Warm water and dish soap?

[RicM]

I find a good cigar, a small glass of wine or scotch and some quiet mellow music with some solitude time or with good shooting friend doing the same with me works well.

Oh yes cleaning. I always start off with removing the nipple if it’s PC and soak it and breaking it down, removing the barrel. Then with some very hot water with dawn detergent shake it up in the barrel, and then clean with a nylon bore brush and repeat the hot soapy water again. Then use a use a small compressor, blow out excess water and move on with a BP cleaner and patches. I make sure the bore is bone dry then run a bore scope (find them cheap on EBay) to inspect my work. Lightly lube the barrel reassemble and done. I’m no expert by far, but it works for me and makes it an enjoyable experience in a hobby I so much love. All my long guns are stored at room temps, no dampness or extreme temps. Never had an issue with rust.
It works for me.

 

[user 34300]

Anything with water in it is fine. I have windex on the bench and GI bore cleaner in my range kit. At home, as a last step, I use pure alcohol to dilute the water, blow it dry with a chip blower, then oil or grease. Some of my guns get stored for extended periods of time. I want to do the best job possible.

One thing that get overlooked is a fouling scraper. Lots of crud builds up on the breech plug. It does not come off with soap and water, you have to scrape it.

 

[Travis186]

About 2 or 3 moosemilk (ballistol/water) patches to get things soaking before I leave the range and then just cold tap water when I get home, with one of those TOTW flush things that clamps around the barrel. Does the job just fine.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I've used quite a variety of "stuff" but recently started to use Windex/Murphy's Soap 50/50 followed with some 93% Isopropyl Alcohol, and another Windex/Murphy's patch. It gets the barrel clean without using any water. I use a WD40 patch when the others come clean. Clean barrels, no rust - an no water.....

Better read the label on your isopropyl alcohol bottle. Most all contain some percentage of water.

 

[Cpt Flint]

I find a good cigar, a small glass of wine or scotch and some quiet mellow music with some solitude time or with good shooting friend doing the same with me works well.

Oh yes cleaning. I always start off with removing the nipple if it’s PC and soak it and breaking it down, removing the barrel. Then with some very hot water with dawn detergent shake it up in the barrel, and then clean with a nylon bore brush and repeat the hot soapy water again. Then use a use a small compressor, blow out excess water and move on with a BP cleaner and patches. I make sure the bore is bone dry then run a bore scope (find them cheap on EBay) to inspect my work. Lightly lube the barrel reassemble and done. I’m no expert by far, but it works for me and makes it an enjoyable experience in a hobby I so much love. All my long guns are stored at room temps, no dampness or extreme temps. Never had an issue with rust.
It works for me.

What kind of cigar? Opus X?

 

[sawyer04]

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

Warm water will aid with the soap and rinsing. Besides the flash rusting everyone else has mentioned, boiling hot water equals a boiling hot barrel that will be just that much harder to deal with. Luke warm or even tepid is good enough.

 

[Sparkitoff]

The kind I have says "Other Ingredients" and shows "methyl isobutyl ketone". Maybe it's a fancy name for water. I have no clue what that portion of the ingredients is..... it is from the veterinary supply...

 

[Rifleman1776]

Warm water with dawn dish soap has been my main cleaning solvent for 20 years.

Same here. Dawn is excellent. I use room temp. water. Will not argue with those who say plain water will clean burnt bp,, they are right. But, not all crud left behind after shooting is pure bp crud. We do use various concoctions for patch lube and that burnt gunk remains in the barrel also, needs to be cleaned out.

 

[JohnCanadian]

Thanks!

 

[Grenadier1758]

The flash rust issue seems to depend on the source of the water. Some of the purified and treated water supplies have additives such as chlorine and fluorine for purification. Some well systems have other trace minerals that can lead to the appearance of flash rust. Distilled water or rain water will have the least chemicals. Some steels in the gun barrels react to the chemicals in the water. Be aware of what happens when you clean your firearm and always finish with a good rust inhibiting lubricant.

There are many cleaning solutions and methods out there. Whichever one you use that ends up with a clean patch and you lubricate the steel before storing is the one that works.

