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2-Piper the seasoning theory is pretty much discredited now. However there is a problem with petroleum and blackpowder in that a barrel with petroleum based lube seems to make a hard gunk pretty fast that is difficult to remove. Best solvent for blackpowder residues is water. But the oils in the gunk make the water ineffective. So today most of the homemade lubes are either animal fat and beeswax based, or more popular, is a mixture of Murphys oil soap, a little dish detergent and alcohol or water and possibly crisco and olive oil. Some now shoot patches coated with teflon which requires alcohol cleaning. Muzzleloaders cleaned for storage are usually protected with a modern oil which is wiped out well before the next use.

I have noticed that Chinese master craftsmen use Camellia Oil or Tea oil (Camellia oleifera) as a a rustproof oil on their hand tools.
Seems to work quite well.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/v5-222.html

about 15 years ago I was at a gun show in NH and bought a bottle of what what labeled Sperm Whale Oil. The seller had all the documentation that it was pre ban. I think I paid $25 for a pint.

It was used to color meerschaum pipes in the Victorian era, and it works well for that.

Still have it, have never used it on guns. Doesn't smell bad at all, honey colored.

I've rubbed my hammer gun down with it....I'm anxious to see how well it holds up to the elements for the next five days.

I first read about wonders of Jojoba oil in Gun Care, Cleaning & Refinishing Book Two: Long Guns by J.B.Wood. I just applied some Jojoba Natural Skin Care Oil to my RRL extremely ltd.ed. becuase I got tired of wearing latex gloves while applying gun oil. We will see how it works out.

The hard stuff in bp bores from petrol lube is said by some internet authorities to be asphaltum which is a fancy Latinate way to say too much baked tar. Oddly, the same authorities claim that both Ballistol (which I think is not much more than soluable "cutting oil" for machining) and parafine (both petroleum derivatives)do not contain the nasty-maker. I'm using beexwax, parafine, neatsfoot blend for bp revolver lube wads. No major hard deposits that I've noticed. Last nite I went outside to run a kleenex soaked in choke cleaner thru the bores of Lefever and then a kleenex coated with that bore butter stuff in preparation to shoot my new bp cartridge loads. Also no hard deposits. Most of it was gone with cold water from the hose. I sprayed bores on a couple stations with the milk of moose in my case made from NAPA cutting oil and water. Seems any rendered animal fat or veggie oil has more "natural goodness" than some petroleum distillates.

To back up the low-load, low-friction pov, some mechanical contrivances need a barrier to dirt entry worse than they need lube. Case in point, exposed bicycle chain. Folks who use oil have chains which collect dirt and grit. Pin and link wear from abrasive grinding = chain stretch and a skippy mesh with cogs. Those who clean chain off the bike in kero or gas and dip in melted parafine don't get chain stretch because the parafine simply "fills" the numerous bearing contact points.

jack

An artist friend (the fellow who painted "The Wall", the Viet Nam Memorial in Wash.DC) sent me a pint of pure pre-ban sperm oil, and I've used it in the locks and triggers of my flintlocks, but in all honesty I'm not sure that it is any better than the Ballistol I've used for years. In a cold climate it may be better, I don't know, but down here in Florida I can't tell any difference.

I've not tried it as a patch lube simply because I have excellent results with either bear oil or deer tallow for this. If I'm shooting chunkgun competition I use a patch lube of 7 parts water with 1 part water soluable machine shop oil allowing the patch to dry out before using. This produces outstanding consistancy in patch lube. For general hunting I'll use a mix of 25% beeswax and 75% bear oil which works well in our hot climate.

Cushion wads used in my double barrel flintlock and fowling pieces are rolled in this beeswax/bear oil mix also. Rolling it works great as a lube without weighing down the cushion wad and pushing it into the shot column.