Falling out f love with Ballistol

[bingo1952]

I have noticed lately that the day after I clean and lube a bore with this stuff I can run a patch downbore and it comes out rusty. I never had this problem with Break Free or even the old standby LSA. I also hate the smell of the stuff. Im switching back to a better bore lube. It may be OK as a patch lube but as a rust preventative it stinks.
:2

 

[J.D.]

I've noticed the same thing, but didn't want to bring it up.

Like you, I prefer BreakFree in my bores. Never had after rust with Breakfree.

 

[Swampman]

I like Break-Free.

 

[smokehouseman]

I can't really comment on Ballistol but would like to share an observation about bore butter.

My hunting pard liberally coats his bore with bore butter upon completion of his cleaning process and then puts his gun to bed. Now let me say before coating it with bore butter his gun is throughly dried out and free of moisture (so he thinks). He showed me a patch he put down his barrel prior to shooting. The patch came out blackish brown appearing as if the gun had just been fired. When I commented on it he said he had been using that procedure for years and was satisfied because he had good tight groups at 100 yards, for which I can vouch.

I looked down the bore with a light and what I observed was a somewhat pitted groves which I think will become much worse in time.

My point being that I suspect bore butter could possibly be the culprit. I have another hunting pard who uses the exact cleaning technique with the same results although not quite as dark and rusty looking.

I'll continue to finish off my bore with Sheath oil and wipe out prior to shooting.

 

[jbwilliams3]

I’ve been trying olive oil lately. I just checked the bore last night after three-weeks’ storage, and it was bright and shiny. Will try for longer period this time as it is in a gun I don’t use often.

 

[bingo1952]

Did you just look at it with a bore light or did you actually push a patch down it? I have seen bores that looked bright but a patch would tell the tale.

 

[Swampman]

If you run a patch down it, you'll have to re-oil it. I've had good luck with olive oil too.

I was using an olive oil based commerical patch lube on Saturday & Sunday that Ken Guy gave me, and I had almost no fouling in my bore at the end of the day. One patched cleaned it, and a few paper towel patches dried it.

 

[jbwilliams3]

Nope, always check with dry patches. So far, nothing coming back on the patches but olive oil. And, of course, the bore is re-oiled afterwards.

 

[jbwilliams3]

oh, and I'm pretty ocd about my bore being clean for storage, so I run multiple patches to make absolutely sure there's nothing in there I don't want. I was thinking the olive oil would go rancid... So far, it hasn't. I've heard of some folks who had good results, so I figured I'd give it a shot when my wife and I relocated and I salvaged a half-used amount of oil in a kitchen dispenser that was getting tossed.

 

[J.D.]

I was using an olive oil based commerical patch lube on Saturday & Sunday that Ken Guy gave me, and I had almost no fouling in my bore at the end of the day. One patched cleaned it, and a few paper towel patches dried it.

Hmmm, interesting. What would that patch lube be called?

God Bless,
J.D.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

I was using an olive oil based commerical patch lube on Saturday & Sunday that Ken Guy gave me, and I had almost no fouling in my bore at the end of the day. One patched cleaned it, and a few paper towel patches dried it.

Hmmm, interesting. What would that patch lube be called?

Sounds like "Fantasy Lube" to me ...

 

[R.M.]

Well, after reading this, I went out and checked the gun that I shot yesterday. I lubed the bore with Ballistol, and today the patches came out as if it were brand spanking new.
This is the first time using it, so I was concerned, but so far so good. I will keep an eye on it.

 

[Bob Riegl]

:v I have had the same feelings re:Ballistol. I think it was hyped up by a few people as the new "Magic Bullet." I couldn't get past the Butyric acid used in the stuff, it really stinks like skunk on a wet hound dog. I do not have the "rust" problem using Ballistol---my take on that "rust" is a color change that oils of a low viscosity pick up from the fowling still clinging to the walls of the barrel.That isn't "RUST" IMHO but a reaction between the oil and left over fowling. :thumbsup:

 

[bingo1952]

A plain old spit patch comes as close to doing that as anything I have tried up to this point. they work great on the range if you don't mind running around with a piece of rag hanging out of your mouth. :wink:

 

[bingo1952]

It was rust that came out of my Enfield barrel. I had pulled the breech plug to get rid of 20 some years of leading near the breech that took me a couple of hours to scrub out with bronze brushes. The barrel was squeaky clean when it was put away without a trace of rust coming out on a patch.

 

[rafterob]

Olive oil-multipurpose, cooking, skin care, gun oil....don't try putting balistol on yer salad :barf:

 

[Swampman]

The container is marked.....

Birddog6's Patch Grease

He has a website

 

[Zonie]

I have had my problems with Ballistol too.
After reading all of the "hype" I bought some and used it in my guns after throughly cleaning and drying them.

About a month later they all had light rusting in their bores.
After this, I switched back to my Birchwood Casey Sheath (now called Barricade) and I haven't seen any rust in any of my barrels since.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Back in the sixties the recommended oil to use was sperm whale oil ( which I still have a few ounces of ).I learned that while it was a good patch lube it wasn't a good rust preventive. I used a marine oil "right on " sold by the old Morse Control company as a rust preventive until I used up my supply of it. Now I use Spray on anti rust spray 709. Available from industrial supply companies such as J&L. My target rifle barrel still looks like new in the bore after over five thousnad rounds over twenty years.The main thing is to get the bore clean and dry then oil well.

 

[Bob J]

Well, after reading this, I went out and checked the gun that I shot yesterday. I lubed the bore with Ballistol, and today the patches came out as if it were brand spanking new.
This is the first time using it, so I was concerned, but so far so good. I will keep an eye on it.

I've had good results with Ballistol, been using it about 5 years now.