Best Muzzleloader cleaning procedure

[jrsbows]

What would you recommend for a cleaning procedure solvent or whatever you use also do you did anything special for storage that works better

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[Idaholewis]

First off, Welcome to the Forum!!

What kind of Muzzleloader do you shoot? What powder? Water is all that is needed to clean Blackpowder, and a little dish soap (optional) Solvent? Nah! No need
When the Bore is Bone Dry Use a Quality Gun Oil and coat everything Good, Nothing to it!

If you scroll down to the Sidelock section i have a YouTube video on Cleaning a Sidelock Muzzleloader, Lots of good info in that Thread to keep your Muzzleloader in tip top shape :yeah:

 

[edmehlig]

First off, Welcome to the Forum!!

What kind of Muzzleloader do you shoot? What powder? Water is all that is needed to clean Blackpowder, and a little dish soap (optional) Solvent? Nah! No need
When the Bore is Bone Dry Use a Quality Gun Oil and coat everything Good, Nothing to it!

If you scroll down to the Sidelock section i have a YouTube video on Cleaning a Sidelock Muzzleloader, Lots of good info in that Thread to keep your Muzzleloader in tip top shape :yeah:

I’ll second that!!! Plus if you shoot a sidekick look at Lew’s video on preparing your sidelock for hunting.

 

[jrsbows]

I shoot inline muzzleloaders I use Blackhorn 209 I have a Thompson Center pro hunter FX and a Thompson Center Omega. Reason why I asked it seems every time I come to take my Muzzleloader out to the range again there's some slight rust here and there

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[Idaholewis]

I shoot inline muzzleloaders I use Blackhorn 209 I have a Thompson Center pro hunter FX and a Thompson Center Omega. Reason why I asked it seems every time I come to take my Muzzleloader out to the range again there's some slight rust here and there

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I am not familiar with your inline Rifles, But If you are absolutely sure that you are getting your Rifles THOROUGHLY clean after shooting them, And BONE DRY before oiling them. I would be switching brands of Oil that you are using to Store/Protect with.

 

[BuckDoeHunter]

I use Hoppe’s solvent and oil, never any rust. After returning from the range or hunting, I wipe down the outside with an oily rag I keep sealed in a bag. After shooting BH209, I clean the same as any centerfire with solvent and then an oil patch.

Are your rifles blued? I’ve seen some poor blueing from TC, new rifles on the shelf with light rust on the barrels.

 

[GM54-120]

What are you currently using to clean BH209?

If you are using something water based that is part of your problem. Not getting it dry before applying oil is the other part.

 

[jrsbows]

Re: RE: Re: Best Muzzleloader cleaning procedure

What are you currently using to clean BH209?

If you are using something water based that is part of your problem. Not getting it dry before applying oil is the other part.

Yeah I never really watched as far as getting it dry before oiling so I'll try and make sure that happens. thanks guys

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[edmehlig]

One big tip I learned from Idaholewis is to use a can of Air or Air Compressor to blow out the nipple and swab the bore dry. Then fire two caps to ensure the oil is burnt off. This helps to ensure the powder does not get contaminate or the Oil seeps into your #11 or Musket cap. I learned that lesson the hard way. Luckily I scored later on that day after I unclogged the nipple to my breech plug.

 

[GM54-120]

Re: RE: Re: Best Muzzleloader cleaning procedure

What are you currently using to clean BH209?

If you are using something water based that is part of your problem. Not getting it dry before applying oil is the other part.

Yeah I never really watched as far as getting it dry before oiling so I'll try and make sure that happens. thanks guys

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We are starting to get somewhere but it didnt answer my question so i can only assume you are using a water based solvent by your response.

DONT use water based solvents with BH209. They are not recommended. Use whatever you use to clean a centerfire rifle and oil the bore with a synthetic oil for storage. No water cuts way down on any chance of rust.

Try Ballistol if you need a solvent for multiple uses. Its been around since almost the invention of smokeless powder. It was made to clean organic and nitro based fouling. BH209 contains both but its mainly nitro based.

 

[jimmycrockett85]

i have been taught to use hot hot water and dawn dish soap. scrub it all down and air dry. i use lucas gun oil on all external and moving parts. once the barrel is dry i was told to run cloth with bore butter down it but i have since learned that the butter is low quality and wont do me any favors. i will have to find something else as a shot lube/barrel protectant, any suggestions

 

[GM54-120]

If i was cleaning with soap and water.....After running a dry patch i would use something that displaces water and/or makes it evaporate quickly. WD40 or rubbing alcohol work well for removing small amounts of water. Run a dry patch again then apply your storage oil.

Synthetic oils without teflon and mineral oil based products like Ballistol or Montanna Extreme are fine for real black and subs. They wont create any "goo" like you may get from petroleum based products. Any lube though should at least get a quick dry swab before shooting again.

If you are gunna do a good swabbing before shooting again then look into WD40 Specialist Long-Term Corrosion Inhibitor. This aint your normal WD and extremely good for preventing rust.

