cleaning my gun................

[bob1961]

i keep hearing guys say this don't work that won't work with cleaning your muzzleloader....the way i clean my muzzleloader is this....

i have a 1 1/2 gal from some cat litter i buy that is oblong in shape more then square like a milk jug that i cut open to fit my barrel in....i have a T/C hawken so i can take it apart....after i use a patch on my jag in the hot water only till it comes out clear and the barrel is warm by the muzzle where i hold it i'm done with the water at that time....i then dry the outside of the barrel where it was in the water with paper towels then with a tube in the touch hole i blow out any extra water....i then spray some wd-40 or some other oil in the touch hole till it comes out the muzzle when it's hung muzzle down over a cup to catch the drippings....while the barrels hangs to drip i clean and oil the lock and wipe out the stock inlet where the lock and barrel goes....i would leave it like this till i go hunting or to the range....when i need to put it together to go shooting or hunting i would spray the barrel through the touch hole with brake cleaner to get out any oil out of it then put back together....if i do all this at once it only takes me bout 20 minutes to clean my gun from disassembly to assembly....but i all ways here people saying they have problems or it takes so long to do.............................bob

 

[jtmattison]

I take my gun apart and put the nipple and cleanout screw in some BP solvent. I then lay the barrel on my bench with the muzzle propped up a little and squirt some BP solvent down the barrel until it comes out the nipple hole.
I run a .35 caliber brass brush down into the breech (that is the size of a GPR breech hole) and give it a few twists. Then I run the .54 caliber brass brush in and out a few times to loosen fowling in the barrel.
Next comes the hot water.
I flush it with 2-3 patches in the hot water, like Bob, until the barrel is hot at the muzzle.
I then blow out the water with my air compressor, I blow the water out of the sights and barrel rib also.
I run a couple dry patches down the bore just to make sure it's dry.
I spray Rem-oil in the sights, barrel rib, and into the barrel and blow the excess out with the compressor.
I then run a couple more oily patches in there to be sure it's coated.
I clean and oil the nipple and screw and put them back in with anti-sieze grease.
I clean up the lock and oil it and the stock after that.
Maybe sounds like too much work but it really only takes me about 20 minutes to do all of this in my garage on my work bench.

Huntin

 

[mark starr]

I don't take my barrels off I use a mixture of rubbing alchol and peroxide half and half I plug the touch hole with a tooth pick pour a little of the mix down the barrel let it soak for 20 or 30 seconds . Then I pour out the mix swabout the barrel until im pulling a dry patch if I am storeing the rifle I'll run a patch coated with WD-40 down the barrell. I will also take off the lockoff and use the same mix to clean it. For extended storage I will pull the barrell and coat it with oil. The reason I don't like to pull the barrel off every time I don't want to loosen the fit I am afarid it will affect the accuracy. The mix I use works well but if you try it donot leave it sit in the barrel to long as it is crossive.Mark

 

[HardBall]

....but i all ways here people saying they have problems or it takes so long to do.............................bob

Since I'm getting myself back up to speed with my $55 Bobcat- I'm actually trying a couple of procedures / methods. Years ago, after shooting, I dunked the breech of the barrel in a bucket of hot soapy water, stuffed a cleaning jag/patch combo down the barrel and pumped for a while. Never took "that" many swipes before bore and patch were clean. An old toothbrush with the same soapy water, took care of any nooks and crannies. Then I'd wipe the barrel with a dry towel, blow out the drum, lube the whole thing, inside and out, with the TC 1000+ Bore Butter, smell-good stuff...Never found any rust.

With my "high dollar" CVA Bobcat I've done that; also used TC #13 solvent with a bronze brush, following with solvent soaked patches etc. Doing the bronze brush thing always seems to unearth something since subsequent patches are no longer clean. Eventually I start to wonder if I'm doing nothing but removing bluing?

