Cleaning a Barrel with a Threaded Breech Plug

[Hawthorn1213]

Hello Everyone,

I'm not sure if I'm over thinking this or not, but I had a question about cleaning a barrel with a threaded breech plug. My method for cleaning barrels is to completely remove it from the rifle, stick the aft end into a sink full of hot soapy water, and then use the plunger method to pull the water up through the barrel.

I'm wondering though, on a barrel with a threaded breach plug, how do you make sure all fouling, water, oil, etc. is completed removed from in between the threads? It seems very easy for any kind of liquid to get trapped between the threads and then rust out.

The only solution I could think of was to heat the breech with a heat gun and hope that evaporated any residual water.

Is there a better way to do this, or is it really even a concern?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[bigstick6017555]

Alcohol and air

 

[Phil Coffins]

It’s of no concern, clean oil and be happy.

 

[deerstalkert]

for 60 years or so all i had ever done is remove the nipple and pump water through the barrel in the sink. slipped one day and chipped said sink's porcelain. got banned to the garage for cleanup.(wife is meaner than me)
i have a couple rifles i can and do remove the breech plug on occasionally just for git's and shiggles. never have seen any rust on the threads.
if you use a anti seize it seals along with the threads. lately i use a small steam cleaner to replace the pumping.
after getting clean patches i dump a couple table spoons of alcohol down the bore.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Just completely clean and dry then use some oil down there. Some factory made rifles can have a really horrible fit at the breech and that can make real issues as they are hard to clean. But removing the breech can create a whole other set of issues, I don't reccomend.

 

[Hawthorn1213]

Thanks everyone! I forgot to mention that I do finish off all the barrels with rubbing alcohol prior to swabbing out with oil. I might hit it was an air compressor in the future just to be safe.

It does sound like I was overthinking it a bit though, thanks again!

 

[bigstick6017555]

If you have access to it methanol works even better than alcohol.

 

[ohio ramrod]

methanol is just wood alcohol, highly poisonous if you drink it.

 

[deerstalkert]

 

[tenngun]

When fitting a plug it’s file and fit till in. Last fit good? Ok, pull plug, coat threads in bees wax reinsert. Never remove again

 

[2 shots]

i just dry patch and air dry ... than pour some alcohol down my pipe

 

[J. Paul]

Remove barrel, put breech end in bucket of soapy water for cleaning followed by a hot water rinse. Barrel down to drain while too hot to handle. Follow with dry patch then I use my lube to coat inside and wipe down outside. I started like this 50 years ago and keep coming back to it.

 

[Archer 756]

IN 50 YEARS HAVE NEVER REMOVED BREECH PLUG, why need to remove?

 

[Brazos John]

...than pour some alcohol down my pipe...

After cleaning, I pour some alcohol down my pipes, too!

 

[RIDE-RED350R]

Yeah, at one time I wanted to pull the breech plug from my TC Renegade for cleaning, inspection and what-have-you. After looking into it and seeing all of the more experience based advice stating it's a bad idea, I abandoned that notion.

Good cleaning methods have kept it shooting for 25 years, so I'll just stick to that. Would be nice if there were simpler/easier to remove, but it's just not the case

 

[Bighorserider]

Don't forget that these guns have been around for over 200 years. Back then people depended on them for their lives and only had water to clean with.

 

[Woody Morgan]

Don't forget that these guns have been around for over 200 years. Back then people depended on them for their lives and only had water to clean with.

Well yeah but back then all we had to get around was horses and our feet too.

wm

 

[FlinterNick]

I dissasemble mine once a year, clean it in an ultrasonic, then hit the threads with graphite grease so it wont seize on me. Actually I do it more like once every two years, its just not something that needs to be done routinely. Originals were almost never unbreached.

 

[Dphar1950]

Hello Everyone,

I'm not sure if I'm over thinking this or not, but I had a question about cleaning a barrel with a threaded breech plug. My method for cleaning barrels is to completely remove it from the rifle, stick the aft end into a sink full of hot soapy water, and then use the plunger method to pull the water up through the barrel.

I'm wondering though, on a barrel with a threaded breach plug, how do you make sure all fouling, water, oil, etc. is completed removed from in between the threads? It seems very easy for any kind of liquid to get trapped between the threads and then rust out.

The only solution I could think of was to heat the breech with a heat gun and hope that evaporated any residual water.

Is there a better way to do this, or is it really even a concern?

Thanks in advance!!

View attachment 126305

If properly breeched water fouling can’t get in the threads. The bore scope photo shows it’s sealed the vent liner is sealed against a shoulder as well. But it takes time to fit this tight. Note the land groove prints on the plug still in the lathe. This one was fitted round then the tang was machined. debreeching the barrel will eventually create its own issues. Clean, wipe dry, give it a good shot of WD-40. Let this run to the breech, then set the barrel/gun muzzle down overnight. Then wipe out and wipe with preservative oil. Leave muzzle down overnight or longer to keep oil out of the stock.

 

[J. Paul]

Back starting about 1980, a friend of mine won a muzzleloader that came with tool to remove breech plug. He removed it as part of cleaning each time. About 5 to 7 years later he was using a different rifle. He claimed the breech was no longer clocking with the barrel.