Would any seasoned flintlock shooters share your process for cleaning a flintlock after a shooting session? Compared to me, anyone with one shooting and cleaning session is seasoned.
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Flinglock cleaning
- Thread starter Pilgrim
- Start date
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There are a bunch of threads on this. Each has its own way
If you have you tube several folks have cleaning instructions.
In general it takes about fifteen minutes, maybe twenty
I pull off the lock. Plug the touch hole with a tooth pick. Then pour the bore full of water, set the gun aside.
Take the lock and wipe it down with a damp rag. Dry and oil.
About once every four or five outings with the gun I disassemble the lock. But it’s just damp rag dry and oil.
I returned to the gun.
Dump the water, then repeat. Fill with water swish the gun back and forth with my thumb over the bore. It might take this three times or five times.
Then use a wet cloth patch on a jag and wipe the bore with a few times. Then run dry ones until dry. I will often spray a WD 40 patch at home or a tad bit of rum from my flask in the field or at an event to displace any water, then oil. The oil can well be a grease or lube, like olive oil and bees wax, mink oil, lard, b’ar oil, plain olive oil, I like to avoid petroleum.
Wipe down the out side with damp and dry, oil the barrel, rub a few drops of a stock oil in to the stock.
All the time thinking about the event or hunt or track or just time at the range.
If you have you tube several folks have cleaning instructions.
In general it takes about fifteen minutes, maybe twenty
I pull off the lock. Plug the touch hole with a tooth pick. Then pour the bore full of water, set the gun aside.
Take the lock and wipe it down with a damp rag. Dry and oil.
About once every four or five outings with the gun I disassemble the lock. But it’s just damp rag dry and oil.
I returned to the gun.
Dump the water, then repeat. Fill with water swish the gun back and forth with my thumb over the bore. It might take this three times or five times.
Then use a wet cloth patch on a jag and wipe the bore with a few times. Then run dry ones until dry. I will often spray a WD 40 patch at home or a tad bit of rum from my flask in the field or at an event to displace any water, then oil. The oil can well be a grease or lube, like olive oil and bees wax, mink oil, lard, b’ar oil, plain olive oil, I like to avoid petroleum.
Wipe down the out side with damp and dry, oil the barrel, rub a few drops of a stock oil in to the stock.
All the time thinking about the event or hunt or track or just time at the range.
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I pull the lock and scrub it with hot soapy water. Pour the same solution-clean- down the barrel, then swab the bore with a cleaning rod and paper towels for patches. several swabs until most of the gunk disappears. Then swab with dry paper towels. I use an air compressor to dry off the lock and then the barrel.
After I spray WD 40 down the bore and then again use it on towel patches on a cleaning rod for several passes. Again a dry patch run down the bore. I hose the lock with WD 40 then wipe dry. Hit the screws that hold the lock with WD 40, then reassemble. Wipe down the barrel and other exterior metal parts with the same oil.
After I spray WD 40 down the bore and then again use it on towel patches on a cleaning rod for several passes. Again a dry patch run down the bore. I hose the lock with WD 40 then wipe dry. Hit the screws that hold the lock with WD 40, then reassemble. Wipe down the barrel and other exterior metal parts with the same oil.
In addition to tennguns quote above, read all of his post. Follow his exampe and you won't go wrong. About the only difference in what he said and my approach is I scrub the lock works with soapy water and an old toothbrush then rinse with hot water (so it dries fast), lube and reinstall when rest of gun is clean. Easy peasy but very important to do.
hanshi
Cannon
I plug the vent and fill the bore with water (with or without detergent) maybe a couple of times. Then start patching the bore with wet patches then dry patches. Patch the bore with a WD40 soaked patch. Run a dry patch down afterward. Then a patch wet with denatured alcohol followed by a couple of dry patches. Then I swab the bore using Barricade. The flint lock is removed and wiped down well. A cloth dampened with Type F tranny fluid is then used to wipe down the barrel and stock.
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Remove and clean/oil the lock. My lock to barrel fit is very good and I put a beeswax snake on the lock. It follows the contour of the pan and squishes out when tightening the lock bolt. Scrape off the excess and no fouling gets to the internals.
I remove the barrels as little as possible. No need to upset the bedding.
I remove the ventliner, and use a bored out nipple with an o ring and aquarium tubing to get a 75/25 mix of water and Ballistol in the bore. Windshield washer fluid works well too.
