Percussion rifle cleaning info please

[Omahkapi'si]

Brand new member, brand new to muzzleloaders. I looked for a good place to jump on to with this thread but didn't want to high jack anybody so hopefully this is the best place to put this. Been shooting & reloading awhile, but just ordered my first muzzleloader; Pedersoli .50 Frontier Percussion rifle.
Think I understand the basics of sending a lead ball down range, hopefully to punch a big hole in something, but I am really puzzling over the cleaning part. I have you-tubed until I get a headache from info overload. Read all kinds of stuff, on all kinds of forums, maybe even snippets from this one. I see everything for just flush with soap and water to elaborate complete rifle tear downs which seems extreme after every outing. Lubes that let you shoot all day, but other guys are swabbing after every shot.
I realize it's not old timey or rendezvous period correct but I will be shooting BP substitutes most of the time. Living in Alberta Canada BP is available by in-store pickup only, and I am 3+ hrs 1 way from a store that carries it. I can however get Pyrodex or Triple7, etc online delivered to a nearby place. I shoot at least once a week, and expect to have some good fun with this rifle. But man, I am stressing about the cleaning part...

- this rifle has the patent breech, how do I know it is clean or not other than a misfire which nobody wants?
- water down a steel barrel? Yikes...If that's the way it has to be then ok, but it gives me the shivers just thinkin' about it. Guess I'll ask Santa for a hair dryer.
- I have read Windex, Sunlight soap, Hoppes#9+, T/C #13, brake cleaner,...holy smokes(pole) it's tough for an old cowboy to figure out

So....obviously any help is appreciated. If there already is a thread where this topic has been beaten to death, please feel free to point me to it.

Thanks in advance.
RR

 

[jambuster]

I would try to get Black Powder. The substitutes are more corrosive and more difficult to clean. I use soap and water but I have used CVA's solvent and both work in my Lyman GPR just fine. I was in your shoes a couple of years ago and just went out and tried some different techniques I had watched on videos. I would say just keep cleaning your barrel till there is no more residue in it . Dry it thoroughly and lube it heavily. This worked for me.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Thank you, appreciate the info. Funny how after shooting for years, cleaning a rifle can be intimidating.

 

[Bassdog1]

I squirt Hoppes BP cleaner down barrel with nipple plugged and let soak for a few minutes then pump warm soapy water through barrel then clean water. I then remove nipple and run water from faucet through barrel. Then use air compressor to dry barrel inside and out. I then squirt WD-40 into breech and use compressor to blow air through breech to remove any remaining moisture. After that dry patch then Barricade on a patch through barrel and check after a couple days and reapply Barricade. Sounds like a lot but only takes me 15 minutes and works well never any sign of rust. Using the air compressor to blow water out from under the underrib, barrel tenon and sights is important.

This is how I do It and have never had a problem.
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/...pson-center-patent-breech.122769/post-1684572

 

[jambuster]

I was intimidated too. I can only say that Pyrodex was a %$tch to clean and BP COMES right out . That alone is worth the drive.

 

[mooman76]

I started cleaning many years ago. With no one to guide me I just cleaned it the same way as smokeless with regular Hops #9. It takes a few more patches but it works for me. Been doing it for 35 years without a problem. Substitutes are no harder to clean than regular black. Some are even easier. Check your gun a few days after and periodically after that so you know you did an adequate job cleaning. Yes Pyrodex is more corrosive than regular black but either way it needs to be cleaned soon so just clean it soon.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I started out shooting a percussion gun and using Pyrodex RS. I use hot water with a small amount of Murphy's oil soap. Its all that is needed. I found Pyrodex to be no more difficult to clean than BP. Cleaning a muzzle loader is not difficult just messy.

Clean, rinse with plain hot water, dry and lube. That's pretty much it.

 

[Archer 756]

Pyrodex RS BP

 

[Eddie2002]

Most of my long guns have the patent breach and clean up with no problems. I remove the barrel from the stock and pull the nipple and cleanout screw. Place the butt end of the barrel in a warm bucket of water and squirt some dish washing detergent in the bore. Then I'll just use a tip with a patch and pump the water and soap back and forth till the water coming out of the nipple hole looks clean. After that I spray the hose down the bore to wash out any soap and give it a good blast of WD40 to knock any water out. The bore then gets oiled with a patch soaked in regular dino motor oil. For the threads on the cleanout screw and nipple I use anti seize grease. It's important to check after three or four days for any surface rust. I've found that running a Q tip or pipe cleaner through the cleanout screw hole before hitting the range is a good idea.

 

[Grenadier1758]

With respect to your situation, the black powder substitutes are an acceptable option. While I haven't used Triple Seven, all the reports indicate that is easy to clean and on a volume basis is more energetic than black powder or Pyrodex. Use a volumetric powder measure for loading your rifle. The substitutes are much less dense than black powder, but perform very close to black powder on a volume measure. For example, 100 grains of 3fg black powder will have a volume measure of 100 grains. However if you measure your load using a volume measure, 100 grains of Pyrodex will weigh on a scale, about 82 grains. Use a volume measure. Also get a good steel or brass working rod (with correctly threaded accessories) for loading at a range and for use in cleaning. Wood rods are prone to breakage. You will need a caliber appropriate cleaning/loading jag, a patch puller and a ball puller. You will need a nipple wrench to remove the nipple for cleaning and screwdrivers that fit the slots in the screws and bolts on your rifle.

