Cleaning primer fouling off the breech plug?

[Bruce in WV]

I’m new to in-line rifles and looking for answers to problems you folks are adept at solving.
For example: the 209 primer leaves a heavy, caked on residue on the hammer end of the breech plug in my American Knight 50 cal. I’ve been soaking it in Hoppes #9 and scrubbing with a hard brush to remove it. It takes more time to clean the nipple and recess than the rest of the whole rifle and barrel! Is there a better way to do it?

 

[smokepolehall]

Crud, i clean mine with Dawn detergent n a bit of water. I also pre-coat my B plug with good grease just on threads.

 

[MrTom]

What powder are you shooting Bruce? Oh, and welcome to Modern Muzzleloader!

 

[ElDiablo]

A drill bit for the carbon in the flash channel, pipe cleaners, stainless brush, Zep Orange cleaner, Simple Green or Carb Cleaner - are all helpful.

 

[Bruce in WV]

“What powder are you shooting Bruce?”

I’ve experimented with Swiss, T7, and American Pioneer. I’m going to settle on T7 2Fg for long term use: good accuracy, decent velocity with 90-100 grV loads, and easy clean-up.
The primer fouling appears to be the same with all of them.

 

[MrTom]

T7 granular in FFg is a good powder once you learn to get along with the crud ring. It is as close to BH209 as you can get performance-wise and in the field is a dependable powder as long as some precautions are taken if it is extremely wet weather. Use a drill bit to clean the flash channel out every 10-15 shots as mentioned by ElDiablo.

 

[Okie Hog]

My breech plugs are sprayed with Windex with vinegar, now Multi-Purpose cleaner, and cleaned with a toothbrush. Takes 3-4 minutes to clean breech plug and drill out the flash channel.

 

[BigBoresmokepole]

“What powder are you shooting Bruce?”

I’ve experimented with Swiss, T7, and American Pioneer. I’m going to settle on T7 2Fg for long term use: good accuracy, decent velocity with 90-100 grV loads, and easy clean-up.
The primer fouling appears to be the same with all of them.

I use contact cleaner. Electro-clean it works good get the plug out and clean it while it's out don't spray that while installed in gun it will wreck stocks of all kinds get proper size drill bits for the flame channel and primer pocket.

 

[rugerbh103]

I have a bunch of the Knight plunger guns, still my favorites. Like others here, I let the plug soak in windex while I do the rest of the gun. I use a tooth brush and Q-tips to get the gunk out.

 

[Bruce in WV]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I’m headed to the range tomorrow and will try the Windex trick when I clean up.

 

[sabotloader]

Breech Cleaning

Bolt and Breech Plug dip, using hot water and Zep

A really good cleaning fluid to help

Tools I use

Cleaning and clearing the BP port in the barrel

BP Flash Channel Cleaning with a 5/32" drill bit for a Knight

Do not use anything metal to push through the flash hole. It erodes fast enough without helping it along with a metal insert.

I use a metal tooth brush tool to clean the threads of the BP and simple old Q tips to clean the primer pocket after soaking.

 

[Bruce in WV]

Wow, that’s a really helpful post. Pictures are great help!
I’ll add one more: After digesting all the advice here, I still needed a good way to clean the firing pin recess on the face of the hammer. After surveying my small, home workshop for inspiration, I decided to modify a small Dremel brass/bronze brush to fit into the firing pin recess on the face of the hammer (unmodified and modified brushes in the picture for comparison). It quickly cleans the primer fouling after soaking that end of the hammer in the cleaner. To make it, I chucked an unmodified brush into a drill and ran it against a grinding wheel until it fitted perfectly. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES WHEN GRINDING THE WIRES ON THE BRUSH!!!
I use it in a Dremel or standard drill. Works great!