During deer season, I like to apply a unscented oil to my rifle when I come in from the woods. I know it probably doesn't work as well as some of the real gun oils such as Break-Free and Rust Prevent, but they all leave a game spooking scent on my gun. I have noticed that a couple of the unscented gun oils on the market list the only ingredient in them is 100% mineral oil. Is this the same "mineral oil" that is available in the laxative department at the pharmacy. I know that the mineral oil at the pharmacy says it is odorless and tasteless. I was just wondering if I could save some money by getting the big bottle at the pharmacy or do I need to continue buying the little overpriced three and four ounce bottle of unscented gun oil. I only use the unscented oil during hunting season and apply one of the "good" gun oils when I store my guns away till next season. Thanks for any comments back.
Unscented Gun Oil
- Thread starter BBush
- Start date
FrankenMauser
New member
If mineral oil is what you want to use, then pharmaceutical grade should be just fine.
If you want to thicken it up a bit, add some petroleum jelly. Colorless, odorless, very close chemically - just thicker.
If you want to thicken it up a bit, add some petroleum jelly. Colorless, odorless, very close chemically - just thicker.
Pathfinder45
New member
My bottle of Hoppe's gun oil, (not the famous bore solvent), is odorless.
Model12Win
Moderator
You can use vegetable or canola oil. It has no smell, and even if the animal could smell it, I'm sure it would just think it was foliage.
Didn't one of the popular "tactical wonder lube" makers just get outed for basically repackaging vegetable oil at a 10,000% markup?
Didn't one of the popular "tactical wonder lube" makers just get outed for basically repackaging vegetable oil at a 10,000% markup?
BBush unless your gun got rained on there is not much reason to oil it. People make way too much out of lubing guns. Just the thinest film of oil is all thats needed.
I normally take my actions out of the stock on a new gun and coat them with johnsons paste wax. Let it dry and buff it off. I can handle my guns for years and never have a rust problem. As for the action parts just a tiny bit of lube is all thats needed. And don't worry about the scent. To deer you probably stink worse than your gun by a country mile.
I normally take my actions out of the stock on a new gun and coat them with johnsons paste wax. Let it dry and buff it off. I can handle my guns for years and never have a rust problem. As for the action parts just a tiny bit of lube is all thats needed. And don't worry about the scent. To deer you probably stink worse than your gun by a country mile.
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From the link you posted. Canola oil may work for a range trip but not long term storage. Why? Because it will become gummy and sticky just like I said. I have seen several guns gummed up and barely working from being soaked in WD-40 and stored for a long period of time. Its a good stripper of old oils but a poor storage lubricant.
I use canola oil on cast iron skillets and know first hand if you leave just a little too much oil on the pan it will be sticky the next time you take it out of the cabinet. The world is full of lubricants made for use on metal that are head and shoulders above canola oil or other cooking oils. If you think canola oil is the berries then next time you change oil in your car just fill it back up with cooking oil. You will be fine.
From the link you posted. Canola oil may work for a range trip but not long term storage. Why? Because it will become gummy and sticky just like I said. I have seen several guns gummed up and barely working from being soaked in WD-40 and stored for a long period of time. Its a good stripper of old oils but a poor storage lubricant.
I use canola oil on cast iron skillets and know first hand if you leave just a little too much oil on the pan it will be sticky the next time you take it out of the cabinet. The world is full of lubricants made for use on metal that are head and shoulders above canola oil or other cooking oils. If you think canola oil is the berries then next time you change oil in your car just fill it back up with cooking oil. You will be fine.
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Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
There are no prizes for snark, smart remarks or hostile comments. Attack ideas, not people--and even then, politely.
"...make way too much out of lubing..." Oil is a rust preventative, not a lube. Grease is a lube. In any case, Bambi will be well used to the smell of oils and lubes and everything else smelly humans spread around. The only scent that might concern Bambi is smoke and your scent.
Canola oil and other veggie oils will oxidize fairly fast. And drain off.
Canola oil and other veggie oils will oxidize fairly fast. And drain off.
Waspinator
New member
Try "Clenzoil - Field and Range".
The smell, when applied, has a pine-like scent that dissipates after a little bit of time, leaving no traceable smell (to my human nose, that is). One of the best cleaners/lube I've tried . They've been around for over 60 years and it works.
https://www.clenzoil.com/product/field-range-solution/
The smell, when applied, has a pine-like scent that dissipates after a little bit of time, leaving no traceable smell (to my human nose, that is). One of the best cleaners/lube I've tried . They've been around for over 60 years and it works.
https://www.clenzoil.com/product/field-range-solution/
A big bottle of pharmacy grade odorless mineral oil will do fine.
As will pretty much any cooking oil in your pantry.
The reason why canola can get "gummy" on cast iron is polymerization. More double bonds, exposure to oxygen, and iron as a catalyst combined with heat speed up the polymerization process. Saturated fats like butter or lard lack double bonds for easy polymerization (a carbon atom finds a lower energy state bond with a carbon atom in another molecule than the carbon atom it is double bonded to in the original molecule). Since saturated fats are are already in the lowest energy state possible they absolutely require heat or oxygen to strip off a hydrogen to create a free radical which will induce double bonding or cross linkage leading to polymerization.
The more double bonds, the easier polymerization happens. Some common cooking oils mono-unsaturated in bulk (the majority of the fluid) include canola, olive, safflower, and peanut.
That being said, you can season your cast iron with anything you want. I find that sunflower oil does a better job than canola as the bulk of sunflower oil is polyunsaturated (59%).
Jimro
As will pretty much any cooking oil in your pantry.
The reason why canola can get "gummy" on cast iron is polymerization. More double bonds, exposure to oxygen, and iron as a catalyst combined with heat speed up the polymerization process. Saturated fats like butter or lard lack double bonds for easy polymerization (a carbon atom finds a lower energy state bond with a carbon atom in another molecule than the carbon atom it is double bonded to in the original molecule). Since saturated fats are are already in the lowest energy state possible they absolutely require heat or oxygen to strip off a hydrogen to create a free radical which will induce double bonding or cross linkage leading to polymerization.
The more double bonds, the easier polymerization happens. Some common cooking oils mono-unsaturated in bulk (the majority of the fluid) include canola, olive, safflower, and peanut.
That being said, you can season your cast iron with anything you want. I find that sunflower oil does a better job than canola as the bulk of sunflower oil is polyunsaturated (59%).
Jimro
dakota.potts
New member
I think MPro7 makes an odorless oil. I know their solvent is odorless. I prefer it.
The oil in the Lubri-kit package is non-toxic and odorless. It's Lubriplate FMO 350-AW. It is supposed to be a superior lubricant and corrosion preventive.
Dillon sells a product called Snake Oil that is odorless. It is a very good lubricant but I have no information at all about its corrosion preventive properties.
Dillon sells a product called Snake Oil that is odorless. It is a very good lubricant but I have no information at all about its corrosion preventive properties.