Amen, Brother, amen! That's what the elder ones taught me and that's how do it!I don't use soaps or detergents to clean my cast iron. Wipe them out, re-oil, re-heat, wipe off any excess then back to storage location.
Amen, Brother, amen! That's what the elder ones taught me and that's how do it!I don't use soaps or detergents to clean my cast iron. Wipe them out, re-oil, re-heat, wipe off any excess then back to storage location.
I clean to light gray and then run a patch lightly soaked with gun oil (Drnch is my fave) followed by a dry patch and call it done. The bore is bright and shiny and stays that way....The issue is only how clean is clean. ...
You might be rubbing some bronze onto the steel, then picking that up on the patch. If you scrub with a water-filled barrel, does the water come out clear?I have a flat breech plug and use a scraper. I'm sure there's no fouling buildup on breech plug. The brush has a loop on the end, so the bristles don't contact the face of the breech plug. It appears to me the black residue is coming off the lands and grooves. Is this a buildup of hardened carbon this needs to be removed down to bare metal before the patches come clean? The issue is only how clean is clean. I don't have a problem with rust and 50 yard accuracy is acceptable. Any input from the pros would be informative.
This has been my standard as well.I clean to light gray and then run a patch lightly soaked with gun oil (Drnch is my fave) followed by a dry patch and call it done. The bore is bright and shiny and stays that way.
I'll try that later today and post the results. It all started with verifying my load/sight picture before deer hunting this coming week.You might be rubbing some bronze onto the steel, then picking that up on the patch. If you scrub with a water-filled barrel, does the water come out clear?
If it works don't fix it. I do the sameI started shooting my TC Hawkin Christmas 1988. Between then and now I have learned: Bore Butter is the end all and you must “season“ your barrel. Never use Bore Butter. WD40 is some good stuff. Never leave home without it. WD40 is the devils spawn never let it touch your firearms. WD40 is a good barrel protecter.
Now thirty plus years later I clean with MAP. Lube clean barrel with Bore Butter and outside with WD40.
The dark or gray you are seeing occurs when the patch is compressed againest the side of the bore. I always use a tight patch and it occurs every time I clean a rifle even my modern rifles. I use to think I hadn't done a good job of cleaning but dumb me figured it out. A snug patch would come out just like it went in but not the tight ones.I somewhat agree. I always clean after shooting and, most of the time, use water, ballistol, etc. On this occasion, I wanted to try and eliminate the gray on the patch, i.e., I wanted pearly white. Thus the bronze brush. So, where's the dark black coming from?
The other side of that coin is that because Ballistol and water are inter-soluble, I never leave "moose milk" on a gun, either. Moose milk is dried off or it's replaced with straight Ballistol or with gun oil.WD-40 was surely made by the devil! The stuff will cause rust and will also build up and nothing but scrapers will remove it. NEVER on a gun!
A dry bore will leave gray on a tightly compressed patch, It is almost like burnishing.The dark or gray you are seeing occurs when the patch is compressed againest the side of the bore. I always use a tight patch and it occurs every time I clean a rifle even my modern rifles. I use to think I hadn't done a good job of cleaning but dumb me figured it out. A snug patch would come out just like it went in but not the tight ones.
I've noticed the one ingredient all of these successful cleaning regimens have in common is H2O !Funny how people have different experiences and form different opinions. I'm in the WD40 "devil's spawn" camp. Though I do use it occasionally if I have to use water on a cartridge gun and use it then just for what it was invented for: as a Water Dispersent. Then it immediately gets displaced by "real gun oil".
I think these differences lead me to conclude that:
pretty much anything and everything works.
W-40 used as designed is for water removal after it (water) has dissolved powder residue not for metal protection against oxidation.WD-40 was surely made by the devil! The stuff will cause rust and will also build up and nothing but scrapers will remove it. NEVER on a gun!
The worn off metal will turn dark but the metal comes from the steel wool very little from the barrel. If you use steel wool on a flat piece of steel you will see the steel wool start leaving powdered steel.Wrap some fine steel wool around your jag and work it thoroughly in the dry barrel and see what comes out on it.
IThis has been my standard as well.
I'll try that later today and post the results. It all started with verifying my load/sight picture before deer hunting this coming week.
You might be rubbing some bronze onto the steel, then picking that up on the patch. If you scrub with a water-filled barrel, does the water come out clear?
This has been my standard as well.
I'll try that later today and post the results. It all started with verifying my load/sight picture before deer hunting this coming week.
The water was clear and a patch had a very light gray color. I'd say there are no residual fouling issues. Whatever the bore brush is producing is not black powder fouling. Perhaps I'm just removing the seasoning we all work so hard to establish?You might be rubbing some bronze onto the steel, then picking that up on the patch. If you scrub with a water-filled barrel, does the water come out clear?
There is no such thing as seasoning.The water was clear and a patch had a very light gray color. I'd say there are no residual fouling issues. Whatever the bore brush is producing is not black powder fouling. Perhaps I'm just removing the seasoning we all work so hard to establish?
I was trying to be funny. I gave up on the bore seasoning nonsense a couple of decades ago.There is no such thing as seasoning.
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