Cleaning question

[Rebel]

Ok, this smoothbore is the first ML'er i have owned that the barrel is pinned in the stock. With all my other guns i always took the barrel out every time i cleaned it. Is it a bad idea to take the barrel out of the stock on this one to clean it? I don't like to have water and cleaning agents getting in the lock mortise and on the wood, but don't want to mess anything up by removing the pins all the time. Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

 

[musketman]

The barrel on my brown bess is pinned and I do not take it off to clean it, what I do is clean it upside down with the barrel pointing downwards, this way any water/cleaning agents run off of it, not down into the barrel channel...

If you do pull the pins, make sure you put them back in the same order and drive them out from the left to right... (right being the lock side of the stock)

Pins tend to warp and bend with the barrel and stock flexing over the years, this is why its a good idea to number them as you pull them, so they can be replaced in the same holes they came out of...

 

[Rocky Johnson]

No good advise. Get one of them C clamp contraptions,seal the gap between the wood & barrel with a bee,s wax mixture or maybe your bullit lub. I watch cleaning posts on this fourm all the time to see if some one has a better way.Removeing a pined barrel all the time would be a real pain. Rocky /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Stumpkiller]

. . .is clean it upside down with the barrel pointing downwards, this way any water/cleaning agents run off of it, not down into the barrel channel...

If you do pull the pins, make sure you put them back in the same order and drive them out from the left to right... (right being the lock side of the stock)

What he said. I tip mine a bit so the vent is pointing downward and I have a few old brown towels I use just for gun cleaning (and laundered seperately) that keep me and the wife happy.

My fusil has a pinned barrel and in 15 years I seperated the barrel and stock exactly once. If you get some water in the channel you can wick it out with absorbant paper slid between the barrel and the stock. After all. they are for use outdoors where it rains and such.

 

[Deadeye]

If you have a vice, here's the way I do it. Remove the lock, place rifle in vice with touch hole pointing down,
rag underneath touch hole to catch liquid. Spray solvent, from spray bottle, 4 or 5 shots down barrel, run a wet patch
down barrel, repeat 4 or 5 times,if you have shot a lot of shots you might want to use a scraper at this point otherwise just dry patch then run a oily patch down, clean your lock, replace it and your done. Done this for years and years, using windex for solvent and have the shiniest
bores you ever want to see.

 

[Rebel]

could count on this bunch for some intelligent input. Well, input anyway. :: Thanks again to all of ya. By the way, if i were to take her into outerspace where there is no gravity, could i then clean her right side up again? :haha:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Yeah, but when you push the jag down the water would squirt out the vent and the gun would whip around and club you in the back of the head!

Get one o' them little clamp on tubes. They do work.

 

[musketman]

Yeah, but when you push the jag down the water would squirt out the vent

This is a good thing when you are cleaning your flintlock beside your brother-in-law after he just caused you to miss the 12 point buck that was heading your way before he yelled, "Hey you see anything yet?"

Push the jag down hard enough and the water will shoot out 15 yards or so, looks like a humpback whale spouting...

Sploosh, oops, didn't think it would squirt that far... (hee hee) :winking: :haha: :haha: :haha:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Hmmm. There's a mean side to you I'se just beginnin to appreciate.

Rumor has it Zonie ain't yet fergive ya for the six bottles o' doe-in rut scent he drunk on yer advice afore Claude told him it was for rubbin on yer mocs.

 

[musketman]

Rumor has it Zonie ain't yet fergive ya for the six bottles o' doe-in rut scent he drunk on yer advice afore Claude told him it was for rubbin on yer mocs.

'corse ol' Zonie don't bend over in the woods anymore, do he? :haha: :haha: :winking:

Gives new meaning to the phrase: The Buck Stops Here!

 

[quote Gives new meaning to the phrase: The Buck Stops Here! [/quote]
BAwwwwwwwwwww-Hawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww :haha:
Choke, gag, snickers, snicks, barrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :haha: :haha:
You really, really crack me up! ::

 

[tg]

I remove the lock, plug the veny with a round toothpick, tie a strip of patching around the stock behind the toothpick in case of dribbles and pour a bit of water of solution of choice down the bore and let set muzzle up for a few minutes, then dump solution pull toothpick, lay gun sideways over plastick bucket and plunge out remaining solution with damp patch on jag, then alternate dry and wet patches till clean, then wipe bore with oily patch when done, no mess or fuss or need for gadgets.

 

[Rebel]

what i have been doing except for tying the cloth behind the toothpick. I usually just bunch up a rag in the lock mortise. Only difference is i have been holding the gun upright while running wet patches through it, and some of the solution comes out the muzzle now and then. I wipe it off real quick, but don't like getting it on the wood. I will start laying it on its side and try that. Thanks everyone for the input.

 

[tg]

Take a 1/2"x 2" square piece of foam and punch a hole so it will fit tight over the muzzle it will catch any dribbles at that end.

 

[Doc Arroyo]

Rebel-

I usually use the C-clamp attachment that has already been mentioned. But I do have a bit of advise.

Once a year remove the pins and the barrel from the stock and check for rust! I check it every year, and put a new coat of paste wax on the bottom of the barrel and the barrel channel. It seems to keep all the over-splash out and the rust from developing. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Oil or grease may do the same, but they will soften the wood! :curse:

 

[Rebel]

R

 

[riarcher]

What you said,,,,, PLUS;
Seal all metal / wood joints with "Butchers Wax" initially when polishing. (just a good waxing of everything)
Heat all cleaning solutions (like heating a babie's bottle) before using. Get the barrel "too hot to hold" as a final.

(FOR ME) NEVER use petrolium products in a bore.
If stored for a long time, "Cork the mussel and stick the hole" while cooling (after preping)

 

what I do is clean it upside down with the barrel pointing downwards, this way any water/cleaning agents run off of it, not down into the barrel channel...

I tried that upside down method and got dizzy standing on my head. Must be a better way! :haha:

 

[Rebel]

ya one of them gravity inversion thingys and hang from it while ya clean 'em. That way your neck muscles don't get sore from all that weight of standin' on yer head. :applause:

 

Gotta wear our anti-grav boots and helmet.