Bore brushing.

[BP Addict]

I stopped using a bore brush and went with burlap. I cut it into squares. Scrub on one side, turn it over scrub again, and done.

Walt

 

[Ohio Rusty]

I use an undersize caliber brush when cleaning the barrel. For my .54, I use a .50 brush. For the .45, I use a .40 size brush. The I can wrap and much or as little cleaning cloth around the brush and scrub the barrel well. The brush sticks to the cleaning cloth so you can never lose your cleaning cloth down the barrel. I also leave extra cloth on the end and scrub the breech face by turning the rod round and round. For my cleaning cloths, My favorite preference is the red shop rags used by mechanics. They are a very coarse cloth and do an excellent job of scrubbing the barrel and getting every nook and cranny clean. Being they are coarse, they pick up all the left over fouling in the barrel and help carry it out.
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[kyron4]

I was a full time brush user for decades. Until I got one stuck, mostly due to a momentary lapse of brain power. Long story short. I ruined my Hawken barrel and had to pick up another from an upstanding member of this forum, thanks again Mike. I will NEVER use a brush of any make up ever again on any BP rifle I own. I soak and swab as much as needed until its clean. I will use a half bag of patches before I grab a brush. Matter of fact, I threw all my brushes away and now have only (2) jags. A .50 and a .54.

That's my .02123 cents

I like long stories, curious how the brush got stuck and how it ruined the barrel ? -Thanks

 

[SDSmlf]

I never get leading because I use a good BP bullet lube on the bullets. I cast them at 20-1 so just a hair harder than a pure lead ML bullet.

What hardness does your 20-1 alloy actually measure? And do you mix it yourself or purchase a certified alloy?

 

[nkbj]

Stopped into a muzzleloader gun shop many years ago while on a business trip to Phoenix. There was a lovely used Volunteer rifle on the rack. Checked the barrel and saw the string of fine pits going down the corners of the rifling grooves from not brushing. You can avoid that by brushing but also by having rifling better designed for cleaning. But also better designed for the bullets to seal off and avoid gas cutting and smearing of the lead particles. Let's say you have seven groove rifling. You mite have seven fairly square cut grooves or you could have seven cuts in a round bore with the tool shaped so that the end result resembles a heptagon with gently rounded vertices.

 

[Ed Pilkington]

Listen to Pearl Drum and 45Man! NEVER use a brass brush…please…

 

[longcruise]

I ruined my Hawken barrel

Wonder if it could be a candidate for a reborn? Glad that barrel found its way to a good home

 

[ronaldrothb49]

Spent a good deal of time working on an Investarms Flintlock Hawken yesterday. It had a load in it that he couldn't get to go off and he couldn't get the ball out. Easily got the ball out. The problem was the flash channel in the breech was packed solid with brass bristles from a bore brush and fouling. Took a couple hours to get that cleaned out.

 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Wonder if it could be a candidate for a reborn? Glad that barrel found its way to a good home

I kept the barrel and oiled up well for storage. I'm thinking some day I may cut it down, re-drill and tap the breech threads and either make a carbine or pistol of sorts.

 

[PEARL DRUMS]

I like long stories, curious how the brush got stuck and how it ruined the barrel ? -Thanks

I had a jag on the end of my range rod that wouldn't come off. So I just screwed a brush into the end of the jag. Bad, bad idea. The brush shank bent and broke and wedged itself between rifling just shy of the breech end. It wasn't going anywhere. I tried sliding a tube by it to encapsulate it. That was hopeless as there was no clearance to slide by. I tried shooting it out, not a chance. In the end I tried getting the breech plug out. It came out. But, for some reason it ruined the threads on both the barrel and plug. So, I bought an 11/16-20 tap and die and tried to reform the threads. No dice. That's when my search for a new barrel started. I know its "just" a TC Hawken. But, it's my baby and has killed buckets of deer. I couldn't bare the thought of it sitting in my cabinet dead. I swapped an original MK-85 for it from an old friend who passed away shortly after the swap. Thanks to Mike it lives on and will shoot more deer in the future.

