.50 Hawken Rusty Barrel Help

[Mulebrain]

I am new here today, because I just got my first Black Powder gun. I bought it used of course, and the inside of the barrel is rusty! What is the best way to clean this mess up?

Also what is the best place to get shooting supplies? You know powder, and balls etc..

Thanks for all the help!

I have been shooting High Power for years. I just want to learn more about these type of weapons

Thanks for all the help folks!

Pat [email protected]

 

[cayugad]

I am new here today, because I just got my first Black Powder gun. I bought it used of course, and the inside of the barrel is rusty! What is the best way to clean this mess up?

Also what is the best place to get shooting supplies? You know powder, and balls etc..

Thanks for all the help!

I have been shooting High Power for years. I just want to learn more about these type of weapons

Thanks for all the help folks!

Pat [email protected]

High Power.. welcome to the sport and the forum. It's good to have you and you can learn a lot of stuff here that will help you out.

As for the rust in the bore, first clean the rifle real good with a soap and water bath and after that inspect it with a bore light so you can see just how serious a problem it is. Many times even a bore with a little rust, if cleaned and taken care of will still shoot fine.

After the water bath, get a bore brush and a quality gun solvent. Scrub that barrel good. Then clean the rifle again. Inspect it with a bore light and see if the rust is gone.

If not, I might suggest some J-B Bore Paste. Take the Bore Paste on a small piece of Scotch Brite Scouring Pad. Attach the scouring pad to a patch worm and with the paste on it, scrub the devil out of that barrel. The paste will remove the rust and the scouring pad will smooth the bore. Actually this is considered a very light lap job by some.

I was given a rifle in similar condition. One that was hunted with and then not cleaned. After they considered it junk they gave it to me. I actually had to lapp the barrel with some valve grinding compound I bought at a NAPA auto parts store. The final results is the outside of the barrel looked pitted and ruff but the rifle is a sweet shooter.

After you have cleaned the devil out of the rifle be sure and put a quality gun oil in the bore. I would suggest some REM OIL with teflon . Its real important to get that bore covered once you have the barrel back to bare metal.

Before you shoot, just put a patch on a cleaning jag and wet the patch with some isopropyl alcohol and swab the bore of the rifle good. This will remove the oil from the bore prior to shooting. Then run a couple dry patches down the barrel and with one patch pushed all the way to the breech, pop a couple caps through it and make sure you have a good fire channel. If you do then load it and shoot.

If the nipple looks worn, then replace it with a hot shot nipple. Get some CCI Magnum #11 caps or RWS 1075 caps. They are good and hot and always work well for me.

As for equipment, there are many online places to purchase the stuff you will need. Mid South Shooters Supply, Midway USA, Natchez, D&R Sports, Cabela's, Bass Pro, and the list goes on and on. You can get a lot of the stuff at a local Wal Mart if they carry a good selection of Black Powder stuff.

Again, good luck and have fun.

 

[Mulebrain]

Thanks for all the help! What is the tear down proceedure, to get the barrel end plug out?

Thanks

 

[roundball]

Thanks for all the help! What is the tear down proceedure, to get the barrel end plug out?

Thanks

Caution:
If you have some form of modern inline ML, it may have a "removeable" breechplug.....BUT.....if it's some form of 'Hawken', like a TC Hawken, Investment Arms, Cabela's, etc, etc...removing the breechplug ('end plug') is something for the factory or experienced gunsmith with proper tools and know-how...it's not a routine activity done by the owner...and not required at all for cleaning...

 

[Mulebrain]

Thanks for getting me straight on that one! I was thinking, if I can get that breech plug out it will be a breeze to clean this barrel!

It is a CVA Frontier model

 

[cayugad]

Nope.. the breech plug is there to stay. In fact those that have tried to remove them usually end up causing a lot of damage to the rifle and end up sending them off to get the thing fixed. A bore light will let you look in there. Get a good quality one. I bought a cheap one and the darn thing would flicker on and off all the time. About drove me crazy.

 

[IronMan]

Greetings Hi Power
Welcome to the Fourm. There are lots of places to buy accories on-line. There is a list of links to a lot of them on here in the links section. I buy most of mine from The Possibles Shop. They have a good selection and good prices. Shipping and service is fast and reliable. Good luck and have fun makein smoke.

IronMan

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

Not trying to sound flippant,

But if you start messing around with wrenches and vises in an attempt to remove the breech plug; you will very quickly learn a lot about muzzleloaders--like how much a gunsmith charges to remove a battered breech plug and replace it... or how much a new barrel costs... or why they make special tools for certain things... I think you get the drift of the message.

I will say though, that sometimes, just sometimes, you might manage to remove the plug without significant trouble or damage. It IS possible, it's just the odds are NOT in your favour.

Please note that I've trashed a few plugs and one of two barrels in my lifetime. When it's a last resort and you've nothing to lose, then why not try it? Great inventors and inventions have come about from that kind of experimentation. Could it be that you're another Edison in the making???

I agree too that if you could remove the plug that it would be much easier to try and remove the rust or lap the barrel or whatever means you were thinking of trying. Normally the plug is never removed for regular cleaning or bore inspection especially on a sidelock gun.

Some inlines are made to have their breech plugs removed BUT you better use some teflon tape or anti-seize grease on those threads when you put it back together!

