Olive oil question

[Nordnecker]

I loaded my gun to go hunting with an olive oil soaked wad and didn't fire it. My question is about the stability or corrosiveness of the olive oil. Is it safe to leave it loaded for a while? I mean, is the oil going to cause any damage to the inside of the barrel?

[bob in the woods]

I wonder about this too, since I have read about olive oil's use by our 18th C ancestors .  Perhaps there is a difference between the various types or varieties of olive oil ?   One thing I know is that olive oil based " Bio diesel " is corrosive to mild steel .   Perhaps Mad Monk would care to comment ?

[Tim Ault]

I use it on my carbon steel kitchen knives never had any rust or discoloration . If it's only gonna be a few days or a week or so I don't think there an issue

[Eric Kettenburg]

I believe it is very mildly acidic.  This is why you'll see it (over extended time) create verdigris on copper or brass alloys.

A week or so I wouldn't worry about.  Long term, though, I would be concerned about the mild acidity in the oil also reacting with the salts in the powder and potentially creating a 'rust ring' in the barrel.

I have indeed see it create rust (very mild but rust nonetheless) on mild steel over very long term.

[p.d.]

Eric, thank you for the response.  I have been testing the Skychief smoothbore loading and was concerned regarding a freezing issue and seeing this thread, I believe I will try melted mink oil for the over wad.

[Hungry Horse]

 This is a classic “what’s the difference between a duck” question. Until very recently there was no controls on the content of olive oil. Thats why it wasn’t produced here in the U.S. to any large degree.  When American olive oil producers complained about the imports being not all olive oil, regulations were set, and testing began, at least in California. Some of the imports turned out to have no measurable amount of olive oil at all. olive oil content, and acidity depends on where its grown, and when its harvested and processed. I know there is rigorous testing on any product called “virgin, or extra virgin, olive oil, but regular old olive oil that in Europe is considered lamp oil is primarily made from the skins, and pits, of the olive, and is subjected to a lot of processing. This processing no doubt involve some sort of food safe solvent. So the short answer is, only the producer knows for sure what’s in plain old garden variety olive oil. I’ll just keep using venison, or mutton, tallow.

  Hungry Horse

[MuskratMike]

If you are going to use just olive oil I would buy "Extra" Virgin olive oil for two reasons. First it has the least amount of impurities in it. Second is what you don't use makes for great salad dressing and cooking.

[Daryl]

I tried Extra Virgin olive oil in some bullet lube mixes. I was not impressed and went back to Vaseline mixes.(Petroleum WAX)
The Vaseline mixes with a softens BP fouling, unlike other petroleum products.
For wad lubes, I would use Neetsfoot oil as being the easiest to apply. Mink oil would certainly work well, too.
Never a problem with either of those in your barrel, for extended periods of time.

[Mike from OK]

I have had good results oiling my bore with olive oil after cleaning. No issues with rust.

I use extra virgin... Simply because that is what my wife had in the kitchen cabinet when I swiped a couple of ounces.

Mike

[walks with gun]

  I've been using extra virgin olive oil for a couple years now and a few of my rifles have sat for months and no rust or problems.  I use it for patches all the time, gave up on other lubes, just squeeze out extra oil into dry patches.  It does a much better job keeping fouling down than beeswax, tallow or other patches and does not stiffen up nearly as much in cold weather.  Plus it's safe to hold in your lips while grabbing another ball or for a use as chapstick, And period correct.

[Dave Marsh]

We store open olive oil bottles in the refrigerator (extra virgin and regular) so it does not go rancid and it hardens enough that I need to let it sit on the counter for several hours before I can pour it.  I would think in cold weather it would stiffen up faster then mink oil or other oils.  Not sure but confused.

Dave

[Mad Monk]

I wonder about this too, since I have read about olive oil's use by our 18th C ancestors .  Perhaps there is a difference between the various types or varieties of olive oil ?   One thing I know is that olive oil based " Bio diesel " is corrosive to mild steel .   Perhaps Mad Monk would care to comment ?

In the old days the olive oil was called sweet oil.  Never saw anything where t as used in any form in guns.  Food and soap as about it.  But in the old sources every time there was any mention of oil being used in guns it was allways one of the grades of Sperm Whale oil.  Used in patch lubes.  In paper patched bullets the paper was lubed with sperm whale oil.  But stored rounds would loose most of the whale oil in the paper.  The whale oil was volatile and would evaporate with time.  Also used to lube triggers and lock parts.  Used exclusively on clock chains.  The clocks chains would have to be lubed one or twice a year to replace the oil that evaporated.  When they still hunted sperm whales the oil from the head cavity was kept separate from the blubber rendered oil which was used for lamp oil.  The blubber rendered oil would go rancid but not the head cavity oil.  When they cooled the head cavity oil they got the Sperm Whale oil used as a lubricant then the Spermacetti wax used in high priced candles.  You would see the spermacetti candles in churches and homes of the wealthy.  The closest you can get to Sperm Whale head cavity oil today is Jojoba oil.  Then they had used real Sperm Whale oil is automobile automatic transmission in the 1950s and then switched over to a man made version of the oil which then also showed up as a plasticizing agent in PVC products.

