Ballistol

[JEBar]

for several decades I've used Hoppe's #9 to clean our firearms and didn't give much thought to trying anything else .... a few months ago our oldest son gave me a can of Ballistol Multi-Purpose Aerosol Can Lubricant Cleaner Protectant -- http://www.amazon.com/Ballistol-Multi-P ... =ballistol -- I decided to humor him and give it a try .... to test it, I thoroughly cleaned a rifle barrel with #9 and ran dry patches through it until I was sure it was dry .... sprayed a patch with Ballistol and ran it through the barrel ... the patch proved the barrel wasn't even close to clean .... since then we have used it exclusively to clean and lube our firearms .... the more times they are cleaned, the easier it seems to be to do so .... I'm convinced that it is the best product we've ever used

[Squatch]

It's also one of the oldest. The black powder guys love it and one turned me on to it recently. It does work well and I'm told it's water based. A few holster companies recommend it for their leather goods. It works well but I find it a slight irritant to my nose.

[White Squirrel]

I have been a Hoppes #9 guy for over 50 years, but I tried some Ballistol about six months ago and now that is all I use.

[PT7]

Since I'm a "cleaning nut," thought I'd chime in.

I looked at the amazon link you posted, JEBar. There were over 1000 customer reviews, with most being quite positive. I read maybe a dozen, and found a couple of them even "entertaining:"

When Hickok45 tells you he likes something, you're better off just purchasing it! I love my Ballistol products! Have a nice day.

Unlike Hoppes #9, the odor will not trigger happy memories of cleaning guns with grand dad- unless grand dad was in the Wehrmacht.

I most often have used Hoppe's Number 9 and G96, which both work quite well. Based on your comparison eval between the Hoppes and the Ballistol, I might pick up a can of the Ballistol next time I see it on the shelves. Have you used it on wood? That is what I'm most careful with when cleaning/maintaining my Henry rifles. Always cautious what I use on that beautiful furniture!

Thanks for your post.

[JEBar]

Have you used it on wood? That is what I'm most careful with when cleaning/maintaining my Henry rifles. Always cautious what I use on that beautiful furniture!

Thanks for your post.

I've used it in cleaning our Big Boy Steel 44 mag three times and our 45-70 twice .... I haven't deliberately wiped it down with a rag coated in Ballistol but some has run out onto the stock/forend wooden pieces and I can't tell any impact .... in addition, I'd read somewhere that it was bad for blued finishes .... it had no impact that I could see on the finish of our steel Henry rifles .... it you have any concerns, I'd recommend you not use it .... the only negative for me is it has a strong smell and needs to be used outside or in a well vented area ... I've just ordered 3 more cans

[Squatch]

I wiped down my entire 45/70 with it including the wood and haven't seen any problems so far.

[PT7]

Good/interesting thread. Thanks, Gents, from the "cleaning nut."

[ditto1958]

I use Ballistol and am really happy with it. Just as you can't go wrong using Hoppe's No. 9, so it is with Ballistol.

It's a gentle but effective solvent. It smells good and is pretty much non-toxic. It seems to perform just fine as a firearms lubricant. As a bonus, if you mist a soft cloth with it and wipe down your guns before putting them away, you will start to notice that they look better.

[Rugerfanboy]

I use ballistol on my leather Ruger Redhawk holster. When I first got the holster, I could verily get the gun in the holster. It was a two handed fight every time I tried to insert the gun in the holster. Decided to soak the holster with ballistol and took a freezer bag and inserted the gun inside of the freezer bag and soaked the holster for about hour. After an hour, I inserted the gun that was inside of a freezer bag inside of the holster and let it set inside of my gun safe for about a week. Bingo, now the gun can be inserted into the holster with one hand.

If you look real close at the bottom of the cylinder, you'll see a blue piece sticking out. That is a blue paper towel soaked with ballistol and that area needed a little bit more clearance for the cylinder to slide inside of the holster with ease. After a week like the picture shows, this holster works like a charm now. The ballistol really made the leather form to the curves of my Ruger Redhawk 44 Magnum.

[bandit1250]

Does the Ballistol have any thing in it to remove copper? With the time of the year here now for the high velocity Varmint rigs to be put into use I need to clean with a copper remover as to not let the copper get a head of me and have to go through what I just went through with my friends 25/06. If I keep up with the fouling as I use these high velocity rounds I will have better accuracy and less head aches. Ever get any blue on patches after shooting jacket bullets?

[Squatch]

I've found that Ballistol doesn't help much with leading. But Hoppes #9 does.

[Henry88]

I've found that Ballistol doesn't help much with leading. But Hoppes #9 does.

That's funny cause from what I've read online, you'd think it would cure baldness

I am going to pick some up, though.

[JEBar]

I've found that Ballistol doesn't help much with leading. But Hoppes #9 does.

we have found that using a Lewis Lead Remover is the best/quickest way to get rid of lead in a barrel .... from a purely subjective point of view we have come to believe that over time using Ballistol helps retard lead buildup and when used in combination with the Lewis system, it does a good job

[Squatch]

It cleans and protects well. It just doesn't dissolve lead. There is a vid on Utube where a guy rubs a lead 22 on 12 different squares on a metal sheet. And then tries a bunch of different cleaners on each square. Only a couple did much to remove the lead. Hoppes was one of them. Ballistol was not.

[JEBar]

I didn't say Ballistol cuts a lead buildup, from what I've seen the longer its in use, it seems to help reduce the amount of the buildup .... now that's just an observation which may or may not have any validity

[ditto1958]

Ballistol definitely removes copper. As for lead, I can't say.

[Bugs]

I have been using Ballistol and Eezox for a while now and like both. With that said I've come to prefer Ballistol. I shoot mostly FMJ, not a fan of lead or plated bullets. Not saying they are not good I just prefer the FMJ. Ballistol used exclusively seems to "season" a bore with repeated use making cleaning easier. A big plus is it is non-toxic. It will also not harm wood, plastics, or leather. Great stuff. I also like bore snakes; yeah saw those posts too. I've seen people ruin guns from overzealous cleaning. If the gun's accuracy is being maintained all is good. Now if a bore is copper fouled that is a different story. A few years ago I was bringing in and re-selling Mosin Nagants and those bores were dark from copper fouling. Did not shoot worth a darn. Heat those bores up with a little shooting, apply a little Sweet's and follow up with Butch's Bore Shine for a few sessions and those old Nagant's accuracy was revealed. We also tuned the triggers a bit.

[PT7]

A different comment. I've been to three LGS and two wally-worlds in the last couple of weeks, and none of them carry Ballistol products. One is the larger Cabelas, too. Is this mainly available only on the internet?

for several decades I've used Hoppe's #9 to clean our firearms and didn't give much thought to trying anything else .... a few months ago our oldest son gave me a can of Ballistol Multi-Purpose Aerosol Can Lubricant Cleaner Protectant -- http://www.amazon.com/Ballistol-Multi-P ... =ballistol -- I decided to humor him and give it a try .... to test it, I thoroughly cleaned a rifle barrel with #9 and ran dry patches through it until I was sure it was dry .... sprayed a patch with Ballistol and ran it through the barrel ... the patch proved the barrel wasn't even close to clean .... since then we have used it exclusively to clean and lube our firearms .... the more times they are cleaned, the easier it seems to be to do so .... I'm convinced that it is the best product we've ever used

[JEBar]

both of our local gun shops stock it .... that said, I order it from Amazon because its cheaper to do so

[Les]

I've used Ballistol for as long as I can remember. What I really like about it is that it is just as good at protecting wood and leather as it is at protecting the metalwork. You literally can't do any damage if it goes in the "wrong" place.