After my trip to the range Sunday afternoon, I just went back to the soap & water clean up method as it seemed much quicker and easier.

As far as using WD-40...I know its bad mojo to mix petroleum stuff with BP, but for water displacing, a little rust prevention or light lubrication of lock parts, I've never had any ill effects.

 

[Old40Rod]

:agree: with Hardball...

but i all ways here people saying they have problems or it takes so long to do.......bob

Cleaning doesn't need to be hard or expensive. Hot water and Dawn or 409 works fine for me. I have tried a myriad of other stuff, store bought, home mix... it works fine too. Maybe I'm not paying attention ::, but no one method seems to work appreciably better than another I have tried.

A few general rules stand out based on my observations:

1. If you use water, the hotter the better. It doesn't need to be boiling but it seems I have to scrub less if it is. My hot tap water is fairly hot (no small children here) so I generally just use it right from the tap.

2. Soap is soap, more or less. Fancy store bought stuff may save you a few strokes but pricewise probably isn't worth it. If you are bored, interested or otherwise motivated for something less pedestrian than 409, mix your own rather than purchase special BP solvent. The main benefit of mixing your own will be the time you spending thinking about how it all works. Try adding some alcohol to the mix. In addition, making your own cleaning products makes your wife think there is a possibility that you could get interested in cleaning something else (until you name your solvent after mucosal drainage of a member of the Cervidae family, in which case your offers will be declined).

3. Get a BP bore light. This is really the only way to confirm if you did a good job cleaning. Clean patches are good, but should not be trusted, IMHO.

4. If you use any H20 or H20 based product, make sure everything is dry... don't forget under the rib.

5. Soap is soap, but I'm not convinced one way or another that oil is oil. I don't do bore butter, CLP works for me. The important thing is to get things coated. The best lube/preservative in the world won't work if you don't get it on the metal. Uncoated parts will potentially rust, no matter what you use. I suspect that many "I got rust using Brand X SuperLube" complaints come from not a) getting things dry, b) not doing a good job of coating, or c) poor storage environment.

6. Don't store your rifle muzzle up. I prefer muzzle down, but I suppose horizontal on the wall will also work. This will keep your lube from running down into the breach and gooking up the important parts. I usually shoot about once or twice a month and run a few alcohol soaked patches to remove any oil from the barrel and nipple prior to shooting. Never had a problem that way.

7. If you shoot a lot, get a C02 ball discharger. A good toot of C02 generally also helps clear the way prior to shooting, at least for me.

:imo:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Try adding some alcohol to the mix. In addition, making your own cleaning products makes your wife think there is a possibility that you could get interested in cleaning something else (until you name your solvent after mucosal drainage of a member of the Cervidae family, in which case your offers will be declined).

::

I have resorted to a WD-40 spritz (hand pump, not areosol, not that it matters) after the HOT soapy water mop, wet bronze brushing & clean HOT water mop & rinse. I then wipe with Rem Oil and finish with a coating of Moose Snot.

Before shooting, I dry & then alcohol wipe, give it a wipe with a LIGHTLY lubed patch and then load.

 

[Old40Rod]

I have resorted to a WD-40 spritz...

I can see it now... WD-40 marketed as "W(olf) D(rool)- (from the back) 40 :crackup:

 

[brushbuster]

I have resorted to a WD-40 spritz...

I can see it now... WD-40 marketed as "W(olf) D(rool)- (from the back) 40 :crackup:

goood one lmao :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:

 

[HardBall]

In addition, making your own cleaning products makes your wife think there is a possibility that you could get interested in cleaning something else (until you name your solvent after mucosal drainage of a member of the Cervidae family, in which case your offers will be declined).

Boy, did I get a good laugh from that line :crackup:

 

[HardBall]

I have resorted to a WD-40 spritz...

I can see it now... WD-40 marketed as "W(olf) D(rool)- (from the back) 40 :crackup:

Or... Wapiti Drainage? ::