New muzzleloader cleaning tips

[JeremyA]

Got my Traditions Pursuit G4 this week. I started to do the initial cleaning using everything from bore cleaners to dish soap. I cannot seem to get all of the shipping grease out of the barrel any tips to get it cleaned?

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

hot water and dishsoap,,,swab the barrel with a jag and patch with the percussion tip end in a bucket and itll pull the solution through your gun,hot water warms the barrel and dries quick.

 

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

i'd stay away from hot water, it causes flash rust.

I've always used birchwood casey gun scrubber and then bore scrubber. You can even use carb cleaner on the patch and it will remove the stuff from inside the bore.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

Ive never had a issue with it,im talking just tap hot water approx. 130deg,of course that's with a traditional muzzleloader with the barrel off the stock,,don't really know what a traditions g-4 is?if its a inline,it probly gets cleaned differently,,with mine,as soon as its cleaned it gets a light coat of bore butter put on the surfaces while its still warm.

 

[TheDudeAbides]

I have used windex.

I have used the Blackhorn 209 cleaner.

And both work.

I have heard of people using Acetic Acid (Vinegar), Iso-propyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol), or Acetone (Fingernail polish remover) also, but I have never tried with ML's.

I know acetone is what we used in O-Chem to do dishes with Organic (Containing carbon) compounds.

 

[MThuntr]

If you're using sabots then eventually you'll get plastic fouling. A homemade solvent called Ed's Red will take care of that however it will also destroy a plastic stock.

CVA Boreblaster works ok, Hornady One Shot for muzzleloaders works too. Realistically if you take the breech plug out and clean like you would any other rifle you'll be fine. Be sure to get to scrub that breech plug really well.

 

[Four22]

I used to shoot black powder silhouette competitively and 100 rounds a day was a normal day. I struggeled keeping things clean enough to get through the day until an old fella told me the recipe below... From then on it was 4-5 patches and my rifle was clean.

Equal parts of below:
Hydrogen Peroxide
Rubbing alcohol
Murphy's oil soap

Mix it up and keep it in a dark bottle as the light reduces the effectiveness of the peroxide. This WILL beat anything store bought.

I've even sealed up the nipple on my under hammer muzzleloader and filled the bore with it. it will bubble and fizz for quite a while.

 

[BrentD]

I shoot competitively with black-powder cartridge rifles and long-range muzzleloaders.

I clean with dihydrogen oxide. It is a strongly polar molecule and is sometimes called the "universal solvent" by chemists. You can get some at any kitchen sink tap.

Personally I would never up hydrogen peroxide in any rifle barrel that I love and care for - but that's just me.

Another thing that works really well is one of those handiwipes or wetwipes torn in half and pushed or pulled through a bore on a brush.

There are more recipes for bore solvents and bullet lubes than there are for camp chili.

Four22, you used past tense when you said you shot bpcr. Why did you quit? Hope you get back out there again.

 

[Four22]

Personally I would never up hydrogen peroxide in any rifle barrel that I love and care for - but that's just me.


Four22, you used past tense when you said you shot bpcr. Why did you quit? Hope you get back out there again.

Nothing mean meant at all but why would you be afraid of hydrogen peroxide? I pour it on cuts to clean them, I hardly think that it would hurt a steel barrel

I quit shooting competitions because all of the local matches were moved to Sundays and I view church as more important than shooting. I still shoot and have the ole rifles but nothing like I used to. 2 small children now consume my time too. I'll get back to it someday but now it just a hobby.

My first mule deer in Wyoming was taken at 275 yards with my .45-70 rolling block sporting black powder and iron sights

 

[MThuntr]

Nothing mean meant at all but why would you be afraid of hydrogen peroxide? I pour it on cuts to clean them, I hardly think that it would hurt a steel barrel

Actually using peroxide on wounds can actually slow the healing process as it ruptures cell walls...water and a mild soap is better for this. H2O2 is corrosive and I would guess, if used by itself, it works wonders on removing the bluing from a rifle.

I don't have any experience using it in rifles in your recipe but maybe it has something to do with bullet leading?

 

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

highly corrosive. And moose milk which is what you are making, does nothing to properly cleaned a new rifle free of the packing greases.