How do you clean your gun?

[Kawika]

I am new to black powder and I was wondering if there is a specific way to clean your gun?
any help would be great
thanks Kawika

 

[Stumpkiller]

Add a few drops of Murphy's oil soap to a jar or coffee can of hot water (tap hot - doesn't need to be boiling hot). Put towels on a surface (washing machine, workbench, deck, porch) that allows the muzzle to be a little lower than he vent.

Remove the lock, wipe it with a damp soapy cloth and wipe it with a rag dipped in Sheath and then LIGHTLY oil the mating surfaces with Sheath on a toothpick.

Take the rifle or gun's rammer and attach a shotgun mop that fits tightly in the bore (for either rifle or shotgun). Lay the gun so that the vent is down on the towels. Soak the mop in the soapy water and run it up and down the bore. Rinse it off, squeeze it out, dip in the soapy water and repeat until it is clean when squeezed.

Swap the mop for a breech scraper. Scrape the breech and swap back for the mop and wipe the bore again. If you have a worm put a damp patch in ahead of it and scrub the breech. If you don't have a worm - get a worm.

Wipe down the gun with Sheath and make sure the ven area is clean. Swap the mop for a jag and wipe the bore well with a dry patch.

Wet a cloth patch with Sheath and wipe the bore well. If clean, you're done. If dirty, use another patch with Sheath and wipe until clean.

Reattach the lock and wipe the gun down with a rag with Sheath and then a clean rag.

24 hours later wipe the bore with Sheath on a patch again.

If you REALLY want to be through use a patch with 91% isopropy or solvent alcohol to wipe the bore between the water scrubs and the Sheath oiling.

Sheath, CLP Breakfree, Barricade, Ballistrol, bear oil, any water displacing penetrating oil will do. I prefer Sheath.

 

[palonghunter]

I do a similar procedure to the one Stumpkiller outlined. I remove the lock, and set it aside. First, I mix a bit of Dawn dish detergent in a small bucket of water. Then I use a bore mop soaked in the soapy water to clean the bore, rinsing between passes until it comes out more or less clean. Then I run a couple of patches soaked in 90% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) through the bore, and let it dry. Then I run a patched soaked in 3 in 1 oil.

To clean the lock, I just scrub it with the soapy water and an old toothbrush, then rinse it off, wipe it down with alcohol, and then oil the moving parts.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Get a good working rod to use at the range for loading and after shooting for cleaning.

What the isopropyl alcohol does is displace the water. Since water is the cleaning solvent for black powder and water is the rusting agent for steel, it is necessary to get the water displaced as best as can be done. Next you need to use a good rust inhibiting lubricant such as Barricade to prepare the rifle for storage.

Wait two days and wipe the bore with your lubricant dampened patch.

Before you go to the range, use an alcohol dampened patch to remove the oils before you go shooting. If you have a patent breech in your rifle, you need to use a patch to wipe the patent breech chamber.

Good shooting and pin that ramrod.

 

[Katahdin]

There are more ways to clean a gun as there is to make soup..Try them all and find the one you like,,
I use the hot water,drop of detergent soap,oil after, lightly reoil weekly and dry patch..Been working for me..
Hunted with a guy who set up a Perry Jet in a small hose and put that in a can,used a aquarium pump, mixed up his Murphy Soap and hot water ,Stuck the hose in
muzzle and flushed his rifle,lot of work if your in camp.

 

[Billnpatti]

My personal procedure is to remove my lock and spray it with automotive brake cleaner or carburetor cleaner. The stuff is wonderful when it comes to removing crud from your lock. After spraying the crud away, I dry my lock with a bit of compressed air (you can also just give it a shake and let it air dry). Once it has dried, it will need a light touch of oil on the working parts and a wipe of the whole lock with a cloth with some Barricade on it. Do not use grease or over lubricate the lock parts. Grease or too much oil will just collect dirt and crud. Light lubrication of the moving parts and a light wipe of an oily cloth is all it needs.

Next, I make up some pretty warm soapy water in a bucket. I just use whatever dish soap my wife has on hand. It's usually Dawn. If my barrel can be removed (held on by wedges), I remove the nipple and carefully put it where it won't get lost. I submerge the breach of the barrel in the soapy water and put a wet patch on my jag and run it all the way down the bore. Then I start pumping the water in and out of the bore using longer and longer strokes until I have scrubbed the entire length of my bore. If my barrel is pinned in place, I plug any holes and fill the bore with soapy water and let it sit for a few minutes to soak the crud loose. I pour out the water and refill the bore and let it sit for another few minutes. then I use a wet patch on my jag to scrub my bore until the water comes out clean. Next I rinse my bore wiith clear water and dry it with several dry patches. After I have it as dry as I can get it, I spray it with WD-40 to remove any residual moisture. I then use several dry patches to wipe out all of the WD-40. I follow that with a patch with Barricade on it.