Good luck on your project! Keep us informed of your progress or any snags that come up. Sharing information is what keeps muzzleloading a great hobby!

Best Regards, and Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[peter]

Hello High Power, I also had a rusty barrel problem. What I did was to remove the barrel,then removed the nipple and stand the barrel in a big metal can filled with very hot soapy water. Then used a jag and clean patch, when you push the cleaning rod down into the barrel it will push air and debris out of the nipple hole, the up stroke will pull soapy water mix into the barrel. Keep pumping until the water looks like it should be changed, then change water as many times as you think you should. Final rinse with very hot clear water, then use a few dry patches. The heated barrel will help evaporate residual water. Now use solvent [like Hoppes no. 9], and a bore brush, followed by another soapy water cleaning, and then a light coating of oil to prevent rust. Don't worry if you can't get barrel shiny clean, you can still shoot it even if its not perfect. When you shoot it a good rule of thumb is to use the same volume of powder as the bore size, ie: 50 cal start with 50 grains of powder. Another good idea would be to get a book on black powder shooting to help you over the rough spots the first few times you shoot. Now go have fun with your new toy.

 

[Alberta Black]

Welcome hipower

I just cleaned up a rusty old CVA Hawken with JB's with good results. This gun had been neglected and it turned out fine.

AB

 

[riarcher]

If it were me, I'd probably think about the scalding hot water cleaning with a bronze brush, Then a couple of light loads with a maxi and valve laping compound, followed by 3-4 with rubbing compound and drop a bore light for a look / see.
I've only done it once to one of my second hands (with the help of a friend). Looked pretty sad to begin with, but after 2 times around with the "fire hone" it shot really fine and looked near new (inside).
I'm still prety pleased with the outcome. :m2c:
And it's fast and easy.

 

[Zonie]

Welcome to the Forum.
A thought about this quote: "Now use solvent [like Hoppes no. 9], and a bore brush, followed by another soapy water cleaning,..."

If your using a copper or brass bore brush, you may find that these things get stuck! They work good in thru bores where you can push it all the way thru, but because of the breech plug, you won't be able to do that with your new gun.

The answer is, if it gets stuck, twist the cleaning rod in a clockwise direction while lightly pulling the cleaning rod out. This will turn the bristles sideways and allow them to bend so you can remove the dam thing. ::

For what it's worth, I use a cleaning jag with patches to scour the bore. If I want something more abrasive, I use steel wool wrapped around the jag.

 

[thehorn]

Thanks for getting me straight on that one! I was thinking, if I can get that breech plug out it will be a breeze to clean this barrel!
It is a CVA Frontier model

On a CVA traditional ML gun, forget about removing the breechplug. First the company is adamant about it not being done and it will void any warranty on it. Secondly, their factory method of installing the plug involves the drum & nipple intersecting it. I promise you that if you remove the drum and pull the plug, you'll never get it properly aligned to the point that you can reinsert the drum without a problem.
Cayugad gave some really good advice to clean the bore free of rust. I'd just add that you reduce the thickness of the sheet of green scotchbrite by carefully peeling it in half. Then cut a piece and wrap it around a bronze bore brush as it will grab really well. (Ex.- Use a .45 bore brush on a .50 barrel.) Coat it with JB Bore Polish and work it up and down the bore on the end of a quality steel or brass rod with handle. As the pad gets dirty, replace it with a fresh piece. When it's finally coming out clean of rust, switch to a jag with clean patches wetted with isopropyl alcohol to clean it. Make sure you have all the crud removed all the way down to the flash channel in the breech. I used compressed air from a compressor directed through the nipple seat to plow out the breech area. Oil well. It's surprising how pitiful some folks will let a gun deteriorate, but it's also surprising how many of those same barrels can be brought back to life with a little elbow grease. Good luck with bringing it back.
Regards,
thehorn

 

[Maynerd62411]

I used Bore Blaster and a bronze brush for my CVA Hawken when I first got it. The bore was rusted, like yours, and the nipple was rusted shut. Throw the nipple away and put a new one on. It'll be worth the piece of mind, if for nothing else. After cleaning it, I shot the manure out of it, clean, repeat, etc, It seemed to clean out the rust better than anything and it's alot more fun than just sitting around sniffing cleaner all day. :front:
Oh, and the breech plug...LEAVE IT ALONE. Trust me on this one, I twisted mine off and had to have a 1/4 " plug drilled and tapped in it's place. :curse:

 

A few years ago, I was given a 32cal. bull barrel percussion rifle someone attempted to build from a quality kit from Dixie gun works. They really screwed it up bad, so it sat in the cellar for many years, the barrel was so rusted inside and out, I figured it was a lost cause. Just for the hell of it, I soaked the entire barrel for one week in Kroil.I worked the outside with steel wool, and the inside with bore brushes and more kroil soakings.After about 6 weeks of this madness,and a few hours of scalding hot water and lots, and lots of Dawn Ultra Dish soap. I was ready. New lock,trigger,sights,And nipple( the old ones were rusted to death, I loaded it pulled the trigger and boom the damn thing actually shot, the barrel is pitted, but all the rust is gone and it shoots well enough to bust neco wafers at 50 yards.It weighs 12 pounds, I guess it was suppose to be a target rifle, or a squirrel rifle for one hell of a man, or women. :results: