Traditional Firearms > Flintlock Long Guns

Cleaning the Fusil-de-chasse

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WhiteBlanket:
My fusil-de-chasse is the first new gun I have purchased.  As a result, I am not quite sure what I need to do order to keep it clean while still "seasoning" it.

When I come home from shooting I always give a gun as thorough a cleaning as I can.  To wit:

1.  Scrub the bore with a plug of tow impregnated with water and a little bore cleaner (TOTW); I push the plug in with the wiping stick and pull it out by a string.  (The touchhole is first sealed with a toothpick).  I do this a couple of times, washing the black off my tow with fresh water and my fingers.

2.  Fill the barrel several times with hot water, shake it back and forth, and repeat until the water pours out all clean.

3.   Dry the bore with a double-patched cleaning jag until no trace of black remains and I have a clean patch.  Set gun in corner to dry, muzzle down.    In the meantime I clean the lock and the outside of the barrel with a wet patch, then dry.  If it is determined gunk yet inside, I add some Ballistol and water on a wet patch, and then dry again till clean.

4. Dry-swab again. Finish by running an oiled patch of Ballistol down the bore on the cleaning jag.

Now, my problems are these:

A.  I bought a bore scraper recently.  I noticed that when I tried using it in the corner of the breech-end bore, I got a bit of black gunk off the blade, maybe the size of a round-headed sewing pin. This is AFTER I got a clean patch from the gun. I imagine the stuff is stuck in the corner between the bore and the breech plug  and my patches are not getting absolutely EVERYTHING, although I doubt it is very acidic after all that washing.  Is there anything I am doing wrong, and how often should I use the bore scraper?

B.  I notice two kinds of residue in my gun barrel.  The first is the blue-black-green gunk, which I believe to be fouling.  I clean that out as described above until my dry patches come out clean.  The second type is that which I notice, when after getting a clean patch before oiling the gun, the oiling patch ( pure Ballistol) comes out with a bit of warm brown color.  I notice it again when I take the gun out the next day to shoot and run a dry patch to remove excess oil before shooting. The brown marks feel and smell of oil; I smell no sulpherous scent as I do on what I know is fouling.   I don't think it IS fouling - the color is wrong:  is this  the "seasoning" people talk about? Is it RUST!!!?????   Do I have a problem?  Should I be doing anything different?

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

Gratefully,
WhiteBlanket

Riley/MN:
From the little bit I have used ballistol, I don't think you can clean the bore enough that a ballistol patch will not come out with some brown on it. I don't know that it is removing the seasoning, but it sure picks up something...

Mitch:
plug touch-hole...fill barrel with water(I use it right from the tap or crick)-let it sit for "awhile"...dump it, a few patches to clean, lube it with bear grease..done

WhiteBlanket:
So I suppose I am just being obsessive-compulsive and neurotic about all this? :lol:

Sir Michael:
WhiteBlanket, the only thing I might add is that I've found it of use to fold up a cleaning patch with cleaner on it (water or what ever) and push it down the barrel to the breach.  Then I put the breach scraper on my cleaning rod and run it down the barrel.  At this point you may want to remove the plug from the touch hole.  I then rotate the rod and patch.  The blade on the scraper does a good job of holding the wadded up patch and rotates it against the breach face and the inside of barrel.  I then remove the patch with my patch puller.  If there is a lot of stuff on the patch I may do it again.  After I've dried the barrel with patches I perform the same action with a dry patch.   :hey-hey  :toast  

Keep throw'n that lead.

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