removed. For longer periods of time I believe the more viscous the better. You are basically trying to keep oxygen and moisture away from the metal. The military found out cosmoline was the best for long term storage, but I am sure most don’t want to go to that extent. In the past synthetic motor oils ie Mobile one have not been well thought of for long storage with engines, because they are are so thin and slippery, they don’t stay on parts and they corrode.


I was a firearm instructor/armorer the last several years I worked. We used a lot of different firearm lubricants over the course of my career. We needed something better to lubricate AR-15 rifles and carbines that would be stored in trunks in all kinds of weather and not used for months. Mobil 1 Synthetic Motor Oil worked best out of all the lubricants we used. Mobil 1 would adhere to high wear parts, such as gas rings, and we did not have to replace as many gas rings as we did when using other lubricants.

I am new to the black powder/muzzle loader game; I have only been doing it for 2 years. I follow a thorough cleaning regimen and have been using Mobil 1 on my muzzle loaders for 2 years. Two of the muzzle loaders I inspected yesterday were lubricated with Mobil 1, I had not fired them for one year, and the bores are still shiny. They had the same lubricant I applied one year ago.

IMHO, if a person thoroughly cleans a firearm and applies a decent lubricant to surfaces that might rust, the options for lubricants are many. Lubricants are not a substitute for maintenance. Pick something that works for you and stick with it.
 
Why do muzzleloaders have so many problems with rust preventatives? Smokeless folks don’t seem to have the problem. Could it be that the bore just isn’t totally clean from black powder fouling before applying rust preventatives? You would almost think that was the case?
 
In 40 years of shooting muzzleloaders, I have followed the following cleaning/preserving process: Pump hot soapy water through the bore (I also clean the lock and other parts the same way), pump hot water through the bore; pour boiling water through the bore (and over the other metal parts); dry thoroughly: spray with WD-40 liberally; (the only thing I do in life LIBERALLY); dry and coat with Bore Butter (barrel, bore, lock, etc.,); two days later send a dry patch through the bore to check for any missed fouling; if long-term storage, re-coat with Bore Butter. I have NEVER had any "residual rust" or other issue to deal with. My storage conditions are 50% or less humidity. Other conditions may require other treatments. I pass one clean patch down the bore before shooting, and that is all. Never found any rust/fouling after following this procedure. Substituting olive oil, bear oil, or other vapor barrier may produce similar results.

ADK Bigfoot
 
I just began cleaning an older, new-to-me .50 cal. CVA barrel that my initial check with a drop-in bore light made my heart sink a bit, appeared to have rust and some scaling. I liberally dosed the barrel, standing in a large bucket, with Fluid Film and let it stand for a couple of hours. Put a brush into the barrel - (brushes scare me) - pushed the brush in, pulled it out, checked that it was still firmly screwed into the TOTW steel range-rod, repeated a couple of dozen times and then began to clean with patches. Dirty, rusty returns, used .45 cal jag, cotton gun patches doubled and after a couple dozen swabbings, I am still getting a slight rust staining - more to do. Dropped the bore light in, mild generalized small pits but good rifling and bore in pretty fair condition. I bought the Fluid Film after reading a lot of very positive comments about it recently. I also use Barricade, and like it.
 
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