I then dry the bore and give it a good dose of Hoppes #9. Surprising what that will bring out of a clean barrel when left overnight.
I then patch it out and keep up the Hoppes as necessary.
Once I'm convinced ther will be no further problems, it gets a swabbing with good gun oil.
Never had good results with hot water and soap. ALWAYS got flash rusting.
If you don't disassemble the lock, some are easier than others, pipe cleaners are your friend. Likewise the flashlight for the barrel. Drop ins won't let you see th breech face to make sure there is no remaining fouling there. A flashlight will.
I remove the barrels as little as possible. No need to upset the bedding.
I remove the ventliner, and use a bored out nipple with an o ring and aquarium tubing to get a 75/25 mix of water and Ballistol in the bore. Windshield washer fluid works well too.
I then dry the bore and give it a good dose of Hoppes #9. Surprising what that will bring out of a clean barrel when left overnight.
I then patch it out and keep up the Hoppes as necessary.
Once I'm convinced ther will be no further problems, it gets a swabbing with good gun oil.
Never had good results with hot water and soap. ALWAYS got flash rusting.
If you don't disassemble the lock, some are easier than others, pipe cleaners are your friend. Likewise the flashlight for the barrel. Drop ins won't let you see th breech face to make sure there is no remaining fouling there. A flashlight will.
I do similar to tenngun but don’t put as much water in the bore so I can run a rod with a breech scraper down and spin it several times to loosen the fouling on my flat breech faces.
I was using water and cleaning after I got home but now I use Hoppes BP cleaner and clean at the range before heading home. BP cleaner, 2 or 3 times down the barrel, swab & plunge it a few times with a patch, flush with alcohol, then lube with Ballistol. No issues at all, and zero rust anywhere. Bore is shiny and like new. Takes as long as it takes to see clean patches. Good luck, to each his/her own and as long as you get your rifle clean that's what counts. 
Fifty guys, five hundred best ways.
I might add too, that I also run a copper brush down the barrel once in awhile to get any fouling in the rifling. The next patch down the barrel always has some black on it after that so the brush loosens stuff up for sure.
This is my process:
BARREL:
1. Take off the barrel.
2. Grab a bucket and fill it with water and place the breech end of the barrel in the bucket of water.
3. Get a patch and run it up and down the bore in a pumping motion.
4. Keep doing that until the patches run clean.
5. Dry the bore with dry patches and a hair dryer.
6. Oil the bore.
7. Put the barrel back.
LOCK:
1. Take the lock off.
2. Take a toothbrush and use soapy water and scrub the lock down.
3. Dry off the lock.
4. Oil it up.
BARREL:
1. Take off the barrel.
2. Grab a bucket and fill it with water and place the breech end of the barrel in the bucket of water.
3. Get a patch and run it up and down the bore in a pumping motion.
4. Keep doing that until the patches run clean.
5. Dry the bore with dry patches and a hair dryer.
6. Oil the bore.
7. Put the barrel back.
LOCK:
1. Take the lock off.
2. Take a toothbrush and use soapy water and scrub the lock down.
3. Dry off the lock.
4. Oil it up.
TDM
Cannon
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You will not go wrong following any of the cleaning techniques posted. They will all work very well.
Last edited:
Method may not work so well with a pinned barrel or one without a hooked breech, particularly one with a long narrow tang as part of the breech plug. Depends on what the OP is attempting to clean, but all they have told us is they are cleaning a flintlock.
Bet he saves that patch with a bit of rum between his ‘cheek and gum’ as the old ad campaign used to say.
Your I didn't provide enough information. I apologize. It is a Kibler SMR in .32. And, as I started a flintlock with pinned barrel. Again I apologize.
SlidePicker
40 Cal
I tried denatured alcohol as part of my cleaning process after seeing so many of you guys mention it. That's when I discovered that a pistol of mine was finished with shellac. I pushed an alcohol-wet patch into the muzzle, some squeezed out and trickled down the side. The finish instantly bubbled up. If you use it, be sure it's OK on your finish. Same with anything else you use.
The bucket pump method is probably the very best way. But I only pull my pinned barrels once every few years.
A banded barrel like the charley and Springfield muskets have a short thick tang so they do well in the bucket. I bet your SMR has the “lollipop’ tang, and personally I would not risk bending it.
These are some good traditional and not sites
