Cleaning - What am I doing wrong??

[Hawthorn1213]

Hello!

I picked up a great plains rifle a little over a year ago and having been enjoying it a great deal. Immediately after taking it out I clean it with hot soap and water and rinse with boiling water. However I still get rust in the barrel after it cools. What am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[bubba.50]

I don't see any mention of what you do to dry the bore good after that hot water rinse nor what you use to lube/preserve/protect the bore between the cleanin' & the next shootin' session.

 

[Hawthorn1213]

After the boiling hot water rinse, I run dry patches down the barrel. After that I use Remington gun oil.

 

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

flash rust. I actually flush the bore twice. Once with hot soapy water and afterward, with plain luke warm water.

Dry, using alcohol or gun scrubber, plug the nipple area with my finger, pour some down the barrel to flush water off the face of the breech plug, let it drain and run a couple alcohol patches. Dry again, lube with anti rust lubricant.

 

[bubba.50]

run a few alcohol patches to remove any residual water followed by dry patches then throw that rem-oil in with the supplies for yer ca'tridge guns & get a can of Barricade or other good bore protectant.

 

[necchi]

hot soap and water and rinse with boiling water.

No need for hot and/or boiling water,
Tepid is fine,, think baby bath temps.

 

[crockett]

It has been mentioned before so sorry if I'm repeating things but prior to shooting use rubbing alcohol, etc. to remove all oil from the bore. Some oils turn into a brown tar from the heat and in some instances what you think is rust is this hard to remove tar in the bore.
And, you can get a barrel too hot to touch if you use really hot water, as said, water dissolves black powder residue, doesn't have to be that hot.

 

[tenngun]

Yes and natural oils will brown over time. WD-40 was made to displace water and I will often swab a couple of times with those, then dry and oil. Some folks swear by wd40 for use in place of oil.

 

[Vaino]

Since I started shooting Mlers, I've used very hot water to clean and rinse the bbls and have never had any rust. Of course my water first goes through an iron filter and then a softener. I don't add anything to the water.

The very hot bbl is swabbed and wiped dry and then a liberal amount of Oxyoke 1000 Plus lube is applied in the bore and all exterior surfaces......Fred

 

[19 16 6]

I think that you are onto something there with the water quality Fleto.
I have the same aebl knife blade from the same run as others do & they have trouble with rusting while I do not. We worked out that the difference is the water piped into our households. I have rain water caught on a galvanized steel roof & stored in a concrete tank. They have treated river water from impoundments.
My water does not rust my gun either.
As others said, try not boiling the water but use it tepid so as to avoid flash rust.
O.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Boiling water is too hot...120 degrees F is more than plenty hot....
I don't even use hot water anymore....and have no issues with rust.

WD-40 or alcohol to displace the water.

Municipal water supplies contain all sorts of nasty stuff...Chlorine, chloramine, chlorine gas, fluoride, phosphoric acid etc....Water does play an important role in my opinion.

Rem oil is junk! I wont use it on my modern rifles....Let alone my muzzleloaders. There are way better products out there.

Try cutting back on the soap.
or switch to murphy's oil soap.

 

[AZbpBurner]

I've used hot water for many decades. Flash rust seems to be related to mineral content in the water. With that CAP water you use in Tucson, your mineral content is so high it's a wonder it will pour out of the tap.

Warm to hot soapy water, then hot water rinse, followed by a dry patch, then some WD-40 for complete water removal. Swab out the WD-40 after about 30 minutes and use Barricade for rust prevention.

 

[bubba.50]

if water quality is an issue for ya, a Britta pitcher is only 15 or 20 bucks at wally-world.

 

[1860 Army]

I use 10 to 1 mixture of water and Ballistol, scrub until clean. Then a patch with 100% Ballistol to coat the barrel.

 

[SgtErv]

This is exactly what I do AZBPburner.

Sometimes on a muggy day, OP, the likes of which we've been having recently, it's harder to get clean if you're doing it outside. Take into a room with at least a fan on and you'll fare better.

Also, take into account that the Rem Oil's brownish hue is what you're probably seeing on patches. The WD40 method AZBPburner outlined is a really good one. Some days it feels like you're cheating because it came out so well.

In general, use thick, wide patches from soft material like tshirts to get a really tight fit down the barrel. It'll get the grooves a little better,

Good luck! This crowd loves to talk cleaning op:

 

[Hawthorn1213]

Thanks for all of the replies and advice. I can't wait to get back out next weekend to try the new tips out

 

[Cowboy]

I always use warm soapy water followed by alcohol then WD40 letting it sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Swab that out and finally BC Barricade. Ready to be stored then.

I check the bore the following day and there after once a week for a month unless it goes back out to the range with me and then the whole process starts over again.

Respectfully, Cowboy :thumbsup:

 

[Pete G]

I use windshield washer fluid. It has enough alcohol in it to cut grease and enough water to dissolve fouling. I will plug the vent and pour some down the bore, cover the muzzle with a finger and slosh it back and fourth a few times. Then I'll let it sit while I retrieve the last target. Next step is to dump it out and then wet a patch and run it back and forth a few times, then start with a dry patch or two. When these are relatively clean, I will then apply Break Free CLP for the final cleaning and bore protection.

 

[Vaino]

As can be seen from all the replies, many use their "pet" concoctions and products. Me....I like to keep things simple and fully understand that BP fouling is completely soluble in "plain water". Whether one prefers cold, tepid or hot water is really immaterial....plain water will do the job.

I use 120 degree hot water {that's what my hot water heater is set at}, but due to impurities in untreated water, cold or tepid water probably should be used....my water after going through an iron filter and softener is the next best thing to distilled water.

A hot bbl dries quickly and completely and when the Oxyoke !000 Plus lube is generously applied into a hot bbl, it gets into every nook and crannie and when cool, coats the bore w/ a waxy layer that prevents air contact. The Oxyoke "stays put".....in other words it doesn't migrate to the lowest areas and leave the higher areas susceptible to air contact.

Through the years, have done the above cleaning and used Oxyoke lube and don't "go over again" for long term storage.....the bores of my MLers have always been rust free.

As a point of contention....don't think the addition of soap to water really helps dissolve BP fouling...water alone will do the job, but the "modern mindset" somehow seeks more complication. Soap is a wonderful cleaning agent that was invented a long time ago, but is quite unnecessary when cleaning the bores of MLers.

But, "whatever" is used to purge water soluable BP residue from the bore, if it satisfies the "modern mindset" and does "get the job done", that's what should be used.....Fred

 

[garra]

I have been getting color when checking my rifles after cleaning and sitting. Been using WD40 and then Outers gun oil as a final. Any feedback for the Outers brand of oil??