Alcohol patches during cleaning.

[Cowboy]

I never used alcohol patches during cleaning and am not sure whats their purpose. I have read in a post that they dry up the water still left in the bore? Does alcohol patches clean residue and old oil left in the bore? When cleaning your bore, during which step would you use alcohol patches? I guess my main question is what do you use alcohol patches for? Respectfully, cowboys 1062.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

My grandfather loved to use alcohol as the last wipe of the bore, after cleaning out his Damascus barreled SxS (BP shotshells). Then he'd apply oil as a rust preventative after waiting for the alcohol to evaporate.

This was before the days of WD-40, and he continued the procedure as new stuff came along, as he didn't see any reason to spend more money than he had to...having raised children in the Great Depression, and being Scottish, he was very frugal.

I prefer to use WD-40 on the inside of my barrel to get residual moisture out. IF I didn't have it, and could get my hands on rubbing alcohol, I'd probably use that until I could get some WD-40.

LD

 

[Walks with fire]

Above freezing I just use a water dampened cleaning patch. Below freezing I use alcohol cleaning patches as they don't freeze. Probably does help with the drying of the bore. I always follow a damp patch with a dry one anyway and hunting I dry out the patent breech area as well.

 

[longcruise]

I use alcohol after the water cleaning process. Not for further cleaning, but to eliminate moisture. My method is: Cover the ignition channel, pour a small amount of alcohol down the barrel, cover the muzzle and slosh back and forth, then open the ignition channel to allow the alcohol to.be blown out while working a patch in the bore. This is especially effective in clearing a patent breech.

If the gun Will be stored for a while, the next step is a coat of rust preventative.

If the gun is coming out of storage and being readied for a hunt, I do that same alcohol procedure and leave it to evaporate completely (usually overnight) before loading.

This leaves a dry clean barrel and eliminates wet powder and/or goombah In the ignition channel.

If going to a range session, I don't do anything to clear or remove preservative from the barrel or flash channel. Just load and shoot a fouler or two. If the barrel is not over oiled, ignition does not seem to suffer if loaded and fired immediately. One can snap a cap or two if worried about the ignition channel, but my experience is that it's not needed if the barrel was not over oiled.

I NEVER snap caps prior to loading for a hunt. Snapping caps, even in a clean dry barre leaves cap residue that can quickly solidify in the channel. With a loaded gun, the back pressure from the powder going off serves to clear the channel with each shot. Not so with a cap only.

Probably TMI, but all of the elements of loading and shooting procedures are inter related. It's hard to look at one element on it's own without examining how it affects and/or modifies other elements.

 

[cynthialee]

I use a liberal dousing of 91% alcohol down the muzzle after all other cleaning. This is mopped out then I use a blow dryer down the muzzle to evaporate the alcohol that may be caught in crevasses.
After I am sure the alcohol is dry, then I apply bore protectant.

I recommend that any alcohol placed down a barrel be at least 90%. The purer the better.
Don't use the 70% you get in the first aid section of the pharmacy as there is too much water in it for the alcohol to carry all of the water out when it evaporates.

 

[Billnpatti]

Alcohol is a pretty good cleaner for wiping the bore while shooting or before leaving the range to head home but is not a proper cleaning method for a final clean-up. For a final clean up before putting your gun away, the best cleaner is plain old warm soapy water. While it is true that alcohol poured into the bore after washing with soapy water will remove some of the residual moisture, I think a better choice is WD-40. Water displacement is its job, and it does it quite well. If you have any questions regarding a proper cleaning method, just send me a PM and I will send you my method. I don't know if it is the best method ever but it has proven to be the best that I have found and I think my guns prove that it works.

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

I run an alcohol patch down the bore before shooting to get the oil out.

 

[longcruise]

WD40 does a pretty good job of displacing moisture, but I prefer alcohol because it leaves no residue.

Cynthia makes a very good point regarding the 90% (my store sells 91%). Denatured alcohol works good too but can damage finish!

Why must we PM you for your wisdom? Why not post it on the forum?

 

[inthex]

Water and patch then a couple of dry patches. The dry patch always comes back with a hint of rust until I hit it with a alcohol patch. Then oil and forget. Works for me.

 

[William O.]

Since there is so little water in the 91% rubbing alcohol it evaporates along with the alcohol just as fast; nothing left over. I will assume that you are referring to swabbing the bore between shots and not the final cleaning or for when removing any residual oil left in the bore prior to shooting. Then it's a slightly dampened cleaning patch down and up and discarded.

 

[eaglesnester]

I use 99% isopropyl bought at the feed and tack store. Cheap like borsch. Use it as a wipe between shots on the range. Works like a hot damn.

 

[longcruise]

Never seen 99%. Gotta check my neighborhood.

 

[Danny Ross]

You can't buy 99% alcohol. The purest you can get it is 95%. The reason is it will draw 5% moisture in its manufacturing process. The pharmacy that I use to work for years ago would get a 35 gallon drum of it in. When I asked him why it was only 95% and the above answer was what he gave, that was Ethyl alcohol. That stuff would really dry your hands out if it got on them. DANNY

 

[Cowboy]

I appreciate the great responses! I will definately use it during the cleaning process! Respectfully, cowboys 1062.

 

[bpd303]

I've been using 70% rubbing alcohol for decades, without any issues, just works for me.

 

[Claude Mathis]

You can't buy 99% alcohol. The purest you can get it is 95%.

Bought this last week.

 

[Zonie]

Just leave it to Claude to find the 198 proof stuff. :rotf:

 

[Billnpatti]

I have posted my method on several previous occasions. I assume that most folks are just getting tired of reading it so now I will share it on a request basis.

 

[Billnpatti]

They used to use Benzene to remove most of the final traces of water from Ethyl Alcohol. Only problem was that once the water was removed, it left traces of benzene in the alcohol. Nasty stuff if you drink it.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

We used to be able to buy 190 proof (95%) ethyl alcohol here in Maryland, but some yahoo in the State House decided that it was being used too much at off campus frat parties so outlawed it....

...Free Enterprise being what it is supposed to be...the makers of the 190 proof stuff dropped the proof to 189...(94.5%) so that still is Legal...and it makes great liqueurs like Limoncello, and also works for me to make Gin.

I guess your ethyl being scientific was a bit odd...it works great when it was designed for consumption. :grin:

I wouldn't use it to clean a gun though...isopropyl is just fine for that...

LD