Cleaning methods: Which do you use.

[piwo]

I've been shooting BP muzzle loaders now pretty exclusively for the past 8-10 years. In that time I've come across pretty varied approaches for cleaning. Old school is just water and patches: using more and your barrel will not “season”. I’ve come across those who say “why the hell would you ever pour water on your metal: you want rust? I find modern smokeless solvents pretty ineffective in my experience at removing the charred black on the pan, bridle, barrel, tang… so I imagine they must be equally ineffective INSIDE the barrel as well. My hands on Sunday were soooo “sooty” from cleaning my gun that I couldn’t get the black soot, Crisco, beeswax grime off my hands with soap, water and a scouring pad. I saw the tub of Gojo sitting on the solvents table in the laundry room, so said to myself, what the hell. Rubbed it on, wiped it off dry, and I coulda performed surgery they were so clean! So my mind starts spinning (as it’s apt to do after 5.5 hours of full load shooting on a warm day): would it clean the inside of the barrel as well, and as easy?

I think we’ve pretty much established in the shooting world that barrels are like women: no two alike, no matter how similar they look and each needs to be treated with what suits them.

So I ask, what is your cleaning regimen for your BP arms? Specify smoothbore, rifled, whether you shoot patched balls, sabots or conicals. Do you use brushes or just patches, etc. I’d be interested in reading the different regimens used here.

[fishhawk]

hot soapy water and a patch and jag pump the water in and out the barrel shoot round ball in both rifle and smooth bore if it doesn't have a hooked breach then just a patch and jag with "moose milk" untill the patches come out clean. fishhawk

[I Haines]

I mostly use patched r/balls in my rifle. I clean with warm water and a bit of Dawn detergent or Simple Green. Like fishhawk, I use a patch on a jag with the breach end of the barrel in a coffee can and pull the water up. Will use a brush once in a while if my patches keep showing fouling. IH

[Blammer]

I shoot sabots, patch and RB and maxi's.

I use hot soapy water and a jag with a patch.

I use the water hot enough that when the water is gone the residual heat of the barrel causes the rest of the water to evaporate. I then put a light coat of maxi lube all over it, inside and out and put a drop of breakfree on the nipple threads.

Rarely have I used a brush, if I do I use it inside the barrel for the "crud ring" but usually it comes out quickly. I shoot black powder and none of the "fake" stuff. Mostly cause it won't shoot accurately for me.

[44man]

Water, soap and water, 50/50 anti freeze and water, Birchwood-Casey black powder solvent, all work great. Don't use smokeless solvents!!!! If you pull a nipple, use anti seize lube on the threads.
Use brushes, patches, whatever, until there is no more black. Then pour hot water through the bore and dry it before putting something to protect the steel in and on the gun. WATER or water based is the only way.
All of my guns go in the laundry tub!

[Rattus58]

I've used most methods, use alcohol and murphy's oil soap now pretty much exclusively, but its hard to beat the hot soapy water methods followed up with an oil swab down bore, swabbed clean (rust) then lubed again with oil, in my opinion.

Aloha....

[carpetman]

For my air rifles,I can push a patch with a length of heavy weed trimmer--.135 and above. I can also push a patch through .22's using it. For larger cals I double a lenth of smaller .o65 weed line and push the line through and place a patch through the loop and drag it out. This way I can get a tighter patch and I don't even think you could ruin a Glock barrel with weed trimmer line.

[axman]

I use a mix of 99% iso alcohol, murphys oil soap, and a little wintergreen rubbing alcohol. Just keep using new patches till clean usually 6 to 10 and then dry patch then clenzoil for rust proof, also use on bpcr guns.

[Buckshot]

..............There isn't anything in BP that isn't soluable in water. And if you're using the right lubes it's ditto for that. So basicly all you need is water. But you can make it better. Add a bit of detergent and it helps break down surface tension and makes water act 'wetter'. Warm the water up and it becomes a bit more active.

Only one of my rifles has a break off breech like you would need to have to set the breech end in water and pump a patch back and forth in the bore. All the rest have varying numbers of bands and a tang screw. I'm not apt to take the barrel off any of them for cleaning. I used to stick a rubber hose on the nipple, dropping the other end in some hot water. I was happy doing this, but not doing it seems to work as well.

For the rifled muskets I lean them so fluid can feely exit the nipple without running down the butt. For each patch I pour in some fluid then run the patch down to force it out through the nipple. Then I use a breechface scraper. After that I use a breechface brush. Some more fluid and a couple more patches for flushing then it's dried and lubed.

The Whitworth has a patent breech. Everything else is the same except I use a 45 cal and then a 30 cal nylon bristle brush, finishing with a 30 cal wool mop to make sure the recessed breech is clean. Flush a couple times, dry and lube.

