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Thread: gun bore oil

  1. #1
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    gun bore oil

    Cleaning my BP barrels until the patches come out perfectly clean, drying them out and oiling them.
    The oil is applied with a wool mop saturated in oil and pumped up and down the barrel a few times, on the last pull, I spin the mop faster than the rifling so the oil is forced into the rifling from the sideways rotation of the mop.
    I find that after 3-4 days, the oil seems to have thinned out to nothing and I can get drown/red dirty patches out the barrel.
    So it seems that I need to dry better and maybe change my oil for something better?
    Drying is done with patches until 'dry'.

    I've used :-

    Hoppes No9
    Abby gun oil
    Rig Grease
    Barricade

    Has anybody used other oils that keep a UK gun rust free after cleaning?

    My bores shine like a mirror with a bore light, and patch smoothly, but I would like to able to re-patch them a week after cleaning and not have dirty brown patches again.

    P.S,
    I use a bronze brush also during a clean.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrChipShoulder View Post
    Cleaning my BP barrels until the patches come out perfectly clean, drying them out and oiling them.
    The oil is applied with a wool mop saturated in oil and pumped up and down the barrel a few times, on the last pull, I spin the mop faster than the rifling so the oil is forced into the rifling from the sideways rotation of the mop.
    I find that after 3-4 days, the oil seems to have thinned out to nothing and I can get drown/red dirty patches out the barrel.
    So it seems that I need to dry better and maybe change my oil for something better?
    Drying is done with patches until 'dry'.

    I've used :-

    Hoppes No9
    Abby gun oil
    Rig Grease
    Barricade

    Has anybody used other oils that keep a UK gun rust free after cleaning?

    My bores shine like a mirror with a bore light, and patch smoothly, but I would like to able to re-patch them a week after cleaning and not have dirty brown patches again.

    P.S,
    I use a bronze brush also during a clean.
    Leave the bronze brush in the cleaning kit box and stick with a bore mop. Unless you can push a metallic brush all the way through the bore, as you can in a revolver, you are not doing the bore any favours by using a PB brush on the kinds of steel usually employed for a BP handgun. Reversing a PB brush in the bore of ANY firearm is not a good idea. I have never done it, and I've been cleaning guns since 1952.

    I have two of the family Sniders beside my desk as I write this note - both were made before 1867, although one has actually got DC stamps on it, and the bores of both of them are like mirrors from end to end. 3-in-1 is your friend, IMO, because that is absolutely ALL that has EVER been used in the last century, at least. Before that, it was probably some kind of mink or whale oil. Old guns like old remedies, it seems.

    There must be a thousand modern 'brews' for cleaning guns, most of them containing ammonia or similar concoction for getting rid of the copper than comes of bullet jacketing. Not applicable for BP firearms of the kind that most of us have here in UK, and deadly when mixed with the products of burning BP, deadly to a barrel, that is. If they don't have ammonia in them, then they have some other space-age brew that optimises the bore for the use of a jacketed bullet, not a lump of lead wrapped in cloth, or even a lead ball, if we are talking about a revolver. Some folks, me included, like Ballistol, suitably diluted - Dustin, here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozFb6b3NhK4 - note that your significant other [if you have one] might not care for the aroma, which is, I have to say, a mite pungent.
    Last edited by tacfoley; 04-08-2020 at 02:47 PM.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by tacfoley View Post
    Leave the bronze brush in the cleaning kit box and stick with a bore mop. Unless you can push a metallic brush all the way through the bore, as you can in a revolver, you are not doing the bore any favours by using a PB brush on the kinds of steel usually employed for a BP handgun. Reversing a PB brush in the bore of ANY firearm is not a good idea. I have never done it, and I've been cleaning guns since 1952.

    I have two of the family Sniders beside my desk as I write this note - both were made before 1867, although one has actually got DC stamps on it, and the bores of both of them are like mirrors from end to end. 3-in-1 is your friend, IMO, because that is absolutely ALL that has EVER been used in the last century, at least. Before that, it was probably some kind of mink or whale oil. Old guns like old remedies, it seems.

    There must be a thousand modern 'brews' for cleaning guns, most of them containing ammonia or similar concoction for getting rid of the copper than comes of bullet jacketing. Not applicable for BP firearms of the kind that most of us have here in UK, and deadly when mixed with the products of burning BP, deadly to a barrel, that is. If they don't have ammonia in them, then they have some other space-age brew that optimises the bore for the use of a jacketed bullet, not a lump of lead wrapped in cloth, or even a lead ball, if we are talking about a revolver.
    as above or rangoon oil

  4. #4
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    I forgot to say I started with Ballistol and found it awful stuff for rusting after cleaning.