 

[treepotato]

For pretty much all my guns after a range session I brush a lot with solvents, rinse the debris out with a quick blast of brake cleaner, and patches then quickly come out clean and dry. A lightly oiled patch or bore snake seals it up. Will probably continue to do the same with a new inline since it's quick and effective.

A parallel question, if y'all don't mind me asking: what about swabbing between shots when shooting BH209? Is it good to use Windex, alcohol, etc, to cut the grime quickly before dry patches? I noticed while doing load testing yesterday after 10 shots with BH209 my groups were expanding. They tightened up after swabbing a lot of dry patches, but it took a lot to get back to a semi-clean bore. Using some kind of wet patch would help I'd think, even though the BH209 website says to not swab between shots.

 

[GM54-120]

Is there a chance your groups were getting larger because the barrel was warming too much? Ive never run into needing to swab when shooting sabots and BH209.

I think Bestill recommended 50/50 Hoppes and 91% rubbing alcohol for swabbing between shots.

 

[treepotato]

Re: RE: Re: Best Muzzleloader cleaning procedure

Is there a chance your groups were getting larger because the barrel was warming too much? Ive never run into needing to swab when shooting sabots and BH209.

I think Bestill recommended 50/50 Hoppes and 91% rubbing alcohol for swabbing between shots.

I don't think the barrel was getting warm; based on what I've read here I paid attention to it. I measured loads on a scale between shots, taking my time and chatting a lot with a few guys at the range. I took about 20 shots over 3 hours. It was 40 degrees out, and the barrel always felt cool before loading the next shot. I suppose the interior of the barrel may have retained a little heat, but it had to be minor.

50/50 Hoppes and alcohol... I'll give that a try, it sounds like a good way to cut the residue quickly.

At the end I managed to get 1.1 inch 3 shot groups at 100 yards, so I'm pretty happy overall with the gun and knowledge I've picked up here. (69 gr by weight of BH209, Hornady 240 gr 45 cal XTPs, and Harvester black crushrib sabots)

 

[MSalyards]

Absolutely no reason to swab between shots when using BH209. I do clean my breech plug after about 8 shots. I have shot over 40 rounds without swabbing the barrel using BH209 with no problems.

 

[treepotato]

Re: RE: Re: Best Muzzleloader cleaning procedure

Absolutely no reason to swab between shots when using BH209. I do clean my breech plug after about 8 shots. I have shot over 40 rounds without swabbing the barrel using BH209 with no problems.

Maybe the breech plug getting dirty was the issue. I'll focus more on keeping it clean and less on barrel swabbing and see how it goes. (BP is the CVA one for use with BH209)

 

[MSalyards]

Should work for ya. I'm shooting 77 weighed gr of Blackhorn behind a 300 gr Deep Curl in a Harvester black crushrib sabot. 1.5 at 80 yds with peep sites and getting better. The gun shoots better than I can. CVA Accura v2 PR.

 

[sabotloader]

Once again I am the Renegade - non-norm person here.... I so use one water/ammonia based product for bore cleaning when shooting BH-209. Have been for several years.

BH is really a smokeless powder and wit smokeless you really do not need or want a water based product... But, BH does contain both Sulphur and Potassium (need to qualify the powder as a black powder sub). Granted not in the amount as used in real BP or other subs. Both of these substances really water soluble. Both of these substances dissolve and are easily removed with water and are the two substances that can/will cause rust/corrosion in the breech or the bore. Through may years of cleaning I have found that regular 'blue Windex' with ammonia does a great job in neutralizing and removing those two rusters. Ammonia is a natural metal stripper and excellent cleaner for roving the harmful portions of BH209.

With that said this picture attempts to show you my normal bore cleaning routine

Do not forget to clean the breech area and the breech plug.

 

[treepotato]

Re: RE: Re: RE: Re: Best Muzzleloader cleaning procedure

Absolutely no reason to swab between shots when using BH209. I do clean my breech plug after about 8 shots. I have shot over 40 rounds without swabbing the barrel using BH209 with no problems.

Maybe the breech plug getting dirty was the issue. I'll focus more on keeping it clean and less on barrel swabbing and see how it goes. (BP is the CVA one for use with BH209)

Should work for ya. I'm shooting 77 weighed gr of Blackhorn behind a 300 gr Deep Curl in a Harvester black crushrib sabot. 1.5 at 80 yds with peep sites and getting better. The gun shoots better than I can. CVA Accura v2 PR.

Yeah, I think it was more breech plug debris and less bore issues. Here's a 10 shot string at 100 yards.

After shooting a bunch of 777 pellets (using them up...) and cleaning the barrel, I took two shots to see where the scope was at, adjusted the scope and took 8 more shots. Load was 60 gr by weight BH209 and 300 gr XTPs. I pulled the breech plug at 5 shots to scrape it out. This seems to keep the gun happy.