cleaning your muzzleloader

[arkansas toothpick]

Im looking on how to, well clean my rifle after shooting it, but not so deep clean that it takes hours like it does my rifle, wich is verry inconvenent to take apart. so far i have used bore butter  and have kept it clean with a cooten swab and patches, i NEED SuGESins






[/quote]

[Longcruise]

Hi Toothpick, what type of rifle is it?  Assuming it's a conventional trad style ml gun, you should be able to clean it up thoroughly in 15 or 20 minutes.

I use warm, not hot, water and maybe a bit of soap and be sure it's dry by running a few dry patches through it and pour a bit of alcohol down the bore and slosh it around and then dry patch that till dry and then add some lube or protectant.  Some guys won't think about putting a petroleum product in their bore but I find a very light oil like RemOil or Eesox (spelling :? ) does no harm.

What the heck have you been doing for two hours?? :shock:

[Slamfire]

Long crusie's method will work but I like to boil my water then pump it throught the rifle, hot barrels dry faster. You can get a pair of Chinese welding golves for $3, you'll need 'em to hold onto that hot metal. A touch of Murphy's oil soap in the water helps to clean up the mess, but dish washing liquid does as well.. There are cleaning kits that attach a suction hose to your nipple hole, for rifles you don't like to dismount. Any method of keeping rust away works, but petroleum base oils don't mix well with black powder so you'll want to get them out before shooting, and alchol patch'll do.  

[Longcruise]

I cleaned with boiling water for many years and, yes it does a good job, but it also pulls moisture into the pores of the metal and sets off a rust reaction.  Matter of fact, next time you do the boiling water trick, let the barrel set for two hours without lubing it.  Then run a patch with some bp solvent down the bore and back.  Guarantee you will pull out a red patch :eek:

[robin_du_bois]

I agree with Longcruise.  Boiling or hot water left me fighting rust no matter how dry or well lubed I left my getz barrel.  I use Thompson's #13 and bore butter.  Takes a casual 20 minutes while puffing my pipe and enjoying a glass of scotch to clean the fowler stem to stern.  No more rust and it cleans faster and just as well as water.

Best of luck.

[lostid]

I side with longcruise also,
 Warm water NOT HOT, they call it "flash rust"
 I use oil in the bore for storage,,,,yet I use a break cleaner type solvent to be darn sure I have all the oil's out prior to shooting,

 A small brass brush makes short work of cleaning the exterior areas around the nipple and the nipple itself and the hammer. A toothbrush size brassbrush can be found at NAPA or about any autoparts supply for 3-4$..

Thar's a few more tricks out there toothpick,,you jus' keep readin'