Clean with paper towel?

[Rató:rats]

Yep. I have tons of cotton rags around for cleaning my mountain bike and oiling the chain and I’ll use them to get the majority of fouling out of the bore. Then I’ll spray some WD40 on paper towel and run that down with the PT doubled up, then rub mink oil tallow on some paper towels and run them down doubled up and I’m done. Bore looks like it’s never been fired. Canadian paper towel is strong.

 

[smoothshooter]

Does anyone here ever clean their smoothbores with paper towel?

Just trying to find good material to use that absorbs a lot of water and cleans my 20 gauge Fowler efficiently and effectively.

If not, any recommendations?

I don’t want to buy just shooting cleaning patches I would rather go to a fabric store and buy a whole bunch of fabric and cut it up into pieces or go to the grocery store and get some good paper towels...

I have been shooting muzzleloaders since about 1970. The best thing I have found for cleaning muzzleloaders and modern guns is 100% cotton white tee shirt material. Very important that it is 100% COTTON. Manufacturers LOVE to blend a little synthetic material in with the cotton. Look ar the tags.
If new, run the shirt through the washing machine 2 or 3 times to remove any sizing before use.

 

[FishDFly]

Good Will store is your friend.

 

[ord sgt]

My friend delivered to prisons. At the women's prison, he got to know some of the trustees. They would give him excess material from the clothes they made for the prisoners. Yards of scrap cotton, just needed to be cut into cleaning patch size.

 

[FishDFly]

I go to JoAnn's and buy flannel in the spring when it is on sale.

During the winter it becomes cleaning patches while sitting by the fire place.

 

[Rató:rats]

Another cost effective solution I’ve grown to really like is old jeans. Everyone’s got a pair that’s seen better days. You can get a ton of cleaning patches out of a single pair. Good denim is 100% cotton, mildly abrasive, and you can wash the patches after and reuse them.

 

[waksupi]

I've used paper towels for years to dry bores in my guns. I used to also shoot modern bench rest, and paper towel was the standard used. I've never seen any harm, and I can tell you for the price of bench rest barrels, no one would use anything that would affect the already short gilt edge accuracy demanded.

 

[LME]

I have been shooting muzzleloaders since about 1970. The best thing I have found for cleaning muzzleloaders and modern guns is 100% cotton white tee shirt material. Very important that it is 100% COTTON. Manufacturers LOVE to blend a little synthetic material in with the cotton. Look ar the tags.
If new, run the shirt through the washing machine 2 or 3 times to reI would lay odds that you are yhe only one on this forum that does that?move any sizing before use.

You mean to tell me you actually use T-shirts? LOL! I keep all my worn out T-shirts for the shop. It is all I have used for many years to clean weapons black powder and modern as well.

 

[brushblind]

I cut up my old long johns cause it's too cold to go outside anyhow!

 

[Howard Pippin]

I hope I'm not the only one that buys precut cleaning patches, some that are treated with cleaner and some that are dry. Being I only shoot a couple of times a month during the nicer seasons, it's not a big deal, but I always clean when I get home. I'm sure if I had someone to compete with when shooting or visit with, I would probably shoot more often but the only one I've got to impress is myself. I buy the material to make square patches, but I use some store bought ones too, that are already precut. I realize we all try and save money in different ways, some stuff we do out of a love for what we're doing, but from what I've got invested in muzzleloaders and equipment like ball dischargers and range rods, what cleaning patches I buy seems like pretty small potatoes, for it does appear that I'm not going to last Any longer than the money will, So it's nice to have some stuff ready to go. I do cast my own round balls, which I do enjoy doing, but I only need so many on hand.
Squint

 

[hunter thompson]

MY friend came up with something...Those mask that no,ones using for gun cleaning

 

[S.Kenton]

go to the auto parts store and buy their blue paper shop towels by the roll. very absorbent and strong.

Exactly what I do,

 

[Heyyou48307]

I use some sometimes, kinda delicate work, have a worm handy

 

[FPDoc]

Umm. cotoon, linen or tow. After wiping excess moisture out use a dry patch or tow, run it down to the breech and stand muzzle down for 30-60 minutes. Easy and traditional. You can use old shirts, underware, socks, the back of the dang couch (nobody see's that anyway). Thrift stores and garage sales are great soarces for cleaning cloth. Never in my life have I bought cleaning patches.

I've been buying patches and using the same underwear. I might be due for a review of my current priorities.

Bounty is tough enough for patch use if you need. I like tow cause you just wash it and reuse.

 

[Alan O]

I hope I'm not the only one that buys precut cleaning patches, some that are treated with cleaner and some that are dry. Being I only shoot a couple of times a month during the nicer seasons, it's not a big deal, but I always clean when I get home. I'm sure if I had someone to compete with when shooting or visit with, I would probably shoot more often but the only one I've got to impress is myself. I buy the material to make square patches, but I use some store bought ones too, that are already precut. I realize we all try and save money in different ways, some stuff we do out of a love for what we're doing, but from what I've got invested in muzzleloaders and equipment like ball dischargers and range rods, what cleaning patches I buy seems like pretty small potatoes, for it does appear that I'm not going to last Any longer than the money will, So it's nice to have some stuff ready to go. I do cast my own round balls, which I do enjoy doing, but I only need so many on hand.
Squint

you're not the only one!

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

Old cotton T-shirts. We all have plenty.
Get a $10.00 fabric cutter from Walmart & you'll have plenty
of cleaning patches in less than an hour:

 

[Nobade]

I clean with cloth patches, and dry with towels. They get in the little spaces and get the last of the water out.

 

[oldwood]

one item I've been using for a decade or so is of all things, old time medical gauze. It's mostly obsolete nowadays ,but I have bolt of it left over from the days when father in law used it to strain lumps from oil based paint. The weave it has ,is so coarse , it pulls the fouling out very well with not a lot of solvent usage. Making a scratch built .555 cal. smooth bore out of salvaged parts , and will use the gauze instead of tow wadding...............oldwood

 

[DuncNZ]

I used to get bags of offcuts from an outfit that cut out T shirts . I used them for gun cleaning , and stuffing the hessian bags coffee beans are imported in to make dog beds .

 

[Stony Broke]

Sorry fellas, but I just can't see the advantages to using paper over cloth patches. Actually it's probably cheaper to use your old tee shirts than going out and buying rolls of paper. At least with the cotton there isn't such a big chance of pieces of paper hiding out in places where it could cause problems.