    I thinned it down 5:1 with water and used that after the initial clean with soapy water until the patches were perfectly clean.
    Dried the barrel and then used neat Ballistol on a wool mop.
    Go back to the barrel 3-4 days later and I'd may as well not have bothered cleaning after shooting, thick red/brown rust patch cloths come out.
    This is why I started using different oils.

    Barricade worked the best, but my body can't take it!
    It leaches into my skin and all I can taste is metal metallic taste in my mouth for 12 hours after, can't be doing me much good!
    I started using gloves, but now even the smell makes me react

    I wonder if I need to dry my bores better than just patching until 'dry'?
    Maybe make some sort of thin rod with a brass disk on the end, drop that to the bottom of the gun and wrap toilet roll around the rod and send it down via a brass tube. Then pull the toilet roll back out via the disked rod. I think toilet roll would do a better job of drying than cloth patches?

    So maybe drying is my problem rather than finding a 'better' oil??

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrChipShoulder View Post
    I forgot to say I started with Ballistol and found it awful stuff for rusting after cleaning.

    I thinned it down 5:1 with water and used that after the initial clean with soapy water until the patches were perfectly clean.
    Dried the barrel and then used neat Ballistol on a wool mop.
    Go back to the barrel 3-4 days later and I'd may as well not have bothered cleaning after shooting, thick red/brown rust patch cloths come out.
    This is why I started using different oils.

    Barricade worked the best, but my body can't take it!
    It leaches into my skin and all I can taste is metal metallic taste in my mouth for 12 hours after, can't be doing me much good!
    I started using gloves, but now even the smell makes me react

    I wonder if I need to dry my bores better than just patching until 'dry'?
    Maybe make some sort of thin rod with a brass disk on the end, drop that to the bottom of the gun and wrap toilet roll around the rod and send it down via a brass tube. Then pull the toilet roll back out via the disked rod. I think toilet roll would do a better job of drying than cloth patches?

    So maybe drying is my problem rather than finding a 'better' oil??
    eezzoz......kroil.....ballistol are good oils and the old rangoon
    when i oil the barrel eg martini henry i dont patch it dry i just store as is.......i dont even patch it clean before my next shoot which could be months on end.
    maybe i should.....who knows as i never notice any issue .
    if you think you should dry throughly first, remove action from stock and heat with air dryer then oil.
    when you patch and see rust afterwards whats the bore like......any pits / rust.....could it be dry oil you seeing ?
    Last edited by loiner1965; 04-08-2020 at 05:21 PM.

  6. #6
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    The bores are always nice and shiny with no pitting or nastyness with a bore light, but when patched, I almost always get muck on the patch, I assume it's rust.

    As you say, it my just be dirty oil, seems rather dry though.

    I can't understand what I'm doing wrong as I follow exactly what others say to do and I don't stop patching and scrubbing until the patches come out as clean as new cloth (I'm using fluffy 4x2). The oils I have been using are also all well known gun oils and have a good track record with other people over the years. I don't live in a swamp and my house is dry, we have a dehumidifier running all year and the house is always about 20C.

    I think I'll make my 'Bog Roll Ramming' tool to dry the bores and then oil. Bog roll is very absorbent and cheap, it should pull ALL the damp out.

    I'll post some pics of the tool and report back once it's made.
    I fail to see why it wouldn't work?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrChipShoulder View Post
    The bores are always nice and shiny with no pitting or nastyness with a bore light, but when patched, I almost always get muck on the patch, I assume it's rust.

    As you say, it my just be dirty oil, seems rather dry though.

    I can't understand what I'm doing wrong as I follow exactly what others say to do and I don't stop patching and scrubbing until the patches come out as clean as new cloth (I'm using fluffy 4x2). The oils I have been using are also all well known gun oils and have a good track record with other people over the years. I don't live in a swamp and my house is dry, we have a dehumidifier running all year and the house is always about 20C.

    I think I'll make my 'Bog Roll Ramming' tool to dry the bores and then oil. Bog roll is very absorbent and cheap, it should pull ALL the damp out.

    I'll post some pics of the tool and report back once it's made.
    I fail to see why it wouldn't work?
    buy a cheap usb bore scope off eb@y about a tenner and connect to you pc.....then have a look down your barrel

  8. #8
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    Just a couple of things I thought I would mention.

    All oils tend to dry to some extent and most leave a brown residue - is that what you are seeing on your patch?

    All barrels have micro cracks and micro pores. These tend to weep crud over a few days - could this be what you are seeing on your patch?
    True freedom includes the freedom to make mistakes or do foolish things and bear the consequences.
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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Turnup View Post
    Just a couple of things I thought I would mention.

    All oils tend to dry to some extent and most leave a brown residue - is that what you are seeing on your patch?

