Cleaning fixed plug inline

[Confederate rifleman]

Here's the way I do it and it's pretty much convinced me that fixed plug inlines are no harder to clean than removeable plugs and just might be the better design.
My rifle is a stainless Thunder Hawk .50 caliber.
Cleaning the priming area is as one would expect. Rags, q-tips and your solvent of choice. I find TC #17 does a good job.
I pull the nipple and put some solvent on a q-tip and wet the crud that accumulated at the face if the nipple. I then take a 25 caliber bore brush on a section of cleaning rod, wet it with solvent and twist it into the threads.
Now, it would've been nice it TC hadn't threaded the whole plug... But once its through, unscrew the brush and let it drop through the bore. Repeat as necessary. Take a 22 brush and put a patch on it with solvent and repeat as above until fouling is removed.
The Thunder Hawk has a cupped breech face, so I wrap a small section of solvent patch around a 45 caliber brush and push it into the breech face and twist, replacing the patch until no fouling shows.
For the bottom of the bore, I use a knurled jag so I can turn it to get the last of the fouling out of the breech face area.
Took longer to type this than it does to do it.
My Black Diamonds take longer because I have to remove the plug and clean/ lube the barrel threads. Still have to clean the nipple threads ( with a brush) and the cavity of the plug.
In short, while removable breech plugs are sometimes useful, I think they're overrated. The fixed plug designs have some advantages of their own ( nothing to cross thread, don't need replacing, seal quite well) and really don't take any longer to clean if you use the right tools.
Don't be afraid of a fixed plug rifle.

 

[ENCORE50A]

I agree. And people wanted to beat me up with the Ultimate and a non-removable breech plug.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

I'd go so far as to convert my Diamonds to a fixed, or at least semi fixed ( maybe come out once a year or so) configuration. Once the barrel shoulders start leaking, a fixed plug looks better and better

 

[munchoman]

I believe if you left a removable breech plug, in a rifle for a year dirty, you would have a heck of a time getting it out to clean

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Especially a Black Diamond factory plug. It would require a custom plug. Working on that.
Any plug is removeable, unless its welded in.
My point is that removing plugs causes wear on the plug face and barrel surface. Its somewhat less of an issue with rifles like the Black Diamonds as the plugs don't need to be replaced often. Rifles like the Omegas wear out the flame apertures after about 400 rounds. Now you have a new plug that may or may not have sealing surfaces that match up, and you get erosion of those surfaces.
A properly fitted fixed plug eliminates part of the problem. Its just not necessary to remove a plug to clean a rifle. Sometimes its nice, but not necessary.
My .50 caliber Black Diamond's plug has been in and out at least 160 times and there's erosion on the barrel shoulder. Hard to correct. In going to have a lap and fixed plug made. One for my 45 Diamond too.
All this really became clear when I got my Thunder Hawk, which is a fixed plug design. No trouble at all to clean.
Fixed plugs have worked, and worked well, for centuries. With modern manufacturing methods, materials, new powders and cleaning tools/ solvents, I see no reason for them to suddenly be obsolete. It may be an overstatement, but I think removable plugs were a solution in search of a problem.
Just a thought.

 

[ENCORE50A]

.........….Any plug is removeable, unless its welded in...…..

Yes and kind of no. With the UF, the BP threads were intentionally made of softer steel and therefore actually wedge themselves in the barrel. The 2 piece BP creates a second problem when trying to remove the BP. The nipple breaks off, then the only way to remove the remainder of the BP, is to drill it out and use an ez-out to remove the threads.
The rifle was/is easy to clean even with the breech plug fixed.

Here's my exact AND LAST, UF-OEM breech plug that Luke removed prior to installing the AGS Gen2 replacement. What appears very dark on the threads, is actually Permatex Nickle anti-seize. Even with all that amount, the BP would not come out..... on its own.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Oy!
I'm trying to come up with a fixed plug design for my Black Diamonds. A narrower plug mouth and properly bored and threaded for the nipple. The flange behind the hex would have to go as it would be nearly impossible to clean behind it.
So long as I can clean the barrel/ plug internally and the priming area properly, I'd be happy with a fixed plug.

 

[short_start]

I have to agree. The removable plug on my Black Diamond is a PITA. The ones on my System 1 are a little better, but the rest of the rifle makes up for it as far as being a PITA to clean.

With great trepidation, I bought a Firehawk 54 with a fixed breech plug. Was really worried about cleaning it with that fixed plug. Turned out to be a really nice gun and easy to clean. Of all my inlines, it's probably the favorite.

 

[Okie Hog]

My .54 Fire Hawk cleans up very nicely in 15-20 minutes.


The Black Diamond takes much longer because of the need to clean the breech plug and barrel threads.
The nipple is removed prior to removing the breech plug. The breech plug is cleaned in about three minutes by spraying with Windex with vinegar and using a tooth brush and cleaning the flame channel with a drill bit.