Cleaning muzzle loaders

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

It seems a large number of the problems with muzzle loaders start from poor cleaning.

I know most of the people I talk with in the non cast boolits world really didn't know anything about cleaning a muzzle loader , and it is something we try to teach all of our 4H muzzle loader program kids

I myself am relatively new to muzzle loading compared to many of you here so I though I would start this thread and ask you to add in anything I may miss , then those new to muzzle loading will have a good reference

The supplies we use are ,

-A rod longer than the barrel by enough to get all the way to the bottom and still have enough to hold onto , with a caliber appropriate jag

-cotton patches , i cut mine from flannel scraps or .015 pillow ticking

-hot water , usually we heat water on the Coleman stove , hot near boiling in a old coffee pot with pour spout

-a bucket ,or can only needs to be a few quarts in size at most ice cream pails are fine

-dish soap , we use dawn original , the blue stuff

-nipple wrench , or breach plug tool for inline

-brush, a tooth brush is fine

-nipple pick or small brush to clean the nipple or flash hole

-oil , and a rag




1.we start by removing the barrel from the stock ,
on a inline remove the breach plug, on a side percussion lock remove the nipple

2.in your bucket add a squirt of dish soap , then a few inches of hot water

3 for side locks place the breach end in the bucket
or
for in-lines I typically place the muzzle in the bucket and clean it from the breach , much more often in lines will have a scope , or action at the breach end that i don't want to stick in a bucket of water.

4. with a patch or 2 on the jag to get a good tight fit and the opposite end in the hot soapy water scrub in long even strokes this pushes the air out and draws hot soapy water into the barrel then pushes it out , scrubbing till you think you have it clean changing patches as needed , scrub the area around the nipple hole with the tooth brush in the soapy water.

you could run a brass brush if you felt it needed it at this time , we primarily shoot patched round ball with "friendship speed juice" 1/3 rubbing alcohol , 1/3 hydrogen peroxide , 1/3 Murphy oil soap. it keeps the fouling rather soft

5. then i pour nearly boiling water down the barrel to flush it , i have a funnel with a long neck that is handy for some in-lines , this flushes the soap water from the barrel , it also gets very very hot so hold the barrel with the rag , but it dries very fast and very dry also rinse the outside of the barrel that was in the soapy water

6. while the barrel is cooling down and drying i scrub the , breech plug for inline , and the nipple for percussion then rinse , i hold the nipple or plug over the flame of the stove with a pliers to dry it completely then let it cool

7. by now the barrel is getting cool enough to touch it again , i run an oil patch and wipe down the outside with the oil rag also wiping down the lock and other metal

8. reassemble , always use a good anti seize on the breach plug

9. just for good measure look it over and run an oil patch the next day , it will be apparent if you missed something


if your gun is difficult to disassemble , i have seen and use once a threaded piece that replaces the nipple and has tubing attached to it , this lets you put the end of the tubing in the bucket of hot soapy water and not the end of the barrel, but occasionally it is still good to get some oil on the underside of the barrel , and in the lock


there are many right ways to get your gun clean , but must also be many wrong ways as well because so many muzzle loaders get so neglected. I hate to see any gun neglected , but i think many just don't understand the extent of the corrosiveness of black powder or even BP substitutes . or how to remove it.

so many people cringe the first time you suggest hot soapy water
and so many companies make products to clean back powder and subs , but seem to cost a lot in comparison and may or may not work as well , i think it confuses the user

how do you clean yours? , did i miss anything

[fouronesix]

That's how I've been doing it for 44 years and have never rusted or damaged a muzzleloader. One thing I do is to tear 2-3 pieces of paper towel to use as drying patches after the rinse water. I run them in once and change them 2-3 times while the barrel is still hot. It really speeds up drying. Then oil as usual while the barrel is still warm.

I agree with your statement relating to the current confusion about cleaning muzzleloaders brought on by the "instant, easy no mess magic formula-of-the-week" marketed for quite a few years now. Show people how they can be lazy while paying for the privilege and more often than not, they'll take you up on it.

[C.F.Plinker]

Your method will work fine. Be sure to check the patch in Step 7 for signs of flash rusting. If you see it you can reduce the temperature of the water to just barely warm and this should prevent it without affecting the cleaning.

I clean with your "Friendship Speed Juice", followed by WD40 to get rid of all the water in the speed juice, dry patch that and then use Breakfree to protect the bore. Since this is a petroleum product I make sure that I wipe it out before I begin to load at the next range session.

[fouronesix]

Yep,
It seems the corrosion can start and continue no matter the procedure once the metal is clean and bare. IF the barrel is cool the only thing that happens is it doesn't dry as quickly and the corrosion acts more slowly so it is not readily seen with the next patch. That's the reason for staying with it and completing the job once started. Once dry (less than a minute after hot rinsing and running a couple of dry paper towel patches thru) I hit the bore with a patch and a light evaporating oil like WD 40 or LPS-1. Then a day or two later run another tight patch with oil thru to make sure. For longer storage, CLP seems to work well. I don't worry too much about and haven't noticed much effect from a light coat of petrol oil in the bore for the first shot- it just burns off after a shot or two. The ill effects of some petroleum bases may be seen if they are used extensively as the primary patch or bullet lube with BP.

