Superstitions and traditions

[Zonie]

The term "seasoning a barrel" came from Thompson Center during the early 1970's. It was used in advertisements that were trying to sell Thompson Center's patch lube "Bore Butter".
I think they jumped on the term because the patch lube has butter in the name and (for those who don't know) the stuff is yellow, like butter.

The ad's did a lot of talk about the Bore Butter soaking into the pores of the steel just like butter does with a cast iron skillet, even though they should have known that wrought steel bar's don't have the open grain structure that cast iron has so the whole idea is silly. The ad's urged shooters to liberally coat their bores with their Bore Butter after cleaning their guns to season and protect them. (Uses a lot more of their product than just using it as a patch lube.)

Oddly, Thompson Center's Bore Butter does a rather poor job of protecting a freshly cleaned bore and it does nothing at all to "season" it.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Just me but I will hang a claw or some other do dad from the trigger guard a small piece of antler carved in to a shape harvested from a deer shot with the particular rifle. had a old grey beard years ago tell me it is good medicine for the rifle.

 

[BJHabermehl]

Some Berks county guns were made with prayer holes drilled in the patch box cavity. A piece of paper was inscribed with a prayer or blessing in German, and rolled up and inserted into the hole. BJH

 

[Crow-Feather]

Because modern barrels are made of steel not iron.

Thank you for your reply. I always felt that applying bore butter to a hot barrel was better than applying it to a cold barrel. Can't explain why. It just seems the proper thing to do.

 

[Nazgul58]

Alle Kunst ist umsonst
Wenn ein Engel in das Zündloch Prunst.

"All skill is without value, when an angel pees in your touchhole".

LD

Love it!!

Don

 

[Grenadier1758]

Alle Kunst ist umsonst
Wenn ein Engel in das Zündloch Prunst.

"All skill is without value, when an angel pees in your touchhole".

LD

That's not superstition, that's truth!

 

[Mark Herman]

Gandhi, you forgot the garlic to keep a werewolf from slapping your trigger. Helps the fragrance too.

 

[toot]

put it in the oven covered in lard like a cast iron frying pan and bake it for 2 hours at 150 degrees. now that will season it! it works with a cast iron pan?

 

[Kansas Kid]

Aren’t you supposed to cast your round ball by the full moon?

 

[Grenadier1758]

Aren’t you supposed to cast your round ball by the full moon?

Only if you are casting silver bullets for werewolves and vampires.

 

[Kansas Kid]

Only if you are casting silver bullets for werewolves and vampires.

Whew thanks, thought I was doing it wrong all these years.

 

[FPrice]

How does one go about getting a bad spirit on the barrel in the first place???

Buy some cheap liquor down at the border???

 

[Grenadier1758]

Lose confidence in yourself and the bad spirit follows you or use Pyrodex and don't clean the rifle.

 

[omark]

The 1st shot from a new barrel should always be At a full moon. It straightens the barrel. Mark

 

[tim pauoski]

Because modern barrels are made of steel not iron.

I think everyone is missing the point. First carbon steel (sheet metal cookware) has been and is seasoned all the time. The fact is seasoning like that used on cookware is a surface coating and is not a polymerization where molecules are combined therefore your barrel is not seasoned. You could do it to a gun barrel but who would want to wipe your barrel down with something like flax seed oil and then heat the barrel to 475 degrees for an hour and do this over and over again. A key I have found and good advice from others over the years is , don't use a petro based lube to protect the barrel internals. I have used wonder lube for years and also use it after cleaning and before the firearm is put away. Mixing an oiled barrel and an animal based or water based patch lube will cause fliers on the first and often second shot. A well seasoned barrel is like a well seasoned shooter, it gets that way by doing the same thing over and over again.

 

[Bob McBride]

May be something to this one as have seen INRI carved into the wrist? Also heard another, when rifling first developed, it was thought derived thru the devil and your thumb on a silver inlay in the wrist protected you. Come to think about it my first custom rifle has a silver wrist inlay.

My squirrel gun has silver and INRI. I might drive without a seatbelt but I'm taking no chances with the Limb Chickens....

 

[Dillon W.]

I won't shoot on Good Friday, or Christmas Day, have found bad luck follows me if I do.

I believe there’s some truth to this. I really, REALLY hate to admit this, but this past Christmas Day I went out shooting with my stepson who was home from the marines, anyways, I put a 22 round in my foot after cleaning my Ruger Mark iii that evening.....

 

[Bob McBride]

There’s a bucket list item checked off. You got an ace to throw down around the campfire....

 

[tenngun]

If you are absolutely determined to try and season your barrel. try a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic, lard and flour. While your barrel sill rot it will also smell like biscuits. That's the only kind of seasoning I know of.

I had not been shooting too long, and not yet seen 20.
I had moved on my own so I couldn’t dip in to the home crisco can for Patch lube( I was told it was the best).
I bought a can but the store was all out of regular, they did have butter flavored( I learned how to make biscuits with it) so I hit that to shoot with.
Went to a club meet that weekend with a whole lot of butter flavored patches.
‘Boy, every time you shoot it smells like your burning eggs!’ Followed by ‘Boy, move on down wind would ya’
I never used it again but the gun shot center ( wish I could shoot as well at this age) but I ‘spect that seasoned that old Mowrey

 

[Rifleman1776]

How does one go about getting a bad spirit on the barrel in the first place???

You put a willow branch into the barrel the set it all in a flowing stream. I don't know how long it takes but that removes the evil spirits.