I also use an old toothbrush to scrub around the nipple or touch hole to remove all of the crud. sometimes, I have to use a sliver of wood to scrape away any crusty crud that the toothbrush can't scrub loose. I also scrub the hammer or cock to remove all of the crud. Clean the nipple with a toothbrush and make sure that you get the hole clean. You may have to use a fine wire to clean it. Rinse and dry everything and give it a light coat of Barricade. Before replacing your nipple, put a light bit of grease on the threads.

Once I have all of the gun scrubbed clean, rinsed free of soap and dried, I give it a light coat of Barricade to prevent rust and it is ready to put away. I give my gunstocks an occasional coat of wax to protect it. My favorite wax is Renaissance Wax but any good paste wax will work. Give it a light coat, let it dry and then buff with a clean cloth.

This cleaning method has kept my guns looking pristine for years now. Others may do it differently but this is what has worked for me.

 

[Homesteader]

So much depends on context and situation. I spend a considerable amount of time roughing it (or used to, at least), and learned how to clean my smokepole without a kitchen or garage.

I'd fill the barrel with water and let it soak. Dump, fill, soak, repeat. Then I'd run tow up and down up and down up and down. Then I'd use some patches or scraps of cloth to see if it was actually clean. If it was I'd lube it and either set it aside (muzzle down) or load it in preparation for my next hunt.

The lock area got a good wipe down and pick-through, maybe a light cleaning and oiling of the internals depending on the situation.

The real hardcore stuff came only after I returned to civilization and garages and kitchens and the like.

For what it's worth.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Lots of hot Water and a small amount of soap. All components of black powder fouling are water soluable. The trick is to remove the fouling after you dissolve it. Water is cheap so use a lot of it! :idunno: :idunno:

 

[thecapgunkid]

You have a lot of good advice in this thread. The only things I can add to it is for you to learn a little more about using tow and worms, especially if you are on a persona kick. Search a little and look at the other forums.

Also, those cans of compressed air have almost become a must when blowing your lock dry when back home. WD 40 will do that, but can pose a threat to your finish and browning.

You clean differently when out in the sticks, especially if trekking or overnighting, then you do when going to and from day long matches.

I don't like taking my rifle or musket apart any more than I have to, because you are always stressing the wood to metal when you do that.

Cleaning when the gun will be put away for long periods may require daily re-visits with a couple of dry and oiled patches for about a week or more, whereas going from match to match with frequent use will be a little more forgiving.

I have also found that I can reduce fouling severity at the range by lubing my patches with cleaning fluid in the summer or paste in colder weather, but overnighters or hunts are a little risky for that.

Lastly, longer barrels clean differently that shorter ones. After all these years I finally got my hands on a .54 caliber beauty with a 40" swamped barrel. That's the longest one I have ever shot with, being a mostly short musket, jaeger and transitional short barrel shooter.

You can still be a newbie after a lot of years, and this past year has been the first I ever had to swab the cake at the breech after every ten shots.

Lastly, if you can't learn or figure this out for yourself, get someone you trust to help you determine how slick your barrel really is and how deep or shallow your rifling is.

Hope this helps

 

[Alden]

Well, I used to give 'em to a non-com...

For my BP now I have Mr. Coffee boil up a carafe of water and I use some with a drop of dish detergent and a brush (pipe cleaners for perc. caps), rinse, then swab again with another drop of detergent and the brush cleaning-patch covered, and then rinse again, mop with a patch, and finally oil .

 

[William O.]

Just before you leave the range, run a few alcohol soaked cleaning patches down the bore followed by a little rust preventative oil on a clean dry patch. Once you get home then if you have a hooked breech rifle then you can place it up past the touch hole in a container of water and two drops of liquid dish soap. Put a clean patch on your jag and pump the water in and out of the bore with the breech submerged. Dump the now dirty water and refill with clean, use a clean patch and repeat. When water comes out clean the pour it out and put a few dry patches down the bore and wipe dry the exterior. At this point some like the use WD-40 in the bore to drive out and remaining water. I don't care for it so after everything's dry a put a few drops of Barricade on a dry patch and run it down the bore a few times to evenly coat it. It's a procedure that leaves my rifles rust free over the years so I stick with it.
I do find that by using the alcohol swabs at the end of my shooting session followed by Barricade, about 90% of the fouling is removed and I can leave my barrel uncleaned overnight without problems. A few days might even be possible but I don't want to test it out using my riffles.

 

[AK in PA]

For guns where it fits, I clamp a suction hose device around the touch hole. I then draw warm water up the barrel using a jag and wet patch, and pump a little before flushing it out. Then I switch to a wet patch wrapped around a brass brush. That's the most effective part of the process. I alternate between drawing water with the jag and using the brush until the barrel is clean.

For guns where the device won't fit, I plug the touch hole with a wet toothpick and pour warm water down the barrel until nearly full. I use a small funnel to keep from making a mess. I put my thumb over the bore and slosh the water back and forth before dumping it out. Then I alternate with the wet patch on a brass brush, jag and patch, and filling the barrel.

After the patches out coming out acceptably clean on the brass brush, I do a final water flush, and dry the barrel well with several patches. Then I set the gun aside while I work on the lock.

