Help new guy : )

[broknprism]

Third post, more questions. My head is spinning from the articles and opinions I've read about one cleaning regimen over another, the virtues of one powder over another, the evils of petroleum-based solvents/lubes, and thoughts on lubing, slathering, buttering, greasing, etc.

I have 2 lbs Triple 7 FFFg and 1 lb American Pioneer Shockey's Gold (no black powder) and Wonder Wads. This is where I'm starting in terms of raw materials.

I need to know how to clean the Colts (in view of the powders mentioned above) after shooting, and how to preserve them between shooting sessions. Thanks!

 

[poordevil]

Clean with hot soapy water, like with BP. Then dry and oil. Nothing to it

P :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

broknprism
Hot soapy water has been the mainstay of cleaning all black powder guns and I agree with poordevil, no special cleaning is needed with the synthetic black powders except to be extra thorough.

Some of them leave fouling that contains chemicals that actually are a bit harder to remove than real black powder but all of them are water soluble.

Several of us have noticed that hot water seems to lead to "flash rusting" which is a very thin surface rust that forms while the water is drying.
Room temperature water does not seem to do this so, you might want to try both ways and see what works best for you.

In any case, be sure to thoroughly dry and oil your gun after cleaning with a good gun oil.
I like Birchwood Casey Sheath or Barricade.
It is thin enough to penetrate into the smallest areas and it drys leaving a very protective film that doesn't cause hard black powder fouling.

 

[broknprism]

So traditional gun oils (I have some FP-10, Rem Oil, Break Free, EzOx, etc.) don't violate the petroleum-based thing?

Thanks guys. I've spent my whole shooting life trying to keep water off guns so this will be a little creepy. : )

 

[Zonie]

You will get used to it. :grin:

The thing about petroleum oils and the hard fouling they produce when black powder is shot in them isn't a real big thing if you take the time to wipe the bore and chambers with alcohol or some other form of degreaser before loading and firing them.

It's not like some sort of failure will occure if you don't remove the oil. It just makes cleaning them more difficult if the petroleum oils are left on the metal surfaces.

 

[Poor Private]

I find that KISS(keep it simple stupid) works for me. I find that over analyzing makes my head hurt.
Clean with plain or soapy water, heck remove the grips and run them thru the dishwasher, no soap. I use primarily trip 7 in my pistols, and have had no problems just remember it's about 10% hotter than BP. I use 20gns. in my steal 44's and no problems.