What is best Bore Cleaner?

[thumbs]

Jim Bob

Cleaning is so simple and easy it's almost funny. Use warm water you can use cold but it's to cold for my hands. Use a little dish washing soap and run a flannel patch up and down the barrel in water until the patch is clean. Hot water will cause the bore to rust faster than you can get oil in it. Ever see a brown tint on your patch after cleaning with hot water. That's rust. Yes the bore will dry faster with hot than cold but the dampness in the bore with the heat creates oxidation. Flush with clean water, dry the bore and use wd inside and out. That's it. I have used almost everything you can think of and nothing works better. DO NOT USE BORE BUTTER for a final lube of either the bore or the outside. Let me make this perfectly clear DO NOT USE BORE BUTTER for a final lube of either the bore or the outside. I followed T/C's instructions using Bore butter and lost a barrel. It's fine for a patch lube but my experience is it will rust the barrel. I can be wrong but I was told that Bore Butter is water based. Not a good thing for steel. The Bore Butter thing was my exp and may work fine for you. I use Bore Butter as a patch lube but wd to keep the rust off.

Just my opinion

 

[roundball]

Jim Bob
DO NOT USE BORE BUTTER for a final lube of either the bore or the outside. Let me make this perfectly clear DO NOT USE BORE BUTTER for a final lube of either the bore or the outside.

:crackup:

The strength of your post is funny based upon only one event...by contrast all I've ever used in a dozen and a half mzzleloaders for 15 years now is bore butter.

To be clear, Bore Butter (Natural Lube 1000) works perfectly.

All my rifle bores are in perfect showroom condition, in spite of hundreds & hundreds of shots through each one, followed by scores and scores of cleaning & lubing cycles using only bore butter as the lube.

Whatever the single bad experience was that you reference, it's safe to say it was not caused by bore butter as a product.

If barrel bores are 100% cleaned, 100% dried, and 100% coated with bore butter, they cannot rust...period.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Hot water will cause the bore to rust faster than you can get oil in it.

??? 25 years of cleaning with HOT, right off the stove boiling, water with soap in it (shaved flakes from Ivory bar or a dash of Murphy's Oil) and my muzzleloaders have very nice bores, thank you. I allow the hot barrel to cool and evaporate the water off for half-an-hour before oiling it (using Lehigh Valley Lube presently for short-term storage). I live in an area that has 90%+ humidity (we get down to 75% in the winter) and have never been attacked by this "flash rusting" monster that some folks have problems with. Could be enough soap film left when using my system to prevent that?

With my hooked breech guns I stick the breech right in the water can off the stove and pump the water up, changing to a fresh & soapless boiling water rinse in a second can and pumping some more.

I also have used Natural Lube 1000 Plus for semi-long term storage and find it works well. I glob it in pretty heavy and then clean it out with cycles of alcohol & dry patches before a light lubing prior to loading.

If I'm planning on leaving a gun for year-long storage, I oil the bore heavily with CLP Breakfree.

For a good bore scrub, I prefer Shooters Choice, or J-B Paste if attacking lead or copper fouling. Good ol' Hoppes Nitro Solvent works well, too. The more aggressive bore scrubbers are not needed with a patched round ball diet.

 

[cayugad]

I am another very hot to almost boiling water user when I clean my sidelocks. I then add some Dawn Dishsoap and pump that through the barrel. The barrel comes clean real fast. After that I take the rifle outside and pour a coffee pot full of hot water through the barrel again to get the soap out of the barrel.

While the barrel is hot (wear some good gloves), I dip a bore brush in solvent and scrub that barrel bore good. Then runs some Birchwood Casey Bore Scrubber sovlent patches or Butch's Bore Shine solvent patches through it until they come out clean. After that I run dry patches, then finally some alcohol patches to make sure there is no water or moisture left in the barrel. After that, I swab with Birchwood Casey Sheath, or REM OIL or Breakfree with CLP.

 

[RussB]

Well... :m2c:

I guess I've become a "never clean it the same way twice" type feller over the last couple of years.
I also have to admit to enjoying shooting much more than cleaning....we've been there before, so we won't go again.

Seems I've tried 'em all, when it comes to cleaning... just to see if one was better than the other'n, and so far I am not smart enough to see a whole hell of a lot of difference, as long as you get the rust causing critters out of barrel, off the lock, and keep it oiled where you should.

I have a bigger problem with rust and corrosion around the nipple of my caplocks than anything else....this stuff is nasty! I have found that Rusty Duck "seems" to do a better job here...maybe that too will change next week. :hmm:

I have a particular .50 cal that I'm using as a test media for Natural 1000, it's in about it's 6 month of a particular cleaning, shooting, cleaning regime that was offered here on the forum....we'll see what happens.

So far I'm not convinced of a "better way" when it comes to cleaning. However, I am convinced that a good cleaning is the only way.

Russ

 

[Idaho Elk Hunter]

To be clear, Bore Butter (Natural Lube 1000) works perfectly

quote from Roundball re: bore butter......

I have used it since 1970's and my barrels have been perfect, so I will stick with it. I knew I would get all kinds of opinions on this subject, but I just wanted to know different products in past few years is all. I have always been cleaning my barrels with hot water and cold water....used hot to make sure barrels are dry afterwards and then I use Bore Butter and when I put them away for an extended time I use oil in the barrels like T/C 13 oil in spray like WD-40 or WD-40 or just good plain old gun oil on a patch liberally and then follow up several days later to check on barrel to see if any rust or whatever. I am very "anal" about cleaning all my BP rifles!!!

Jim in Idaho

 

[Keith]

I have a bigger problem with rust and corrosion around the nipple of my caplocks than anything else....this stuff is nasty!

I have more grief with the nipple area and hammer than anything.
I do think you can get flash rust, but it comes off easy if you do it quick.
I have been known to warm my oven and place the hooked breach rifle in the oven to dry. I don't bake it just get the oven warm and shut it off, then put the gun in. ( I've also done that with a Glock pistol. :haha: )

 

[Dances With Coyotes]

I'm glad I don't live in the time where I would have to use urine,,better be mine though. I like the other guy "snakeeyes" talking about bourbon.,but in my case I would prefer beer,, when I'm done with a twelve pack,, rifles clean,,,but then again if I drank a twelve pack I'd probaly have plenty of urine to clean my rifle with. :youcrazy: