Lubing a bore after its been loaded to prevent rusting ?

[roundball]

Trying to find out how common the practice is to lube a bore after its been loaded, to prevent the bore from rusting?

 

[gizamo]

Not enough information was given to really understand the poll question you are asking. Do you mean short term, as in immediate use... Or, long term as in going afield in a hunting scenario?

 

[hanshi]

I voted always though sometimes I probably skip it. When shooting ball the patch lubes the bore as the prb is seated. If shot is loaded a greased patch is normally swabbed down the bore a couple of times after loading.

 

[gizamo]

Hanshi,

I must be prone to confusion... :haha:

Anyrate, if my first shot is in a clean and dry bore,... the powder should settle and a greased patch wrapping the ball should take care of the bore.

Again, it depends on intended use... I guess.

 

[rabjr]

Just something I've always done and not sure I can say exactly why. Yes its an extra step and yes I've heard the argument its not needed. Just something I prefer to do when hunting, got into a habit of doing and we are in a game where the best accuracy lies where you do the same thing every time with your loading procedure and this is just one of the steps I choose to do.

 

[George]

Never have seen a need for it. It has always seemed to be a modern-day bit of armchair imagineering.

Spence

 

[hawk]

that is something I've never considered ,I have run a dry patch at the end of a day and before the hunt the next.

 

[Richard McCullough]

I selected never, I do not do it with my rifles, and by Perdersoli 12ga I do not, but the over the powder wad I use is an 1/8" lubed felt, so I guess it is done in the process of loading, just not after loading

 

[dbutch]

Never for rust........always to soften fowling in my duck guns..lubed wet patch while seating the overshot cards.
My patterns degrade fast if fowling builds up.

 

[Keb]

I also never leave a gun loaded... never. I load & shoot.

 

[Deadeye]

A shooter might think ,when using spit, that lubing the barrel might stop rust and it wouldn't hurt anything but I have guns that I've shot for 50 yrs. or more with spit and I have never lubed the barrel after and have bright shiney barrels with never a speck of rust. I never wipe between shots either.
Deadeye

 

[ohio ramrod]

I always lube after loading in hunting situations but not when shooting trap.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Need is the key here.

I don't lube the bore all the time. it depends on air temperatures, and relative humidity.

Nov.-Dec., our primary months for hunting upland game here, tend to be foggy, damp months. Decembers get down right cold!

I learned my lessons the hard way. I first learned that my water based lubed patch would freeze if carried in my hunting bag instead of in a pocket next to my body under my jacket. NEXT, I learned that sub-freezing air is so dry that it will suck the water right out of our patch, and leave a rust "ring" where the PRB is seated over the powder. :cursing:

I learned with a modern shotgun that mist, fog, and drizzle are enough to leave rust spots in and outside the barrel after a day's hunting when no shots are fired, and its freezing out. Snow did it on that one occasion. I had the same experience on my MLer rifle barrel in a drizzle, when it was just above freezing, and another time when hunting in hot weather during shifting on- and-off drizzle, fog, mist, rain-- kind of day.

My lube was water, water soluable oil, and Lestoil, I Now use Young Country 101 Lube, an early version of "WonderLube", or any mix of veg. oil and beeswax. I have also used plain water, spit, Hoppes Black Powder solve and lube, and any number of commercial products.

There is no " Must use", or "Right " and "Wrong" to this issue. There are plenty of places where people live and hunt in this country where rust is not much of an issue. :shocked2: :idunno:

Keep an eye n the weather, ranges of temperatures, and relative humidity when you plan your hunt, and act accordingly. :hatsoff:

 

[tg]

I started running a very lightly lubed patch down to the ball after a day of hunting when I saw a bit of rust form near the muzzle the patch ended that, I try to keep, the muzzle down as much as posssible, location and individual practice/ preference would likley dictate this practice.

 

[Congress Own Regiment]

The weather is a big factor. As is the type of hunt. If huting with round ball and have not shot the gun. Kowning it will be used the next day I leave it loaded and lube the bore.
But it is not something that is done even
time the gun is loaded.

 

[will5a1]

I used to when hunting only, thinking it help with rust prevention, and can see the logic of it for a gun left loaded, i.e. during deer season.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Start of ml hunting season I do that. Only time.

 

[George]

I'm puzzled why there should ever be a need for doing this. When I load my guns, any of them, they still have the thin layer of oil/lube in the bore which they had applied at the last cleaning. I don't make any effort to remove any of that before loading. In my rifles the powder goes down the slightly oily bore, followed by a greased patch which wipes the bore as it goes down. In my smoothbores, when loading in the "modern" way, I load a lubricated cushion wad for both ball and shot loads, and it wipes the bore as it goes down. If shooting ball, that is followed by a greasy patch, double dose of oil.

So, if there is a time when my bores are without oil, it has to be after they are fired and the oil has, theoretically, been burned out, and before they are reloaded.

In my area very high humidity is common. I also frequently hunt in very wet conditions, including frank rain. But, if there has ever been a spot of rust in the bore of any of my guns while in the field, I certainly never found it.

I'm wondering if those who report rust in their bores are the same ones who go to such extremes to remove the oil from their bores before they load, by swabbing/flushing with alcohol or other even more powerful solvents.

Or maybe it's a difference in the type of metal the barrels are made from. I doubt that, because I have barrels of several different steels, and none rust.

What an interesting hobby BP shooting is.

Spence

 

[paulvallandigham]

I flush my barrel with alcohol before each use, to get oils and congealed oil/grease out of the breech area, where it can foul my powder. Over the years, this has become less and less a problem, because I have learned to be sparing in the amount of oil I use in patches when storing my guns. However, my guns are stood up on their butts, because of how and where they are stored for security reasons, so I still flush with alcohol before taking them put shooting.

The barrels therefore have lost that thin film of oil you speak about.

I prefer to run a greased patch down the bore before loading the first powder charge of the day, whether at a range or in the field. On mild days, at the range, I thereafter don't bother greasing the bore again unless I find crud building up and have to use some kind of cleaner other than spit to get the barrel working again.

With smoothbores, I began greasing the bore AFTER loading my shot and OS cards because I found that it prevents lead streaks in the barrel, and corresponding flats on the outside pellets. That makes it easier to clean the gun, both on the range, or in the field, or back home, as I don't need to use modern lead solvents to get the lead out! By reducing or eliminating the flats on those outer pellets, I found I am getting an added bonus of more pellets in my patterns at 25 yds. and beyond.

 

[aeatwood]

When hunting I use a greased felt 1/8" wad with Mink oil between the card OP wads. My normal load is powder/2 OP card wads, shot, and OS wad.

For trap or pest control where I shoot a lot all day, I just spit or use a spray bottle down the barrel after the shot, and before the OS wad.