patch lube

[flinthead]

I was surprised to learn that "Mink Oil" is just anhydrous lanlolin. A lot of case lubes are made out of it as it doesn't deteriorate smokeless pwder.

 

[Dphar]

Every time I hear or read someone use the words "Hydrogen Peroxide" I keep asking myself, "What is so neat about stuff that consists of water plus some loose and mischievous loosely bonded oxygen atoms?

It costs at least 50 times more than plain water and the extra oxygen kills bacteria like it's going out of style but I see absolutely no reason to use it in anything that is going to be applied to a steel or iron part unless creating rust is the goal.

Sorry, but this always sets me off. :hmm:

There is more silliness and "voodoo" involved in BP cleaning "solvents" than almost any other part of ML shooting. I use "almost" only because I hate absolutes.
The more "magic" crap you add the less likely it is to clean properly.

Anyone that wets a patch with tap water and wipes the pan of his flintlock clean can see that water works just fine and is about as cheap as one can get. I add wetting agent, window cleaner, but its not for the fouling I use oiled shooting patched, bear, whale, neatsfoot, and figure this will help cut any such stuff that might be present. Not sure its needed.
Use of any soap also requires rinsing with clear water since soap is corrosive too.

Dan

 

[hanshi]

I agree. Too much Voodoo and Doodoo when it comes to the subject of lubes and cleaning. I normally rely on a lube of water plus wetting agent; Hoppes # 9 plus & plain ol' Crisco if the load will be in the bore very long. I've used the various butters (given to me, not bought) and found them inferior to Crisco. They do smell good, though. Big deal!

I'll not go to any great expense or trouble to find a lube. Water with a drop of detergent is plenty effective as a cleaning agent. I've also found that using a scraper and running a dry patch down the bore prior to cleaning makes it go faster and easier.

 

[Zonie]

Speaking of dry patches being run down a fouled bore, for you newcomers to muzzleloading let me say that when your dry cleaning patch gets stuck in the bore, pour a little water down onto it.

Give it about 5 seconds of soaking time, then push it down the bore an inch and then pull it back out.

It works almost every time.

 

[worker11811]

Funny story:

When I take my flintlock to the range I usually carry a bottle of water with a squirt of soap in it to clean between shots with. (About every 5-6 rounds.)

Last time I went out I forgot to bring it. I shot my first 5 rounds and went to clean the bore and went looking for my water bottle. I couldn't find it.

I stood there for a minute thinking, "Damn! What am I going to do now?" :hmm:

Finally, I grabbed a cleaning patch, stuck it in my mouth, chewed it up until it was all sloppy-wet and used that to swab the bore with.

It did just as good a job of cleaning the gun as my usual cleaning recipe did!

Next time, I figure I'll bring a bottle of iced tea with me instead. When my mouth gets too dry from chewing on flannel cleaning patches I'll just take a swig of tea! :haha:

 

[bdhutier]

Heck! Maybe I could save a step if I just took the gun into the shower with me! :wink:

That's what we used to do in the Army while in the field. after the shower, whip out the CLP, and little mama was squared away!