New cleaning mixture

[jfaldo]

Ever wonder what role potassium nitrate plays in black powder?

Yes and we also aggressively attempt to limit it's affects as much as possible. So why on earth would you want or need to use something that has the same corrosive propagating characteristics as what your trying to eliminate? Personally don't care how anyone else cares for their guns. Of course it's a shame when you see a perfectly serviceable gun with a ruined barrel because of improper cleaning. I don't feel any need for some fancy wonder cleaner with peroxide as part of the mix. Though I got to say Stumpy's Moose Juice is pretty darn good stuff for a lot of BP applications. Even use it now for my wiping solution in my BPCR rifles.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Yeah Murphy's Oil Soap and Hydrogen Peroxide have been the two standard ingredients for "moose milk" recipes for decades....the third ingredient I was told was rubbing alcohol. Other folks use other stuff....

I found that unless rinsed off well...it caused rust as fast as damp fouling.

I used to use water with a lot of dish soap, then I switched to just water, but then...I found that just a teeny tiny drop of dish soap in about a gallon of water seems to work the best...somebody told me it broke up the surface tension of the plain water, helped it to be a better solvent...OK well my "testing" data shows it works pretty well.

LD

 

[Stumpkiller]

I've been away for a while. Whatever happened to Stumpkiller's Moose Milk? Is that mixture out of fashion now?

No, no. It's fine. [Don't know that it was ever fashionable]. It is a solvent wipe and lube, but a bit of overkill for cleaning. It will dissolve fouling just fine; and is a bit less bulky than carrying two separate concoctions. All you need for cleaning is a little soap in water (cold, warm or hot) and then oil the bore.

I use a few drops of Murphys or Pine-Sol and warm water.

Here's the good 'ol Moose Juice and Moose Snot.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/203261/

 

[nkbj]

Ah, Scottish bore solvent.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Peroxide is an oxidizer! Wouldn't have it anywhere near my rifles :td:

:dead: :dead: :dead:

 

[don hepler]

I might be going with hanshi, on this one. That Dawn soap must be the best thing since sliced bread.

Cleans your glasses, better than anything I've used.

I don't see enough agreement on the Murphy oil, olive oil, and peroxide, to justify using it, although it seems like the Murphy oil is pretty well liked. But peroxide, not so well liked.

Thanks guys.

 

[longcruise]

I'm forever trying new and different ideas. Some of other's and some my own. The peroxide concoctions in several forms I tried back in the'90's and found them to be no more effective than water.

The first used was per the TC manual that came with my first rifle. It advised boiling hot water. However, in addition to possibly burning one's hands, it contributes to flash rust that is always present in a thin layer by the time the very hot barrel dries itself. That problem disappeared when I started using tap warm water. Also found that even tap cold water does a good job.

Another thing that was evident is that after shooting grease and oil free lubes such as water/dawn or spit, plain water does the trick. If a grease lube has been used, some dish soap in the water makes a big difference.

As a shooter who has been and still is willing to try endless innovations, I'll stick with the ultra simple in the cleaning dept. :hatsoff:

 

[ZUG]

:metoo: -- and it works very well!

 

[wulf]

I used MAP for years and it always cleaned very well.
But lately After a day or two I got rust and plenty
of it...no matter what I did. I finally concluded
that I used MAP too vigorously and that the Peroxide
was attacking the barrel...It took months of green
pads and scrubbing. I now use washing soda in water
with a drop of Dawn. Problem solved.Rincing completes
the process.
Wulf

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Murphey's , peroxide and alcohol that's my mix....I just ran out and need to mix some more so I will try it with just plain water.
***SNIP***

Same here. Just mixed some more up 2 weeks ago. Plain water works fine too. MAP cleans a little better a little quicker.

Twisted_1in66:thumbsup:
Dan

 

[nhmoose]

Ever have that feeling of Deja vu..... :shocked2:

:thumbsup: :surrender:

Don't know why they are putting olive oil in their mix...

That's so they can "season" the barrel while cleaning,,
:idunno: :youcrazy:

Needs garlic and oregano to season

 

[Captjoel]

MAP solution was used back in my early years of muzzle loading. I found out the hard way that the peroxide not only caused micro pitting in the bore but also removed original finish on stock wood if it came in contact. I will be the first to admit it but for some reason a lot of us enthusiast's have a very hard time learning that the best cleaning solution is FREE and readily available right out of the tap or spring. I used to think that the very best material to keep my "babies" clean just had to cost money! They deserved the best and I just had to buy it!

 

[don hepler]

That's why I wanted to run it by the experienced, to see what the overall feelings were.

Good ole water...........I think I'll have a glass myself.

Thanks

 

[Okie Hog]

i use Windex Multisurface Cleaner; formerly called Windex with vinegar. It contains about three percent acetic acid.

After reading an article by Mike Venturino, then the black powder editor of Shooting Times magazine, i decided to give it a try.

The residue left from firing black powder and the black powder substitutes is a base. The vinegar dissolves and neutralizes the alkaline residue. Sometimes you can see it fizz.

i won't use anything else.

 

[longcruise]

I might add a dollop of vinegar to my water next time around just out of curiosity.

 

[coloradoclyde]

The residue left from firing black powder and the black powder substitutes is a base.

I respectfully disagree....(documentation needed) Dewey, HELP! I'm out of litmus papers.

However if you are correct, you just made the case for using peroxide...

 

[Zonie]

From what I can find, Hydrogen Peroxide is about as acidic as "acid rain".

In other words, it's not acidic enough to make a difference when it comes to cleaning black powder fouling.

Anyone wanting to spend the extra money would be way ahead of the game by buying a gallon of distilled water.

The distilled water will cost less too.

 

[coloradoclyde]

If peroxide is not acidic enough how is distilled water going to be effective with a generally accepted neutral PH of 7....? :hmm:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Before another argument ensues...let me say that I don't think that what a person uses to clean with really matters all that much. If it is clean when you are done then it is clean, and when oiled will not present any problems. however if it is not clean when you are done and is not properly protected and stored, rust is I your future....

A clean gun is a clean gun...regardless of what path we take we all have the same end goal... :v

 

[Zonie]

My point was, Hydrogen Peroxide is not acidic enough to do anything to any of the bases in black powder fouling.
In other words, it can only wash away the fouling.

Likewise, the water can only wash away the fouling.

Personally, I just use tap water (along with a few drops of dishwashing soap to cut the oils left behind by my patches) to clean my muzzleloaders.

There are some people who think that if they spend extra money for something, it must be better than the cheap stuff.

It was these people I was directing my suggestion to buy distilled water at.

Distilled water, like H2O2 doesn't have any of the dissolved iron, lime and other things that common tap water has so I suppose it is less likely to leave these things behind. I guess that could make it worthwhile to some folks.