What Part Of Clean It Now Don't You Understand?

[JDBraddy]

Do it all at the range, I keep an empty plastic Metamucil container with twist off lid big enough to let the hooked breech pass through, a funnel, and a gallon jug of windshield wiper fluid in my truck. I clean it at the range dry it, swabb it with a patch soaked with Barricade, wipe everything down with Barricade before casing it. Then, I usually wipe it down and swabb it with Barricade again when I get home or the next day. I then just swabb the bore with moose milk and a couple dry patches on my next trip to the range, before firing it.

 

[longcruise]

I was taught that "if you don't have time to clean, you don't have time to shoot".

Scenario (actual), elevation, 8,900', Sept 12th, two hours after sunrise, temperature 72f, large doe falls at the shot, field dressed and carried to vehicle, transported to camp at 9,000'. Temp 80f, hung and skin pulled off, temp approaching 85f, put deer in back of car and depart post haste with AC ripping, arrive at processor 1 hrs 45 min later, temp 98f, check deer into process and grab lunch then head back to camp.

Wd shot down the bore did its job. Clean rifle and get camp fire going.

Next day get up and do it all again with another party member.

Had plenty of time to shoot but not much time for the rest.

 

[SOLANCO]

It's all in "how" ya clean a m/l er. Im so lazy , I have a hookup to a laundry sink hot water faucet. 1 insert 1/4" tubing into bore completely to breech plug , hold finger over flint touch hole , turn on hot water faucet until the barrel exterior gets hot to the touch , turn off fawcet , commence with drying patches , w/shot of WD40 to prevent sticking. All in all , meby 7 to 10 mins.. Tooth brush the lock under hot water fawcet , dry , lube , and reinstall. Stand rifle in corner muzzle down , wipe once next day to catch any moisture frim around breech plug , and store gun away. When I go shooting with the neighbor , His gun gets cleaned right after mine. Beyond lazy man's , easy peasy. No Pyrodex.

Had the M1 in basic training. Not to go into unmentionables, but to talk about cleaning. We cleaned them in GI trash cans of water with gasoline immersion heaters keeping it at a boil. Carbon? What carbon?

 

[1971fx]

Clean same day after shooting.

 

[tenngun]

Sun doesn’t set on a dirty gun of mine

 

[Gary Vandersluis]

My rule is to clean my ML's before the sun goes down. But sometimes rules are broken. If I can't clean then I plug the barrel with a rubber stopper and clean the gun the next day. If it was good enough for the late great ML shooter Harry Pope it's good enough for me

 

[Juice Jaws]

Okay, so I spend considerable time, and resources, prepping a muzzleloader for sale. I send my prospective buyer a copy of Sam Fadala's book on The Complete Backpowder Handbook then take the fellow out shooting, instruct him on loading, and after shooting, field cleaning with solvent. I explain the detailed cleaning technique using soapy water. I'm thinking, "good job" until I get a communication asking about fouling, using Pyrodex. I go over the importance of cleaning and he responds "yeah I'll do that tomorrow." How many "tomorrows" has there been since I sold him a pristine bore gun?

How long do you wait to clean your muzzleloader after shooting?

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. HIs gun now not your problem. I always clean mine the same day they are shot

 

[Crawfish]

I swab well with MooseMilk at the range, get the outside clean also. Then clean thoroughly when I get home. Seems to work well.

 

[Josephg]

When you sell something to someone it's theirs to do whatever they want with it. Yer out of it.

 

[vibraphonusrex]

I swab it good before I leave the range, including cleaning around the nipple, etc., and when I get home, I clean it thoroughly right away. Same for my, how do you say, “unmentionable”rifles. Guess it’s the Army left in me.

 

[rkg1]

Within 24 hours. If not as soon as I get home then it gets a heavy coat of fluid film and cleaned asap. Never had any problems.

 

[manbat]

The short answer for me is that I mostly clean the evening after shooting. Not because I'm worried about rust, but because I hate cleaning and don't like to push something unenjoyable out. I always bring and shoot more BP arms than I should for one session so cleaning takes a while. The first thing I do when shooting is over is to plug and fill the long arms with water at the range and let them sit while I pack up. That way I can also enjoy a post-shooting cigar to lessen the cleaning drudgery at the range before heading home and to lessen the evening's cleaning time. Then swab to clean out leaving the final swabbing lessen and oiling until evening. Short arms go right in the bag for evening cleaning.

