Effective cleaning

[Terry Fairchild]

I've been shooting my muzzle loaders for about a month(after a 35 year absence) and am not sure I'm cleaning them correctly and effectively.
I use a range rod with a barrel swab and pump warm soapy water through them,dry them and oil the inside/outside of the barrels and locks with synthetic gun oil.
Today, while shooting my Great Plains, the pattern was all over ( and missing) the target@ 25 yards. I patched the barrel with a jag and felt resistance about 2/3 down the barrel. After using 6 patches,the resistance went away( mostly). I'm thinking it was some crud or rust from inadequate cleaning.
My question(s): Am I cleaning my guns correctly?
What was causing the resistance down in the barrel?
This is a new Lyman,54 cal. Flintlock that hasn't had over 25 balls through it.
Thanks for any help and insight.

 

[jamesthomas]

First I would throw the gun oil away an use B.C. Barricade for storage, both long an short term. You might have had a little rust ring develop where it got tight. I don't use the pump method myself just some patches with water an a little Dawn. You might use a 4 patches or so then follow with a couple of dry ones then a patch soaked with the Barricade. If your load is tight enough(which it should be) you will only be cleaning one shot from the rifle. Each shot should clean the fouling from previous one is what I'm saying.

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

I would stop using the swab and just use the jag and patch. My guess is that you had a crud ring just ahead of the where your ball sits and the bore mop was not doing the job getting it out. Some commercial lubes also leave a pretty healthy crud ring and you need to use alcohol to cut the waxy build up they leave.

 

[Drago]

Did you use alcohol to clean out the oil before the session? Oil can create problems with black powder if not removed first. You may also need to swab between shots to remove fouling. I have started using Murphy's oil soap for patch lube and am happy so far. Your cleaning method sounds like it should be fine with a little tweeking.

 

[rduncan]

I've used a mixture of 1/3 Murphy Oil Soap, 1/3 rubbing alcohol, and 1/3 hydrogen peroxide as a swab between shots. Don't like to use it for cleaning before storage. The BC Barricade is absolutely the best stuff for storage...I was told that it's a good idea to store the rifle with the muzzle down for a short time to keep the breech from getting gummed up.

Anyone better informed on that?

 

[don hepler]

It's a funny thing, how many times this comes up, on this forum. I think your cleaning is pretty close to right. But, here's what I keep finding, some of my rifles will not rust, while others that are cared for in the same manner, will. I find that going back and keep checking the bore with a clean patch is the only way of knowing for sure. I've heard the expression, every day for a week, every week for a month, and every month for a year. Now, I don't take it to that extreme, but I have 12 BP firearms, rifles, pistols and revolvers, and BP firearms are not for the lazy, if you want to keep the rust out. I've tried every thing, mentioned, and I have some firearms that, will not rust, and others with different degrees of rust. Hot water, warm water, cold water, this lube and that, and if you use a certain combination and no rust, maybe you got lucky.

I will admit, that I use both black powder and some subs. This may be the bottom line on my problems, however unless I change to, all one type of powder, I may never know.

My policy, is to stay on them, and stay ahead of the problem.

 

[M. De Land]

Might want to pick up a small bottle of Gunzilla and give it a try. I have been using it on all my Black powder guns after a water swabbing and drying lately and like what I see so far. It does a good job on carbon and baked on BP along with lead from by cast bullet barrels. It is waterless. It is supposed to work without any water at all which might be real nice for hunting camp if it proves out over the long term. I haven't had the guts not to clean without water yet and only use the Gunzilla. MD

 

[Vaino]

Have been cleaning a Douglas bbl on my super accurate squirrel LR since 1977 using the following method and have encountered zero after rust.

Hot water is poured down the bbl and a bronze wire brush is given a few strokes and the water dumped. The bbl is then filled w/ very hot water, a few wet patches, water dumped and then some drying patches followed by Oxyoke 1000 saturated patches and that's it. Previously had checked to see if rust had formed under the Oxyoke 1000...nothing.

I prefer a waxy coating in the bore because it stays put...whereas thinner oils collect at the lowest level whether the rifle is stored horizontally or vertically. I don't "go over" the bores periodically after the initial cleaning...no need to.

