Is your barrel really clean?

[54bore]

You think Ballistol is only mineral oil?....... not so. There's other additives in it. It's like the oil in your truck. There's base oil - then there are numerous additives.

I've never had Ballistol gum-up in a 4-6 month interval. Not even with centerfire actions (270 / 300WSM) that were in storage for a year.

Besides, we are discussing a barrel that's probably kept in a stable temperature and humidity level - probably in a gun safe. We aren't discussing taking this barrel/gun attached outside for a wide array of temps and humidity. We are talking storage.

I've never had Ballistol gum-up in my gun safe during storage.

Ballistol (meaning 'Ballistic Oil') is a mineral oil-based chemical which advertises that it has many uses. It was originally intended for cleaning, lubricating, and protecting firearms.

[54bore]

What storage oil are you coating that breech with? You want an oil that will continue to pull-up during storage..... something like Ballistol. It's not a product to store for multiple years without use. But for monitoring all that brown inside the bore, I'd stick with Ballistol for a while and run a patch down the bore 2-3 times in the next year.

Ballistol will continue to clean your bore during storage and offer the bore good protection.

I do not use ballistol, ive thought about it as a swab between shots mixture, but i have had GREAT luck using my 50/50 windex/92% Alcohol, Ballistol is one of the last oils i would use to protect stored away guns. If you are insinuating those rusty gunk patches are from my storage routine, REREAD my entire post. This rifle came from a Pawn shop, i had never cleaned the Patented Breech/Ante Chamber, My steam cleaner pulled this Gunk from it, there is definitely rust, but smelled VERY STRONG of a burnt grease smell, This was NOT FROM ME.

This is the one i use on my Muzzleloaders with STELLAR results. Not a hint of rust a year later

Attachment 193722

[Bent Ramrod]

Another vote for Ballistol.

The problem with a muzzleloader is that there is only one opening in the barrel, and the barrel is long. So, unlike a revolver barrel, which has a chance for air to flow through it, or the chambers in the cylinder, which are short enough to exchange air from the outside, the air in a muzzleloader barrel (and any trace of residual moisture) just stays in there. And, of course, eventually promotes rusting.

My .32 caliber was very bad about this. Cleaning with hot water and detergent, rinsing with hot water, drying with alcohol or acetone, a final dry patch, and then coating the inside with RIG (at that time, supposed to be the ultimate rust inhibitor), I still had to wipe out the barrel the next day or two with fresh RIG, just to make sure. If I neglected this chore, in a few more days I would find those alarming brown stains on the cleaning patch.

Since using Ballistol, none of this has happened. Ballistol/water until the patches are a light gray, then Ballistol as a final wipe. Yes, the coating turns to a kind of gooey grease. It even turns to a brown liquid with a crystalline precipitate when kept in a small bottle in the shooting kit. I shake it up and use it anyway. Much pleasanter wiping gooey grease out of the barrel than RIG and orange rust.

[Greg S]

Any chance there was a ball stuck in the breech at one time and some tried to fish it out and the cork screw came off the rod. They took it to a smith who adapted a zirc fitting and pumped the ball out with grease.

[725]

Well, I think I'll start looking for a steam cleaner. Have used Ballistol with less than satisfactory results. Currently I clean with a water based something -- Windex, Sol-Green, hot / soapy water, etc., dry it out and do a full cleaning with a penetrating oil like PB-Blaster, WD-40, Kroil, etc. and leave it wet until I reclean it a day or two later. The second cleaning always produces more fouling.

[GoexBlackhorn]

54Bore
Never said those brown patches was from something you did. Re-read my post.
I've been using Ballistol off & on for decades. Works great for pulling more krappola out of bores while in storage. That's what I've been pushing in this thread. Allowing you to watch your TV and let Ballistol work while you're nowhere near that gun.

I use Lucas Gun Oil and Slip 2000 on pistols that I wear outdoors a-lot. I use Breakfree Collector on muzzleloader & centerfire barrels. I use Ballistol on moving actions of centerfires and never had it gum-up. There are a hand-ul of ingredients in Ballistol, other than the base oil. I get no gooey mess or gumminess in my action.

I operate the action, even before packing the gun for deer camp. Sometimes I add even more Ballistol, but never remove any because it turned to gooey mess inside my gun safe.

Never in over 30 years. It will pull more gunk out of your bore while sitting in your safe. It will lubricate your rifle action just fine in cold weather. Never had a bullet feeding problem using Ballistol. I have no complaints and continue to use it.

Now what Ballistol does to guns in the deep south, could be different than what I encounter here in Northern Country. I dont shoot rifles in hot climates. Never have - never will. If shooters are getting a gooey mess in Southern Arizona, then I don't blame them for using something else. I would too.

[54bore]

Anyone thinking about one, You wont Regret the little steam cleaner, i use mine everytime i clean. Locks, hammers, etc. Even the nipple, hold it with a pair of pliers and steam clean it. The power of steam cleaning is absolutely amazing!

Giving credit where credit is due, this was not my original idea, A good friend of mine is who turned me on to this. Buffalo Arms Sells a Steam Cleaner made by Pedersoli, 7 or 800 bucks!! I watched the Perdersoli videos of it work, it did an AMAZING job, but I wasn't about to shell out that kind of money for it! These cheap little Steam cleaners do everything The big high dollar Pedersoli does, My friend has used both, Steam is Steam! The Pedersoli comes with a Wand attachment that allows you to go up through the barrel, if i felt it was important enough i would fabricate one myself. Fact is i stil clean my barrels in a bucket of warm water with a tiny bit of dish soap on a patch, and bore brush. I use the Steam cleaner to go through the Snail/Bolster (nipple hole) To get the Patented breech/Ante Chamber, The exterior, Locks, hammers, nipples, etc. I would not be without a steam cleaner now that i have used one and seen the benefits.

[Saxtonyoung]

Lewis,
You made a believer out me. I placed my order with Amazon for the same unit you have. Thanks Jeff.