Breakfree CLP is rated to -40 degrees. I think Ballistol is similar. You can do this test. Out some metal coated with a thin coat of Ballistol in the freezer for an hour. See if it gets gummy.

 

Thought about the freezer test and may do just that. I have Breakfree as well and I think it's actually something like -65 degrees. Either way, I'm not going to be out hopefully when it's -40 let alone -65. Ballistol not having synthetic oils though, I wondered if it would be able to work as cold as CLP.

 

Your gun is not a John Deere tractor so if your oil gums up in cold weather, your are using way too much. Try a very light film on the parts next time in both hot or cold weather.

 

That wasn't what I was meaning, and I wasn't even trying to start that debate. However, I've never bought in to the sentiment that you need to have so thin of a film of oil that it can't be seen or felt. Not dripping off mind you, but it's still a piece of machinery with parts sliding against each other, and that requires lube if you don't want it to wear prematurely.

 

Efm, Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. Probably the biggest single issue with firearms is the over use of oil or grease. Parts in an engine are subjected to hundreds of psi friction between moving parts and need to be lubricated. In a firearm, 25 psi is about the most you will ever experience on moving parts so they don't need anything more than a fine film of oil. The primary mission of oil in a gun is NOT to lubricate moving parts, rather it is to prevent rust or corrosion. Fact is, when a firearm is over oiled, most of the oil runs off and collects elsewhere in the gun. Eventually, the carrier in oil will evaporate, leaving a gummy substance behind that will impede parts movement. In other words, excessive oil increases friction instead of reducing friction. I base this on the hundreds of guns that came into my shop over a period of 31 years. When guns quit working it was often nothing more than an accumulation of gummy oil that caused the problem. A little solvent and a good cleaning put the guns back in service.

If you read the owner's manual that came with your Rugers (other brands too) they usually reinforce the "light film of oil concept". There are two ways to do this. One is to apply a small amount of oil then use compressed air to blow out all the excess. The other is to fully disassemble the gun and wiped down each part with a lightly oiled cloth. The lightly oiled cloth is the best method but many gun owners fall short of the skills needed to do this. What you shouldn't do is to go gluck, gluck, gluck, with oil can or CLP in the bowls of your gun.

If you follow the "light film of oil" concept, your guns won't rust and will not wear out in a lifetime. Several of the guns I own were bought in the late 1950's and '60s. None have the slightest bit of rust, they all work just fine, and all of them have been fired a lot. Having lived in many different climates, (Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, etc) this light film of oil concept proves the point.

Back to your question .... if you use the "light film of oil" concept with Ballistol, Breakfree, or conventional gun oil, you will never have a cold temperature related issue with your firearms.

 

In the army I was taught to put a few drops of oil on a shaving brush, then brush the oil on the desired surface and wipe off. It was not necessary to add oil to the brush each time. I do this with Ballistol now.

 

You didn't offend me. I just don't agree with that concept, and never have. You are correct about oil migrating to areas it shouldn't be, which is why I don't use oil much anymore. I lube with grease on the high friction areas because it lubricates where it's supposed to and stays in place and use dry lube in other areas. In all my years, I've never had it give a problem either. I realize the conventional wisdom us just what you're saying and what the manuals say. But there's more than one way to skin a cat and most guns I've seen that have been lubed that sparingly have a lot of wear signs to them. A decent amount of lubricant really only becomes a problem when someone neglects the firearm. If it isn't cleaned regularly, that's when a lot of buildup occurs that causes problems. I tear mine down, clean, and re-lube quite often and it's never been an issue. Again, we're off topic from what I was asking, but thanks for your input.

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Some good reading on this site. Yes they're trying to sell their product, but they're reasoning goes along with my line of thinking.

 

I’ve read, but can’t verify, that Balistol is good to -30 F………it’s works good on cuts too, that I can verify.

ETA…..I’ve used Balistol since ‘91 or ‘92, I’ve hunted in zero degree weather for as long as I could, usually 6 to 7 hours, and I’ve never had any issues.

 

Thank you. That's all I'm asking is if anyone has any first hand experience with Ballistol in cold weather. Everyone has their own cleaning and lubing regiments, to which I wasn't trying to debate.

 

Keep mine wiped down with plain ole mineral oil.

 

I've read that the Germans used Balistol in WW1 and 2 in all the seasons. I've had some of my percussion revolvers lubed with Balistol out in -10* weather and have never had any problems with them 'gumming' up. The only problems I had was fingers getting numb loading those revolvers in weather like that. Never a whole lot of rounds fired in those shooting expeditions. Balistol is a good black powder solvent and I lube my black powder firearms with it. No rust, slick actions. Iowegan is right, a little lube goes a long way in cold weather and in most situations.

Gummed up firearms in cold weather reminds me as a 15-16 year old hunting rabbits with a friend around 1963 or so. Winter weather, cold, below freezing. I had a Remington 521T bolt 22 rifle with a five shot magazine. My friend a single shot Remington 514 22 LR. One Saturday we were going to head down to the river that bordered my Dad's farm on a rabbit hunt. My Dad had several years prior received a Herter's catalog from the old mail order business out of Waseca, Minn (anyone remember them?). Anyway I had ordered some of their bore cleaner called Detrothal and a gun lube called Proteger, both good products if I recall for what they were designed for. Down in the family basement before going out on the hunt we decided we should lube up our rifles with the Proteger to ensure fast slick action from our rifles, so we lubed the 'beegeebers' out of the bolts and anything that we figured might slow down any hot and heavy action.