 

[hockeyref]

Okay, so I spend considerable time, and resources, prepping a muzzleloader for sale. I send my prospective buyer a copy of Sam Fadala's book on The Complete Backpowder Handbook then take the fellow out shooting, instruct him on loading, and after shooting, field cleaning with solvent. I explain the detailed cleaning technique using soapy water. I'm thinking, "good job" until I get a communication asking about fouling, using Pyrodex. I go over the importance of cleaning and he responds "yeah I'll do that tomorrow." How many "tomorrows" has there been since I sold him a pristine bore gun?

How long do you wait to clean your muzzleloader after shooting?

Unless you plan on buying it back, his gun and his problem (until he asks for help de-rusting the bore)

At isually the range I run a patch wrapped around a brush with windex between shots. Before I leave it will get the windex patch followed by an alcohol swab/flush. Then swabbed out with MAP followed by another alcohol swab/flush. Swab well with CLP for the trip home and then at my leisure in the next day or so I pull the barrel and give it the soapy water plunger routine followed by more alcohol and oil to protect the bore.

 

[Sun City]

I'd just as soon pour sand and gravel down the bore of a rifle than to use pyrodex to shoot it!

 

[dave951]

I field clean with Windex and oil the bore at the range. Detail clean at home

 

[BuffaloSoldier]

Maybe just a hold over from my military time, but if I shot it, I cleaned it.

 

[Relic shooter]

Temperature, Humidity, Lubricant or Lack-of Determines Rate Of Rust & Corrosion;

Growing up in the West as an avid fan of muzzleloading & later operating muzzleloading stores where humidity is almost nonexistent showed that prompt cleaning of the bore was not a priority.
In my younger years I frequently spent 1-2 weeks hunting deer & elk & if my firearms didn't get wet during the hunt & moved inside to warmth they often didn't get properly cleaned until several days later after returning & getting the meat taken care of.
The bores on my rifle & pistol always remained bright & shiny after cleaning.

During years I operated a muzzleloading store in a low humidity climate I took many severely neglected BP firearms in trade, some with bores that were almost plugged with black powder buildup, surprisingly most became bright & free of any pitting after a good cleaning.
The ones that didn't cleanup & guns that came in the shop with cruddy bores quickly taught me to ask where firearms had lived & been used before considering purchase or taking as trade-ins.

It wasn't until later years while attending muzzleloading shoots & gun shows in the Southern & Eastern states where I watched my then WD-40 coated firearms turn red with rust overnight due to heat & humidity.
Humidity prompted me to learn that WD-40 is primarily a good solvent with a minimal amount of lubricant.
There are a wide variety of rust preventing lubricants including some are petroleum free that can also be used as patch-lube & lubricant.
Rendered beargrease was an early days favorite as is Ballistol today but there are many other concoctions that work equally well to protect after a good cleaning with your favorite recipe.
Relic shooter

 

[Nuthatch]

My general rule is to clean immediately upon returning home from shooting or hunting (when a shot was made). Where I shoot is about an hour away from home, sometimes more. If it is going to be 12 hours or more until I get home, then I'll usually give it a quick swab-down with some wetted, then dry, then oiled cleaning patches just to help a little until a more thorough cleaning can be done.

One of my other rules gets in the way, at times. Meat has to get on ice before I can clean the guns. Butchering can wait until after the guns are clean but those quarters & cuts have to get cool ASAP & I'll put everything off until that's done. Even my late season hunts usually have temps in the mid 60s so the meat gets the priority.

I see no need to be an absolute purist about it all. Meat comes first. Guns & gear come next. If I need to catch a few Zs in between so I can get everything done without killing myself, I'm not going to stress about a single night before cleaning when only one shot was made. It's not ideal but it's hardly a problem if that cleaning job is thorough. Bear in mind, my ML hunts aren't your typical whitetail farm/ranch hunts. A backcountry deer shot at 9am often won't even get back to the truck until dark. If all I had to do was load the deer on an ATV and hang it in the garage, I'd probably clean it within a couple hours.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

As I try to be true to my 200+ year old persona, I make sure my rifle is clean and ready to shoot at all times. Ya just never know....

 

[stephenprops1]

Okay, so I spend considerable time, and resources, prepping a muzzleloader for sale. I send my prospective buyer a copy of Sam Fadala's book on The Complete Backpowder Handbook then take the fellow out shooting, instruct him on loading, and after shooting, field cleaning with solvent. I explain the detailed cleaning technique using soapy water. I'm thinking, "good job" until I get a communication asking about fouling, using Pyrodex. I go over the importance of cleaning and he responds "yeah I'll do that tomorrow." How many "tomorrows" has there been since I sold him a pristine bore gun?

How long do you wait to clean your muzzleloader after shooting?

I most always clean my muzzleloaders the same day that I shoot them. At the very latest I do it the next day, but that is a rarity for me.