Clean your guns!

[Nit Wit]

My cousin had me come to his shop and unload a wood stocked T/C Thunder Hawk. I pulled the jacketed bullet and sabot and then flushed the bore with hot water. Cleaned the bore! It looks like a sewer pipe. I can clean it up but I'm pretty sure it will be pitted. Whatever you use for a powder charge, you need to clean and maintain your firearms.
Nit Wit

 

[BlackPowderGuy (AJHS)]

What did you pull the bullet and sabot with?

 

[deermanok]

Amen to that.

 

[quake]

It's a shame to neglect such a fine rifle.

 

[JIMYJAC]

Some people just plain do not take care of their firearms. Does not matter if it`s a muzzleloader ,rifle or shotgun. They use it and it goes back in the case dirty or wet. Preach to them all you want just does not seem to matter. Then after the damage is done they bring it to you. They should not own them. My friends 1187 he brings it for me to clean. Last year he put it in the case damp now it`s rusty. He`s on his own. I won`t touch it.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I dont turn away my idjit buddies dirty ML and .22. He brings them to me sometimes when they "don't shoot good no more". I rag on him, tell him what an @$$hole he is, then fix them up as well as i can. Then i offer him some advice which he never follows. Then we both agree its time for him to buy a new gun, he won't. Ill see his dumb @$$ again next year. As long as we all agree that he's ruining it, its an excuse to hang out for awhile, drink beers, swap stories and covid germs, mock our bosses and wives...

 

[JIMYJAC]

I dont turn away my idjit buddies dirty ML and .22. He brings them to me sometimes when they "don't shoot good no more". I rag on him, tell him what an @$$hole he is, then fix them up as well as i can. Then i offer him some advice which he never follows. Then we both agree its time for him to buy a new gun, he won't. Ill see his dumb @$$ again next year. As long as we all agree that he's ruining it, its an excuse to hang out for awhile, drink beers, swap stories and covid germs, mock our bosses and wives...

Well I do have a soft side. I already ragged on him. If he brought it over I would clean it and chew him out again as he deserves it.

 

[bstorric]

I dont turn away my idjit buddies dirty ML and .22. He brings them to me sometimes when they "don't shoot good no more". I rag on him, tell him what an @$$hole he is, then fix them up as well as i can. Then i offer him some advice which he never follows. Then we both agree its time for him to buy a new gun, he won't. Ill see his dumb @$$ again next year. As long as we all agree that he's ruining it, its an excuse to hang out for awhile, drink beers, swap stories and covid germs, mock our bosses and wives...

Good way to get a "fixer upper" project on the cheap too. I have a buddy who is the same way... any chance your friend goes by Johnny???

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Good way to get a "fixer upper" project on the cheap too. I have a buddy who is the same way... any chance your friend goes by Johnny???

Close, Jake

 

[Nit Wit]

What did you pull the bullet and sabot with?

I used a Treso metal range rod(from Dixon's) and a 10/32 ball pulling screw. I tapped i the rod with a mallet as I turned it. I lubed the bore with CLP before pulling.
Nit Wit

 

[Nit Wit]

Some people just plain do not take care of their firearms. Does not matter if it`s a muzzleloader ,rifle or shotgun. They use it and it goes back in the case dirty or wet. Preach to them all you want just does not seem to matter. Then after the damage is done they bring it to you. They should not own them. My friends 1187 he brings it for me to clean. Last year he put it in the case damp now it`s rusty. He`s on his own. I won`t touch it.

Try some barbasol shave cream for light rust
NW

 

[10acres]

I’ve got a buddy at work that doesn‘t think he needs to clean his guns often, maybe every couple of years. His wife bought him a CVA Accura, his first muzzleloader, last year and I told him you have to clean this one every time you shoot. He kind of laughed and I told him what would happen if he didn’t, so he hasn’t even shot it yet. He told me Friday after the Optima I bought showed up that I could buy his Accura because he couldn’t commit to cleaning it every time he shot it. I just wonder sometimes.

I went into my favorite LGS a couple of months back and they showed me a muzzleloader that a guy brought in for them to clean. The barrel looked like a sewer pipe on the inside. The guy had shot it, put it away without cleaning, and then pulled it out after a couple of years and decided to shoot it. He couldn’t imagine what the problem was.

 

[Harley469]

Good info, but most of us on here are going to be cleaning those guns meticulously, it is generally going to be those that aren't on the forums that neglect them. And I have a friend like this as well. He doesn't like shooting and hunting, it is his youngest boy who is 10 years old. I have shown him how to clean his rifles but his dad basically waits until I am around (about once/month) to watch his son clean them and make sure everything is taken apart correctly, cleaned properly, and then put back together properly. What he really neglects are his pistols, which before "shooting" became so expensive they did frequently.

 

[improman]

A young guy came into my shop with his brothers inline spanish inline that he borrowed to hunt with...asked me to help him ..check it out ...get it ready for hunting.I looked at the muzzle and there was 1/8inch rustsickles.... lol around the bore...SO then i took it apart looked at it a lil closer and put the bbl in the garbage can...not saying much..he laughed ..i said yup ... i fixed it. BUY A NEW ONE and learn to use a ramrod with a cleaning jag ,,,something..anything.

 

[sheriffjohn]

As long as such folks are around, we'll have a source for parts. Last "project" gun I acquired is covered with shiny black spray paint - stock and lock-but no rust (visible).

 

[Les Harris]

Dirt and rust is a sure way to buy guns on the cheep. I do it whenever I can.

 

[ourway77]

No matter how tired after hunting if I shot my gun or it got wet it got cleaned

 

[brownisdown]

Things cost too much just to let them go to hell.Being a former marine I clean my guns more than I did in the service.I get bored abvout once a month,grab the guns,strip them,clean them then back they go til the next month.If I tag out,my guns are cleaned that same night.

 

[Jbrown69]

Things cost too much just to let them go to hell.Being a former marine I clean my guns more than I did in the service.I get bored abvout once a month,grab the guns,strip them,clean them then back they go til the next month.If I tag out,my guns are cleaned that same night.

Right on. If you want to keep a gun you got to clean it, lube it. Moisture can creep in even if stored. I also wipe and lube during off season or use and it has done well for me.

 

[AfricaDouble]

My Brother has a Thunderhawk, .54 I think… with a scope, His Inline. Sure is nice and capable for distance. We both are very meticulous about the muzzleloader cleaning immediately after shooting them, or as soon as possible.
Yet my Centerfires don’t get that treatment. They stay clean and well oiled in my Safe seperate from each other. Of course if any moisture or water comes in contact they get cleaned. However-Fouled bores of smokeless for a certain period of time is fine in my book. Especially my hunting rifles… I want them that way on opening day/ to shoot exactly the same as when sighted in. Well,many are in need of cleaning and I’ll get to them, eventually.