To Clean An Inline Muzzleloader
There have been as many pieces of correspondence inquiring about how to clean an inline muzzleloader than one might imagine. Apparently, some great mystery has been ascribed to this; though you would think that after all these years we would have figured it out by now. Though I’m hesitant to state there is only one “best” or even better way, it need not be the formidable task that some have alluded to. Also, you really don’t need any esoteric or unique concoctions—though those who sell them would rather you believe that is the case.
There are two basic types of fouling in in-line muzzleloaders: ignition-based and propellant based. The ignition-based residue is the bulk of the primer compound that coats actions, and the inside of breech plugs. The primer energetic leaves behind primarily carbon composites, which can be dealt with efficiently by various automotive carburetor and parts cleaners-- Permatex “Pro-Strength Brake & Parts Cleaner” is one specific example. The more aggressive gunmetal cleaners as Brownells “TCE” or “Gun Scrubber” work just as well, if not better. Most metal cleaners that contain trichloroethylene, used in conjunction with a bronze brush, break up the carbon crud quickly. An often-overlooked area is the internal breech plug threads of your barrel that should have the benefit of a good brushing more than most of us tend to apply it. Any light machinery oil will protect the now bare metal, though I’ve long felt that a drop or two of Breakfree CLP is the best thing you can apply as a protectant. Contingent on gun, a wipe with Breakfree around the very lightly fouled areas (perhaps the trigger group) is all you need. The worst product ever applied to guns, in my experience, is WD-40. A good irrigant, squeak stopper and penetrant, it is a very poor lubricant or protectant, with a low film strength. You are far better off with motor oil than this aromatic gun-wrecker. Though WD-40 is not the pits for everything, it is a very good way to find them in your barrel.
Water is touted as all you need for cleanup of Hodgdon’s “Triple Seven” from gun bores, though you really don’t need much more than that with blackpowder or Pyrodex. After all, spit patching between saboted projectile shots is all that is normally required, though some may be blessed with more cleansing spittle than others. A plastic pail of hot water with a few drops of laundry detergent added does the trick, just shoving your muzzle in the bucket and working your bore brush up and down a half dozen strokes is all you need. Finish with a dry patch, and then a Breakfree CLP patch (which is also a mild cleaner) and you are good to store your weapon. On the road, a bottle of any of the commercial blackpowder cleaners is handy: that, a handful of patches, your jag, and a small “to go” bottle of Breakfree is all you need. The snake oil bore butter concoctions of various animal fats and wax are better off left where they came from— the pot of rotting miscellaneous flesh and animal carcasses bubbling at your local rendering plant. The idea that your modern steel barrel can be seasoned like a cast iron skillet has no basis—unless your barrel is also cast iron, and you cook pizzas in it regularly. Some of the earlier lubricants were outstanding, like sperm whale oil. Bear grease and bacon drippings never were, but when that’s all you have, that’s the best you can do.
There are times when I wonder if the removable breech plug was invented just to give in-line muzzleloaders something to complain about? The Thompson “Hawken” breechplug is also removable, but few do—and so few carp about it. Any viscous, high temperature grease works for the fractions of a second our breech plugs see direct heat in a range session, but I’ve found Bostik “Never-Seez” and other readily available automotive “Anti-Seize” products that meet Mil-Spec 907E to be as good as can be had. Breechplugs vary by manufacturer, but the key seems to be just to be sure to coat all the threads. Triple Seven, a sugar-based propellant, has gained a reputation for causing problems in a few guns. To eliminate that problem, taking the time to crack and then retighten the breechplug after a few shots at the range will break the bond line it can form, and makes removal at the end of the day much, much easier. The “crack the plug then retighten” sequence helps in most all inlines regardless of propellant; the first time you try it you’ll be convinced as well.
The issue of plastic fouling from sabots has been overstated a bit. With the latest formulations of polyethylene, it is not the issue that is once was. Yet, depending on gun and load, I have seen it after a couple of hundred shots. Plastic solvents, such as shotgun choke tube cleaner, run through with a patch after every hundred shots or so will prevent that from becoming an issue in most cases. A metal cleaner with the warning “will harm plastics” applied to the bore also takes good care of it, as that naturally is the idea.