Some encounter a coating of rust when using very hot water...I don't and the reason might be that my well water is sent through an efficient iron filter and then the softener. This water tastes good and "iron" is non-existent....Fred

 

[Billnpatti]

It sounds like rust or crud that you didn't get out when you cleaned it last. Here is what works for me. I use straight Ballistol as my patch lubricant because it is a good lubricant and it cleans my bore with each loading. So, my bore stays clean as I shoot. At the end of the day, I use the same method as you to clean my rifle. I also remove my lock and spray it out with automobile brake cleaner. That stuff really removes the dirt and crud but it also removes all traces of oil and you must not get it on your stock or it might damage the finish. Shake it out and let it dry, then lightly oil the working parts. After I have washed out my bore with soapy water and then rinsed with clear water, I dry it thoroughly with several dry patches. At this point, I know that there is still some moisture lurking in the bore. So, I spray it with a generous amount of WD-40 to get out this moisture. I then remove as much of the WD-40 as I can with a bunch of clean, dry patches. Lastly, I run a patch with Barricade on it through my bore to protect it. To keep my stock looking good, I put a light coat of Renissance Wax (or paste floor wax) on it, let it dry and give it a good buffing. Except for wear from use, my guns stay looking new (spotlessly clean and rust free) no matter how long they may sit in my gun safe. Other folks may have other ideas but this is what has proven to work for me for years.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I suspect that your swab isn't big enough to adequately clean the fouling from your bore. The bore sized jag with a wet patch is a better choice to start with. Be careful with a bore brush. Some of these have beome stuck in the bore. Interesting reading in the archives.

 

[ZUG]

I tend to agree with Hadden West - I too have noticed the same thing. After a day at the range I clean my guns with cold/warmish water with a drop of dish soap, rinse, dry, lube with a non-oil base lube, go back in one or two days with a lightly lubed patch up/down the bore and always see a light yellow rust film on the patch. I then take some 4/0 steel wool wrapped around a undersized nylon brush and go up & down about 10 times then a clean patch on a jag with a non-oil lube to re-lube the bore. The night before I go back to the range I swab the bore clean to check for any rough spots -- never have found any and never had a problem on the range from a rough bore :grin: .

 

[nkbj]

Do commonly available soaps of various types use salt in their formulas? That shouldn't matter with adequate rinsing but it got me to wondering.

 

[don hepler]

You know, somtimes I wonder about the metals and heat treating process on some of these barrels that make the easier to rust than others. Maybe differences for barrel to barrel by the same manufacturer. I have a Hawken with a Douglas barrel, that has been rust browned, but bore is shinny and will not rust. I have some TC"s that were factory blued, some are ok while others tend to rust. I once had a Uberti Walker, I swear, you could almost watch it rust. I would clean that revolver and leave it disassembled for a week, just watching for rust, before attempting to put it back together.

Stay on em. That's what I say.

 

[S.Kenton]

Here recently I've been using the cleaning method described by Dutch Shoultz..which is called "The 99% Waterless Cleaning Method"... no problems with this method at all.

 

[cynthialee]

I think local water quality has alot to do with it also.
Atmospheric moisture and pressure. Salts in the air for folks near the ocean. Air polution in the local area for city dwellers. All kinds of variables here.

Clean as best as you can. Oil it properly and inspect the bore a day or two after cleaning to verify it is good to go.

 

[hanshi]

This is an ultra simple process made unnecessarily complex for reasons that escape me. Here are the basic steps.

1. Clean with water (with or without soap) using a bore size jag and patches. Might want to consider occasionally using a ScotchBrite patch.

2. Dry thoroughly with patches - I also use WD40 then use alcohol to remove the WD40.

3. Use a good rust preventative. Gun oils DO work very well; however I use "Barricade" which dries leaving a dry, protective film in the bore.

4. Before shooting remove oils with alcohol patches & dry patches. Barricade can be dry patched but doesn't cause any problems whatsoever if not.

I lived in Ga (humid subtropical) for over 60 years without any rust problem. The only failure I ever experienced was ONE misguided attempt using Bore Butter for bore protection. It's as simple as that, no joke. In fact that's the long version and you can get by quite well even leaving out one or two of the details.

 

[kingsax26]

i think theres as many recconmended ways to clean a BP rifle as their are to cook your neighbors chinchilla for dinner....I have a rifle ive never seen rust and anothe rthat i have to babysit for a week after cleaning .....in the long run i feel it depends on the rifle.Since i shoot weekly....I dont really ahve a hard time keeping up with my guns...but if you take car of t he guns the guns will take care of you

 

[George T.]

Yeah I agree but warm water and soap will desolve the salt and sludge. Once thats done just dry it and then apply some oil or greese. I go back in two days and reoil to insure nothing is going on. As you said it varies from gun to gun. I have a 50 barrel on a GPR that will start to rust at the drop of a hat. The others are no ware as likely to rust. Geo. T.

 

[rfdr]

:yakyak: :grin:

warm/hot soapy water and lotsa plunger patches. that's all, no big deal. followed by hot water flush and some clean patches. then a light oil patch. keeping it simple works best for me. if the barrel is easy to remove (gp trade rifle) i do it, if not (ped kentucky) i don't. yeah, some barrels need to be babied more than others. it is what it is, bp is never as easy as smokeless, we all accept that and just get on with the game .....

 

[hanshi]

Very true. I believe the type of steel the barrel is fabricated from makes a difference as well. I tend to baby my guns and check them often after shooting. Some shooters clean in ways I would not, yet still seem to have similar success. As long as you keep as good an eye on them as you would on your 17 year old daughter, they will be okay.