    All barrels have micro cracks and micro pores. These tend to weep crud over a few days - could this be what you are seeing on your patch?
    i think it is too......as in post 5 but you explained it better lol

  10. #10
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    When I first started muzzleloading I was told by one of the older blokes that modern detergents, fairy liquid and the like, contain pure salt to make them froth up. He said use Stardrops there is no salt in it. I have been using it ever since and found it works.
    When I clean my bore I use a wool mop and stand the barrel in a bucket of hot water and use the mop like a plunger, going up and down and drawing the water through the barrel until it comes out of the muzzle. I change the water for a second clean and then I change it a third time but without soap so I can flush everything out and then I dry the barrel with ordinary patches. Then I oil it. I have never had any problems with rust using that method.
    Everyone has their own method and they all work. It is essential the barrel is dry before oiling it. Don't bother with WD40. It will remove moisture but it does NOT stop rust forming.
    Before I put the gun away I put a small piece of cloth on the nipple and lower the hammer to hold it in place. I find this stops any excess oil draining out and going on the woodwork and the cabinet floor.
    I usually run a dry patch through the gun before I go out with it so it is free of oil so when I flash off and any excess is burnt off or blown out of the nipple to reduce the chance of a misfire.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by enfield2band View Post
    When I first started muzzleloading I was told by one of the older blokes that modern detergents, fairy liquid and the like, contain pure salt to make them froth up. He said use Stardrops there is no salt in it. I have been using it ever since and found it works.
    When I clean my bore I use a wool mop and stand the barrel in a bucket of hot water and use the mop like a plunger, going up and down and drawing the water through the barrel until it comes out of the muzzle. I change the water for a second clean and then I change it a third time but without soap so I can flush everything out and then I dry the barrel with ordinary patches. Then I oil it. I have never had any problems with rust using that method.
    Everyone has their own method and they all work. It is essential the barrel is dry before oiling it. Don't bother with WD40. It will remove moisture but it does NOT stop rust forming.
    Before I put the gun away I put a small piece of cloth on the nipple and lower the hammer to hold it in place. I find this stops any excess oil draining out and going on the woodwork and the cabinet floor.
    I usually run a dry patch through the gun before I go out with it so it is free of oil so when I flash off and any excess is burnt off or blown out of the nipple to reduce the chance of a misfire.
    How odd it is that we both use almost the identical method.

    MY version is different because I stand my m/l rifle on the muzzle, so that any crud runs down onto the pad of cloth in the muzzle.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by tacfoley View Post
    How odd it is that we both use almost the identical method.

    MY version is different because I stand my m/l rifle on the muzzle, so that any crud runs down onto the pad of cloth in the muzzle.
    i have 3 x eic 1842 e and f versions..... a brown bess and a really nice eic fusil , but not on my ticket so cannot shoot them so not fussed in cleaning them lol
    the fusil is a type 2 1842 .....originally an eic but captured by some muslim militia and stamped with a crescent moon ( ottaman )
    Last edited by loiner1965; 04-08-2020 at 07:32 PM.

  13. #13
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    This is the crud that is coming out of the Le Page pistol after 7 days from cleaning.

    https://ibb.co/MnCxLHP

    The pistol was washed out with ballistol until the patches were totally clean.
    The bore was dried with patches and then oiled up with a mop with pure Ballistol.

    Our house is dehumidified and a constant 20c it's also summer now and not rained in 2 weeks.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrChipShoulder View Post
    This is the crud that is coming out of the Le Page pistol after 7 days from cleaning.

    https://ibb.co/MnCxLHP

    The pistol was washed out with ballistol until the patches were totally clean.
    The bore was dried with patches and then oiled up with a mop with pure Ballistol.

    Our house is dehumidified and a constant 20c it's also summer now and not rained in 2 weeks.
    Hmmmmmmm, it surely do look like rust to me. I've no idea what to suggest to you - I don't have anything to go by as an example since none of my guns, old and very old, have ever looked like that at any time.

    I'd be grateful if you would allow me to post that image on muzzleloadingforum.com, where about a 1/4 million BP shooters might have a better idea of what to do.

  15. #15
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    You are welcome to post it where you want Tac.

    I've already asked on that forum about 3 months ago, it was a huge thread and the conclusion was I can't clean and it has never happened to any shooter on there.

    I have read about a 1000 ways to clean a gun, and I'm not stupid, so I guess I'm doing something fundamentally wrong.
    I think I maybe not drying the bore well enough?

    I've even followed the original owners instructions on cleaning when we bought the pistol (we had a practical lesson), still the gun looks like this after a week. So do all my other steel guns, the Stainless ones don't

    I'm going to make the bog roll cleaning rod over the weekend, we'll be shooting on Sunday so will have plenty to clean after.
    I'm hoping a good dry with toilet/kitchen roll will sort the problem out.

    Is there any reason why I can't bore oil with fully synithetic motor oil, 2 stroke or 4 rather than the thin type 'gun oils'?

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