Advantage's and Disadvantage's

[chipper c]

I Always clean my muzzleloaders by flushing with water. I often think of cleaning with just one of my cleaning patch lube cleaners.What are the advantages and disadvantages of both theory's? Thank You for your thoughts! :hatsoff:

 

[Drago]

You need water to neutralize the fouling to prevent rust, dry well and oil.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Its best not to get wrapped up in looking for shortcuts to cleaning a black powder gun. First you need to get the fouling and built up crud out of the gore. Second you need to flush with clean water to get all that residue out of the bore. Third is the elimination of water from the bore. Use dry patches, water displacement solutions, compressed air. Last, you need to put the rust inhibiting lubricant in the bore and a touch of spray in the flash channel.

The disadvantage of a quick cleaning is that some fouling is left in the bore and that can allow rust to form and the surface of the bore can be pitted.

 

[necchi]

Well said Grenadier :applause: :thumbsup:
That's it in a nutshell

 

[S.Kenton]

I have been using the Dutch Shoultz method of cleaning my BP rifles for over 3 yrs now..his method is the "waterless' cleaning method. I modified it a bit and use my own cleaning solution, and make sure you have a clean patch, then scrub the rifle again with a saturated patch of WD-40. No rust...EVER....

 

[S.Kenton]

if you havn't already done so.. I would suggest you purchase the "Black Powder Rifle Accuracy" book by Dutch Shoultz. The details for his "Waterless cleaning method" are in there.

 

[ohio ramrod]

There are many compounds that will dissolve black powder fouling, but to remove them you need a quantity of cleaning solution. And water is the cheapest. Simply dissolving the fouling doesn't help if you don't remove it from the bore!I have found flushing with water to be the best and cheapest way for me! :idunno:

 

[Billnpatti]

Amen to what Grenadier said. :thumbsup:

 

[nkbj]

And go back the next day.

 

[longcruise]

One disadvantage of the solvents is that they don't dissolve fouling very well at all! Water is faster and more thorough. You can test this yourself next time you shoot by trying both on the fouling that accumulates on and around the lock area. Wipe some of it with a cloth damp with water and another damp with solvent.

that stuff is sold to the in-**** shooters who just can't let go of the familiar.

 

[don hepler]

I use water, to clean, and use Rem-oil in the bore for storage. I don't put a rifle or pistol away, for storage, until it has been checked over a several day period.

Saturday, was a rainy day, so I went thru all my rifles and pistols, and checked for rust. I wrote down any problems, and posted it, inside the gun vault. I do this, every couple months. Out of all the guns, only one had a tiny spot, just at the muzzle. It was the last rifle, that I used. I guess I was a little careless, and put it away too early.

The point is, you need to be diligent, no matter what method that you use. I thought my method was the best............wrong.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I Always clean my muzzleloaders by flushing with water. I often think of cleaning with just one of my cleaning patch lube cleaners.What are the advantages and disadvantages of both theory's? Thank You for your thoughts! :hatsoff:

In theory water should do it fine. But, bp is made with industrial quality ingrediants and the charcol is not pure carbon so crud is not completely dissolved with just water. I use soapy water and am not fussy about what kind of soap. Usually it is dishwasher soap. A few squirts in about a coffee can about half full of water. I do the patch thing until it looks clean, a few dry patches then WD-40 or Ballistol until really clean. I then swab with WD-40 for short term storage or use something like RIG for longer term protection. Biggest factor is time and elbow grease.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Has anyone tried just soaking their whole barrel in a lake or something for an hour or so to see how much of the gunk dissolves away?

 

[bpd303]

No, but I have a homemade pressure washer out of a pump up garden sprayer, which flushes all the fouling in no time. I still use jag & patches after flushing, just not as many.

I have heard of leaving the barrel in a running creek/stream to wash away the evil spirits though.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Has anyone tried just soaking their whole barrel in a lake or something for an hour or so to see how much of the gunk dissolves away?

What I do is plug the touch hole then fill the barrel with soapy water. It takes a few cycles to get the water to come out clean.I then put one of the flexible hose adapters over the touch hole. I still get some addional fouling flushed out. Then its a flush with clear water. This is followed by several dry patches. Next I use water displacing liquids. Finish with the rust inhibiting oil. A couple of days later I run another patch with oil.

Advantage: The gun is clean and has rust inhibitors in the bore.

Disadvantages: Takes a few minutes longer.

The lake soaking can't be expected to remove all the fouling. After several soakings with soapy water, I still gdt some fouling out when I flush the bore under pressure.

 

[cynthialee]

No, but I have a homemade pressure washer out of a pump up garden sprayer, which flushes all the fouling in no time. I still use jag & patches after flushing, just not as many.

I have heard of leaving the barrel in a running creek/stream to wash away the evil spirits though.

But you have to do it only on a full moon. Further more, when you place the barrel in the water you gotta be facing north and make a hex symbol over it after placed in the water. Then early the next morning, before the sun rises you recover the barrel and clean it before sunlight touches the thing.

:haha:

{Hey if you are gonna do a thing, go all out.}

 

[leonard5054]

:hatsoff: works for me :v what miss cindy said

 

[newtewsmoke]

Has anyone tried just soaking their whole barrel in a lake or something for an hour or so to see how much of the gunk dissolves away?

...does the bathtub count? I did it that way for quite awhile, I guess it worked ok. :wink:

 

[Jason Lewis]

back in college i used to clean mine in the toilet bowl. fortunately i can afford a bucket now.

 

[Bear Rider]

I have heard of leaving the barrel in a running creek/stream to wash away the evil spirits though.

Or putting pistols in the dishwasher. :grin:

I've never had the nerve to try that, because I'm afraid it would cause my wife to cross over to the dark side (and I don't mean black powder).