New Shooter Question on Cleaning

[BullRunBear]

Your rifle has a hooked breech barrel which makes cleaning easier. Take out the ramrod, tap out the wedges, and gently angle the barrel out of the stock. (Thompson Center makes a wedge puller that combines a small hammer face, a claw to pull the wedge out, and a nipple wrench. It is small and VERY convenient.) Remove the nipple and stick the breech end in a bucket of water, maybe with a drop or two of dish soap. A cleaning patch on the jag (I always use a muzzle protector) will draw water up through the nipple thread area as you pull the rod up and down. After a few swipes, I replace the water with clean (no soap) and repeat. The water should remain clear at this point. Clean the nipple with a patch and pipe cleaner, same with the nipple thread area. Make sure everything is dry. I use white lithium grease on the nipple threads before installing it. As everyone has said, run a patch with oil or rust preventative, doesn't take much, to coat the bore and replace the barrel. This sounds a bit complicated but in fact is quick and easy.

Remember to wipe down the hammer and area on the stock around the nipple. Once reassembled, I wipe the whole gun down with a silicone gun cloth. Being a bit obsessive, I also apply a coat of Renaissance Wax on the wood and metal.

I've used this method with all my hooked breech muzzleloaders for about 40 years and the bores remain shiny and the guns rust free.

Sorry to go on for so long. Hope it helps.

Jeff

PS: Welcome to the Forum. There is a wealth of good information here.

 

[user 49399]

Traditions

 

[Bunk]

Easily the best and most common of the solutions for cleaning black powder fouling and synthetic black powder fouling is water and a small amount of grease dissolving soap. I also recommend a brass or stainless-steel range rod with a muzzle protector to work the cleaning patch on the appropriately sized jag for your new rifle. Your first cleaning will need to remove the packing grease from the bore. For that you will need rubbing alcohol to dissolve the grease.

Looking at the Shooter's Lube web site, it probably will work but better as a final water displacing type of cleaner for a modern firearm and for a final wipe before putting your rifle up for storage.

to prevent the deadly "patch lost in barrel" use a slightly undersize brass brush with the patch wrapped around it. The brush holds the patch and forces it onto the grooves and will not come off.

 

[Stantheman86]

After I'm done shooting, I put the hammer down on a spent cap, cleaning patch, etc and fill the bore with Isopropyl Alcohol. It's a buck a bottle at my local Dollar store . It evaporates more readily if you spill any but has water in it.

I clean up, pull targets, etc then dump the alcohol out. I then pump the bore with patches and more alcohol , with the nipple on. Blasting alcohol through the nipple. Remove nipple, swab the bore with alcohol soaked patches, it's almost always clean by now. Then I wipe the external metal down with alcohol, then finish with Eezox on all the metal. Pop the lock every other range trip, wipe down with Eezox, lightly lube with a non-petroleum lube.

I rarely remove barrels from the stock.

 

[hanshi]

I have one with a hooked breech so the barrel can be removed in 10 seconds, stood up in a water bucket and pumped clean with rod and patches. It's never been that much more work, however, than cleaning a pinned barrel in the stock.

 

[Omega Vision]

Ballistol - then Birchwood-Casey Barricade.