Cleaning Frontier Firearms

[tenngun]

Okie Hog. Did you clean the barrels out. If so what condition were they in?

I would have to wonder how many were put up dirty on the last time, and then ignored in the century after.

 

[Flint1]

I believe Grenadier's answer is very good and probably quite accurate. Most of us who have been in this hobby for awhile have probably read and heard a great deal of the use of tow in cleaning. I'm guessing in his scenario the OP was talking about guys who would be staying in the wilderness for an extended period and not heading to a cabin at the end of the day. If he was going home to his cabin a frontiersman may have another gun or two and could then pull the load on the one he had fired and reloaded that day and clean it properly, then reload it. If they were staying in the wilderness for awhile, a few might could pull their loads and clean while others remained loaded for security, then swap off. If he were a lone longhunter he would probably follow a procedure similar to what Grenadier described. In any event many of those guns would probably be used the next day, if not for defense then so they could eat. I believe ball pullers were more common in those days than what we might think. For over 20 years I have kept tow and copies of the old style tow worm and ball puller which I got at the Camden Revolutionary War reenactment in the patch box of my early Virginia. I have never used them to clean or pull a ball, but they stay there, whether on a short trek, on the range practicing or competing, or in the house.

 

[Okie Hog]

Okie Hog. Did you clean the barrels out.

Yes, with steam.

If so what condition were they in?

Very good condition.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

Cleaned with spit or water when needed. Oil with fat or lard from a meal.

 

[Mad L]

Did they really take the time and trouble to clean the rifles properly out on the frontier

"Out on the Frontier"
With Indians about....
Need for food (no mess tents or cooks to tend to your stomach needs).

How did our soldiers in Vietnam handle their dirty weapons?
How did our soldiers in Iraq handle their dirty weapons?

They did not need them in tip top condition to hunt for food...
BUT they needed them in tip top condition to ..... SURVIVE.

Now some did and some didn't - some died and some didn't.
If you crawled through mud, sand, etc and the barrel gets muck down it; Your gonna get that Out as soon as possible...now unmentionables will (hopefully) fire with much more grim then a muzzleloader....but back then they did not know about unmentionables however they did know how much their flintlocks could take and still fire - some did not...they died.

There are writings of "Re-Priming" such as after a water crossing or in known high humidity.
It would be obvious to all that if you:
(per the OP)
- Had shot the rifle
- Reloaded
- Got the barrel mucked up

Then you, IF possible, unload and clean (how well depends on circumstances), and load again.
At soonest ability clean proper and continued on.

War and survival have not changed much, only what we use to accomplish the goal.
If your blade is dull, you sharpen it.
If your gun is dirty, you clean/oil it.

Some did, some didnt..those that didn't either died or starved.
...some who did still died or starved.

 

[brazosland]

Guns were normally sold with mould, tow screw and ball screw, often a turn screw

I do t think a ball screw was uncommon at all.

However I did read that on a mission into Ohio to attack a Shawnee village every man in the unit discharged his weapon into a hollow tree that had been found so they could load a fresh load for the fight.

The hollow tree muffled the report so as not to alert the enemy. True? I don’t know. Pretty sure it was in That Dark and Bloody River.