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.
Question about unscented gun oils....
- Thread starter BBush
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Elkins45
Member
Mineral oil is widely used as a rust presentative by chefs who still favor carbon steel kitchen knives. Just buy the big bottle.
You also might consider giving them a good coating of Johnson's Paste Wax and letting all the solvents evaporate. All of my blue guns get a dose of JPW under the stocks so they don't pit if they get wet.
You also might consider giving them a good coating of Johnson's Paste Wax and letting all the solvents evaporate. All of my blue guns get a dose of JPW under the stocks so they don't pit if they get wet.
matrem
Member
Certainly wish you the best at your scent free effort.
My nose sure can't work like a deer, but several oils I've used have little to no smell.
Since you're going that far, I'm assuming you scrub & rinse your boots in boiling water, wear all clothes only one outing between washings, brush your teeth with baking soda, and wouldn't even think of eating while hunting.
Not at all trying to be a smart a$$, just relaying my experience as to how little the smell of oil would mean to me.
My nose sure can't work like a deer, but several oils I've used have little to no smell.
Since you're going that far, I'm assuming you scrub & rinse your boots in boiling water, wear all clothes only one outing between washings, brush your teeth with baking soda, and wouldn't even think of eating while hunting.
Not at all trying to be a smart a$$, just relaying my experience as to how little the smell of oil would mean to me.
Jackal
Member
Luckily our deer here in the PNW are stupid. You can darn near hunt with a rock. We have nice bucks on our property, munching on greens within 20ft of our houses.
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matrem
Member
You're not going to shoot through that glass are ya?
You would have to read the label of the laxative mineral oil or see if you can find the MSDS sheet for the product. You might get that on line or request it from the manufacturer.
Some sewing machines use mineral oil for a lubricant, I have an industrial model in my basement that does. Before I retired, we used mineral on our packaging machines where the oil might contact the product so there are lots of uses for it out there.
If you want to continue to use mineral oil, you can probably get a lifetime supply on line for not much money. With the special gun oils, you are paying for the small packaging and the fancy labels.
I just don't think I could bring myself to lubricate my guns with a "laxative".
slicksleeve
Member
I use Lucas brand gun oil. It is supposed to be unscented, and seems to be a pretty good gun oil anyway.
Nature Boy
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If you're down wind, it won't matter.
If you're up wind, it won't matter.
In other words, it won't matter.
If you're up wind, it won't matter.
In other words, it won't matter.
slicksleeve
Member
Good point, Nature Boy. I use the Lucas because I like it, but it won't counteract the Hoppe's or whatever else I cleaned with. I hunt two different properties, and try to plan my hunting on whichever one the wind is right for.
bamajoey
Member
I use a lot of 5w 20 Mobil 1 gun oil. Around 25$ for 5 qts.
Scent can make a difference, one part of assessing it for those deer in that habitat is whether they get a lot of it and are conditioned to it one way or the other.
Deer that literally live and bed down a few hundred yards from my back door get a lot of residential smells, there are dogs inside fencing, and cars parked all over the neighborhood. Auto lubricants are normal in this environment.
At the public hunting land I frequent, there are horse trails and parking lots surrounding the section, plus a range with shooters banging away every daylight hour. Auto scents, saddles, and noise are all normal. Those smells will traverse over a mile.
A musty set of hunting clothes stored in a basement with the dryer vented into it always flags a deer and they exit rapidly at either location. But, that's here. Your experience can and will vary.
Scents make a difference but it's a local situation where you get to figure out what the deer consider to be abnormal. The best policy is to minimize scent and avoid being an alarm producer. I no longer use any auto oils on my firearms for hunting, which makes it a blanket policy. Scent free gun oils are a help, don't cost any more, and you have to reapply the best after a shooting and cleaning session anyway.
I do what I can - but I also expect "that guy" in blue jeans wearing last years orange hoody he changed the crankcase in last week to be dragging out a deer. Random chance still figures into it all.
Deer that literally live and bed down a few hundred yards from my back door get a lot of residential smells, there are dogs inside fencing, and cars parked all over the neighborhood. Auto lubricants are normal in this environment.
At the public hunting land I frequent, there are horse trails and parking lots surrounding the section, plus a range with shooters banging away every daylight hour. Auto scents, saddles, and noise are all normal. Those smells will traverse over a mile.
A musty set of hunting clothes stored in a basement with the dryer vented into it always flags a deer and they exit rapidly at either location. But, that's here. Your experience can and will vary.
Scents make a difference but it's a local situation where you get to figure out what the deer consider to be abnormal. The best policy is to minimize scent and avoid being an alarm producer. I no longer use any auto oils on my firearms for hunting, which makes it a blanket policy. Scent free gun oils are a help, don't cost any more, and you have to reapply the best after a shooting and cleaning session anyway.
I do what I can - but I also expect "that guy" in blue jeans wearing last years orange hoody he changed the crankcase in last week to be dragging out a deer. Random chance still figures into it all.
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