I'll preface this by saying that I am almost exclusively an 18th century guy and I presently only shoot a smoothbore. But I do have a rifle in my future.
This may have been covered in some way in the past, but I couldn't find anything on the forum. Basically, I wonder how the early longrifle hunters and even the smoothbore homesteader, cleaned their flinters when not at home?
The same way they did when they WERE at home.
Using a tow worm (looks like a wire hangar bent into a tornado shape). Tow worms were available throughout the colonies from stores and from Indian traders.
The larger end was turned onto the end of the wood ramrod. The smaller end had a wad of tow (the leftover fibers from the linen-making process. Looks like really fine straw.) twisted into it.
Flush your barrel with warm water and run this wad of fiber up and down the barrel a few times. Flush again. Repeat as needed. May have to replace the wad of tow. It's easier with a smoothbore as you don't have all the grooves to hold fouling, but the whole process may take 15 minutes.
Soldiers and those others with metal ramrods had a worm that had a female threaded base to fit on the male threaded end on the ramrod.
Also, how much, and what do you carry in your possibles bag when you are going hunting for the day and maybe overnight?
Well, I don't have a possibles bag, but I do have a few shot pouches/shot bags.
In my main one, I have a small pouch of #6 shot, about 25 .600" balls, some tow for wadding and cleaning, a tow worm, small rag (like 3"x3") and a few flints. That's it for a day, night or week. Anything else I need is carried somewhere else.
Shot pouches of the 18th century were mighty small. The earlier known ones (none can be definitively dated to the 18th century, but there are some good candidates) are 7"x7" or so, single pocket. Not a whole lot of room there.
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As for soldiers:
"It should be insisted on, that a soldier at all times keeps his arms in such a state of perfection, as never to be ashamed to shew [show] them- by having the inside of the lock well oiled, the outside of it (even to the smallest screw-pin) with the barrel, brasses and bayonet, not only clean and bright, but highly polished."
Capt. Bennett Cuthbertson-
A System for the Compleat Interior Management and Economy of a Battallion of Infantry, 1776
"...taking [the barrel] out of the stock and putting the breech in water, leaving the touch-hole open; then with an iron ramrod and worm, with a piece of toe [tow] or rag, draw up and down the barrel till it becomes quite clean; when dry, rub it with another piece of rag, and the outside of the barrel with buff leather [to polish]."
Thomas Simes,
A Military Medley, 1768
Soldiers in the British Army were issued "sweet oil" aka., olive oil and brick dust to polish the steel on their muskets.
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While some guns were freshed out due to rust, I think most were simply worn down. Gun barrels were not made of the same steels they are today and were much softer, metallurgically speaking.
And to that some rifles that were bored out smooth simply because it was more practical at the time.
Rifles were quite expensive at the time. Up to 6 months wages in some cases. Something that expensive and that meant the difference between eating or not eating, killing an enemy or being killed, IMHO was taken care of. Used to death, maybe, but taken care of.
Mario
