A sad revelation-Hoppe's must have changed the formula????

[WinM71]

I buy a quart bottle of good old Hoppe's No.9 every few years. After a range day last Saturday, the old quart was empty. Just got the new one today. Plastic bottle, guess I can live with that-I'll just dump it into the old glass bottle. A nasty shock when I opened it. The classic aroma has changed. Ugh!!! You can still detect the old familiar "sweet" tang, but now it has an ammonia-like bite to it. Go*#@mn! Always liked the way the house smelled like the stuff for a day or two after an evening of cleaning guns. Don't think this new stuff is gonna be the same. Anybody else notice the difference? Wonder when it happened. Some things ought NEVER to change.

[jeepnik]

I wonder if they are going to stick one of those "Green Product" stickers on it next.

[firefuzz]

I've still got quite a bit in my big bottle, so it'll be a while before I find out. I've been told that the old #9 from the '60's had more ammonia in it than in has had in the 70's thru the present. Maybe they've gone back to the old formula?


Rob

[markinalpine]

You can always mix your own.
From Father Frog's website: Homemade Firearm Cleaners & Lubricants http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm
Go about 1/6th of the way down the page.
"...And For Historical Reference--The Original Hoppes No. 9
The original "Eau de Gun." If you don't like this smell you ain't a real shooter! This formula came from Hatcher's Notebook and the amounts are rounded from the original formula to make 1 quart. Any resemblance to the current "environmentally correct" No. 9 is accidental.

Original component Notes
Ammonium oleate (CAS #544-60-5)
aka
Oleic Acid CAS #112-80-1 5.0 oz (also known as ammonium soap) Could substitute lanolin but this would sacrifice its mild copper removal qualities
Amyl Acetate (CAS#544-60-5) 8.5 oz ("banana oil")
Nitro-benzene 2.0 oz (the racing fuel additive)
K1 Kerosene 8.5 oz
Neutral Saponifiable Oil 8 oz (Not identified, probably sperm oil, but ATF could be substituted"

Mark

[Sixgun]

E gads! That put a shock in me. I go through at least two quarts a year but all of mine came from the glass. I noticed a month or two ago the plastic bottles while in the gunshop but have not bought any yet.

Like you, I'm addicted to that smell--Guys who come in my gunroom all say, "Ahhhh Hoppes #9"----------Gonna have to look into this. If what you say is the case, I'm going on a mad buying spree on the glass bottles.-----------Sixgun

[WinM71]

My old glass bottle still had the Coatesville, Pa. address. The plastic bottle says Overland, KS. I sure am gonna miss the old aroma if this one leaves something less nostalgic.

I have an old Hoppe's "Gun Cleaning Pack" I bought many years ago at a gun show. Came in a 6" x 5" cardboard box. The little glass bottle of No. 9 has a cork, not a screw-on cap. The blather on one side panel of the box includes "Hoppe's Nitro Powder Solvent No. 9 has been used and recommended by Uncle Sam for years".Wonder when it dates from?

[Terry Murbach]

OH MY GOODNESS. I JUST POURED THE LAST OF MY GLASS QUART BOTTLE OF HOPPE'S #9 INTO THE SPRAY BOTTLE LAST WEEK. BACK WHEN I BOUGHT THAT ONE I THOUGHT IT SMELLED WEIRD, SORT OF WIMPED OUT AS IT WERE.
I ALSO HAVE QUART BOTTLES OF OUTERS NITRO SOLVENT WHICH WORKS PRETTY DARNED WELL TOO. I SPENT A LOT OF TIME--ALMOST A WEEK-- CLEANING A LOT GUNS A FEW WEEKS AGO. THIS CLEAR OUTERS SOLVENT IMPRESSED ME WITH IT'S ABILITY TO GET UNDER AND LIFT SOME LEAD DEPOSITS IN A COUPLE OF SIXGUNS.
ON THE OTHER HAND THE SMELL OF THE ORIGINAL HOPPE'S NUMBER NINE WAS AMBROSIA TO ANY SHOOTER.

[brno602]

Hmmm smell.
I found the old one smelled like the newer Benchrest stuff and that the new one smelled like lamp oil?
But it has been a wile about 10 years since I bought Hoppes solvent. Not that I don't clean my guns but I buy 4 litres or one Gallon at a time
I do use strong stuff like Barnes for copper fouling on my varmint rifles though, that has alot of amonia in it.
The old Hoppes was my fav liked it but had to switch about 15 years ago to the Bench rest stuff they sold, then I went to the Barnes.

[WinM71]

Ambrosia, a perfect description.

I've never cared that old No. 9 may not be the best-working formula. It's just a trip down memory lane for me every time I use it. Been using it since the early 1960s. Some things ought NEVER to change.

[JohndeFresno]

Ambrosia, a perfect description.
I've never cared that old No. 9 may not be the best-working formula. It's just a trip down memory lane for me every time I use it. Been using it since the early 1960s. Some things ought NEVER to change.

Perzactly! And I thought I was just weird - but it looks like I'm in good company - gotta have that aroma when I'm cleaning guns or something just ain't right.

[WinM71]

Yup - gotta have it. I just went & compared them again. The old stuff is the mild, sweet aroma. The new stuff still has the old aroma in the background, but overall it has a heavier component, somewhat like Shooters Choice, which I also use. I also noticed that the new bottle says "Hoppe's No. 9 Solvent" where, in the past, it always said "Hoppe's No. 9 Nitro Powder Solvent". I gotta go make a "Wanted to Buy" post on the Classifieds forum.

The Day The Music Died all over again .................

[lthardman]

I am sure you know the difference, but I will relate a mistake I made once. I grabbed the smaller bottle of what I thought was No 9 and went to work and noticed a much stronger ammonia smell. I then looked at the bottle and saw I had inadvertantly grabbed some Hoppes Copper Solvent, which is much heavier in ammonia. The bottles look almost the same, and the labels get a bit faded/washed out after a lot of use. I always refill from the quarts into smaller bottles in case of an accident on my too crowded bench.

Any chance you might have made the same mistake I did? Probably not, but I thought I would mention it.

I make mistakes on a regular basis. Lead to a more adventurous life.

[WinM71]

No mistake, sad to say. The new quart bottle of No. 9 rolled in on UPS from Midway today. I noticed the big difference soon as I opened it. I'm entirely capable of a blunder like that, and i wish that I had!

[airedaleman]

The banana oil odor is missing, and they've "modernized" the label...

[Ysabel Kid]

The banana oil odor is missing, and they've "modernized" the label...

Someone needs to learn a lesson about branding.

[WinM71]

I visited the two local gun shops yesterday, and called all the rest in the phone book. Nobody had any glass bottles of Hoppe's. Argghh. Then I remembered a gun shop out in western NH I stopped at years ago. I googled it, got a phone number & gave him a call. He said he thought he had the old pint in glass & that he'd be open at 1:00 this afternoon. I drove on out (an hour and 20 minutes). Got there a little early, so sat & read the paper. He showed up at 1:00 & asked if I was the guy who called this morning. He says "you know, after you called I was thinking that I should have told you to wait & call after I opened up, I can't be positive that I have glass bottles". Oh well, what's three hours of driving when you're on a QUEST...............

We went in, & it turned out he had six GLASS pint bottles with the old Coatesville address. Needless to say, I bought them all. I now have what's hopefully a lifetime supply (my son has already claimed one of them).

Sweet relief!