What should I be cleaning my ML with?

[Furner]

I cant really find a good answer anywhere of what is ok to use. I have plenty of Hoppes #9 solvent, which I use on everything else. I have CLP and Slip2000 Carbon Killer, as well as FP-10. I usually use RemOil as a storage lube.

Can I use my Hoppes for my ML, or do I need to go out and get a special ML solvent? If so, is the T/C #17 good?

 

[cayuga]

First off welcome to the forum. Its good to have you here.

If you're shooting BlackHorn 209 powder then you must use a solvent to clean the rifle. Your Hoppies will work just fine for that.

If you're shooting any of the other powders, they are easy to clean. Some of the more simple cleaners..

soap and water
Windex
409 cleaner
Simple Green 1/3 strong
Butch's bore shine for black powder
Birchwood Casey #77 cleaner
isopropyl alcohol

All of them will remove powders just fine. The black powder and black powder substitutes are not hard to remove. After you're done shooting for the day, get a patch on your ramrod. Really soak that patch. Start at the breech and work that through the barrel. It will be filthy. Do another and another. Soon they will start to come out much cleaner.

This is where I change up a little maybe from others. I take the rifle to the sink now that I have the major fowling out. I pour water through the barrel. I put the breech brush starting, into the threads, put some dish soap on the brush and scrub the threads into a foamy mess. After that I pour more water over the breech threads and out the barrel to rinse the soap out. Check the threads and they are spotless 99% of the time.

I then take the barrel back and run a patch with Isopropyl alcohol through the rifle. And then start dry patching the rifle. I keep with dry patches until they are clean and dry. Then I put gun oil on a patch and swab the bore of the rifle with a quality gun oil.

After cleaning all the other parts (a old toothbrush and soap and water will clean a breech plug real well) and make sure all are dry, I oil all of those parts and put the rifle back together.

The strong solvents are needed in rifles when you believe there might be a lead, plastic, copper, build up from the sabots. Then I run a solvent patch through, and then dip a bore brush into the solvent and scrub the bore. Another bore brush, and the dry patch the barrel.

I like to work from the breech to the muzzle. That way I do not push fowling over the breech threads or into the trigger assembly. Hope this helped..

 

[Furner]

Thanks, that helps. I forgot to mention that I am using Pyrodex. I just got a used Knight BK92 and this is my first muzzleloader. So I want to make sure I am set up properly for it as I have always had modern-style firearms.

I guess Windex sounds like a really simple and cheap solution.

Am I harming anything by using Hoppes occasionally?

 

[cayuga]

Nope.. Hoppies will not harm it. It just will not remove black powder fowling any better then soap and water. Pyrodex is a good powder and should shoot real well in your knight. Be sure to swab the bore between shots and you should be all set.

 

[hjbuys]

Great response Cayuga. Thanks for the tips. Off to clean the gun again!