Best...Cheapest...cleaning agent I've found!

[Dane]

Do we really believe that traditionally, these guns were cleaned with windex, dish soap, moose milk, or any other product we use today?
It was water, and some preservative after to prevent rust.
Bear grease, etc.
This is NOT rocket science. They are old ways, and they still work.

 

[Carl Fowler III]

This has been a hoot fellows...and to each his own...but for me I like the one step use of windex! Nothing breaks down carbon like windex and is a simple one step process that quickly evaporates after use. But for all you old diehards. ...While your boiling water and mixing up some soapy water and washng and rinsing your barrel & lock...I'll be dancing and carousing with the damsels! LOL

 

[azmntman]

Yea but you'll smell like Windex and when we get there few minutes later we'll smell like :hmm: ................

nevermind

 

[Black Hand]

While your boiling water...

Nope - boiling water can cause flash rust. Cold or warm water right from the tap...

...mixing up some soapy water...

A couple of drops in the muzzle and fill with water, invert, allow to soak and dump. Not very complicated...

...washing and rinsing your barrel & lock...

Not different from any other cleaning regimen...

I got into this to do things the way they were done 200 or so years ago. If I wanted modern gizmos and magical cleaning potions, I'd shoot a centerfire...

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

I use water because that's what the old timers had. I lube with sperm oil substitute, again old time ways. Like the above I do this for the history.

 

[meanmike8665]

What is your sperm whale oil substitute?

Michael

 

[tenngun]

I use warm or cold, never boiling. Most of the time no soap, or just a few drops or a sliver of lye soap as the mood strikes me. I doubt that one could save more then a few minutes with windex.
Shoot-clean-oil- adult beverage- recall the good shots- forget the bad. This may be the meaning of life :haha:

 

[Rifleman1776]

...contain impurities that do not clean well with just water.

Then I guess I've been doing it all wrong...
I don't always use dishsoap and yet my guns clean without issue.

Yep. All wrong. :rotf:

 

[SgtMaj65]

Been using boiling water and nothing else to clean my muzzleloaders for 40 years ”” no rust ”” followed by dry patches and then a non-petroleum oil. I used Bore Butter for 38-plus years, now I use Slip2000 black powder lube. Really like it. Then I run a patch down them again a day or two later after cleaning just to make sure. Inside bores shine just like new.

 

[akapennypincher]

Been using boiling water and nothing else to clean my muzzleloaders for 40 years ”” no rust ”” followed by dry patches and then a non-petroleum oil. I used Bore Butter for 38-plus years, now I use Slip2000 black powder lube. Really like it. Then I run a patch down them again a day or two later after cleaning just to make sure. Inside bores shine just like new.

Back in the day before modern time people use Water, it still works.

You have it right clean until the barrel sparkles like a new barrel.

Black Powder residue is highly corrosive, if proper cleaning is not done the rust monster will destroy your barrel.

 

[Grenadier1758]

What is your sperm whale oil substitute?

Michael

Ford type automatic transmission fluid. Sperm whale oil was the basis of early automatic transmission fluid. The Ford version, while synthetic, is perhaps theclosest.

 

[Black Hand]

Chemically speaking, Jojoba oil is the most similar to Whale oil (from what I've read).

 

[necchi]

Yeah, I've read that too.
But having never been able to try real whale oil to care for my guns,, and having been able to care for my guns without whale oil without issue for decades,, I'll probably never bother trying to find synthetic whale oil or a replacement for it at all
:idunno:

 

[Black Hand]

I use Bear grease and oil for shooting & maintenance - I've seen no need to use anything else.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Early (pre-1990ish) Automatic transmissions were notoriously unreliable. Doesn't endorse ATF for me.

I sticking with my tried and true rule of never using Automotive products on a muzzleloader....Heck I'd probably recommend gun store snake oil first.

 

[Carl Fowler III]

While your boiling water...

Nope - boiling water can cause flash rust. Cold or warm water right from the tap...

...mixing up some soapy water...

A couple of drops in the muzzle and fill with water, invert, allow to soak and dump. Not very complicated...

...washing and rinsing your barrel & lock...

Not different from any other cleaning regimen...

I got into this to do things the way they were done 200 or so years ago. If I wanted modern gizmos and magical cleaning potions, I'd shoot a centerfire...

 

[Carl Fowler III]

Actually I didn't state to use boiling water...just that you would have to boil up some water...cause I don't recall frontier men getting hot water from their tap...come to think of it they didn't even have a tap!

 

[coloradoclyde]

come to think of it they didn't even have a tap!

Oh they had taps....That's how they got ale out of a barrel..... :wink:

 

[meanmike8665]

Thanks for replying. I tried some synthetic sperm whale in the early 90's, did not work for me. I have recently tried jojoba in a .40 I can't get to shoot a group and it works ok.

Michael

 

[Black Hand]

Actually I didn't state to use boiling water...just that you would have to boil up some water...

The point was - You don't need to boil water. I've used water from my canteen to clean and it worked just fine. This doesn't need to be complicated, but some people choose to make it more complicated than it really is...