The use of boiling water for cleaning indeed works. In theory the higher heat will loosen the burnt powder and oils better than warm water and a bit of any grease cutting soap. Dry the barrel after the washing to get rid of residual water and salts that may still be in the barrel. Use some form of water displacement to remove traces that dry patches don't reach. Finally use a rust inhibitor for storage.

 

[Tenring]

NO Boiling water, warm water and what ever soap you have on hand. I was in dear camp one year and lathered up some bar soap and used it ,wiped it down with some 10w30 and was good to go.

 

[Tenring]

Excuse my spelling , ”deer “ not dear. I went stupid for a moment. Ha Ha..

 

[Norman Brooks]

Excuse my spelling , ”deer “ not dear. I went stupid for a moment. Ha Ha..

I called it beer camp...

 

[Brokennock]

Here we go again......

 

[Notchy Bob]

The flash rust issue seems to depend on the source of the water. Some of the purified and treated water supplies have additives such as chlorine and fluorine for purification. Some well systems have other trace minerals that can lead to the appearance of flash rust. Distilled water or rain water will have the least chemicals. Some steels in the gun barrels react to the chemicals in the water. Be aware of what happens when you clean your firearm and always finish with a good rust inhibiting lubricant.

There are many cleaning solutions and methods out there. Whichever one you use that ends up with a clean patch and you lubricate the steel before storing is the one that works.

The use of boiling water for cleaning indeed works. In theory the higher heat will loosen the burnt powder and oils better than warm water and a bit of any grease cutting soap. Dry the barrel after the washing to get rid of residual water and salts that may still be in the barrel. Use some form of water displacement to remove traces that dry patches don't reach. Finally use a rust inhibitor for storage.

I think @Grenadier1758 nailed it. This came up in a thread a few months ago.

Several years ago, before I retired, I had a conversation with a colleague about coffee. She pointed out that coffee snobs used only distilled water. I don't aspire to be a snob of any kind, but I do appreciate a good mug o' Joe. I started using distilled or purified water (89 cents per gallon at the local market) for coffee, and I'll be danged if it doesn't taste better. So, that's what I use. An unanticipated side benefit is that there is no mineral deposit in the coffeemaker, after about six years of distilled water only.

The point of this is that I use my Mr. Coffee to heat up water for gun cleaning. I like using hot water, because that's the way my dad showed me, and it works, for all the reasons enumerated but the hot water fans in previous posts. Just put the water in Mr. Coffee without any grounds, and he makes a pot of hot water, and keeps it hot until you need it, in a handy dispenser. I never had a problem with flash rust anyway, but there is definitely none with distilled water.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[TrapperDude]

I used a toothpick to plug the flash hole and filled the barrel with water just shy of a full boil, holding the barrel with padded channel locks. After letting it set for several seconds, I pulled the toothpick and pushed a patched jag down the bore, pushing everything out through the flash hole under pressure. I repeated until the water came out clean. From there, I used a dry patch and used it to pump air through the patent breech and touch hole to dry things out. That was followed with olive oil on the patched jag, working it back and forth in the bore to get the oil into the grain of the metal.

From there, I used a tiny amount of oil on one of those rubberized, flanged things you use between your teeth to get a light coat on the interior of the flash hole liner. I haven't had issues from that.

 

[TrapperDude]

I called it beer camp...

(Musical notes) It's the second week of deer camp,
It's the greatest time of year!
We drink, play cards and shoot the bull but never shoot no deer!
The only time we leave the camp is when we go for beer,
It's the second week of deer camp,
It's the gretest time of year!

 

[Flintlock]

I shoot a couple times a week on average, just water, cool or room temp, been doing this way for over 30 years and not a bit of trouble. People have been cleaning guns for 500 years without dish soap or chemicals.

 

[OhioHawkeye]

Anyone have any input on this(for cleaning) over boiling water?

Water unfrozen for cleaning.... It's what I appreciate in black powder over modern propellents for muzzleloaders or other firearms. When it fires, almost all that's left is charcoal.

I normally just use my drinking water. I have used everything from creek water to boiling coffee. It works.

Ps, in a pinch, baby wipes work too.