Non-petroleum based lube/cleaner

[Marc Adamchek]

My stash of original Lehigh Valley lube is nearly gonzo. These days, I only use it to clean my rifle every 4 - 5 shots.

I justfiguredI'd buy a bunch of the replacement Shenandoah Valley lube to take over these cleaning chores, but I can'tr find it(!) TOW doesn't seem to stock it.

Anybody got a line on thei stuff, or can suggest a good non pretroleum based product I could use to clean the bores, strictly between shots, not for ultimate rust protection.?

Many Thanks - Marc

 

[George]

Anybody got a line on thei stuff, or can suggest a good non pretroleum based product I could use to clean the bores, strictly between shots, not for ultimate rust protection.?

Tap water. Ours is usually petroleum free. :haha:

Spence

 

[leslie]

Water or windshield washer fluid,if you think you need something other than water.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Spit.

 

[Black Hand]

Water.

 

[ericb]

Ditto on H2O or good old spit. Alternately you could whip up a batch of Moose Milk; it's great stuff...

Eric

 

[atki]

Birddog6's Black powder Bore cleaner and swabbing lube.
http://custommuzzleloaders.com/grease.html

He only shows his grease, which is great. He also has the liquid. He will send you a sample if you write to him. While on his website, check out the beautiful guns he makes.

wb

 

[tg]

Spit is usually the favoured between shot cleaner around this neck of the woods, very easy to use and usually available, I used to carry my water bottle incase I dried up but don't wipe as often now that I use a smoothbore....the bore that is, er..the gun bore.

 

[David W.]

Spit is usually the favoured between shot cleaner around this neck of the woods, very easy to use and usually available, I used to carry my water bottle incase I dried up but don't wipe as often now that I use a smoothbore....the bore that is, er..the gun bore.

Thanks much for clarifying that! :surrender:

 

[Maven]

Marc, As others have mentioned, you can't beat the price and/or availability of saliva or water for a patch lube/bbl. cleaning agent. However, when I don't want to use those, I use Winchester Sutler's "Moose Milk;" "Old Slickum" (Dixie Gun Works; or Friendship Speed Juice (recipe below):

1 part rubbling (isopropyl alcohol, 70% - 90%);
1 part Murphy's Oil Soap;
1 part Hydrogen peroxide (2% solution).

Store the stuff in a dark, opaque bottle and don't leave it in the bbl. for more than 10 mins. Some say it attacks stock finishes (I've never experienced that problem.), so use it carefully. Lastly, it quickly removes BP residue from your hands too.

 

[ericb]

Ya know, tg, your comment on wiping brings up an aspect of Historical Correctness that I don't ever recall seeing addressed before....

Eric

 

[William O.]

The best thing I have found for swabbing the bore is an alcohol dampened cleaning patch.

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Good Call, Bull, thanks. I use denatured alcohol to clean out the EEZOX rust protectant I swab the bores with after cleaning. I'll just bring it along and try that.

I've tried spit and water, (one time almost tried piss) but It didn't seem to clean out all the crud that efficiently.

When I clean the barrel at home it takes me MANY water & Dawn soaked patches to get it good and clean.

I'm used to just running down 2 patches at most at the range to have the bore free and easy for another 5 or 6 shots.

Just spoiled and lazy, I guess.

 

[shortbow]

On the other hand, unless you just really like swabbing your bore a lot, have a look at Roundball's topic above about liquid wonder lube.

 

[William O.]

Good Call, Bull, thanks. I use denatured alcohol to clean out the EEZOX rust protectant I swab the bores with after cleaning. I'll just bring it along and try that.

I've tried spit and water, (one time almost tried piss) but It didn't seem to clean out all the crud that efficiently.

When I clean the barrel at home it takes me MANY water & Dawn soaked patches to get it good and clean.

I'm used to just running down 2 patches at most at the range to have the bore free and easy for another 5 or 6 shots.

Just spoiled and lazy, I guess.

I've tried spit (I run out quickly), expensive pre-mixed black powder cleaners, etc., but to quickly remove 90% of the crud by just swabbing with an alcohol patch seems to work the best for me. Be sure that the cleaning patch isn't dripping with alcohol, just dampened. My rifles don't need to be swabbed after every shot, just when loading becomes a little more difficult but running 2-3 alcohol patches down the barrel after a day at the range really cuts down on the amount of time I spend at home cleaning with soapy water. Then one patch before another shooting session gaurantees that none of the rust prevention oil remains to foul the powder charge.

 

[roundball]

I've only tried a few lubes and am no authority...but so far, Hoppes PLUS BP is the best liquid lube I've ever used at the range.

And oddly, it actually must have a trace of very refined petroleum in it as I think the label states...(by law)...that it contains Kerosene.
But obviously at such a minimal / trace level as to not be a bother in the normal context we think of about petroleum products & BP.

Bottom line, I personally think Hoppes PLUS BP is an outstanding lube, and think of it as the benchmark against which other liquid lubes are to be measured...I've bought it at a low price by the case of 8oz bottles from Sportsmans Guide.

 

[Bob J]

I use a little bit of Ballistol mixed with water in a pump bottle when at the range, between shots, and for a quick clean-up before heading home. Use the same mixture with E-Z Clean flush kit at the house, dry thoroughly, then straight Ballistol for bore protection.

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Thanks, Bill - I've got to get my hands on some. And as you have confirmed, the amount of petroleum based ingredient(kerosene in this case) must be very minimal if you can swab your barrel with it at the range and then continue shooting.

 

[roundball]

And you don't even have to swab the barrel with it...just squeeze a few squirts of it into a bag of patches and squish them all around so they're glistening wet with the Hoppes...then just start loading and shooting, no wiping of any kind is rquired until you're done...

 

[chipper c]

you can find shenandoah valley shooting patch lubricant bore cleaner at midwayusa.com