low cost cleaner for pyrodex

[oldfart]

i am on a tight budget and have heard of some cleaners that work to clean a muzzleloader, i was wondering if they work and what others i might use. i have heard that windex will clean a muzzleloader good, as well as boiling lemon peels in water and using the water to clean it. what else can i use?, i have a optima and can clean fairly easy. i have checked in stores and those factory cleaners are more than i can afford right now. thanks for any help

[Gun Runner]

I bought a gal. of cheap winshield cleaner for $.97 cents (at k-mart) and put about 6 drops of dawn dish deturgent(sp) in it and thats what I clean my 50 and 54 cal's with. Flush it out with Hot water dry it and run a lightly oiled patch down it for storing it.

Gun Runner

[mechanic]

Windex with vinegar.

[alsaqr]

i have heard that windex will clean a muzzleloader good,

Windex with vinegar.

+1
Mechanic, you beat my post by about 30 seconds.   



Windex with vinegar is what I have used for years to clean my BP guns.  This is the clear Windex.  It is about 5 percent vinegar:  Just enough to eat up the crud left by firing BP and BP substitutes.  It cleans up a breech plug in about 30 seconds:  Just spray it on and brush the crud off with an old toothbrush. Run a patch wet with it down the bore before leaving the range and the breechplug will come out a lot easier when you get home.  

Many of the CAS shooters use Windex with vinegar to clean their guns.

 http://www.curtrich.com/frontiersmen3.html

[dustyr]

I've used several different things, but the two that work best for me are:

1. "Purple Power" mixed in a 1:5 ratio. I use this when I feel the need to "deep clean" the barrel  after a day of shooting. I always follow this up with . . .

2. Windex and windshield washer fluid mixed 50/50. Works great for swabbing between shots and at the end of the day during the season.

After cleaning, I then swab the barrel with a fine coat of RemOil and follow that up with a dry patch.

[kodiakemt]

Plain old boiling water for mine.

[Buckskins & Black Powder]

Warm soapy water.  After its clean, i run some windshield washer fluid soaked patches to mop up and kill any water that i may have missed. After that i run dry patches, run one patch thats damp with Rem oil, let it sit for some minutes then use a dry patch to mop up excess oil.

[anweis]

Warm soapy water.  After its clean, i run some windshield washer fluid soaked patches to mop up and kill any water that i may have missed. After that i run dry patches, run one patch thats damp with Rem oil, let it sit for some minutes then use a dry patch to mop up excess oil.

Exactly what i do.
BEWARE: mixing ammonia (windex, winshield cleaner, etc) and detergent/soap results in release of toxic fumes. Probably not enough to harm you, but why do it?

[Swampman]

Any window cleaner or even tepid water works just fine.  I've even used coffee in the field.

[oldfart]

thanks everyone, i was using hot soapy water in the bath tub till my wife came in and saw the black mess. even tho i always cleaned it up she said find another way to clean, i'm sure if that was the only way i had to clean i could still do it with some begging lol . but now i know i can go on the back porch and clean my gun. i have alot of bore butter that i bought on clearence, will it be ok to use as a barrel protectant after cleaning with windex? i know your not supposed to use it after oil based cleaners but windex isn't oil based is it? i have gun oil if i need it. thanks again

[Swampman]

I prefer olive oil or Break Free CLP.

[bubba]

I bought a 5 gallon bucket add the water and poof situation remedied. All are happy. Hot soapy water is the only way a sfar as I am concerned to really get them clean

[Graybeard]

The ONLY thing I've ever used is hot soapy water. Heat the water as hot as possible and use regular dishwashing soap. Like Brylcream a little dab will do ya.

Stick barrel in a five gallon bucket of the hot soapy mix muzzle up and nipple out. Use a rod and jag with patch so it fits fairly tightly in barrel. Run it back and forth pulling the water into the barrel and it will clean all the crud out. Do it again with clear clean hot water and set it aside a couple minutes to dry. That's why the water needs to be hot the heat will quickly dry it.

Get some oil or your favorite preservative in it quickly. I failed to once when I went to eat before oiling and had light surface rust when I got back 30 minutes or so later. Never leave it longer than needed for the heat to dry it off before oiling.

It's cheap and effective. Pyrodex is all I've ever shot in mine.

[anweis]

i have alot of bore butter that i bought on clearence, will it be ok to use as a barrel protectant after cleaning with windex?

Every time i used bore butter as a protectant it messed up my groups and the point of impact. Yes, i did clean before firing. At the range, i have met several people with similar experience. When using bore butter, the rifle needed 5 shots or so and cleaning before getting back to any grouping on the bull. At the range, i soak the bore with Windex (actually a cheaper version). When i get home i use hot water with dish detergent - in a bucket. After drying, i run a few patches of Remington oil and leave the bore oiled. My rifle is in a moist basement, no problem whatsoever if oiled properly. The bonus is that i only need two dry patches to remove the oil before firing , and the rifle will be dead on. Remington oil dries and leaves a protective film on metal. I would not go hunting with bore butter residue in a 1:28" twist bore. I have no rust problem hunting with a dry clean bore after oiling it with Rem oil, even after 10 moist or wet days in the field.

[oldfart]

thanks to everyone, i went today and got me some windex with vineger i will use it as well as a bucket of hot soapy water. my wife said since i was gonna use a bucket i could set it in the bath tub, but to dump the water outside. i'm gonna use the windex to clean my breech plug area, i have a inline and when i draw the water up in the barrel it does'nt clean the threads at the top as well as the barrel. the windex should take care of anything i didn't get with the water. if bore butter ain't really good what do ya'll recomend for a barrel oil after cleaning? thanks again

[anweis]

Remington Oil in a green and yellow spray can. Just make sure the metal is clean and dry before oiling.