help keeping in-line barrel clean

[FLINT]

This past winter I got an awesome deal on a CVA optima at cabelas. I had been avoiding the black powder thing for years because I didn't want 'another' whole different shooting system to set up and care for (already hunt with bow, handgun, and rifle).

Anyways, I sighted it in a couple weeks ago (very impressed with the accuracy!!). and afterwards cleaned it all out with a foaming bore cleaner, and then brush and then oil and patches until super bright and shiny. and then put it back on the rack.

So, last night I look down the barrel and its all horrible and rusty looking!!!!!!

I got out the brush and oil and patches and cleaned it all out and its shiny looking again - but how do I keep it that way???????

[zzr7ky]

What powder? I like Triple Seven in 3F grain size for inlines. I just clean 'em and oil the bore in that's it.

[Pete44ru]

Afterwards cleaned it all out with a foaming bore cleaner, and then brush and then oil and patches until super bright and shiny. and then put it back on the rack.
So, last night I look down the barrel and its all horrible and rusty looking !!!

Never, ever, store a muzzleloader (or any firearm, for that matter) with an un-oiled/unlubed bore.


.

[M. M. Wright]

I've said this before. You have to use water!!! Lots of HOT water and soap. Just a light scrubbing while the fouling is fresh then use an air hose or can of air to blow everything dry. If you use the hot water it will heat up the barrel where it will dry fast. Then a water displacing oil. I like Ballistol.

I have tried to save 2 of those in-line barrels that friends have cleaned with some high priced "black powder" cleaner. They don't work!!! You are probably in for a lot of scrubbing now just to get the rust out. None of the synthetic powders are better than real Goex or Swiss or??? Pyrodex and 777 are worse, more hygroscopic than the real thing and require more care to be sure they don't rust after cleaning.

I actually wipe my barrels after shooting with a mixture of 10 parts water:1 part Ballistol. After a barrel/revolver has been seasoned with Ballistol it gets easier to clean. Don't know why, it just works. I shoot black, ffg Goex in SASS matches and never have an issue. In fact, I wipe my rifle barrel down between stages, this means after 10 rounds usually, then after the match or at the end of the day a couple of damp patches with the 10:1 and a dry patch then a puff of straight stuff and it can be put away.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

I've said this before. You have to use water!!! Lots of HOT water and soap. Just a light scrubbing while the fouling is fresh then use an air hose or can of air to blow everything dry. If you use the hot water it will heat up the barrel where it will dry fast. Then a water displacing oil. I like Ballistol.

I have tried to save 2 of those in-line barrels that friends have cleaned with some high priced "black powder" cleaner. They don't work!!! You are probably in for a lot of scrubbing now just to get the rust out. None of the synthetic powders are better than real Goex or Swiss or??? Pyrodex and 777 are worse, more hygroscopic than the real thing and require more care to be sure they don't rust after cleaning.

I actually wipe my barrels after shooting with a mixture of 10 parts water:1 part Ballistol. After a barrel/revolver has been seasoned with Ballistol it gets easier to clean. Don't know why, it just works. I shoot black, ffg Goex in SASS matches and never have an issue. In fact, I wipe my rifle barrel down between stages, this means after 10 rounds usually, then after the match or at the end of the day a couple of damp patches with the 10:1 and a dry patch then a puff of straight stuff and it can be put away.

I agree and add, I too shoot SASS in the BP categories. Plus, I live on the Gulf Coast. Down here we can actually see things rust.
Want you need to do is eliminate all the salt residue. The problem is water alone may not do that. What I use is Windex general purpose cleaner. it has a slight amount of vinegar in it. The vinegar adds a slight acidic to neutralize the salts. For that gun I would pull the barrel, spray it and brush it with the Windex then stand it in a bucket of hot soapy water and use a tight fitting mop or cloth patch to hydraulically flush it several time. Then, I would use Auto Zone brand Brake Parts cleaner to dry it then oil with you favorite gun oil.

BTW, I use WD40 for short term storage or mil spec gun grease for long term. I don’t put much stock in the notion that you should not use petroleum base lubes because they promote fouling. I’ve tried it both ways and see no difference. Bore condition and bullet lubes are what counts.

[FLINT]

thanks for the replies

I'm using the IMR White Hots pellets (recommended by cva in the literature that came with the gun).

ok, so practically though - how do you clean a barrel with a scope mounted to it with hot water? I'm picturing making a huge mess in the process and an unhappy wife - with a barrel spewing dirty water all over the kitchen.

also, another issue i have - is that the breech plug screws out - and there was some kind of gunk in the threads that I guess is supposed to keep the breech plug from seizing up in there - but that gunk gets all over the scrub brush and makes a mess. do I have to replace the gunk after each cleaning? what even is it - its gray in color (or was).

[Pisgah]

Water is the sovreign solvent for muzzleloaders. And, it doesn't have to be a bunch of it. You can remove the breechplug, stick the muzzle in a container of water, put a jag/patch in from the breech and pump water in and out of the bore -- or simply use repeated water-wet patches until they come out clean, followed by thorough drying and oiling.

Remember -- WATER! ALWAYS, WATER! Not that expensive BP solvents don't work -- just that they don't work any better than plain ol' water, hot or cold (although hot works a tiny bit faster).

