Blackpowder cleaning

[Thereaper1313]

So this last spring a friend gifted me an old Remington 700 muzzleloader he had bought used but never shot. When I received it, it was spray painted with slight surface rust, but the bore looked good. After cleaning the bore with bore tech and stripping the spray paint and then Duracoating properly; I ran a wet patch with lucas oil through the barrel and put it away for the summer. Fast forward till now, and I pulled the gun out, ran a swab through the barrel, and behold.....rust. Started to clean the bore with wd40 to remove any rust, but patches kept coming out black. Decided to start soaking the barrel with clp and scrubbing the barrel with a brass brush and dry patch and then resoak in clp. Been doing this for a week and still having patches coming out black........has anyone ever had a muzzleloader this dirty? Is lucas gun oil so thin it could really dry out in under 6mnths? Or is the cause of the rust because boretech has no affect of blackpowder residue?

 

[Odindad]

Petroleum based lubricants and solvents do nothing against black powder fouling. Different chemicals. Think gas vs diesel. The very best black powder solvent ever is Windex. No joke. Then follow with a non petroleum based lubricant like Bore Butter, Seal 1 , Frog Lube.

 

[MikeinTexas]

Wasn’t cleaned right and you still have BP residue in the bore. The only way to clean BP fouling is using water and soap, doesn’t matter if it’s hot or cold. I use a squirt jug with water and a quarter teaspoon of dawn, while at the range and run a few patches to get most of it out. Other guys use simple green and water. Some use windex and then flush and wipe. When done cleaning, dry the bore…I set my rifle in the sun. Then you wipe the bore with a regular petroleum based oil of your choice.

edited for spelling errors-I’ve had a stroke and it has affected my speach,spelling and math.

 

[...]

for all my BP guns, i clean them with a 50/50 mix of Ballistol and water....i run sopping wet patches until they come out clean(ish), then dry patch it out.

ill then run a patch soaked with silicon lube, and coat the exterior metal with silicon rag.

before i shoot it again, ill run a dry patch to get out any lube in the bore

hasnt failed me yet

 

[Thereaper1313]

Seems foreign to me that water should ever touch a barrel. My brother swears by cleaning with boiling water and soap. I really didn't want to go a water based solvent route due to the rust in the barrel now. Planning on using Blackhorn 209 powder, so after this cleaning all the others can be done with dedicated Montana Xtreme cleaner

 

[Mudflap621]

I agree on using soap and water, it’s all I’ve ever used. I take everything apart and than fill my sink with the hottest water I can withstand and dish soap and everything goes in there and scrubbed clean.

With using warm/hot water I noticed that it dries easier. Things I can’t get to to wipe dry I use a hairdryer to evaporate or blow away any water. Once clean and dry I’ll lubricated for extended stays in the safe.

 

[...]

Seems foreign to me that water should ever touch a barrel. My brother swears by cleaning with boiling water and soap. I really didn't want to go a water based solvent route due to the rust in the barrel now. Planning on using Blackhorn 209 powder, so after this cleaning all the others can be done with dedicated Montana Xtreme cleaner

Don't use boiling water....room temp or warm water is fine.

Boiling water is more apt to cause flash surface rust.

But essentially you aren't cleaning BP unless you have some water involved....it is pretty much essential.


If you use soap( like dawn)....you are going to strip all the oils off the gun....which is fine....but it means that it is essential that you quickly follow up with some oil to protect the surface.


I like the ballistol/ water mix because once the water evaporate, you are left with a coat of ballistol on the metal......but like I said before, I still follow up with silicon spray to displace any remaining water.

 

[B y r o n]

So this last spring a friend gifted me an old Remington 700 muzzleloader he had bought used but never shot. When I received it, it was spray painted with slight surface rust, but the bore looked good. After cleaning the bore with bore tech and stripping the spray paint and then Duracoating properly; I ran a wet patch with lucas oil through the barrel and put it away for the summer. Fast forward till now, and I pulled the gun out, ran a swab through the barrel, and behold.....rust. Started to clean the bore with wd40 to remove any rust, but patches kept coming out black. Decided to start soaking the barrel with clp and scrubbing the barrel with a brass brush and dry patch and then resoak in clp. Been doing this for a week and still having patches coming out black........has anyone ever had a muzzleloader this dirty? Is lucas gun oil so thin it could really dry out in under 6mnths? Or is the cause of the rust because boretech has no affect of blackpowder residue?

Are you actually using Black Powder or one of the alternatives and if so which one?

 

[Thereaper1313]

Are you actually using Black Powder or one of the alternatives and if so which one?

