Hi, Bruce. I've heard various people say that sort of thing over the years - people whose opinion I respected, I mean - but here's the reason why I use it, for what it's worth. A few years ago, after I'd cleaned a rifle with Hoppe's No 9, on a whim I ran a patch soaked in WD-40 through the "clean" bore. Out came a lot more crud. You say it's not a lubricant or a solvent - but it works for me! I live in New Mexico, where if you ever see a speck of rust, you talk about it for a month, so if you're in the rain-forests of Ohio or Montana, things may be different.