So I saw an article on “man candles” at grandviewoutdoors.com. As the candles aren’t exactly gun-oriented – On Tap smells like “the cool, golden aroma of a freshly poured draft beer” and Camouflage smells like “a natural, woodsy blend of fresh air, golden leaves and oak tree bark” – I posted the link on TTAG’s Facebook page. Cat fancier Jason Bell pointed out “They need a ‘freshly fired gun’ scent.” To which Yoda fan Stuart Davis added “I’ve been saying this for YEARS. Not just candles either, if they turned that s**t into a perfume for women….GAME OVER.” Maybe. What do you think a “gun candle” should smell like?  

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90 COMMENTS

  2. That’s a no brainer… Hoppes #9! I’d buy it. I love that smell. The actual solvent does not work well on bare skin, but I’d love to have a body splash that smelled gently like that too.

    Ok, maybe would not sell well to most women. But a candle like that would be awesome. 🙂 I may just make one!

    • E+million 🙂

      Just think of the marketing logos

      Aftershave – when u need to get the lead out !
      perfume – because you are not a copper kind of girl !
      candle – for those corrosive moments !
      bubble bath – clean all those special places !

    • they make an air freshener for your car, it looks just like the old glass bottle with the metal cap. The smell is close but not quite the same .

    • Tell me it isn’t so! New? When? I have a great big bottle I bought a good number of years ago, and it smells like Hoppes always has. I may need to ration that bottle if they’ve messed with it since. Rats.

  4. I think it’s quite apparent it should smell like burnt cordite. Best smell in the world!

      • Exactly what I thought, as soon as I saw the heading. Hoppes# 9 is good but cannot compare to the original stuff. I have shot a Lee Enfield with proper cordite rounds and it smells heavenly. Maybe cordite, Hoppes# 9 and a little tannerite would be good!
        Bacon, though…

  6. Hoppes #9 boys!!
    I don’t know what smell “says GUNS” more than that, and of course if that was packaged as a perfume, the MOTG(Men Of The Gun) would be screwed… Yep GAME OVER.

    • Sounds great!
      By the way, do you pour a couple of drops of Hoppes on your beacon when your frying it?

  15. Well…. actually I have a really seriously sensitive nose. Perfumes of all kinds irritate my nose. Even the scent of basic gun oils are a little… well they’re not my favorite. But usually I can power through that easy. But I’m not sure I want to fill my home with that scent.

  16. Wait a sec. Real men don’t buy candles, except for the unscented kind they throw in a cabinet or utility room, for when the electricity goes out after a storm!

    Where I live, in June of 2012, there were two huge storms that, over the course of less than 11 full days, knocked out our power for FOUR DAYS EACH!!

    I have plenty of candles and glow sticks now.

    • Get some of those solar yard lights.

      They’re cheap and renewable. A dozen can prove months worth on indoor area lighting.

      Stake them in the ground to charge by day, place them where you need around your home by night.

      Way better than candles and no risk of fire.

      • No relationship to guns and they don’t have a scent. I mean, each to his/her own, but why would I bother with that when I can clean guns? Or fondly remember the last time I did.

  17. I think they should have a whole series of gun candles: Hoppes #9, CLP, Slip EWL, sonic cleaner, burnt gun powder, cordite, burning suppressor, ect.

  19. Hoppes, metal and wood.

    Not that new, can’t really smell it, metal, but that aged, used, metal.

    Like an old shotgun or bolt gun.

    • No idea, but I hope they never try to “improve” it and make #10.

      I actually use Gunzilla more now, since it is not caustic, but it has no particular smell. So, I open the Hoppes while I clean guns, just to get me into the “mood.” LOL

  24. I’ve been in the original Yankee Candle store.
    Could not was off the smell for days….

  28. I’ve got a stupidly sensitive nose.

    Ballistol (I know, but I guess I’m weird because I really like the smell)
    Old Hoppe’s #9

    I can actually smell the difference between Remington RXP or STS, Winchester AA, and Federal Gold shotgun shells. Fired or unfired.

    And I can tell by the smell if I reloaded with Red Dot or 700X.

    But the very best “Smell Of The Gun”?
    Old 12 gauge Federal paper shells.

  29. The smell of gunpowder, AKA one of the few smells I can pick up that isn’t good food or rotting corpses.

  30. A combination of scents.
    The smell of a freshly cleaned revolver. (A blued revolver)
    Mineral oil on a walnut stock.
    A slight waft of burnt powder when your shooting and the wind shifts.
    Cosmoline being dissolved by acetone.
    Carbon scrapings from the back of an AR bolt.
    A fresh opened can of H110.
    That smell when you open your gun safe after it’s been sealed for a few days.
    That odor when you pop the lid from the case vibrator… Walnut media, brass, with a hint of Dillons brass cleaner.

    All of these, or maybe different candles for different moods?

