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Q:
Just bought my 1st muzzle loader, I have someone to teach me the basics on shooting, but he told me to clean my rifle before I get there. I know you're suppossed to use soapy water but can anyone give me more instructions on properly cleaning it.
Question by herbie57_57. Uploaded on October 27, 2009
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Answers (8)
This site might help.
I do this on occasion with my cap lock, but usually just clean it out with Patches and gun cleaner.
If you use the soapy water method make shure you dry and re- oil evrything well!
Hope this helps welcome to the world of muzzle loading
http://atvconnection.com/Departments/Hunting_Farming/Cleaning-Your-Black...
An old timer told me to treat the barrel with lard, never oil. What did the first black powder shooters use to treat their guns? Lard. It cooks into the barrel just as grease cooks into a cast iron skillet, creating a non stick surface. I've treated each of my muzzleloaders with lard and they all still look new. clean with hot soapy water, then treat the entire gun, inside and out with lard. Its cheap and sold in the butter isle at your super market.
Soap and water is for the end of the season.
You'll be fine with a "gun cleaner"/patches.
Make sure you snap a few caps after you do !
Then you should be ready to sight in. then hunt.
Welcome to the "family" !
Mix 1 cup each of Murphys oil soap, denatured alcohol and hydrogen peroxide and shake. Store in the peroxide bottle. To clean away the crud dip a patch in this and run it down your bore, follow with dry patches then oil. Rarely does it take 2 patches to loosen BP crud. Treat your bore with Ultraborecoat and it will be even easier to clean. I use UBC on all my guns, arrows and broadheads. UBC leaves a hard invisible shield that prevents rust and leaves metal feeling dry and smooth. Arrows absolutely will not chatter after coating and are much easier to remove from targets.
Just make sure, now and in the future, you have solvents specific for black powder and you always finish off the task with these, lard, TC bore butter, etc. These sorts of products will coat the barrel and protect it. I typically pour hot water down the barrel as a first step, then use the other products to ensure no water resides to rust while not in use.
I leave the barrel on the stove, on low obviously, an hour or so to make durn sure it dries out. This after patches come out dry.
If it is a new gun check the directions. It might have a corrosion preventative on the gun that is best removed with gun oil. Then use solvent to get rid of all the oil inside the bore. Then dry patch to get the solvent out.
After shooting, my traditional muzzleloader usually justs need hot soap and water to clean the bore. After that, bore butter inside and out. On the modern, which gets sabots, I use soap and water for the powder and modern solvents for the plastic residue, if necessary. The bluing gets oiled and the bore gets light oil for storage (I patch it dry before shooting). All the threads get anti-seize lube.
At the range I use Windex or spit on a patch between shots.
Post an Answer
This site might help.
I do this on occasion with my cap lock, but usually just clean it out with Patches and gun cleaner.
If you use the soapy water method make shure you dry and re- oil evrything well!
Hope this helps welcome to the world of muzzle loading
http://atvconnection.com/Departments/Hunting_Farming/Cleaning-Your-Black...
An old timer told me to treat the barrel with lard, never oil. What did the first black powder shooters use to treat their guns? Lard. It cooks into the barrel just as grease cooks into a cast iron skillet, creating a non stick surface. I've treated each of my muzzleloaders with lard and they all still look new. clean with hot soapy water, then treat the entire gun, inside and out with lard. Its cheap and sold in the butter isle at your super market.
Soap and water is for the end of the season.
You'll be fine with a "gun cleaner"/patches.
Make sure you snap a few caps after you do !
Then you should be ready to sight in. then hunt.
Welcome to the "family" !
Mix 1 cup each of Murphys oil soap, denatured alcohol and hydrogen peroxide and shake. Store in the peroxide bottle. To clean away the crud dip a patch in this and run it down your bore, follow with dry patches then oil. Rarely does it take 2 patches to loosen BP crud. Treat your bore with Ultraborecoat and it will be even easier to clean. I use UBC on all my guns, arrows and broadheads. UBC leaves a hard invisible shield that prevents rust and leaves metal feeling dry and smooth. Arrows absolutely will not chatter after coating and are much easier to remove from targets.
Just make sure, now and in the future, you have solvents specific for black powder and you always finish off the task with these, lard, TC bore butter, etc. These sorts of products will coat the barrel and protect it. I typically pour hot water down the barrel as a first step, then use the other products to ensure no water resides to rust while not in use.
I leave the barrel on the stove, on low obviously, an hour or so to make durn sure it dries out. This after patches come out dry.
If it is a new gun check the directions. It might have a corrosion preventative on the gun that is best removed with gun oil. Then use solvent to get rid of all the oil inside the bore. Then dry patch to get the solvent out.
After shooting, my traditional muzzleloader usually justs need hot soap and water to clean the bore. After that, bore butter inside and out. On the modern, which gets sabots, I use soap and water for the powder and modern solvents for the plastic residue, if necessary. The bluing gets oiled and the bore gets light oil for storage (I patch it dry before shooting). All the threads get anti-seize lube.
At the range I use Windex or spit on a patch between shots.
Post an Answer