I'm a long time shooter, (35+ years) retired LEO, former military. I've cleaned & maintained more weapons than I'd care to remember. Tried just about every lubricant out there, but about the last 2 years been using Ballistol exclusively for both for lubricant and rust prevention.

I was initially skeptical of it, based on its viscosity...but I have to say I'm very impressed with the results. What really attracted me to it originally was it's being safe enough to ingest

I shutter to think how often I would have my hands covered in other products, often with typical scrapes/cuts on my fingers - and lets face it the older I get the more people I've known to die of cancer. Not that petroleum products cause cancer, but who the hell really knows? At least if I get some in a cut or in the eyes I won't worry as much.

Anyways, I'm in love with it for using on my firearms and think its a great product. Anybody else here use it often?

I have a can but cannot get past the funky smell to use it.

^^^^^

What he said!

i've used it to clean some guns, but i've always added some more, thicker lubricants post-cleaning.

i also love the smell.

quote:

Originally posted by Mustang-PaPa:
I have a can but cannot get past the funky smell to use it.

Same here..
I tried it years ago, in an open garage with the wall fan on, and ended up boxing it up and giving it away on another forum.

It is CLP and Slide glide on all my firearms..

Yes, I use it for cleaning and as a carry lube. I admit I'll apply a heavier lube for extended shooting but Ballistol works well as a general lube.

I have been using it for cleaning and lubrication for several years now, and am very pleased with the results.

I have been using it for over a decade now, very happy with it. Ballistol is also great for coating the inside of a bore before storage.

I really like the fact that Ballistol will not harm the plastic components on newer pistols.

My wife banned Ballistol from the house long ago otherwise I'd still be using it. She couldn't get past the smell. For Sigs, Berettas, and 1911s, I'd still grease the rails, but for most other guns, I'd just use the Ballistol.

Great stuff. The one thing that will soak the crud out of old rifle barrels that haven't been cleaned in forever, or longer. It may take 6 months, but it will loosen the rock hard fouling and rust. My BIL has a Savage bolt in 30-30 that was a barn gun in PA, had never seen any maintenance since the 40s or early 50s. Barrel looked like a sewer pipe. It finally got all the stuff out, looks like a mirror inside now. The outside, not so much....

It works well, but stinks. I use Eezox. As far as causing an illness....I'll take my chances.

Ballistol is sorta safe to ingest-but contains large quantities of mineral oil. You CAN eat it, but you will regret it.

I use it on my really old guns, my really good guns (metal and wood) and of course the bores of my muzzle loaders and BPCR's.

When I was still doing revolver cylinders I would use a mixture of it and water in my parts washer to clean the cutting oil and chips off my reamers.

So I guess to answer the question, no not really, not as a lube. But I as a protectant and cleaner.

I have no problem with the smell, but the fumes have been known to push all the air out my lungs and make me cough like crazy.
Pretty sure the German's invented it by accident while working on ear;y tear gas.

I’ve been shooting for over 40 years. Just discovered Ballistol a few years ago, much like you. How it escaped my notice is beyond me.

It works well on cleaning, lubing and protecting.

There are likely other products that do each chore better. But, Ballistol is my go to for most everything now. And, I have used it on minor cuts and scratches and even on my hands once when they were really chapped.

A little bottle of it lives in my running around bag in my car.

Also, like you, I like the fact that it’s least likely to kill me in the long run.

You like the smell? You need help!

quote:

Originally posted by PorterN:
i've used it to clean some guns, but i've always added some more, thicker lubricants post-cleaning.

i also love the smell.

I use it on revolvers. I like how I don't have to worry about getting it on a nice pair of wooden grips and I find it keeps the bluing looking good.

...and if someone likes the smell, I can send a few pairs of my dirty gym socks to you to hang around the house of you want

I have using Ballistol since being introduced to it at Sig Academy 15 years ago.

No reason to use anything else.

I have a can of it but never used it that much. My own rust tests showed that the newer synthetic lubes were far better at rust and corrosion protection though Ballistol may be plenty good enough depending on one's situation. I also prefer synthetic lubes like Weaponshield, M-Pro 7 LPX, and Slip 2000 oil and grease for lubrication and Breakfree CLP as a protectant. But a lot of people seem to like Balistol and as with most lubricants as long as enough lubricant is present then the firearm should function fine. Many of us used orange bottle Hoppes NO. 9 oil for decades which is nothing but mineral oil. IMO the synthetic lubricants seem to stay put/work longer and not burn off/dry out as fast over time or with hard use.

I use it and like it. For blackpowder guns there's no equal to moose milk IMO.

I generally run grease on pistol rails but will supplement with ballistol between deep cleanings (letting a couple drops run down the rails and barrel hood on 1911s, for example). It was a bit strange smelling at first but now I like it. But then I love black licorice and fennel seeds.

They used to use it up at the SIG Academy when I trained there, years ago. They had gallons and gallons of the stuff. I imagine they may have moved on to something else in recent years. One thing I’ll say, Ballistol works.

I don’t use it now. Just Breakfree CLP for cleaning, and Slip2000 EWL, Slide Glide light or Shooter’s Choice gun oil for lube.

Ballistol was the standard gun oil for the German military in the WW1, interwar, and WW2 eras. It was used not only as a cleaner, but also for lubrication and protection, and even as a coating on their wood stocks and slings. (Although I wouldn't recommend that last part, as it is now known that while it protects and waterproofs wood and leather in the short term, it also hastens the deterioration of the wood and leather in the long term.)

Ballistol still works, though there are undoubtedly some more modern gun oils that are better in various ways, and in some applications there's no substitute for grease.

Heck, I have some cans of WW2-era USGI bore cleaner that I still use on occasion on milsurp barrels after shooting corrosive ammo (although liberally squirting the bore with a spray bottle of Windex is much easier):