  33. Burned propellant! When I haven’t been to a range in to long I start to think I’m smelling it here and there, like when you almost think you smell something from your childhood like your mom’s baking. Then I know it’s time to get back to a range.

  34. I know it’s not a gun smell, but there is nothing quite like the smell of an old sports car. Engine oil, transmission oil, exhaust fumes when it’s running a bit rich….leather. Ahhh.

  35. My 3 year old loves the smell of shop rags from my gun cleaning kit, so I’d say a blend of mostly Hoppes #9, some Rem Oil, a dash of burnt carbon, a hint of Oxpho Blue and Frog Lube and a soupcon of Break Free CLP.

  36. They already make a Hoppe’s car air freshener. There are also White Castle scented candles.

  37. Hoppes #9 with Mil Spec Light Weapons Oil and a dash of freshly burned powder (say some green dot with a pinch of IMR3031 for spice)!

  38. Hoppes #9! Am I alone in that if I want my Mrs. by my side all I need to do is break down a gun and start cleaning it…. 20 seconds tops and she appears right beside me…. She loves the smell.

    • My wife and daughter come running when I break out the cleaning kit. Usually cleaning guns is a family event at my house.

  40. The orignal #9 of my youth with all the bad stuff like benzine in it along with the banana oil was the best I still have a few oz left in the bottom of a glass quart bottle the is saved just for sniffing. I soak a 4×4 patch in it and hang it up while I clean my guns

  41. STOP PUTTING HOPPE’S IN YOUR BARRELS!!!

    Ever notice that a patch never quite comes out clean? It always has just a trace of grey on it? THAT IS YOUR BARREL!

    Find a milder solvent, Shooter’s Choice or Wipeout are good, especially for your precision rifles.

    http://youtu.be/nm5HyBNC6PY?t=2m27s

    With that being said, no one is going to take advice from this keyboard commando. I’ll just be happy that all the excessive cleaning with powerful solvents leads to more guns and more barrels being bought, because others can’t shoot like they used too, which drives down prices due to the economy of scale.

    Cheers!

    • You mean the same Hoppes some claimed was unsafe for polymer gun because it was too harsh on plastic? The same Hoppes they left a polymer piece in for 3 hours of soaking and nothing happened? Kind of hard to imagine something taking off steel if it can’t corrode plastic. If you have links proving otherwise, I would be thankful if you post them.

      Excessive cleaning is something I agree with you, just not in the Hoppes statement. Mainly because your link takes you to some guy on Youtube who ‘claims’ solvents take off steel, but no evidence or testing of various brands to back it up.

      http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/hoppes-no-9-synthetic-blend-gear-test/

      Because of said rants about product’s harshness in polymer caused Hoppes to formulated a new “synthetic safe” formula that’s weaker than the old stuff and does nothing new but add time to cleaning and making certain people ‘feel’ better.

  42. Some years ago, I stopped by the Hoppe’s booth at the SHOT Show and suggested that they market an aftershave with an identical scent to their classic No 9. Their booth guy said that they’ve heard that suggestion from a lot of people every year. I said, “Well, there’s your market!”

  43. Why one scent? Should be a variety depending on, well, you know.
    Top: Charlton Heston’s breathe
    next: Cordite
    Then: Hoppe’s #9
    and: CLP
    newbies: plastic from all the accessories.
    Liberals: urine or pansies.
    This is still a work in progress, PLEASE don’t moderate me, bro!

  44. Having damaged my health refinishing furniture ( methyl anything is bad)with various toxic chemicals & solvents I have to say cleaning GUNS is way more fun. I’ve never smelled Hoppes. Is it better than CLP or Rem oil? Every gun I’ve had ran great with those 2.

    • On my Glocks in the dry high desert, CLP has been outstanding. I didn’t care for Hoppes, and the Remoil container seemed to have been filled with water.

    • Never had he pleasure. Would that be cordite in those silk bags? Haven’t smelled that either, to be frank.

  48. Well it is unanimous. The people have spoken and they want a Hopppe’s #9 scented candle.

  50. Hoppes #9 burnt powder CLP metal black walnut & tung oil. Basically how my work area smells… oh and a faint hit of blood sweat and freedom.

  51. How about a “napalm” candle, since everyone loves the smell of napalm in the morning? Maybe a “Victory” brand “napalm scented” candle?

  53. Fuel thickener doesnt smell that good, tho mix enough gas with it you end up with gas scented gel.

    Hoppes is so corrosive that its been used how long?

    how much cordite is still around, old .303, must be pretty rare?

  55. “A freshly fired gun’ scent?”
    Then you want something that smells like putting a 12ga shell under your nose and taking a slight whiff. There is nothing more pleasing to the shooter than that slight aroma of burnt powder.

  56. Came to vote Hoppe’s #9 and saw my old Marine Corps friend CLP. Man I am so torn… BOTH!

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