Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Hoppes No. 9 immersion

With a few pauses, I've been immersed in Hoppes No. 9 since my dad first showed me how to clean up long guns around age 10. During 50 years of use I'm sure my liberal efforts helped preserve some metal and ongoing function, and ruin some wood.

The aroma triggers deep nostalgia, though these days I'd rather take moist used patches outside to the trash than let them perfume a room for days. I also tend to get a little light headed after long exposures to the fumes (and maybe, skin contact).

For other reasons I was reading last night about the origins of early epidemiology (the study of disease clusters and spread through human populations) and in particular the first understanding of compounds that cause some cancers. Most of the discoveries came out of occupational studies in Germany, England, and even Japan in the late 1800's to the 1930's with inhaled radon and contact with coal tar distillates and dye-making precursors associated with lung and bladder cancers respectively.

So this morning I woke up wondering "What the heck is in Hoppe's No. 9, and should I care?"

Well, some good news and concerning news. Ingredient lists found online indicate the product is mostly kerosene and ethanol, with a dash of ammonia. However less than 1% of the product is naphthalene, one of the cancer-causing agents identified historically. Clearly, the most near term risk of the product is lighting yourself on fire with the concoction! But OSHA also lists Hoppes as a Category 2 H351 carcinogen, meaning there is evidence of cancer-causing properties from animal studies.

Now, before everybody's hair lights (figuratively) on fire, or launches stories of how OSHA is full of warm camel crap, know that I plan to continue to use Hoppe's No. 9 this afternoon, and probably until my last bore swabbing which I hope is decades hence forth. However, I'll start wearing disposable gloves, using it in better ventilated areas, and disposing of any spillage promptly. That is probably just smart.

So, I'm not about to asks Gun Writers if they've had any health issues relatable to their occupational exposure to Hoppes No. 9, because frankly it is none of my business. But I will ask, are there precautions you take with your gun cleaning products, some you prefer to others for aroma or mild solvent properties, stuff you'd let your grandkids splash around in, etc.

Ducking for cover....

Two schools of thought - 1. Solvents aren't dangerous. 2. Solvents are dangerous.

What's so bad about wearing nitrile gloves? Pretty much removes any concern.

Also addicted to Hoppes no 9, been using it for 53 years.

Use a drop or two as aftershave and a little dab behind each ear makes the women crazy...

Have used No. 9 for the last 60 years, too late to worry about it now

Better chance of Democrats starting WW3 than getting sick from #9. Right Grouse?

Hoppes 9 has been reformulated over time. Time was Hoppes was better or at least faster at dealing with copper and also more dangerous according to current understanding. Current understanding may not be the last word. Townsend Whelen wrote about Hoppes with a mention of corrosive primers in the 1960 Gun Digest IIRC. For a ready reference to older formulations Hatcher covered Hoppes #9 as he knew it with lots of nitrobenzene and all.

I do have a pair of Hawkeye borescopes with right angle eyepiece and bore guides and I find a mix of individual products does a better job on dealing with lead, copper and carbon - used one at a time by no means blended together and applied to the bore and left or any such risky behavior.

Myself I tend to tradeoff as I understand it between effectiveness in a hurry as between relays and safety as long term exposure. I may be mistaken as to any given product. Some products I think safer but slower acting I will long term soak in the gun room and renew the bore coating for a long term soak with little precaution. Others I will use outdoors or with extreme ventilation and no skin contact. Indoors or outdoors I don't mix chlorinated hydrocarbons as brake cleaners and gun scrubber with copper cleaners that include ammonia. I suspect the dosage is small and the ventilation adequate but I prefer not to generate war gases in the gun room. I don't clean the bathroom with Clorox and ammonia mixes for that matter.

As has been mentioned, Hoppes of old isn’t the same as todays version. Although the aroma triggers memories, working with it in a poorly ventilated space bothers me. I also wear gloves when using most solvents. The Hoppes synthetic has a far less pungent odor, and seems to work about the same.

My wife actually gets most revved up by the aroma of freshly ignited Red Dot!

The ingredients list and OSHA classification I referenced today cited a 2016 revision.
I have to admit, the aroma does seem a bit mellower than I recall from my youth, but it could also be that my nose isn't as good any more.

I'm sure I was exposed to stuff that was much worse than Hoppes at work over the years.

I'm 74. My Dad, who was as much a shooter and reloader as I am, lived to 93. As a working gunsmith, I may have had more Hoppes exposure than he did, but not much more. I'm not worried about it. GD

They took out the nitrobenzene or whatever that ingredient was called about forty or more years ago. I can't see any difference in effectiveness using the current product over the orginal and I've used it a long time. However, the late Ed Shilen, certainly an expert on cleaning barrels, remarked that the current product was less effective than the original version. I think he was referring to copper removal.

Wow, that is great news, I have used it for years!
Going out to have a cigarette now , thanks for the info !

Outside rather than near your Hoppes is definitely the better place to ignite anything!

I will start worrying about it about the time I start worrying about using lead bullets.

I grew up in a world where all the air everywhere was saturated with cigarette smoke and leaded gasoline exhaust. Our diet was supplemented with pounds of yellow bellied perch and smelt well warnings about mercury abounded. I used to haul trailers full of caustic chemicals. Spent time working on cars inhaling, solvent, gas, oil, paint, and other fumes. Last few years brought clouds of forest fire smoke to breathe. The food companies have turned me into a human lab rat eating pounds of salt and sugar. All the paint and plumbing in my childhood homes were full of lead. My pork is loaded with antibiotics. My fruit and vegetables are all genetic Frankenstein's.

I doubt a few drops of Hoppes are going to be significant.
:⁠-⁠)

My hands have seen intimate contact with a large variety of industrial chemicals over the years. I have gotten more cautious about it now and use nitrile gloves with almost any chemicals. I have dealt with atopic dermatitis for years. The itching, inflamed, peeling skin is no fun. I still use a lot of that stuff, but even cleaning guns I keep my hands protected. It’s one of the steps I need to take to keep it all under control.

I kinda prefer wearing Kroil myself.

Hoppe's also upped the ammonia content in the current product, around a decade ago, which speeds up copper removal.

I still use it some, but only in barrels that copper-foul relatively lightly. There are better solutions for quicker copper removal.