Help! with cleaning my musket

[FlinterNick]

Yeah I just checked my bore and it does have quite a lot, didn't know it could cause problems though. Thanks for enlightening me

Tooling marks act like traps for residue, and the jags don’t get all the way in there, whenever i see them in my barrels, i polish them out.

 

[Juice Jaws]

You are just going by sight.
You are not flushing the salts away completely.
To do that use boiled water .
The hot water will dissolve the salts, then it will dry your barrel with some help from cotton patches.
Then while still warm you add your homemade animal or vegetable fat/grease.

Now you'll get all sorts of elaborate methods thrown at you and why not, after all I've only been doing this....stuff for 30years now and never ruined a barrel, including using pyrodex!

You forgot one important part, standing on one foot usually the left one.

 

[Greenjoytj]

Hi all

Every single time I shoot and clean my charleville musket I always get rust in the bore a few days later and it's very annoying and also worrying. I suspect it's something to do with my cleaning procedure but I'm not sure what to change.
Here is how I clean the bore

I get a ball of tow made from some sisal rope I cut up, and put it on my musket worm, then wet the tow with warm water and run the tow through the bore, wetting it again after each pass to give it some fresh clean water. I continue this till the tow comes out not black anymore, then I run dry tow till the bore is dry. Finally I run a ball of tow soaked in remoil a few times and put the gun up.

What am I doing wrong?

Lose the tow, get cotton patches they are cheap in bulk off the web or buy use clothing of patch weight from a thrift store and cut your own patches.
Paper towel patches works very good too, get quality paper towel with wet strength.

Goto a hardware store get a brass fitting to fit you laundry tub faucet spigot and 6’ of vinyl hose to onto the barbed fitting. Connect hose to barbed fitting screw onto water outlet and shove the hose into the firearms bore (plug the vent) with the muzzle point down into the laundry tub turn on hot tap this will flush most of the fouling out and dissolve out potassium salts.
Switch to cold water flushing to cool the metal to buy time before flash rusting occurs. Heat speeds up chemical reactions and that is what rusting is.

Take the cooled firearm to the work bench and brush the bore with a bronze brush a few stroke. Go back to the laundry tub and flush out the loosened fouling use hot water then cold flush.
Back to the bench to dry patch to remove the water, now is a good time to use the paper towel patches. Tip, cut the paper towel patches extra long when you wind the patch onto the bronze brush let an inch or more of paper patch overhang the front of the bronze brush.
This over hang squashes down to enter the bore and squashes flat when it bottoms out in the bore to dry the bottom.
Patch out with a nitro powder solvent like Hoppe’s this will remove the last of the carbon fouling. ( nitro powder makes carbon fouling too just a lot less) and it starts apply anti rust protection.
Lose the Rem oil it’s crap. Finish oiling with a synthetic gun oil.
A few days later dry patch again you will likely see brown or black on the patch this staining is residual fouling that was lifted by the cleaning action of the oil.
Apply a fresh coat of synthetic gun oil.

 

[tenngun]

You forgot one important part, standing on one foot usually the left one.

Ah you Brits always backwards…. Right foot.. jeez

 

[tenngun]

A Charlie barrel comes out of tge stock easily. You can put the breech in in a bucket and use your tow wad as a pump, and pump water in and out via the touch hole.
I use both patches on a jag and tow, tow has a good scribing action I think
Should you not want to pull your barrel you can plug the touch hole and fill the bore with water let stand, dump and scrub with tow, then repeat , several times.
Dry and oil
Check next day, scrub with oiled tow or cloth patch, check next day
Keep in mind oils can leave a brown colored stain

 

[FlinterNick]

You forgot one important part, standing on one foot usually the left one.

Tooling marks act like traps for residue, and the jags don’t get all the way in there, whenever i see them in my barrels, i polish them out.

To lap the barrel i use a wax mixture made from Emory polish and mineral oil, i heat it and coat it on a patch, run it with a drill on slow. Lapidaries use this method for polishing the inside of tubes.

This is the result from 1 week ago.

 

[dennis danich]

Ballistol has gotten expensive. I quit using it for that reason. I just use transmission fluid. I’ve read from restoration guys that too much slop from natural fats on the stock will cause it to rot over time. Something about bacteria eating the stock wood. Don’t know how true that is, but I’ve seen a few old old guns with rotten wood around the nipple/ touchhole.

Buy Water Soluable Oil on Amazon, it's a Machinist cutting oil, mix 1 part oil, nine parts water, clean the bore and whatever with this, it's loaded with antirust chemicals and oil. I clean my Remingtons with this, wipe dry, no rust

 

[ed dillon]

Hi all

Every single time I shoot and clean my charleville musket I always get rust in the bore a few days later and it's very annoying and also worrying. I suspect it's something to do with my cleaning procedure but I'm not sure what to change.
Here is how I clean the bore

I get a ball of tow made from some sisal rope I cut up, and put it on my musket worm, then wet the tow with warm water and run the tow through the bore, wetting it again after each pass to give it some fresh clean water. I continue this till the tow comes out not black anymore, then I run dry tow till the bore is dry. Finally I run a ball of tow soaked in remoil a few times and put the gun up.

