Best Rust Protection for the Bore?

[Birdhunter]

Daryl,
Nope. I just know it's been working for me for several years now. I shoot only rocklocks & all know how hard they can be to get completely clean. I don't know if there's anything better ,but until I find it I'm sticking with what works for me.
Curt

[Daryl]

Get the facts guys....

http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments/corrosion/corrosion.html

http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments/corrosion/corrosion2.html

Curt- sometimes we're just plain lucky with the stuff we use. Othertimes, not so lucky.

[geezmo]

Hey Kaintuckee,

Aren't you sorry you asked??? 

Just for my 2 cents, I've been shooting in the NSSA for 41 years and have had good luck with WD40 and still use it.  But, I wipe 'em out fairly often. Some of the guys older than me (a few who are long gone) used RIG and swore by it. You've just got to use them one at a time, and when you find one that works for you, in your environment, stick with it. Regardless of what the rest of us tell you.

Barry

[SCLoyalist]

The corrosion tests cited at ctcmuzzleloaders-etc are pretty much what got me to start using ballistol, and I have been satisfied with the results I've gotten using ballistol.

However, the way I read the tests, they were simulating dirty/powder contaminated fingerprints on the outside of the barrel by dissolving powder in water and rubbing the solution on a flat piece of steel.  For a gun, tThe bore is subject to corrosion due to the byproducts of gunpowder burning (or exploding, or whatever the correct term is for when it goes bang) under pressure and high temps, so applying that test data to bore protection is a bit of a stretch, seems to me.

I have found, though, that cleanup and bore rusting haven't been much of a problem since I started cleaning with cool water until the patches were clean, using ballistol inside and outside of the barrel, andl doing a followup check the next morning.  For my guns that are infrequently shot, or that have earned an honorable retirement, about every three months they all get checked and given another application of Ballistol.

[Daryl]

I think perhaps the Ballistol Taylor was given, was contaminated with water or perhaps something else, as his results (rust in a day) and those of others here or the test, don't jive at all.

I have a couple tubes of rig - used to use it a lot on modern stuff before hunting season.  I use WD40 for a flush and wiping down my MLs after shooting and that's what they get stored with when they aren't being used and when they are being used- that's what they were last wiped with.  Guns that haven't been fired nor handled for up to 8 years, show no rust.

Like Barry said - use what works for you. If you don't have a favourite - the test showed a few I'd use and didn't show the one I do use.  As with any lube- preservative or water displacer - HOW you use them can make the difference between success and failure.

Running a WD40 damp patch up and down the borer will NOT flush out residual moisture - just so you understand where I'm coming from, in my use of that product. The word 'flush' should give an indication as to what I do before wiping (patching) down the inside and outside of the barrel with it.  I buy it by the gallon and a gallon lasts longer than a year - for $27.95 )last gallon I bought - it's the price of 3 large cans, here- but contains many times that amount.

[Kermit]

Camellia oil. Pricy stuff, but what's your gun worth? It can be had from Woodcraft, Highland Hardware, and many web sources. Story is that the Samuari used it on their swords. I use it to keep planes, chisels, and so forth free of rust. Works. I clean and dry thoroughly and then run a patch with C.O. down bore. No rust ever.

I just read a piece by a fellow who took tools aboard a "tall ship" and tried several oils and such to keep his tools clean. C.O. was the only thing that worked in the salty humidity.

A new fellow just arrived in our shop from Florida. He'd oiled up his tools and stored them for a month while he got settled in and had them shipped. He's got some work to clean things up. One of his L-N planes will need a new iron, it's so badly pitted.

[Kaintuckkee]

I might try the RIG,since I have a gun here I plan to store for a good while,great suggestions guys...thanks much.......

[William Worth]

A really serious rust inhibitor is Bear brand "Par-Al-Ketone".  It's the black, gunky stuff used to protect and lube aircraft cable.  To remove it, I suppose any petroleum solvent would take it off, mineral spirits in particular is what I use to thin it when needed.  Usually, it's not intended to come off of whatever it is applied to.  But anything can be removed if you put your mind to it.