To clean the chambered breech, you will need a 30 caliber brass brush and a cleaning patch to get into the chamber. Then a pipe cleaner can be used to clean from the nipple seat to the chamber. The Pedersoli Frontier has the "clean out screw" on the end of the drum. You can take that out and run the pipe cleaner from there. There are technical alternatives where you drill out a nipple to place a plastic tube over the cone. With the tube in a bucket of soapy water, flush cleaning solution up into the barrel and back out through the chamber and breech.

It is not necessary to remove the barrel for cleaning. You need to be very careful removing the pins that hold the barrel and stock together. Not recommended for a first time owner of a black powder pinned stock rifle.

Water isn't a problem with steel if you dry the barrel and use a water displacing solution such as WD40 or rubbing alcohol. You can forego water altogether and use WD40 for the cleaning solution, but soap and water is every bit as effective a cleaner and much more economical. Once the barrel is dried, use a good rust inhibiting lubricant. I recommend Birchwood Casey's Barricade, but that be difficult to find in Canada. I use a light grease on the threads in the lock, nipple and "clean out screw" to prevent fouling from getting into the threads and corroding the threads in place.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Excellent information folks, thank you. ETA on the rifle is Oct/Nov as it is coming from Pedersoli factory through a dealer in Alberta. So I have lots of time to get supplies and be ready. Looks like some winter shooting but that's ok, I am usually the only guy at the range all winter anyway. Been known to go shoot when it's well below freezing, and we regularly get winds of 50+ mph. Appreciate the help, thanks.

 

[Jay]

I’ve been using triple seven for years when I started that’s what the store had to sell and I didn’t know anything about it but it’s been good I shoot quite a bit I just clean it with hot water and use drip irrigation tubing over the nipple and a small coffee can and pump the hot water up through the barrel WD-40 afterwards and then your choice of oil and then I store it for a couple of days upside down and then back up on the wall but whatever you find works for you will be great . As for triple seven easy to clean and if you forget to clean it not a big deal usually I run a couple of patches With water after I shoot and that just about cleans the whole gun good luck to you on your endeavors God bless

 

[Lbrown]

I also use warm water with a few drops of Dawn dish detergent and pump the solution back and forth. I use a .22 caliber bronze brush with a patch wrapped around it to swab the patent breech area. Patches with rubbing alcohol to remove water, followed by Barricade to prevent rust. Good results for me.

 

[Heelerau]

I use cold water only, with my Parker Hale .451 which has a patent breech, I use a small caliber brush to clean it, I swab out with wet patches till it comes clean, do the same with my patch ball long rifles. With my muskets I remove the cone and put a purpose made fitting in (from Track of the Wolf) with a bit of plastic tube into an old brandy bottle, put bit of tyre rust band with a hole punched in it on the muzzle (prevents water from running down the barrel and stock) and pump a way with a brush covered with old flannel sheet. Rinse with cold, then dry patches till dry ( with all of them) some WD40 on a patch to make sure no moisture present then a wool mop soaked in virgin olive oil. I check again in a few days with a dry patch and re oil with olive oil. With the patent breech, first shot is always a bit difficult. I wipe out the bore and chamber, blow through with the compressor, still often have to pull the cone and prime with some fine powder, then its away. If I was to go hunting with this rifle, I would fire a couple of shots at home then load for bear and it should be ok. I use cold water now only, after going through ever thing else and getting flash rust, no longer get any and black powder is perfectly soluble with water. I do no know any thing about Pyrodex. Any team roping up your way Ranchroper?

 

[Bledfor Days]

Hi from BC. Do you mind telling me what dealer your Pedersoli is coming from? Marstar carries them but I'm interested in options.
I'm a hot soapy water guy. I put a couple of cleaning patches on a bore brush for a snug fit and put the breech end of the barrel in a pail of really hot water. Nipple removed. After a few pumps and I dont see any more black stuff coming out of the nipple hole, I run a a patch saturated with black powder bore cleaner followed by clean patches till they come out clean.
I get the patent breech clean by putting a patch on a smaller diameter bore brush and leave a lot of the patch hanging off the end. I twist it to a cone shape and get it into the breech and twist clockwise (keep brush from unthreading.)
The fourth pic shows the patch formed to the shape of the breech. Bore camera shows breech is clean.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

I use cold water only, with my Parker Hale .451 which has a patent breech, I use a small caliber brush to clean it, I swab out with wet patches till it comes clean, do the same with my patch ball long rifles. With my muskets I remove the cone and put a purpose made fitting in (from Track of the Wolf) with a bit of plastic tube into an old brandy bottle, put bit of tyre rust band with a hole punched in it on the muzzle (prevents water from running down the barrel and stock) and pump a way with a brush covered with old flannel sheet. Rinse with cold, then dry patches till dry ( with all of them) some WD40 on a patch to make sure no moisture present then a wool mop soaked in virgin olive oil. I check again in a few days with a dry patch and re oil with olive oil. With the patent breech, first shot is always a bit difficult. I wipe out the bore and chamber, blow through with the compressor, still often have to pull the cone and prime with some fine powder, then its away. If I was to go hunting with this rifle, I would fire a couple of shots at home then load for bear and it should be ok. I use cold water now only, after going through ever thing else and getting flash rust, no longer get any and black powder is perfectly soluble with water. I do no know any thing about Pyrodex. Any team roping up your way Ranchroper?

I team roped many years ago (heels), did work for the a7 here for a bunch of years, but mostly help other ranchers move cows around, etc these days. Thanks for the info.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

My Pedersoli is through Bilozir Fine Guns in De Winton Alberta (near Calgary). PM me for more info and number.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

This is all great information folks, really appreciate the input. Thanks.