Breech plug face scrapers

[duelist1954]

Even though I've had one for years, I never used a breech plug face scraper until today.

I was giving my 20 ga fowler a good cleaning after a heavy shooting day yesterday, and I thought, "What the heck,"

So, after swabbing the bore I put the scraper on my rod and worked it over the breech plug face. I was astounded at the manure that come out of the bore after I scraped it.

I'm a fanatic about cleaning my guns, so I found it hard to believe I was leaving so much crud behind.

Scrapers for all my guns are now on my Ft. Fred shopping list.

 

[Dan Hogue]

I usually scrape before I swab, so the swabbing gets to the breech plug, not sure if right or wrong, just how I do it. When done I shine a light down the bore to reflect off the breech plug to see the bore, I dont stop till really reflective.

I'll be at fort fred also , mabe we'll cross paths.

 

[Coot]

Mrs Coot & I will be at Fort Fred. as well. Not being the most patient of people, I would give Track of the Wolf a call & have the scrapers long before FF.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I usually scrape before I swab, so the swabbing gets to the breech plug, not sure if right or wrong, just how I do it. When done I shine a light down the bore to reflect off the breech plug to see the bore, I dont stop till really reflective.

What he said. I like to breech scrape before I do much bore mopping to get the "chunks" out early.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Some guns build up fouling in the breech, some don't. Scrapers can be a big help for some and are not needed for others.It is just another thing about this game that makes it so interesting. :idunno: :idunno:

 

[Len Graves]

I use a scraper most of the time when cleaning my smooth bores, and even on my rifles when I plan on putting them in storage for a while. Like the others said, I scrape first, Thunk the muzzle on a pad I have on the floor to let the big chunks fall out. I will then go in with a fairly wet patch ( insert favorite solution here ) and leave it for a minute or so to soften the cake left in there. I then go in again with my scraper and follow with wet patches and then dry patches, then lube. You are right there is sometimes a lot of crud left in there. I think that is why some of the old guns have the threads in the breech plug corrode out.

 

[wahkahchimaol.com]

Here's a question from a less experienced shooter: does it help to polish the bore and breechplug to reduce fouling? Like you, I scrape before adding water, and it's amazing what comes out of that barrel. Also the barrel takes many patches before it appears to be clean. Would polishing reduce the cleaning effort? Thanks.

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you plug the vent or nipple with a tooth pick, then pour water and soap into the barrel to let it SOAK FOR NO LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR- more is even better-- the soap will clean the face of the plug free of crud. Pumping the ware and soap through the TH or vent with your ramrod, a cleaning jag and a cleaning patch with soap on it also, then uses the high pressure caused by pushing that water out thru that small hole to clean even the corners around the breech plug. If you can put the end of the barrel into a bucket of water deep enough to cover the TH, you can draw water in and push it back out with the action of your cleaning rod.

I bought a breech plug face scraper when I got my first rifle. Put it on my rod after flushing my barrel out as described above, and found a clean face staring at me in a light. I ran the scraper down anyway, to see if there was crud in the corners I could not see, but came up empty. I still have the scraper, but its "Just in case". I have never used it in any of my guns over the past 34 years.


My point is that whether you NEED a scraper depends on other factors, like how you go about cleaning your barrel during a shoot. Other factors are: How polished or coarse the face is, whether the gun is designed to have a powder chamber in the breech instead of a flat face, etc.

I run a cleaning patch or three down the barrel of my guns after EVERY shot. The first patch is lightly dampened with spit off my tongue. I examine the condition of the patch when it comes back out. That determines if the next patch also is dampened, or dry. The condition of that second patch determines if I am going to use another drying patch.

If you don't allow crud to build up in the gun while you are shooting, it only stands to reason that you will find little or no crud caked on that breech face at the end of the shooting. :hmm: :hatsoff:

Shooter have to resign themselves that shooting
black Powder creates a lot of soot. YOU NEED to have soap and ware, towels, and a rag with you to clean your hands and the gun during shooting. Otherwise, you WILL get dirty.

I carry a 2 liter bottle of water, and a small vial of liquid soap in the car, along with a roll of cheap paper towels to use to clean up at the end of the day. I always carry a towel or rag in a pocket- as I would have a handkerchief in my back pocket every day--- when I am on the range, or hunting. I should charge rent to all the guys at my club who "borrow" my soap and water and towels to clean up their hands, and their guns because they never seem to remember to take their own to the club shoots. :v :idunno: :shocked2: :thumbsup:

 

[hanshi]

I usually do my scraping before leaving the range and run a wet & dry patch or two down the bore. It normally takes less time and many fewer patches to clean when I get back home.

Usually at least a little crud scrapes out at the range but sometimes almost none. Turning a wet & dry patch in the breech using a scraper really cleans up the breech face.

 

[George]

Turning a wet & dry patch in the breech using a scraper really cleans up the breech face.

I think that turning you mention is very important. Running a jag with cleaning patches up and down does a poor job of cleaning the joint where the bore meets the breech plug. I suspect if we could see that joint after we've cleaned we'd find a ring of gunk still left there. I use a different method of cleaning my smoothbores to minimize that problem, and turning is a big part of it. I use a wire corkscrew/worm instead of a jag.

