How you treat your bore depends on several factors, one of which is the ambient temp and humidity. Barrel length is another. Shooting here in a hot dry desert climate presents a real challenge, and wiping is the order of the day. Blowing through a tube just doesn't introduce enough moisture.
There is no true "science" behind it. My sense of the value of a bit of soluble oil is that it keeps the bore moist and the fouling soft. Especially with a hot barrel, plain water evaporates almost immediately. Accuracy, preventing leading, and possibly chambering ease are the goals.
If you are pushing dry flakes out the muzzle, you need more moisture. Also, watch the lube star at the muzzle. Soft and greasy is good, hard and black not.
Paul