[Panzerschwein]

The Jeeps used during the war used sperm as transmission fluid.

And yes, that’s what our ancestors called it, “sperm”. This shorthand form without the redundant “oil” was used in all the old literature.

Jojoba is chemically identical down to the smell of sperm. I’ve not tried it as a patch lube but many guys swear by it.

[Brokennock]

I've been using an olive oil/beeswax blend on my wads for years, sometimes leaving the gun loaded for close to a month with no ill effects.
However, if you are using straight olive oil with nothing to hold it in the wad, I might be concerned about it leaching into the powder over time.
I generally store my guns muzzle down anyway, but you may want to consider doing this if you don't already.

[Jim Evans]

1 part Bees wax to 5 parts olive oil for a patch lube

[Scota4570]

I've cleaned many modern guns that were gooped with dried olive oil to the point they would not function.   I would not use it as a preservative in the bore or a lock lube.

As far a patch lubes anything will work.  That is why we get patch lube threads that go on for pages and pages. 

[walks with gun]

  Dave Marsh, It does not stiffen up as badly as other lubes such as beeswax, tallow, or other lubes common at the time.  Bear oil would be best but don't have any, I can't find a local reliable vender of whale oil, so olive oil is what I use.  It may get gummed up a bit over time but one should use there firearms often so it really isn't a point.  I winter hike with my rifles and never had any trouble with anything to stiff to fire, if patches are a little firm I can hold them between my lips while retrieving a ball and they thaw fast ( I wouldn't recommend getting modern chemicals in your mouth).  I try to use only oils and cleaning methods that were common in the age of longrifles.

[Dave Marsh]

Walks, thanks for that explanation.  I use bear oil and mink oil so I am ok.  Just got a bit confused based on my experience with olive oil in the fridge.  And yes I would put an olive oil patch in my mouth before any chemicals.  Good point  Thanks.

Dave

[JW]

When I was 20 or so, someone told me I should never - under any circumstances - put any synthetic or petroleum product near a muzzleloader. "What if I clean it out prior to shooting?" I asked. "No!" was the reply. Since my older friend didn't share any of his bear oil supply (he had a big old jar of it too, as I remember) I asked my friend if olive oil would work and he assured me that it would work just fine. So I used olive oil in my rifle that summer and went off to college for the semester with olive oil in the bore. When I came home for Thanksgiving I was mortified by the rust!  Needless to say, I learned that olive oil is fine for a short period, especially when frequently inspecting the gun (and of course I learned that any modern gun oil is just fine when swabbed out before shooting).

Nowadays, in the rare occurrences I leave a gun loaded overnight for hunting, I use mink oil. The longest I left a gun loaded with mink oil was a week or so and there was no rust. Just to be sure, I used wasp nest or something between the powder and the patched ball.

[hanshi]

I've never even thought about using olive oil as a patch lube.  Long ago I did often use a mixture containing Vaseline that worked out well.  Now I use mink oil in the woods and Hoppes BP Lube at the range.  No problem leaving a rifle loaded all season when using TOW mink oil.

[walks with gun]

   The original post said (soaked wad)  any lube soaked is bound to contaminate the charge, maybe too much of a good thing.  Less is more when talking about a patch or wad lube.

[Daryl]

I do use beeswax, but only when mixed with Vaseline in bullet lubes. For me, it is not a patch lube.
It worked very well when used as a bullet lube (mix) with R.E.A.L. bullets in my .45 rifle, making 10 consecutive shots, then loading and firing a spit-patched ball
with normal 65gr. 3F powder charge as a cleaning load, then back to shooting the Beeswax/Vaseline lubed bullets for another 10 shots, all without having to wipe the bore.
When I say this stuff works as a bullet lube, I mean it works. I was shooting 70gr. 3F with the 200gr. bullets & getting POI the same at 50yards as patched round balls.
For hunting, I use mink oil and Neetsfoot oil only. I have used bear grease in the past as a patch lube with good results and have some bear oil and grease to re-try, some day.

[Clark Badgett]

I've cleaned many modern guns that were gooped with dried olive oil to the point they would not function.   I would not use it as a preservative in the bore or a lock lube.

As far a patch lubes anything will work.  That is why we get patch lube threads that go on for pages and pages.

This is my experience as well. At least with my guns. I use animal based oils now, or Ballistol.

[James Rogers]

Sweet oil was used with brick dust for polishing maintenance on the exterior of muskets.  I don't believe it was used for gun lube.

[walks with gun]

  But it does make a very nice, safe patch lube and can stay lubed and loaded in the rifle for weeks with no problem.   I've noticed my dogs and those of others will gobble up any patches they find on the ground like candy if not picked up.  I don't know if it's the rotten egg smell but more likely the deer tallow-beeswax-neetsfoot oil many of us were using for lube.   I haven't really noticed the dogs hunting down patches lubed with just olive oil but I try to keep them picked up.   Some of the stuff folk use for patch lubricant I'm guessing isn't safe if pets or critters swallow them.