Ballistol was a German invention, and first employed on a large scale by the German army in WWI. Those guys even drank the stuff as a curative for the maladies they encountered in the pestilential trenches, as well as for cleaning their Mausers and Maxim guns and treating leather goods subjected to the mud and slime of their environments. There are differing accounts as to the stuff's effectiveness which I chalk up to variations in how it's utilized- we are humans after all, and not noted for following instructions and preferring to lay the blame on the product.
I have a small jug of it that I was gifted a while back. I still haven't broken the seal on it. Maybe I'll swig some the next time my Crohn's flairs up! Or not. In the meantime I'll continue using the CLP that has served me well for 35 years now.
On the subject of prophylactic measures to prevent rusting of steel gun parts, here's an anecdote that might make you smile. Back in my Revolutionary War re-ennacting days, keeping our muskets shiny and rust free was a never ending challenge. Most of us employed "modern" treatments (done away from the prying eyes of the "civilian" tourist-types) and enjoyed generally good results. One character insisted on using "period correct" techniques, and rubbed his Brown Bess down with bacon grease. As much as we warned him that the salt in the grease worked against him, he didn't listen and his musket was eternally a picture of red rust. It was so bad we took to joking about Dan and his "rustket". He then switched to sheep lard which returned much the same results. We humans are an odd lot, aren't we?!