I cut a strip of thick cloth, old dish towels, etc. A little practice teaches you what size you need for each gauge.

I twist the worm through the corner of the strip,

then wind it up.

This gives a good swab with a large bearing surface and a flat end to contact the face of the breech plug.

Wet it down and you are ready to go. Anyone who has shot much knows even a very light rubbing with a wet cloth immediately removes all fouling. Try it around the pan if you don't agree.

Scrubbing this swab up and down does everything a patch on a jag can do, but you can also twist it for a sideways scrubbing motion. Try that with a jag and it just spins inside the patch. Press it hard against the face of the breech and twist it, and it will wipe that troublesome joint clean.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Spence

 

[paulvallandigham]

I use wire bore brush, usually the bronze wire type, with a cleaning patch or two wrapped over the front of the brush to do the same thing. The wire bristles pass thru the thin cotton cleaning patch fabric, holding it place to allow me to twist the rod on the face of the plug. Again, the patches are wetted, with water, and a drop or two of liquid dish soap is poured on the front of the patch fabric, and smeared around, and into the fabric before I run this down the barrel.

The wire brush works particularly well to dig out crud in the corners of square bottomed rifling grooves.


I have run my "corkscrew" Patch jag down the barrel in an attempt to check how efficiently the bore brush gets into those corners at the breech plug face- concerned as I am sure you are about the wire loop that sticks forward of the bristles, preventing the bristles from getting down the bore enough to reach those corners-- and was pleasantly surprised to find no crud on the tip of my corkscrew when I pulled it back out.

I then ran a clean patch down the barrel in front of my cleaning jag, doubting what I didn't find, and expecting to find crud that may have fallen off my corkscrew in the barrel which would be caught by my fresh patch. Nothing came out. I repeated the use of my corkscrew- even stoned the point to a better edge, and point- but got nothing.

There is about 1/8"( .125") between the back edge of my TH, and the face of the plug, to allow any crud to build up there before it begins interfering with my TH. That is enough room to allow the threads of the TH Liner to fit into the side of the bore IN FRONT OF the Breech Plug. The threads on the liner do not interfere with the threads of the breech plug. My fowling piece was made with the same attention to this detail.

This may make a difference in both my experience and cleaning practices, compared to your experience, and how you solve the problem. :hmm: :hatsoff:

 

[wahkahchimaol.com]

Do you all take the barrel off the gun for routine cleaning? I don't...and I'm wondering if I'm making a mistake. My first muzzleloader was and is a matchlock, and I took the barrel out all the time. Now the pins just slide in and out.

 

[George]

I never take my barrels off except for my hook breech percussion shotguns, and they are made to be taken off. Barrels pinned to the stock never come out.

Spence

 

[roundball]

I suspect if we could see that joint after we've cleaned we'd find a ring of gunk still left there.

Another thing that works well...for my .62cal for example, I wrap a large patch around a standard .20ga bore brush and rotate it around the breech to clean that joint...

 

[rickystl]

For the breech plug I use both a scraper and that little brush that Dixie Gun Works sells. Never seen that brush offered anywhere else. After scraping, the little brush gets in the small gap between the breech plug face and the barrel.
Only trouble is that little brush tends to wear out quickly. But the combo works well.
However, after reading the above, it looks like I have some more cleaning options. Thanks for the info. Rick.

 

[mhb]

In a barrel with a properly fitted breechplug, there should be NO gap or space between the face of the plug and the rear of the bore itself: the plug should be fitted up hard and square against the internal shoulder of the plug counterbore in the barrel. Many of the imported ML reproductions do have a gap ahead of the plug, but that is an example of ignorance or just plain poor workmanship, and inexcusable in a high grade or custom made arm.
mhb - Mike

 

[Rifleman1776]

there should be NO gap

Those are the operative words. "should be" is just a wish.
That is why I occasionally use hydrogen peroxide in my guns. It reaches where brushes, scrapers and wishful thinking cannot.

 

[mhb]

I think it's worthwhile to say what the standard ought to be, so that it can be asked for, checked for, and insisted upon by knowledgeable shooters.
Having acknowledged that there are many existing guns which do not meet the standard, any user of such a gun should tailor his cleaning methods to the situation he finds in it.
mhb - Mike

 

[ohio ramrod]

In a barrel with a properly fitted breechplug, there should be NO gap or space between the face of the plug and the rear of the bore itself: the plug should be fitted up hard and square against the internal shoulder of the plug counterbore in the barrel. Many of the imported ML reproductions do have a gap ahead of the plug, but that is an example of ignorance or just plain poor workmanship, and inexcusable in a high grade or custom made arm.
mhb - Mike

I often find production guns with gaps between the breech plug and bore where the barrel was drilled and taped longer than the breech plug.leaving a ring where fouling buiulds up. My solution for this is to remove the breechplug and turn a brass bushing to fill the gap and give a tight fit. It requires close tolerance machining but it really helps keep the breech area clean and prevents corrosion of the breech plug threads. :idunno: :idunno:

 

[mhb]

Actually, I've done the same thing - but it's a pain and a makeshift that shouldn't be necessary.
Still, we do what we have to do.
mhb - Mike