[double8]

I follow most of what has been said.......I end up with a light coating of Marvel Mystery Oil in the bore....My Zouave is a vintage 1972/3 and there is no rust in the bore.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I will add that the oil I use is 45% ATF 45% K1 kerosine and 10% marvel I keep it in a wd40 spray bottle , of course labeled appropriately so as not to confuse it with wd40

I use it on almost everything , I really am not sure if it is safe for polymers , maybe one of the chemists can comment on that , so i use the CLP on the plastic pistols

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

the next range session , starts with a clean dry patch run down the barrel and fire 3 caps , then load



the caps clear the flash channel of oil that may have settled there , I haven't noticed the change in sound that happens usually between the first and second cap on the side lock as much as i have with the inline , probably for 2 reasons , the first the inline any oil in the barrel is going strait into the flash channel in the center of the breech plug , and second because i haven't had my side lock hunting yet so i wasn't snapping caps in the house where it was quiet enough to hear the change

[bob208]

i have been cleaning with your method for 40 years. never had any rust in a barrel. i have found that if you try to use short cut cleaning methods. some times you don't do a good job.

[Boerrancher]

I use the same cleaning method as above except I use WD40 or something similar to dry up the moisture. Since I almost exclusively use and shoot my MLs any more, I run dry paper towels in the bore until they come out clean, and leave it at that. I will put a light coat of oil on the outside of the gun, and leave the bore dry. The reason I leave the bore and touch hole or nipple dry, is because the chances of me shooting it again in a few days is very good. If I don't shoot it in a couple of days, I will run another tight paper towel patch down it to make sure all is good. In 30 years of shooting black powder I have never had a gun of mine rust. I have collected and cleaned up many that were not properly cared for over the years, and I don't understand why. It doesn't take that long to properly care for a black powder gun. If you don't have 5 min to clean it then you don't have any business shooting it, just my opinion.

Best wishes,

Joe

[nhrifle]

I got my first muzzleloader from Thompson Center years ago and read the manual like a fiend. The cleaning instructions are basically your procedure and thats how I clean all my BP guns, my Sharps included. I've seen all the solvents out there, tried a couple of them, and they just don't work as well as good old hot soapy water. I lube the barrel with T/C's Bore Butter, because it works so well and because I really like the way it smells. I swab the barrel with soapy water at just under boiling, then when the patches run mostly clean, I switch to a second pot of plain water that has been boiled to rince. A few strokes and the patches come out of the barrel perfectly clean. Pass a couple dry patches through to get most of the moisture out, then allow it to dry. Only takes a minute or so with the barrel so hot. A patch will verify it's dry and clean. With the barrel still too hot to touch, swab the bore with patches loaded with Bore Butter. Lightly coat the outside with BB too. Let it cool then reassemble.

[725]

I follow a very similar path in cleaning. Removeable breech plugs make it a snap for modern in-lines, but my sidelocks require a little more work. After diligent cleaning and oiling, I leave guns in the rack with a healthy dose of penetrating oil to chase the threads in the breech. I always go back and clean them all over again in a week or two and it never fails to produce more fouling cleaned out. No need for the water based cleaners but a good solvent (Ed's Red usually) does the final job.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Sounds like good clean advice,it is the way I have cleaned mine ,and living in the wet northwest I have to leave oiled , only thing is old shirts are my cleaning patches . Have used wd-40 for a long time ,along with other oils and lubes ,it always sickens me to see the number of used muzzleloaders rusted and pitted with very little use .

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I was just looking at recipes for oil mixes , the ed's oil IS 50-50 ATF and K1

i see some other recipes with marvel in them , I figure i added it cause i had it and it was red and a good oil , but it works fine

[double8]

It also helps that I live on the edge of the Mojave Desert where our humidity is around 15% or lower most days. I've also applied a couple coats of Johnsons' Paste Wax to the outside of the barrel and lock. Saw that on a CZ Forum...seems like good advice. .

[SamTexas49]

Agree with all the cleaning techniques posted here, I aquired a 50cal cleaning rod with the T handle (added an extra segment and a 1/2" brass tapered fitting fits right over the rod and will center the rod in the bore and will then clean any of my ML's , even the long barreled ones !

[John Taylor]

One of my customers says he cleans his in the toilet. Adds hot soapy water and scrubs the barrel with the end in the toilet. When the patches come out clean he flushes the toilet and dries the barrel. If you want to clean your rifle in the house it saves cleaning out the sink.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I got my first muzzleloader from Thompson Center years ago and read the manual like a fiend. The cleaning instructions are basically your procedure and thats how I clean all my BP guns ... I lube the barrel with T/C's Bore Butter, because it works so well and because I really like the way it smells...

Same here, except I just use HOT tap water with dish soap. I use only non-petroleum oil/lube. I've used TC bore butter, now I use Bear grease.
Jon

[Hogdaddy]

I clean same way & use Bore Butter,, Don't have no bear grease ; )

H/D