Haven't shot it yet, but I'll be switching to Blackhorn 209. Finished scrubbing the barrel yesterday, amazing how little clp worked. If I ever go back to 777 or something similar I'll have to try soap and water or Windex

 

[GrumpyOleFart]

I had a Lyman Great Plains Rifle, and a Sharps Rolling Block.
Best stuff to use is dishwashing liquid or similar.
Unscrew/unpin from stock, take percussion cap screw out, and pour warm or hot water with the dishwasher liquid down the barrel. Jag and rag it till clean.
Do as many flushes as you want, it will not harm the barrel, leaving BP in the barrel is the killer.
Once it's clean and dry, add the normal oil preserves.
Hope you enjoy your rifle.
I used to cast my own ball and projectiles, so much fun.

 

[pmclaine]

My understanding is it's chemistry.

Black powder contains nitrates...salt.

Salt does not dissolve in oil.....chemistry.

Salt does dissolve in water.......chemistry.

GI bore cleaner up until the 50s contained water. It was also very smelly, like coal tar thinned out. The good stuff had all kinds of poison warnings on the can.

It was during the corrosive primer period that the military developed its 3 day cleaning regimen to ensure all the primer salts were removed after firing.

If I shoot corrosive in a bolt gun I bring a thermos of boiling water and a ratio rite cup to the range and bury the muzzle in the water before pumping the water up and through the bore. A water change or two and no salt worries but you have to oil as it flashes dry.

Don't fear the water........its the best solvent for removing salt. Salt will destroy your barrel carbon and lead will just prevent it from shooting good.

 

[MtnCreek]

Not sure about these modern bp but traditional I remove nipple, remove barrel and place barrel in bucket of hot water with dawn. Patch will pull the water up through the barrel. After patching good, brush it. Replace hot water soap and do her again.

 

[sam4886]

The old siphon pump mentioned by mtncreek works good on the older guns without a breech plug.

I just use straight simple green on my UML 700. Pretty wet patches then run dry ones until they're clean. I shoot 777 pellets.

Also, the 700 isn't designed for black horn unless you swap to an arrowhead or similar breech plug system. The factory set up will gas cut your nipple and ruin your day. I prefer the factory system with the pellets.

 

[Thereaper1313]

The old siphon pump mentioned by mtncreek works good on the older guns without a breech plug.

I just use straight simple green on my UML 700. Pretty wet patches then run dry ones until they're clean. I shoot 777 pellets.

Also, the 700 isn't designed for black horn unless you swap to an arrowhead or similar breech plug system. The factory set up will gas cut your nipple and ruin your day. I prefer the factory system with the pellets.

I have a Badger breech plug thats made for 209 primers and black horn

 

[Longshot231]

There are lots of good recommendations here. I've used hot water before but you really have to be careful about the flash rusting.

My recommendation would be to use soap and water to get the old BP residue out of the barrel.

After that apply Ballistol to the bore. I've been using it for several years now and it's great.

After you have all the old BP residue out of the barrel here is what I recommend for routine cleaning after every shooting session. I've used this solution for over 30 years and on some very expensive BP guns without any problems.

Mix the ingredients below in equal parts and store in dark container in darkened area as light reacts with the peroxide.

- Murphy's Oil Soap
- Rubbing Alcohol
- Hydrogen Peroxide

You may see this referred to as the MAP solution. Use it like any other gun cleaning solvent. Apply it to the patches till they come out clean, dry the bore and other metal surfaces then coat with Ballistol.

 

[Jaron3]

This. I was going to post this recipe but @Longshot231 beat me to it. Works great.

 

[pmclaine]

Pretty sure Ballistol already uses water as a primary ingredient but there is no harm in making a mixture with more water.

When I was shooting some corrosive I made a 50% water, 50% Ballistol mix.

I really like that shit.

 

[SmileMaker]

Windex with Vinegar (not ammonia) is a good agent to remove black powder residue. A few saturated patches, nylon bore brush, wet patch , dry patch then a rust inhibitor (Bircheood Casey) is all I use on my BPCT rifles.

 

[Thereaper1313]

Awesome ideas on here. I want to eventually get a percussion Kentucky rifle, so I'll definitely be trying some of these ways of cleaning.

 

[25ring]

Windex with Vinegar (not ammonia) is a good agent to remove black powder residue. A few saturated patches, nylon bore brush, wet patch , dry patch then a rust inhibitor (Bircheood Casey) is all I use on my BPCT rifles.

I've used this for years in my BPCR rifles followed up with a patch soaked with ED's Red. Never had any rusting problems. FWIW.

 

[CNJarvis]

Black, and most substitutes clean up with aqueous solutions as noted above. Blackhorn 209, however, should be cleaned with oil/solvent based cleaners. Read the cleaning instructions on the bottle or website.