Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing My Ballistol Review

It's good for what ails ya! After all the hype decided to give it a run.

Pros:
Everything

Cons:
Nothing

+1

Non petrol product, won't gum up.

In Cowboy Action Shooting, some of the BP shooters mix it with water to make "pigeon milk".

It's good for leather, wood, etc., unlike petrol products.

Smells kinda funky.

Old German recipe.

Good stuff.

DF

I've been using that stuff for nearly 20 years now..

The only "con" I'd give it is the odor resembles old gym shorts..

Ballistol is a great product. I've used it for years.

Only solvent I carry on hunts. It even cleans barrels.

Use it on wood without any concerns.

It's gonna replace a ton of jars, cans, etc for me. The shelf will look lonely with only one can of Ballistol on it.
Too bad it doesn't smell like Hoppes #9, I'd wear it for cologne.

Any young dude that finds a babe that smells like old #9 is one lucky SOB...

Skin safe, no carcinogens, and safe on rubber....hmm....

It's not much for removing copper if a barrel has that issue.

I've found it's good for keeping powder fouling down without "unseasoning" a barrel.

Whats in it? Supposedly it can be used to clean wounds too.

Supposedly it's a proprietary combination which includes ethyl alcohol and medical grade mineral oil.

As noted up-thread, it has been claimed to be "non-petroleum", but I've always understood 'mineral oil' to be a neutral, highly refined petroleum product. Who knows??

I used to work for a veterinarian who often used Ballistol on wounds on horses, cattle and pigs.

It is quite a good antibiotic, but it is harmless if the animal ingests it (say by licking the treated wound). Unlike injected or oral antibiotics, there is no need to keep a treated animal from slaughter for the time required for antibiotics to clear the animal's system.

It is amazing stuff for firearms & metal items too. As others have already noted, if only they could make it smell like the old Hoppes solvent!

John

How is it at low temperatures? (say -10 to +10 degrees)

According to the MSDS found at http://www.ballistol.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/MSDS_TECH_BIO.pdf

It contains the following:
Mineral Oil, Potassium Oleate, Ammonium Oleate, Oleic Acid Benzyl Alcohol, Amyl Alcohol, Isobutyl Alcohol, Benzyl Acetate, Anethole Isohexane (aerosol only)

The stuff is basically harmless to handle or even ingest, but is not a universal lube, bore cleaner or metal protectant. Its pour point is 1.4 deg F. It contains nothing to dissolve copper fouling. It emulsifies in the presence of water.

RAN

It only emulsifies in water while in it's liquid state. If you wipe something down with it and remove the excess it sheds water like a ducks back.

You can wipe something down with bacon drippings and it will shed water like a duck's back. However, I'm not going to recommend it as a metal protectant.

RAN

Bacon fat would probably smell better than Ballistol...

DF

Ballistol congeals like bacon fat too if you don't wipe away excess. The smell doesn't bother me but I'd never say it smells good😀

Used Ballistol to renew the finish on a Boyd's walking stick this spring. Did a light sanding to remove some roughness and then gave it two coats. Looks and feels like new.

Airplane people like the stuff for some reason. Only dealer in town is the local FBO. I have some sample wipes and we have an aerosol can in the fire cabinet at work but I have yet to use it. Not sure what to use it for.