Bore Cleaning Solvent

[bowbender68]

I am new to muzzleloading, and am interested in learning of any bore cleaning solvents that I can mix up at home that work as well as the stuff commercially available. I have heard of rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide etc. Any suggestions? The stuff at the store seems expensive. Thanks!

Jeff

 

[Rebel]

All you need is water,Hot, warm, or cold, don't matter. You can mix up Murphy's oil soap, alcohol, and water, but i would leave out the peroxide, as it can lead to rusting.

 

[Rat]

I only use solvents, no water, to clean my BP firearms, but one bottle of Hoppe's #9+ lasts a long long time. I'm talking years. Can't really see where expense would be an issue. Seems like whatever ingredients you came up with, it would cost as much as just getting something "storebought".

Rat

 

[Rebel]

Yep, but good 'Ol H2O is about as cheap as you can get, and it has worked for over 200 years.

 

[Rat]

Yes but...what about the cost of the rubber ducky you have to get to put in the bucket? EH? And you thought you could slip that by me...!!

:no:

200 years ago, the little ducky had to be hand-carved out of wood...so to be PC, that could get REAL expensive.

:crackup:

You guys and your water-sports. Sheeeeeeeeesh.



Rat

 

[Rebel]

Hey now, that hand carved rubber ducky does double duty as a duck decoy, so the cost can't be considered in the cleaning part. :: Thought ya had me huh? :crackup: And what's wrong with Water Sports? Some of them can be quite a bit of fun. ::

 

[cayugad]

M.A.P. which is a combination of Murphy's oil soap, isopropyl alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide does work well. I personally mix it 20% murphy's, and 40% each of the alcohol and peroxide.

It will cut the fowling and a lot of the other crud out of the barrel very well. The problem is any time you use hydrogen peroxide in your rifle it causes flash rust to form and it will surprise you how fast that stuff shows up.

Like the others said, clean the rifle with soap and water. I then like to rinse with clear hot water. I then run some MAP or other solvents through the rifle to make sure nothing is in the barrel. This is when I give it a good scrubbing with a bore brush.

After the MAP, I run patches of isopropyl alcohol alone. This will pull any moisture out of the barrel for the most part and any crud that the MAP pulled. I then use some dry patches and they will come out clean after just a few. You then have to use a quality gun oil, and oil that barrel. If you do not, I can tell you, the next time you run a patch in there in the future you will see flash rust on it.

Soap and water is still one of the best cleaners for black powder and other propellants......

 

[robinghewitt]

Best solvent varies. I think it might depend on what you are using for patch lube, water doesn't work too good for removing burnt on fats and stuff :thumbsup:

 

[brushbuster]

1\4 cup of murphys oil soap to 1 gal of water(hot out of the tap)and a good bore brush will get that bore squeky clean in minuts.
for t/c percussion ...a piece of aqarium tubeing on the nipple and taped to the top of the barrel use a funnel and pour the mix down the barrell to about half let soak 10 min and scrub ,do this until water is clear(dump,fill,scrub).wipe bore with dry patches until dry then use bore butter,or moose snot to coat the barrell,and bore .
for flinters same as above except i use a toothpick to block the hole and close the frizzen to hold it in place
when i'm done shooting at the range i have a bottle of stumpys moose milk ,which i wet a couple of patches to clean the bore(i wipe between shots)then wipe good with stumpys moose snot whch keeps it from developing rust till i get home eace: :imo: :m2c:

 

[2172]

As most of the guys said, water (I use hot) and soap, then I follow with Butche's Bore Bright, a Lyman product, followed by a rust preventative..I use Sheath, there are others...Hank

 

[Rat]

Well I still sez no water, but I am the minority so I just have to get my licks in when I can.

:imo: :relax: :yakyak:

However, I'm curious about the hydrogen peroxide...if it promotes rust in the slightest...why use it at all?? Must be a better substitute, I would think, or not all that important that it be used...???

::

Rat

 

[cayugad]

I was told by an old gunsmith about M.A.P. He explained that the hydrogen peroxide reacts to something in the powder fowling cause that foaming action we see when we put it on a cut. This foaming action he explained will pull or lift have you, the small bits of fowling that sometimes is missed, out of the metal pores in the barrel. MAP really does work well, but again.. you have to wipe that stuff out and get some oil in the barrel or the next patch will come out with a brownish orange color on it. That I am guessing is the flash rust he warned me about.....

 

[Rebel]

Yea Rat, but not all of us are AQUAPHOBICS. :: Heck, the only time you get around water, except for rain, is in the spring when ya takes that rubebr ducky of yours and take your annual bath. :crackup: :crackup:

 

[Rat]

No WAY! I just soak a wash-cloth in Hoppe's #9+, and wipe myself down with that on Saturday. Then I rub down with some bear-grease, and I'm good to go for another week. Once a year...HA!

:results:

Aquaphobic...yeah....that's the ticket. I AM, the official, Muzzleloading Forum AQUAPHOBIC!!

:applause:

And I hope you guys realize that the fish PEE in that water you are washing your rifles with.

:blah:

Rat

 

[Rebel]

Ok Ok Rat, we already did the Pee for cleaning thing. We don't need to do the Fish Pee for cleaning routine now.
Hoppes #9 and bear grease! Bet you are a real hit with the Gals huh? :crackup:

 

[Rat]

They love me for my personality.

:RO:

That's right...PEE was used quite a bit in the civil war...maybe there is something to the rubber-duckie method.

:blah:

Rat

 

Hey Rat, maybe we should try a bit of German beer for cleaning the Jaegers! Not much though, I hate to waste good brew. Maybe some Jaegermeister for dry lube.

 

[Rat]

That may be an idea...and some English brew for Bloody Bess.

My son just brought us some German wine back from Germany with him on his last leave...I think I'd be in some pretty big trouble with both him and the wife if they caught me cleaning the rifles with it!

Aside from being pretty wasteful, if water works, I'm sure beer and wine would too. Wouldn't take much for sure, the smoothbore on Bess, and that radius groove rifling in the Jaeger clean up really fast.

But I think I'll just stick with Hoppe's #9+, regular #9 and some Kroil. Works for me.

Rat

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

FWIW I fired over 30 shots in a row on Sunday (temps in the 20s) using American Pioneer Powder and look at the patches in the picture below. The one on the LEFT below was all the build up in the barrel from those 30+ shots. I never swabbed or wiped the barrel between shots once ... that AP-Powder does not build up one bit. I get great accuracy too as it will put all PRBs through the same hole @ 25 yards from the bench or chunk (50cal percussion Mowrey).

Lastly, I cleaned the rifle up with Butch's Blackpowder Bore Shine and that patch on the right is only the 3rd patch that had any Butch's on it ... remember, 30+ straight shots. Oh yeah, I also use thin cotton patches "dry lubed" ala Dutch Schultz's method (soaked in moose milk and dried flat). Boy, it sure cleans up easy with the combo of AAP and Butch's solvent.

 

[Flintleather]

I use and love birchwood-casey-77 as a solvent and as a patch lube for target shooting. It may be a little pricey compared to others but this stuff works great and it comes in a very handy flip-top-spout bottle. :m2c: