Barrel cleaning

[weirdjack]

I use plain warm water. I plug the touch hole, fill the barrel about a third with water, hold my thumb over the muzzle...then shake it a bit to swish the water around inside. I dump out the dirty water and repeat the process until I get clean water dumping out. "Rinse and repeat as necessary" .... Doesn't take very long. But I get odd looks from the neighbors while I am swishing a 68" long doglock fowler around on the patio.
I follow up with dry tow or cloth patches, then oil the bore.
Jack

 

[dmills]

Ain't any crickwater around here that I would put in my barrels. Plus it would probably melt all the bluing off. :haha: :haha:

Having said that, I agree, the water need not be steaming, although the heat does help in evaporation. If you use the WD-40 to displace the water, remember that WD-40 does not lubricate.

 

[shifty-eyed_one]

1) We've learned in our lifetimes that hot water & soap cleans most anything better than cold water & soap...and particularly if you want to keep a bore at it's basic, raw, bare metal state with no buildup what-so-ever.

My question is - does this only apply if I'm shooting PRB? What if I shoot T/C's prelubed Maxi-balls? Is the lead buildup or fouling then something that another process is required for to remove? Not that it matters, but I'm shooting a T/C Hawken .50. (Bragging, I guess) :winking:

 

[trapper704]

I use hot soapy water or 409, when we're at a rondy just use the 409 and bore butter then recheck when we get home,a little wd 40 on the lock and triggers. this has worked since 96 on my 54 per. gp ,50 flint gp,wifes 50 home built, two per pistols, the only ill effect I can see is my barrel is wearing out on the 54, after a ton of lead through it.

 

[roundball]

Right, the discussion about barrel cleaning was in the context of typical powder residue type fouling...and as you suspect, removal of lead deposits would require an additional / different approach...others would probably know better than I the best way to deal with lead builup in a muzzleloader...I'll stay tuned and learn too!
:grin:

 

[Rebel]

The best way to avoid lead build up is to avoid using conicals and stick to patched round balls. :grin:

 

[shifty-eyed_one]

Great idea. But what if...

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you get lead in the barrel, you will need a good lead solvent. Hoppe's #9 is the old standard, but their are also solvents, like Shooter's Choice, that will remove both plastic and lead as well as powder residues. They don't work very well on black powder, tho, but they are the ticket if you are using the substitutes in your gun. Keep a bore brush on an extra cleaning rod handy, and you can often get the lead loose with a little elbow grease on the bore brush. Then upend the gunbarrel, and rap it a couple of times to get the crud to fall out. Then clean with soap and water, dry, and run a patch with plastic or copper solvents down to see if you have gotten all that out, too. If not let the solvents soak for an hour, and then use clean patches to pull the crud out. Use Ballistoil( mineral oil) or bore butter, to lube the barrel for storage.

 

[Rebel]

Then you will need a good lead removing solvent and a wire brush i would think. Good reason to stick with rd balls and patches huh. :grin:

 

[Runner]

Water cuts fouling just fine. It does not cut some patch lubes at all. Depending on your choice of patch lube, you may need some kind of soap every time you clean. I use dawn and hot water. When i am done I take the gun to the bathtub and run hot watter thru it until it is hard to hold. The heat in the metal causes it to dry pretty quickly. I use Rig, CLP, or Ballistol as a protector most often.