................Buckshot

[Nardoo]

Count me for a water and detergent guy. I take a thermos of boiled water to the range, have one cup of tea out of it and use the rest to clean my rifle. I am not sure if hot water actually cleans much better than cold (I think it does) but it heats the metal which tends to evaporate off any residual water and leaves the metal work dry. A quick lube with Ed's Red and I am ready to go.

I used to redo the guns when I got home but have found it unnecessary. I also think if you can clean right after firing the fouling comes out easier.

Nardoo

[1Shirt]

Used to shoot a lot of front stuffers, and found nothing better than hot water, the hotter the better. Even boiling right off the stove with a couple drops of detergent dropped down the bbl. I used a funnel on top, and a bucket below, and wrapped a towel around the bbl as it gets really hot quick. Only thing is that you must be sure of is that you oil the bbl immediately afterwards, as oxidation takes place rapidly, with hot water. I usually used a heavily greased patch, for a few strokes, than half dozen or more dry patches.
1Shirt!

[versifier]

I use really hot water and a little bit of BlackSolve, patch on jag and pump it through, then patches till clean - every so often the patches feel rough, so I will run a brush through it. Nipples get cleaned in straight solvent with tooth brushes, etc., then rinsed in really hot water, dried and threads lubed. As stated above, the really hot water gets the barrel warmed up to where the residual water evaporates, but putting it in the oven or on a woodstove works well, too. Then, a light coat of oil inside and out. I run a patch down the bore before shooting to remove the oil.

[floodgate]

I keep bringing this up, once a year or so, but...

An OLD TIME ex-Marine - who came from the era when black powder was still used in training and gallery loads, pre-1900 (I was young then; now I am in my mid-70's) - told me always to make the first couple of swipes through the barrel with COLD water; he said hot water tended to "set" the fouling if used first. I've done it that way ever since - finishing off, of course, with boiling water to heat the metal and evaporate the moisture - and it WORKS - for me at least. Try it, you MIGHT like it.

floodgate

[mooman76]

Flood gate, good tip. I know this will make some of you's cringe but I usually just clean it the same way as any other gun. Never had a problem. I do occationally use water but I have a hard time putting water on metal. Makes my skin crawl! I also use the old fashion spit patch when loading and that itself keeps the fouling down!

[MT Gianni]

I have a hard time putting water on metal. Makes my skin crawl! I also use the old fashion spit patch when loading and that itself keeps the fouling down!

I always considered my spit to be mostly water. Gianni

[725]

I run a BP range at a local boy's & girls summer camp. Three days a week I shoot for a few hours, non-stop. As fast as they can load (under my hands on supervision), they shoot. I have dirty guns everyday, as they shoot alot. Now, I know the proscription against using petrolium based products, but here is my daily task:
Disassemble and BlackSolve everything. Suck BlackSolve back and forth through the barrel. Q-tip, tooth brush, and pipe cleaner the bolster, nipple, lock, etc. until none show black residue. Dry patch and rag everything, and then wash it all down with WD40. I let WD40 stand in the breach for a long time (?5 minutes). Just to be understood, I use LOTS of WD40. I patch it out and reassemble. Other than wear, the camp guns look like new with super clean, rust free metal. I used to "season" bores with lube, etc. but always would find a touch of rust somewhere in the barrel. What gave me the greatest concern was the threaded breach plug & bolster threads. With the water displacing WD40, I'm no longer concerned. These are real workhorse guns used for instructional purposes, but I would take any of them deer hunting if I had to and wouldn't feel put out. (But then I would have to leave my nice stuff in the safe and there are not enough years left to not use my favorites.)
725

[flyingstick]

Hot Water only! Plug my touch hole with a toothpick, rinse out the barrel a couple of times, then it's the jag & patch until she's clean.
Don

[mooman76]

When I do use hot water I put a pice of aquarium tubing over the nipple, fill the sink with hot soapy water and pump the jag up and down with the tubing in the water. Makes it quick and easy!

[corvette8n]

I've use boiling hot soapy water on my side lock, and the milky stuff on the inline
oil lightly.

I also used the boiling water to clean out cosomoline the hot water heats the metal and it drys really quick.

[Moose]

Well, whatever works, works. Been shooting (including BP) for about 60 years, and when in doubt, use hot soapy water. GI practice was to clean 3 days running, with the infamous but effective Cleaner, Bore - and hot soapy was not out of line. For the old smoke poles, hot soapy water, lots of it, followed by a boiling rinse. Used an old towel wrapped around the bbl ( it gets HOT!) and tilted the works over so it didn't splash all over the action and stockwork. Wiped her down while still a little too hot for comfort, then slopped on the oil. When I was a kid Stogerol was a big item - remember how that stuff smelled? Anyway, it worked. When I say soap, Gramma's homemade is indicated. My paternal gram considered GI bar soap and Fels-Naptha as 'puny'..