what to use under the barrel

[Crockford]

Booger Bear oil tends to be a little sticky and can be tricky to wipe off.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I have some whale oil. I should use it on my lock. I got it from a great uncle when I was a kid, probably 60 years ago. He worked as an adding machine repair man for a big bank. He said it was the only mineral weight oil that would not go rancid. I'm not so sure about that since that last time I opened the bottle was about 20 years ago and it smelled pretty bad.

I also have some of the real stuff, It was even used to lubricate the bearings in the Hubble telescope that they sent into space.I use the synthetic (jobalo bean oil ) that Dixie sells, it Even smells the same.

 

[oldwood]

Minwax .. Petrolium oils and wood don't play well together. Put a coat of penetrating wood finish inside the barrel channel , and Minwax on the barrel. All well be good for a long time.

 

[45man]

I found most water that gets in a pan comes down the barrel channel in the rain. I coat the channel thick and squeeze the barrel in, then polish off excess.

 

[Newtire]

the nauga animal is a little smaller than a doe, so i should think three or four ... i can ask my eldest daughter; she does leatherworking for the Rennaissance Faire circuit ... maybe five if you're a really big guy, like a defensive center.

If I remember from the Naugahide commercials, the Nauga was pretty much on the husky side.

 

[Flintandsteel]

Well, I guess I’ve been doing this wrong for the last 30 years. I’ve built over 100 guns, and have never done anything to the bottom of the barrel channel, lock mortise, or any other inlay.
Check any original, they didn’t do it either.
I guess, if I had to, a single, thin coat of stock finish would seal it fine.

 

[tenngun]

I like to oil finish the channel then wax it.
All my guns now are pinned and it’s rare I remove the barrel

 

[DuncNZ]

I oil finish the channel then use a bees wax based wood floor polish , put too much on then squeeze the barrel in and wipe off the excess . Powder horns were issued to British military riflemen to back up their paper cartridges for their 1776 rifles used in the American war . as were tin powder measures. All end grain wood ( under butt plate etc.) is treated with artists grade boiled linseed oil to protect from water absorption expanding the wood fibers and cracking the stock .

 

[Coinneach]

Mmmm Kay, let's play. Nothing but sperm whale oil for oil. No aluminum molds. Use only a coal or wood fire to melt lead for bullets. No machine woven pillow ticking. No nails holding yer shooting box together, handmade dovetails only. Ride a horse to the range. Ditch short starters, not historically accurate. Powder from a horn only unless military, then paper cartridges. No modern steels or springs.

Stop and think a bit on just how much modern influences there are in our "traditional" shooting. A glass bed with beeswax will go a long way towards rust prevention and can contribute to accuracy.

Additionally at least 20% of us should have Scurvy or the Pox (either kind), over 50% smoke a Clay Pipe and / or chew Tobacco and spit wherever we please.