Ballistol (Everything about it)

[rfd]

tepid tap water to me is "room temperature" or thereabouts, i just left out the "tap" in my earlier post. bottom line for me, never hot water down the tube. nor soap or alcohol or washer fluid or what not, imo. to each their own, i look to the past first, before the present, to see and compare all things about trad muzzleloaders. plain ol' water is all it takes, as was done for hundreds of years and those guns lasted for generations. my modern approach is to use ballistol with the water as insurance that some amount of preserving is being administered during range/field cleaning. i do that to all my bp guns, muzzle and breech.

[RBak]

Thanks 54 Bore for sharing this.
I've been using it for a few years now, but I never knew any of the "good stuff" that goes with it.

Russ...

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

'ye gotta bore butter yer bore to season it!

[54bore]

'ye gotta bore butter yer bore to season it!

No not i, I shoot paper patched and sized bullets, the last thing i need/want is bore butter! I use no kind of lube, when i clean my rifles they are down to bare steel, after drying them out good i use a good quality gun oil to protect inside and out.

[waksupi]

'ye gotta bore butter yer bore to season it!

Cough cough BS! You must not shoot in cold weather!

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

Cough cough BS! You must not shoot in cold weather!

Heck, If I can't wear my flip flops, loin cloth and drink my Latte, I ain't goin out shootin!

'Course, Im just messing around about that seasoning your bore stuff LOL. I season mine with black powder fouling and as little lube on my patch as I can apply.

[RBak]

There are a lot of people that still think you can "season a barrel" like you do a cast iron skillet.
The advertising effort put forth to promote such nonsense was extremely successful and refuses to go away.
The molecular structure of today's modern made barrels simply does not permit this, but the wishful thinking refuses to die.

Russ

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

When i tried it, I found that it made the fouling worse. Never really believed it in much in the first place. Some legends (or tall tales) just never die.

[Geezer in NH]

Smells yukkkkkkk!

[smokeater]

Ballistol is all my guns get bathed in. I like that it is a one in all lube/cleaner/perservative, kinda like WD40. As far as the smell goes, the results one gets from it far out weighs the smell. Using Ballistol in the bore of my 44Spec has resulted in a very glassy bore that after a shooting session at the range, the bore is still pristine after only running a dry patch thru it. But, to each their own. My favorite is mine only, your favorite may suit your needs better.

[johnson1942]

it is well known to avid fishermen or fishergals that WD40 sprayed on a lure can attract fish and you can catch more fish useing it. does any one know if ballistol works on fishing lures also in attracting fish to them?

[Bent Ramrod]

Someone who likes the bouquet of blackpowder smoke during the morning's shooting session ought to be able to appreciate the gourmet subtleties of the scent of Ballistol in the subsequent cleaning operation.

I leave a thin smear of the stuff on all surfaces of my black powder guns, no more. The only problem I ever heard of with Ballistol was when it was first imported. A revolver shooter figured that if a little Ballistol was good, a lot more would be better. He stored his single-action Colts in Baggies with a couple tablespoonfuls of Ballistol in there for sure-fire, long-term protection.

Unfortunately, he neglected the fine print that stated Ballistol is a great cure for rust. Bluing, browning and casehardening colors are also "rust," of course, and the next time he took his guns out, the 75% finish specimens were down to 25%, and the 40% ones were down to white metal.

I've never seen this happen with the wipedown layer I have on my guns, but I do note that if I wipe the browned barrel of my Pedersoli caplock after a week or so in the safe, I get a slight red color on the cloth. It doesn't seem to diminish the color of the barrel, but some does come off regardless. I've not seen the same thing happen with blued or casehardened parts. But I'll take that inconsequential property in return for the worry-free preservation of my BP guns stored in the safe.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Thanks for the post, Bent Ramrod. That is exactly the information I've been looking for with this product, as I've been looking for one to replace what I've been using for long term storage. Wouldn't want to open a storage case in 3-5 years and have damaged the bluing.

But I've been sold on Ballistol by some of the other posts citing its usefulness at the range for swabbing bores, etc. Not too sure if I'll use it as my primary cleaning agent after returning home. I've gotten by for years with the hot, soapy water followed by oil.

[Standing Bear]

I tried Ballistol about 11 years ago. Ok. Leaner but I took a new job and left one of my long rifles w the bore wiped w Ballistol. A few months later "when the dust had settled " I ran a patch thru the bore and. HORRORS - RUST. Cleaned and cleaned to get kinda ok. Used green scotch rite and even steel wool. Someone said the Ballistol was still cleaning. BS. This was brownish red. BP residue is black to dark red. No more Ballistol for me.
TC

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

yep that " raising the rust from the pours" is total BS about ballistol. Its rust.

[GoexBlackhorn]

I didn't touch my T/C renegade for seven years. Had Ballistol in the bore from day-1. It never rusted.

Got to keep where you storing your MLs nice and dry year-round. Make sure both ends of the barrel breathe in storage also. No trapped air inside the bore. That's why I never install my nipples or breechplugs during long storage and keep my MLs pointed muzzle-down .

Here in the Upper Midwest / Great Lakes region, humidity plays havoc for 4-5 months of the year. Got to keep the area surrounding your guns at no more than 60% humidity in those months. If you do that, your MLs with even value-priced Hoppes Gun Oil will be fine.

I've got a Mossberg shotgun that hasn't been touched in 14 years. It's fine inside that bore. I'm guessing that one has Rem-Oil with Teflon in the bore. That's what I used back then.