Cast bullets and barrel protection after firing....

[mehavey]

This afternoon in Northern Virginia was one of those gee-it-was-miserable weather days -- low 40s, constant drizzle & fog -- EVERYthing collects a fine layer of "dampness" just by sitting on otherwise-covered firing line tables & benches.

Yuck.....

So after firing two dozen moderately heavy(280gr)/stout(1,680fps) cast 44Mags out of the `94 Marlin, I packed it in.

As usual I checked for leading by running a single dry patch down the barrel/out the action, and then looked through the bore by reflected light -- not unexpectedly, the bore was a mirror.

Then it struck me that the best rust preventative in the world might just be the residual beeswax/ALOX left in the bore, having been applied deep into every nook and cranny in the most energetic means possible.... i.e., leave barrel alone after that one dry patch. (That way, tomorrow's/next week's first cold shot is through a reliably "dirty" bore.)

Other than Ed Harris, has anyone actually thought/tested this through?

[Axelwik]

Sounds plausible. But I guess it would depend on the lube's reaction with water and other properties - hydrophobic or hydrophilic, and whether it would result in a galvanic reaction.

There are a lot of lube formulas, homemade and manufactured, and some may or may not be safe for the barrel.

[mehavey]

In this case, plain old 50/50 Beeswax/ALOX.
(i.e., car body undercoating)

(See Ed Harris' article here: http://yarchive.net/gun/long_term_storage.html) )

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