 

[Fishslap]

Anyone use the nylon style brushes ?

I do at the range between each shot and before cleaning at home.

 

[hanshi]

I seldom use a bore brush, but any I use are the nylon bristles. I prefer using a small patch cut from a Scotch Bright pad rather than any brush.

 

[kyron4]

I had a jag on the end of my range rod that wouldn't come off. So I just screwed a brush into the end of the jag. Bad, bad idea. The brush shank bent and broke and wedged itself between rifling just shy of the breech end. It wasn't going anywhere. I tried sliding a tube by it to encapsulate it. That was hopeless as there was no clearance to slide by. I tried shooting it out, not a chance. In the end I tried getting the breech plug out. It came out. But, for some reason it ruined the threads on both the barrel and plug. So, I bought an 11/16-20 tap and die and tried to reform the threads. No dice. That's when my search for a new barrel started. I know its "just" a TC Hawken. But, it's my baby and has killed buckets of deer. I couldn't bare the thought of it sitting in my cabinet dead. I swapped an original MK-85 for it from an old friend who passed away shortly after the swap. Thanks to Mike it lives on and will shoot more deer in the future.

Thanks, and you're not alone same stuff happens to me all the time.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

I clean using @maillemaker 's method but use a nylon brush and only bump it up to a brass brush if the nylon brush followed by patches didn't completely clean out the grooves.

I don't know how @Uncle Miltie is getting his rifled bore spotlessly clean if he never uses a brush. In my experience, patches only method usually leaves something to be desired wrt getting into those grooves.

It's easy: a properly fitting patch on a jag, cold water, dry patches and oil
A properly fitting patch (not too tight) does a much better job of removing fouling from the bore than a brush.

 

[wiscoaster]

It's easy: a properly fitting patch on a jag, cold water, dry patches and oil
A properly fitting patch (not too tight) does a much better job of removing fouling from the bore than a brush.

I start with a brush and I finish up with patches. If I do only patches the grooves don't get as clean. I find that the brush loosens the fouling in the hard to reach inside bottom corners of the grooves and makes it easier for the patch to pick up from there. Cuts the time by at least a half I'd be willing to bet.

Here's a way to test if patches are getting the rifling perfectly clean: clean the bore with patches until you think it's as clean as you can get it. Then run a poly brush through there a half dozen strokes. Then run a wet patch through there. I'm betting it's going to look pretty dirty.

 

[waksupi]

Those who use brushes to clean, will eventually also make a "How to I get a stuck brush out of my bore?" thread.

 

[waksupi]

I agree, I never get leading because of the lube. Now once I tried WW lead in my BPCR and got severe leading but never with pure lead. I have never had lead in a muzzle loader with Maxi Balls.

I would say the bullets were undersized, or the lube wasn't up to the job if you were getting leading with WW bullets. I've shot hundreds of pounds of WW's from my BPCR's, with no leading.

 

[8Ball]

When using a bore brush in a muzzleloader make sure to use the ones that are wired to the base, not the plug-in cheapos. Don't ask me why I know...

 

[French Colonial]

Those who use brushes to clean, will eventually also make a "How to I get a stuck brush out of my bore?" thread.

Not if you know what your doing.

 

[Mad L]

Try Tow works for me.

Careful now! We will be watching for your post "HELP! I Got A Wad of TOW Stuck In The Barrel!!"

All kidding aside: Black Powder user's have used tow to 'brush' their barrel for Hundreds of years with great results.
And like @BP Addict says, I keep a couple strips of burlap and course hemp canvas among my flannel cleaning patches.

When someone does ask to see my barrel they alway ask me "Have you shot it yet?"
I tell them "Nope, been sitting on the wall for 15 years now"
(* with my foot I shove all the empty round ball boxes and powder cans and bottles under the bed)

My only brass and nylon brushes are kept in a separate box I call "Unmentionables".