What am I doing wrong?

I use snug fitting cotton patches with 50 50 simple green and water. Then butchs bore shine for black powder. Don't leave it sit in the barrel like the directions say. Since lyman bought the business and changed the formula it will rust your barrel. When I get a clean patch I use wd40. I give it a squrt down the barrel follow Ed by a patch full and wipe the whole gun down. Had rifles on the wall for a couple years. No rust. Before shooting wipe with a alcohol patch and go make smoke

 

[Notchy Bob]

Wow it looks like every single person has their own way of cleaning and they all work!

You got that right! There is more than one way to skin a cat, and there are lots of ways to clean a muzzleloader.

The only thing I’ve seen in the posts above that really concerns me is the use of a bronze bore brush. Metal bore brushes, whether bronze or stainless, are for breech-loaders. You push the brush in and the bristles lean back to conform to the bore. You push the brush all the way through and out of the barrel, where the bristles flip back upright. Pull on the rod with the brush, and the bristles reverse. In a muzzleloader, with a closed breech, the bristles can’t reverse, and you end up with a stuck brush. The only way to push the brush all the way through a muzzleloader barrel is to unbreech it, which is not always a good idea.

There were bore brushes in the 19th century, but they were made with hog bristles. These are soft enough to reverse themselves if you pull back. Nylon bore brushes are a good, modern substitute for old-time hog bristle brushes, as these can also be reversed in your muzzleloader’s bore, especially if you clean the barrel with hot water.

While some forum members report using bronze bore brushes on a routine basis, and some describe “easy” ways to remove a stuck brush, I would dare say a lot of us have “stuck brush” experience that we would prefer not to repeat.

Your Charleville musket is probably .69 caliber, which is right at 14 gauge. Bore brushes are made to be a tight fit, and I would think a 16 gauge nylon bore brush (16 gauge ~.66 caliber) would be plenty tight. A 20 gauge brush might be big enough, but I haven’t tried it. I would not use a 12 gauge brush in your .69 caliber musket in any event, and I would only recommend a nylon brush if you feel the need to use one. Using a breech-face scraper and properly-fitted jag and patch does an adequate job for a lot of us.

One last comment is that the steel ramrods that come with the reproduction muskets are generally not very well constructed. They are usually made in two sections that are simply pressed together. They work alright for ramming a load, but for cleaning, where you are pushing and pulling the rod, it can come apart. A basic range rod or cleaning rod with a muzzle protector will cost around $30, but will be a good investment.

My opinions, respectfully submitted.

Notchy Bob

 

[Butch Martin]

Hi all

Every single time I shoot and clean my charleville musket I always get rust in the bore a few days later and it's very annoying and also worrying. I suspect it's something to do with my cleaning procedure but I'm not sure what to change.
Here is how I clean the bore

I get a ball of tow made from some sisal rope I cut up, and put it on my musket worm, then wet the tow with warm water and run the tow through the bore, wetting it again after each pass to give it some fresh clean water. I continue this till the tow comes out not black anymore, then I run dry tow till the bore is dry. Finally I run a ball of tow soaked in remoil a few times and put the gun up.

What am I doing wrong?

About cleaning patches: I use Original British 4 x 2 Military Issue Cleaning Material- 45 Meters. I am not paid to recommend this product. It is all I use for all my guns. It is like a flannel shirt on a roll, and you just cut off what you need. Both sides are the same, very absorbent. The US military used to issue good patches, but now their patches are like Russian toilet paper; believe me, I know. Oh yeah, the cost is currently $13.03 per roll, and for all of you Cheap Charlies, you could probably run them through the clothes washer and re-use.
My two cents on this matter.

 

[Butch Martin]

About cleaning patches: I use Original British 4 x 2 Military Issue Cleaning Material- 45 Meters. I am not paid to recommend this product. It is all I use for all my guns. It is like a flannel shirt on a roll, and you just cut off what you need. Both sides are the same, very absorbent. The US military used to issue good patches, but now their patches are like Russian toilet paper; believe me, I know. Oh yeah, the cost is currently $13.03 per roll, and for all of you Cheap Charlies, you could probably run them through the clothes washer and re-use.
My two cents on this matter.

Oops, cost is $12.50 per roll.

 

[Rob M.]

You forgot one important part, standing on one foot usually the left one.

LMAO !!! Exactly ! You got it !

 

[Britsmoothy]

Ah you Brits always backwards…. Right foot.. jeez

Err no, you guys drive on the wrong side of the road so there....!

