doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Black Powder cleanup after shooting

That has to be at least as bad as the kitchen sink experience I had...Geo

Since 1971 I've used warm water and dish soap in a bucket of water, a second bucket with clean water. Then a dry patch, a second patch with WD-40, and a third with Rem-oil. If I've shot my modern SxS's at SC's with black powder shells, then I use a Tornado brush first to loosen 50 or a 100 shots of crud. I've never had a rusting problem. Paul

Yes, I am married...to a saint, and she puts up with a lot more than my washing muzzleloaders out in the tub!

I know a lot of guys who use windshield washer and love it too, Daryl. I have used it as well, but water is the key ingredient and it's what they did back in the day, as the saying goes.

Daryl, you have my utmost respect and admiration for taking out that pinfire on opening day for pheasant. Now THAT must be a real showstopper!

I like Joe's formula Windex also but then switch to break cleaner.All mine are break open guns so I can use paper towels to begin with then switch to cloth . Windex alone has not gotten mine completely clean.

Forever for me, lukewarm water with a touch of dish detergent.

When dry, protect bore with EEZOX.

Next time I'm to use the ML again, I swipe the EEZOX out of the barrel and nipples with denatured alcohol.

Full speed ahead.

I second Paul's and the Kid's routine, simple and cheap. Hot water and detergent in a bucket clean hot water in a second bucket some WD-40 then some Rem oil or some 3 in one oil and done. Before using run a patch with rubbing alcohol to clean the oil and load.

One of the reasons many people on the frontier continued to use flintlocks well into the percussion period was they were much more reliable*.. And I have found the same to be true. If a flintlock fails to fire the shooter did some basic thing wrong. Percussion guns with hard to reach narrow convoluted fire channels have a mind of their own and seem to get stubborn at just the wrong time. Cleaning is a snap too. Three or four patches wet with Windex, dry and grease. Pipe cleaner through touchhole. Finished.

*Ruxton, "Life in the Far West", 1847

(Member NMLRA since 1957)

That has not been the case for me, Joe. Not saying that flintlocks are less reliable, heck no, they are deadly reliable when properly set up. But, so is a caplock when properly built. I learned that all drums and nipples are not created equal. Not even close. When I built rifles I gave very close attention to the breech/drum/nipple area. I have even seen the time that changing out a burnt out nipple would turn an occasionally misfiring rifle into one that would be 100% reliable, and turn it from a poor shooting gun to a match winner again.

I have shot thousands of rounds in competition without a single misfire. In fact, if I ever did have one, it was not the fault of the gun, but, as you said, I did something wrong in cleaning, loading, etc.

I will bet anybody, that will put up the money, $10,000 that I can load any one of my rifles (or shotgun) and have it fire perfectly the first time, after having sat for years with RIG in the barrel and breech area. That'd be easy money. I don't mean to sound bragadocious, it is simply the knowledge of how the ignition area of a caplock should be designed and how to clean and load it right.

SRH

The best that I ever used for Black Powder cleanup was the old GI Bore Cleaner for corrosive primers that smelled like Sheep Dip. I am now down to one can of it, and it is impossible to find these days.

We are both right, Stan. The key is keeping the fire channel clear and the powder free of contaminants. It's just that I find it much more foolproof to clear the touchhole vent with a pick than to clean a sealed percussion channel. Either way, ain't it fun! The only
place I will give you the edge is in crappy, wet weather. At that time even I will switch over to my percussion gun though i try to do it in the dark so I don't ruin my reputation....or what little is left of it.

To keep it dry ill often drip wax around the cap and put a piece of electrical tape over the muzzle.