waterless flintlock cleaning

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Why do threads get moved around when you are talking about cleaning a flintlock frizzen/pan etc.
Never seen such ah...well never mind.
 
Flint311 said:
Turtle Creek said:
Do you always use that technique or is that for the field only?
I'm trying to go waterless period.

No, just did it when way out "in the bush" (Canada). LOTS of water there, but used Hoppes... It may be a "see what works for you" situation in a more arid area.

Heard of hunters "making there own water" into the barrel to clean barrels.. :redface:

I don't believe it's rocket science to clean a rifle. You're cleaning the lands and grooves for accuracy, then rust proofing.

Good luck! :thumbsup:

Urine was used as a soak to cure a barrel that had "shot slick" or so I have read.

Dan
 
Toomuch said:
Holding the lock in your hand and just looking at it will not reveal the problem, this will be happening in behind the bridal and tumbler where moisture will be sequestered from drying and start to generate rust.
We see this problem on a regular basis at the shope, and for the same reasons.--"My buddy says this is the way its done".

Toomuch
..........
Shoot Flint

But there should not be any fouling in the lock mortice if the gun is properly made. Next I would ask what propellant was used. There is at least one substitute that is very aggressive compared to black.
I will wash a lock, blow it dry with compressed air and oil it. Never any rust. But I usually just wash the pan and frizzen etc. The interior only gets wet because I use water on the pan and always pull the lock for this. I blow the exterior off and oil/grease as needed. But I don't use bear oil or other stuff. I rust proof with G-96 and lube with 0w30 synthetic oil and chassis grease where its needed (like frizzen springs with no roller. I almost never remove the frizzen from the lock.

I also live in an area with low relative humidity compared to most. On hot sunny days in mid summer it can drop to 10% or even less.

Dan
 
bpd303 said:
I'd say you have it covered. :thumbsup:

Yep. I got the rifle out yesterday and ran a few dry patches down the barrel, not a sign of rust. I took the lock off and the flash hole and checked the patent breach area and clean as a whistle. I used a little alcohol to clean away the oil I used and now I'm ready to take it to the range this weekend (if I get the chance).

I used the pipecleaners to get into the chamber between the breach and the barrel. Worked like a charm.

Thanks for all the ideas/suggestions. I'm off to a good start. :hatsoff:
 
Yeah, but it requires a few can's of beans. :rotf:

I actually used water with my cleaning. So I didn't use the "waterless" method. In fact I used a whole lot of water. Followed by some dry patches, followed by some G96 gun protector, followed by some dry patches. Then a few days later I took her apart and checked her. She's clean. :thumbsup:
 
I use biodegradable frog lube solvent then bore butter inside the barrel and on the nipple threads and breach plug threads. Never had a problem.
 
I'd be careful using any of the Frog Lube in my bore. It is great stuff and it really does what they say. However, I did a series of carefully controlled tests using Frog Lube inside my bore and found that it is too slick to be used as a bore treatment or patch lube for a muzzleloader. In my tests, I found that after treating my bore using Frog Lube exactly according to their instructions, my muzzle velocity decreased from 1266 fps to 1105 fps. I concluded that because of the decrease in friction due to the Frog Lube treatment, it allows the patched ball to start moving sooner and does not allow the breach presure to build as high as when the bore was untreated and saliva was used to lube the patch. In his work "Black Powder Rifle Accuracy", Dutch Schoultz addresses the importance of the consistancy of lubricant slickness and its effect on accuracy. If you don't have a copy of this information, I highly recommend it. It is available at www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"I even drink that stuff."

I'd be darned careful with that stuff. It is literally strong enough to sink a battleship. :rotf: :rotf:
 
Yep...I've found dihydrogen monoxide to be the best stuff 'on the shelf' for cleaning my rifle after a day of shooting. Tried it as a bore protectant just once and spent the better part of the next day re-cleaning the bore of my rifle. But it is inexpensive; when precipitation is forecasted over night, I just set an enameled dish pan out on the porch and bottle the contents in the morning....
 
Billnpatti said:
"I even drink that stuff."

I'd be darned careful with that stuff. It is literally strong enough to sink a battleship. :rotf: :rotf:

It's been proven ever since war ships were built.
 
Back
Top