 

[sturmkatze]

After getting a jag jammed in the Bess, that ain’t gonna happen again. 12 gauge tornado brush. Plug the vent with a bbq skewer. Fill with warmish water. Let sit a few mins repeat a couple times until clean water comes out. Then, I have 4 12 gauge swabs. I use dirtier ones first. Last one is with balistol. Looks like a shotgun inside.

This is how I do it. Do it the way that works FOR YOU. Try stuff.

 

[jkelly]

Yeah the common-est oil was whale oil for guns, back in the 18th century. Can't be using that today here in The States, so a lot of the guys use the cheapest olive oil on the grocery store shelves since that really isn't good to consume.

Olive Oil !

As a renowned oil company logo says - "Oils ain't Oils"
In the land downunder shoppers are being conned with inexpensive 'Olive Oil'

Check yours out, I suggest putting a couple of spoonfuls on a plate and place it in the refrigerator overnight.

Most times when you inspect it later you will find a good crop of potassium nitrate crystals have grown, just waiting to go back down your barrel.

I treat all Olive Oils with caution if you are looking to get what you think you are buying.


crud

 

[nit wit]

We had a good discussion of “flash rust” a little while back. From this was developed a hypothesis that minerals or chemicals in your water, whether added by the local Water Works or naturally occurring, contributed to the rust in some geographical locations.

I use distilled water, still 89 cents a gallon for the house brand from the local Publix supermarket. I heat it in my Mr. Coffee. Not quite boiling, but pretty dadgum hot, the coffeemaker keeps it that way until I’m ready for it, and the coffee pot makes a handy dispenser. No rust with distilled water.

Tow is authentic and cool and everything, but in the comfort of your home with no thread-counting reenactors observing, I really think you are better off swabbing and drying your bore with a properly fitted jag and patch. I suspect your wad of tow may not be getting it as clean as you think, nor may the dry tow wad get it completely dry. That’s another reason for really hot water… the heat helps with drying.

I know, old timers used tow. They also got their rifles freshed out periodically, and sometimes re-breeched.

Forum members may weigh in and report using tow with no problems. That’s great, and there is no reason for them to change what they are doing. You, however, are reporting a problem. Time to try something different.

1. Hot, distilled water.
2. Snug-fitting jag and patch.

Good luck to you, Bud.

Notchy Bob

50 + years doing this, never heard that, makes sense! Thank you! Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?
Nit Wit

 

[Sam squanch]

I treat all Olive Oils with caution

Are you popeye?

 

[jkelly]

Are you popeye?

No I'm not but you can try spinach if you wish

 

[XVIIc Wheelock]

O.k. fellas...if its bore or surface metal rust/corrosion prevention and if you don't enjoy re-lubing your bore the following day or the next week or the next month or year, I have a suggestion, take it or leave it. I have been to Quantico several times, Sig factories both in the USA and Europe, S&W and Beretta factories and several military installations many times over decades...involved in aviation for over 50 years and its seems the most common anti-rust/corrosion prevention are products made by Corrosion Technologies. No I don't work for this company...but recommend their products.

Point of this topics interest is keeping rust/corrosion out of bore and off metal surfaces. For this use, use CorrosionX Ulimate CLP. This stuff prevents rust/corrosion and offers lubrication by actually penetration of the metal....not just the surface and stays there! Bores or locks. Black Powder included. No effect on wood. Not going into more product detail but google Corrosion Technologies and review their products as well as their CLP. KISS principle! You get what you pay for and your firearms are worth your best protection.
https://www.corrosionx.com/

 

[beyu]

I MUST be doing it all wrong. I disassemble my Charleville completely. All parts go in a plastic wash basin and remain there until I am ready for them.

I clean the stock with soap and water to remove any black powder soot. Sometimes I give it a quick going over with a furniture polish.

I plug the vent of the barrel with a patch on a toothpick and then pour a mixture of hot water and dish detergent into the bore and let it soak for 10 minutes. Then I pour it out and repeat a couple more times, letting it soak for 10 minutes each time. While this is going on I take a toothbrush and scrub all the other parts in a container of hot soapy water. I set them aside to drain and will wipe them down later to make sure all are dry.

Then I go back to the barrel and holding my thumb over the muzzle, shake the water inside it up and down a few times and then pour it out. Now I run patches down the bore until they come out cleaner; no longer black but maybe with a tinge of rusty brown, until the patches are dry.

The next day I polish all metal parts with Simichrome Polish, put a little grease inside the lock and reassemble. Then I run a few more patches down the bore and finish up with a good coating of Bore Butter.

If I don't shoot the musket again for a while I will run a few patches through it again after about 3 or 4 months and then coat the bore again with Bore Butter. A slight brown color in the bore is no cause for worry, I have yet to see any pitting.