Well, leaving the warm house we both chambered a round and walked the 350 some yards through the pasture to the wooded area along the river, temp way below freezing. About the time we entered the woods several rabbits sprang from their hideouts and we both shouldered our rifles and pulled triggers. Nothing happened-neither gun fired. Working the bolts, both rifles were so gummed that it took some pulling to pull the bolt back. We both chambered another round and tried firing. Again, neither of the firing pins would strike the rims with enough force to fire em. We tried to wipe the bolts down, but the insides of the bolts, springs, and firing pin channels were so saturated and gummed up, we gave up and went back to my home. Spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning our rifles, lesson well learned. My Dad gave us some good advice of our folly. We still talk about that hunt from time to time. Still have an empty Herter Detrothal and Proteger out in my shop, keeping them for 'just cause'! I know this is a bit of a high-jack of the thread, but figured it was kinda relevant when talking about gummed up firearms.

 

I think you guys may have misunderstood me. I never said I had them so slathered that lube is running/dropping everywhere. Simply that I probably put more on than most as I don’t believe in the “conventional wisdom” of it has to be so minute, you can’t even tell it’s there. I’ve yet to have any problems doing it the way I do. I simply asked if anyone had cold weather experience with balistol since I hadn’t used it until recently. I appreciate the input. But sliding surfaces like bolt bodies, slide rails, caming areas, etc, get a decent amount of grease. I’ve always used a very light film or a dry lube on triggers or firing pins. But for those high friction areas I believe they need a good lube and a good coating to give adequate lubrication. These things are machines too and will wear if run too dry, I’ve seen it myself. Like I said before this got way off subject as I was merely asking about balistol.

 

Not too often I’m out shooting in -20 or -30 weather but I have and use Ballistol and have had no issues. I’m also in the use more lube than most camp.

 

I understood what your first post and all of them meant. Didn't believe you had everything slathered with Balistol or any lube. 2/3rds of my first post was just me running off at the mouth or fingers telling of the days of my youth being 'dumb and stupid' once in slathering my rifle action with lube. I don't as a rule lube my firearms with Balistol except black powder percussion and conversion black powder revolvers, when I have shot them in cold temps I haven't had a problem.

Figure since Balistol is a good black powder residue remover, the pure stuff in the innards isn't a bad idea as that reside likes to creep where it shouldn't. Have never had any problems gumming or any other problems in using it. I'd better quit or I may start typing about the time I put a old Hoppe's bottle of Balistol/water mix that had sort of solidified in the wife's kitchen microwave hoping it would get back to a more liquefied solution. Not a pleasant outcome, not a pleasant outcome.

 

I live in South Central Illinois. I frequently do some shooting when temperatures are below freezing but not below zero. Ballistol is all I use for cleaning and I have never had a problem with my firearms functioning at these temperatures between 0 F and 32 F.

 

Never had issues in deer season here, often below freezing but never under 20 degrees when I hunt. I like Ballistol a lot.

 

+20F is by no means cold weather.

That being said, Balistol has been good for me for decades in below zero (F) weather.

 

I'm a Hornady OneShot fan as well. I'm also interested in reports of experiences from the real world of cold.

 

Hornady One Shot is great, and seems to do well in the cold since it is a dry lube.

 

I use Ballistol on all my guns and I sometimes shoot in subzero temps. I’ve never had a problem.

 

Here in AZ Ballistol gets very gummy, the guys at ballistol said no it wont.

Much like the new straws they sell with their aerosol cans, just wont fit, used my last, thank goodness and back to Breakfree.

 

Gets gummy in the heat?

 

Like Iowegan suggests, I always finish my gun cleaning and lubing with a blast of compressed air. A good air compressor is to me an essential shop tool. It gets all the excess out and works the oil in where it needs to go. I've never had an issue with Ballistol in cold weather.

 

Give Shooter's Lube a shot. It has worked well for me in all of my guns. The first step solution is a cleaner that is excellent and the second a synthetic lube that used sparingly seems to do everything it should here in Northern, AZ where we can have some pretty drastic temperature swings. That said, I still use a good grease on high friction surfaces.

 

I’ve got some shooter lube and I do like it. Again, the reason I asked about ballistol is because it’s not harmful to wood and I’ve been using it on my wood stocked guns for that reason.

 

Lowegan has it right as usual, a little bit of quality gun oil and compressed air is the secret to long life on firearms.

 

Put a bit of your chosen oil in a bottle cap and put it in the freezer overnight.

 

Ballistol will work just fine in sub-zero temperatures, me not so much which is why I'm in FL by then.

 

I cannot attest to extreme temps, but I've used a lot of lubes and LCPs from Breakfree to white lithium grease and nothing seems to work as well as Ballistol. I carry a gun 7 days a week in all conditions and Ballistol hangs in there. Moisture still seems to bead off at the end of the week and never any corrosion.

Still use lithium grease on my AK's action though!😏

 

FWIW I always keep Break free CLP and Ballistol in needle oilers on my work bench which is in a detached garage. Recently got down to the teens, so shop was about 20 degrees. I dropped one drop each at that temp and In my unscientific opinion, neither appeared to have any more viscosity than normal.