Bore cleaners

[Notchy Bob]

Frank Mayer, a commercial hide hunter and author of The Buffalo Harvest, specifically described the use of urine in cleaning his single-shot blackpowder buffalo rifles. He described his cleaning regimen in great detail, but gave the impression that this technique was the general practice among the men in his profession. He speculated that the mild ammonia content helped with dissolving and removing fouling, but he also reported following the urine with clear water to rinse it.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[Notchy Bob]

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Where I live, tomcats are known as "ball-bearing mousetraps."

Notchy Bob

 

[Africa58double]

What bad experience- do share so others can learn. Thank you

I’m in the Soap water boat… yet have used #13 and occasionally still do.

Hard to beat warm/hot water and a little soap for cleaning up blackpowder residue. The commercial made stuff can work and has its place, with some folks having their favorites. Personally, I have had bad experience with TC#13 and will not temp fate with it again, though some seem to love it.

 

[Coinneach]

Rumor has it that some cleaned their bores using urine. Sometimes, water wasn't readily available. For modern practice, I use Ballistol out in the field, but thoroughly clean with warm water and soap when I get home.

I've peed down a Barrel or three away from home on occasion, all of them my own I may add !

 

[Coinneach]

Well, I'll throw something else in. I use room temperature water to clean with, no soap. Barrel comes out clean.
When I used hot to boiling water, it seemed to set the fouling harder into the rifling, and took longer to get a clean bore. Not to mention the flash rust problem.
Anyone else experience this, or is it just my perception?

IME hot water actually softens up the fouling, it always pours out of the barrel as a consistent black flow. Maybe your problem had something to do with the lube you were using ?
Sure you can use cold water (Soap/ Detergent etc is unnecessary) is that ones preference.

 

[Mad L]

I hope all this talk of peeing down the barrel don't spark another 'stuck ball' thread!

I will stick with water and soap. But I do find a good swan of Shenandoah lube/cleaner before heading home keeps the fowling soft until I get to it.

 

[deerstalkert]

think i would be more comfortable blowing down my barrel than peeing down it!

 

[appalichian hunter]

Wow! That thars is a miracle! What will they think of next. I recon some day the outhouse will be an inhouse. “What a fascinating modern age we live in”- Lucky Jack Aubrey, captain, HMS Surprize.

There's something wrong with a society that goes outside to eat (picnic) and inside to crap.

 

[appalichian hunter]

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I had a cat like that one, solid black and was born on All Hallows Eve, his name was Elija Mohammad called him Eli, I was the only one he would warm up to, told him if we lived about three hundred years ago, we both would burn at the stake, dammed old cat lived to be15 years old. And yes, he was a great mouser.

 

[david w]

There's something wrong with a society that goes outside to eat (picnic) and inside to crap.

The problem with an outhouse is that it's 50 feet too close in the summer, and 50 feet too far away in the winter.

 

[appalichian hunter]

I used to stand my rifle gun muzzle up about three yards away and arc the pee straight into the bore, now mind you this was after shooting and about three or four beers. Was pretty proud of myself, not all the spectators were amused so I stopped that. now just hot water and dish soap for initial clean.

 

[appalichian hunter]

The problem with an outhouse is that it's 50 feet too close in the summer, and 50 feet too far away in the winter.

Yep nothing quite like the outhouse dash when it's about O degrees out.

 

[SDSmlf]

What bad experience- do share so others can learn. Thank you

I’m in the Soap water boat… yet have used #13 and occasionally still do.

It was years ago, picked up a few bottles of the stuff at local WallyWorld during their post hunting season sale, think it was $0.50 or so a bottle. Remember thinking the bottles could be useful. My procedure when shooting my cap and ball revolvers has and still is to spray my moose milk (distilled water, Ballistols and Murphys) down the barrel, into the cylinders, the exterior of the gun, before rapping up on a cloth for the ride home. For some reason in a moment of mental weakness, I put a spray nozzle on a bottle of TC#13 and used it instead of my moose milk on a number of handguns after a day at the range. Same procedure as always, except for the TC#13. When I got home, maybe an hour or so later, I removed the cloths/rags, and to my horror, every handgun was covered with surface rust, externally, in the bores and cylinder chambers, and even the rags had rust stains. Luckily, I was able to clean up the mess with minimal damage to the bluing on the guns. Maybe it was the high temperature and high humidity, I do not know. Honesty, I would use urine for cleaning before I used TC#13 on my guns again, but that is just one person’s experience. At least you know what to expect with urine and how to address it.

@Africa58double, you asked.

 

[david w]

It was years ago, picked up a few bottles of the stuff at local WallyWorld during their post hunting season sale, think it was $0.50 or so a bottle. Remember thinking the bottles could be useful. My procedure when shooting my cap and ball revolvers has and still is to spray my moose milk (distilled water, Ballistols and Murphys) down the barrel, into the cylinders, the exterior of the gun, before rapping up on a cloth for the ride home. For some reason in a moment of mental weakness, I put a spray nozzle on a bottle of TC#13 and used it instead of my moose milk on a number of handguns after a day at the range. Same procedure as always, except for the TC#13. When I got home, maybe an hour or so later, I removed the cloths/rags, and to my horror, every handgun was covered with surface rust, externally, in the bores and cylinder chambers, and even the rags had rust stains. Luckily, I was able to clean up the mess with minimal damage to the bluing on the guns. Maybe it was the high temperature and high humidity, I do not know. Honesty, I would use urine for cleaning before I used TC#13 on my guns again, but that is just one person’s experience. At least you know what to expect with urine and how to address it.

@Africa58double, you asked.

IMO, it's hard to beat Ballistol on dissolving BP. I have run patches down the barrel 3 days after cleaning by other methods, and have had the patches come out dirty. When I use Ballistol, my patches always come out clean in the same time period. I would test again after a few more days and still have clean patches. Ballistol? Yes!

 

[Omahkapi'si]

I use TC#13. I pour a little down the barrel after shooting at the range, then plunge with a bore mop. A quick flush with alcohol and this gets most of the crud out until I get home and properly clean with water. Once clean, lube with Ballistol and it's good to go for next time.

 

[david w]

I use TC#13. I pour a little down the barrel after shooting at the range, then plunge with a bore mop. A quick flush with alcohol and this gets most of the crud out until I get home and properly clean with water. Once clean, lube with Ballistol and it's good to go for next time.

Why not just try Ballistol in the field next time? You will be able to forgo carrying alcohol with you. You seem to like it for final cleaning.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

I have used it as well. It works but most of my Ballistol is in little spray cans. Might be just me but the #13 really seems to dissolve fouling in a hurry. A few plunges with a bore mop and a little dark gray puddle dumps out.

 

[david w]

I have used it as well. It works but most of my Ballistol is in little spray cans. Might be just me but the #13 really seems to dissolve fouling in a hurry. A few plunges with a bore mop and a little dark gray puddle dumps out.

I didn't say #13 doesn't work, but I'm convinced Ballistol works better. Spray cans can be a a problem. The main thing is to get your smoke pole home and get it cleaned, toot sweet! A clean bore is a happy bore. I have also used Kroil with good results.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Yup.

 

[toot]

OK! is BALISTOL, as good or better than others- such as HOPPES?