If I only took a shot or two (such as hunting), cleaning the lock is pretty easily accomplished with a few damp patches, a Q-tip, and oil. If it's filthy, I dunk the whole thing in a plastic container filled with warm water. Then I scrub with a toothbrush and patches until clean. Then I run it under hot water and dry with paper towels. You can tap it on the counter to get water out of the tough parts. (Compressed air is also great if you have it handy.) The hot metal dries pretty quickly, and I work the lock until I don't see any more water working out. Then I oil the lock and the barrel with Breakfree CLP, re-assemble, and I'm done.

 

[Shooey]

I use Moose Snot to clean and Barricade for storage. I take the lock off, and position the gun upside down so the Moose Snot can run out the vent and not soak the wood. I run soaked patches down until they come clean, then a few more to dry and finish with Barricade. Check it again in the morning just because I'm anal.

 

[tenngun]

I do the water soak, and can do it easy afield or at home. Pull the lock, and clean that with hot water, plug the touch hole, or nipple vent, fill with hot water dump, swab and repeat till the patchs come out clean. Dry wipe with wd 40 dry again then oil. Barricade is good, mink oil or lard work well. I carry a little bottle of oil and a wiping stick normaly. If I am hunting I just put a wire worm on my ram rod.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

I use Moose Snot to clean and Barricade for storage. I take the lock off, and position the gun upside down so the Moose Snot can run out the vent and not soak the wood. I run soaked patches down until they come clean, then a few more to dry and finish with Barricade. Check it again in the morning just because I'm anal.

I think Shooey is actually referring to Stumpy's Moose Juice, not the Moose Snot. The Moose Juice is a liquid and the Moose Snot is pasty like shoe polish.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:

 

[Briarhunter]

5 gallon drum half full and hot water, squirt of dawn, remove barrel, remove the touch hole liner, patch on jag up up and down, water forced out hole, repeat a couple times, dry patch until dry, them bore butter patch. Rem oil on patch to continue and clean up lock, WD 40, clean pan and lock again until all white stuff is removed.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

If you have or are getting a longrifle with a pinned barrel, do NOT remove the barrel to clean it. Removing and inserting the pins every time you clean it will eventually end up with you buggering up the stock.

I typically:
Ӣ Remove the lock for cleaning
Ӣ Put a toothpick in the vent
Ӣ Pour some MAP (equal parts mixture of Murphy's Oil Soap, 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, Hydrogen Peroxide) down the barrel and set it aside to soak while I clean and oil the lock
Ӣ After cleaning and oiling the lock I will then wet a patch with the MAP solution and run it down down the barrel until I feel some resistance (pressure from the of compacting the cleaner).
Ӣ Then I point the vent hole away from anything that I don't want to stain with black powder residue, remove the toothpick and push down the patch smartly. The black powder fouling dissolved in the MAP will shoot out the vent hole a good 6-feet or more, so be careful to avoid pointing it at a tent (been there done that) or anything else you don't want stained.
Ӣ Next run some wet patches down until they come back clean
Ӣ Use one or two dry patches
Ӣ Put some light gun oil on a patch and run in down and up. I'll then use that same patch to put a light coating of oil on the outside of the barrel.
Ӣ re-install your lock and you're done

NOTE*** The oil patch should not be dripping but just wet. I just smear the oil on the patch a little larger than the size of the bore. If you use too much, the oil will pool in the breech or collect in the patent breech if your rifle has one of those. That will almost guarantee that the first load you use won't fire because the powder next to the vent will be wet. It's always a good idea to run a dry patch down the barrel before you load your rifle the first time each day.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:

 

[Briarhunter]

How would you booger up a stock by removing the barrel? By pinned do you mean with one or two wedge pins.

Just curious.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

How would you booger up a stock by removing the barrel? By pinned do you mean with one or two wedge pins.

Just curious.

Most longrifles at pinned into the stock. There are actually some tabs on the bottom of the barrel and the pins go through the stock and through the hole in the tabs. These are not wedges. They are small diameter press-fit pins. You use a punch (small finishing nail works fine if it's the right size) to remove them and to put them back in.

If your rifle has the wedge pins, then barrel removal is easy as they have some metal around where the wedges go in so you don't mess up the wood. Both pins and wedges are historically accurate for the 18th century although you don't see many longrifles with wedges now. Usually you'll see the wedges securing the half-stock barrels (Plains or Hawkens type rifles) and the pins securing the full stock longrifles.

The pins in pinned barrels don't have any metal around the stock where they go through the wood and it's easy to scar up the hole if you aren't careful. If you scar it up too much, it not only doesn't look good but the pins can come loose.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

...

The pins in pinned barrels don't have any metal around the stock where they go through the wood and it's easy to scar up the hole if you aren't careful. If you scar it up too much, it not only doesn't look good but the pins can come loose.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:

This is true for most of the rifles made by the "Big Factory" rifles and many of the originals but it isn't always true.

From the muzzle, the 1st, 3rd and 5th inlays on this Franklin Co. rifle have holes in them which fits and supports the barrel pins.


Most of the rifles I've built use inlays to support the barrel pins.