[86er]

I use two methods. One is to use a funnel and pour hot water + dish detergent mix through the bore. I use 2 or 3 gallons altogether to clean a barrel. I do this outside and let the water fall into the dirt to not make a mess or clog a drain. The second way is to use a garden watering container. This is a 2.5 gallon jug with a pump on it and a short hose with nozzle. I fill this with hot soapy water and spray it in the barrel with the nozzle. I've also used pre-soaked patches that seem to work okay if the bore is not just totally disgusting. The next part of my procedure is to use compressed air to blow debris out of the barrel and dry it. Than I spray the bore with a synthetic oil like Rem Oil with Teflon. When the rifle is not used I store it with the breach plug out or nipple removed. I run an oily patch through it every two or three months. If it comes out dirty, I run oily and dry patches until it cleans up.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

thanks for the replies

I'm using the IMR White Hots pellets (recommended by cva in the literature that came with the gun).

ok, so practically though - how do you clean a barrel with a scope mounted to it with hot water? Some folks use plastic tubing from the nipple to the bucket for this very reason.
I'm picturing making a huge mess in the process and an unhappy wife - with a barrel spewing dirty water all over the kitchen.

also, another issue i have - is that the breech plug screws out - and there was some kind of gunk in the threads that I guess is supposed to keep the breech plug from seizing up in there - but that gunk gets all over the scrub brush and makes a mess. do I have to replace the gunk after each cleaning? what even is it - its gray in color (or was).
Yes, you will need to replace it. When you buy the brake parts cleaner from AutotZone pick up a tube of anti thread dope. To prvent it from fouling your brush use the brake parts cleaner to flush it out of the threads then windex clean the barrel.

[Nath]

What a lot of folks do wrong when it comes to muzzle loaders is they try to make it care free!

Muzzleloader shooters are quick to adapt and realise there are simple ways to achieve what they are looking for.

As others say, forget the store!

Get some olive oil and add it to some melted candle wax or bees wax or beef fat, don't use salted lard. When that is set you have your thread protection and bore protection and bullet/patch lube in one old re-used tin!

Your a smart man, come up with a way to get some water in that barrel and work with a jag, repeat a few times.

Now get a kettle full of boiling water through that barrel, USE A THICK TOWEL TO HOLD THE BARREL. Whilst red hot run a dry patch to soak heavy droplets. The heat will dry the barrel for you now. When cooled some get that lube you made down that bore and all over it, will melt and flow everywhere.

To shoot the gun put a patch and jag on a rod down the bore and shoot a cap, all lube will spray onto the patch and not foul the powder come the first shot.

This is how I do my muzzle loaders, all three of them, no rust and nothing store bought and thats using Pyrodex, the most corrosive fuel known to man!

It is not a black magic thing. A simple solution is all that is required. WATER. Oil is bad with muzzleloaders unless vegtable or animal based!

Glad you using a M/L

N.

[FLINT]

Thanks guys, this is super helpful and makes me feel at least confident that I can not ruin my new gun quickly

[BC in TN]

Look no further than here:

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/6-0519198

TC Bore Butter Patches - lube your bore after cleaning with these and forget it until next use (or a few years) whichever comes first

[rimrock]

I use Ed's Red then bore butter in my Traditions 209 Tracker after smoking it with triple 7. No problems.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Like others have said, SOAP and HOT WATER are the way to go. A hot barrel will dry fast.

I use bore butter for the final lube after the bore is dry.
I use only REAL BP in my guns.

[Cliff]

I have a number of muzzle loading rifles. I use the hot water method and for awhile I kept getting some rust showing up after everything was cleaned properly dried and wiped down with oil, various types. I started shooting with a bunch of reenactors and serious mountainmen enthusists and asked for some ideas. The universal reply was oil and wipe down with standard ATF, the same stuff in Ed's Red. It has a detergent factor and acts a cleaner as well. A quart of it doesn't cost much and will last for a few more years. great stuff. Don't try to cheat on cleaning any black powder, substitute black powders or anything with corrosive primers, no matter what the makers claim. Oranic lubes are nice but I trust ATF.

[iceman]

I simply take a coffee can and fill it with HOT water. I stick the muzzle in the water and use a tight fitting patch fed from the breech to pump the hot water in and out of the barrel. Once the barrel is not comfortable to hold in my hand I run a few dry patches through it to sop up excess water and help in drying it. A little bore butter after and I'm good to go. I will run a dry patch through before loading for hunting and then proceed as usual. i usually always hunt with a barrel that has had at least one shot fired through it to try and keep a fouled barrel for consistency. I clean as soon as my hunting is over.
My oldest blackpowder is maybe 15 years old and there is not a spot of rust in the bore.

[6pt-sika]

In the past with my pair of Knight Disc rifles I'd used plain old tap water on a patch and it works great , because all I shoot in them is Triple 7 granulated 3Fg . I also after cleaning coat the inside with Hoppe's gun oil .

This past thursday I tried something new .

I used plain old Hoppe's #9 on a patch after I scrubbed the ever loving s...h...i..t outta them . And they came out crystal clear and again covered inside with Hoppe's gun oil .

I'll use Goex 3Fg in my old period Kentucky rifle .

But for the inlines I started with Pyrodex years ago and truely HATE that stuff . Next i went to Black Canyon which was decent at the time , I believe that was the first no sulfer replacement to hit the market . After that I went to this stuff called Clean Shot , shortly thereafter Clean Shot went outta buisness like Black Canyon and that was about the time Triple 7 hit the market and I went to that first in granulated 2Fg and later to granulated 3Fg . At one point I tried Triple 7 pellets in both the 45 and 50 Disc rifles and never cared for them .

To each his own but personally I'm quite pleased with the granulated Triple 7 3Fg in the Disc rifles .

In my Savage 10ML-II 50 cal I usually shoot VV N-110 but for some reason my 5 year old can went south on me and I'm at the moment shooting XMP5744 in it ! Several of my friends that have TC Encores have been trying lesser charges of VV N-110 and so far it's been working for them !

[41 Redhawk]

Interesting, using smokeless in the Encore. I have not heard of that. I use Blackhorn 209 in my Encore and it works very well and is easy to clean up after.