Barrel Seasoning

[dennyhawk]

I'm sure this topic has been discussed many times in the past, but just to bring up a dead horse, what do you people think about this idea?
Personally, I don't believe in it! I would think that the "seasoning" would eventually fill the rifling, and mess up your accuracy!
Right now I am doing my best to get this crud out of an old New Englander that I own. I bought the rifle when I first started muzzle loading, and at the time bought into the seasoning theory.
Any Ideas on how to get it out of there???

Thanks

[BEAVERMAN]

Denny, after scrubbing the heck out of it with a good cleaner and bore brush, you might try either plugging the flash hole or covering the nipple water tight, then fill the barrel with hydrogen peroxide, like ya get at your local drug store, let that work for 15 mins then dump and flush well with hot water, i do this 3 times ayear on the rifles I shoot often, you'll be amazed at the crud that boils to the top as the peroxide works and it also does a bang up job with cleaning out the breech! no longer than 15 mins though, else it may start to eat at the steel! when your done oil the crap out of it and let sit overnight , then dry patch out and oil as normal.as always, your mileage may vary.

[dennyhawk]

That won't mess up the bore like bleach would does it?

[Uncle Russ]

My personal feeling, and I have no proof, is that "seasoning" is done on iron, and not on todays modern steels.

I actually think that those of us who bought into the seasoning theory were actually removing little minor manufacturing imperfections from the barrel through repeated shootings and cleanings....I don't think, even for a minute, that we season a barrel in much the same way we season an iron skillet.

Now for the meat of your problem...removing "gunk" from a rifle barrel can certainly be a chore, and not an easy one.

I use a brass brush and Kroil, from Kano. Then I use Hoppe's, and lots of it. I have found, over the years, that repeated, good, indepth, cleanings as I just mentioned, will, in all probability, clean up a barrel that seems at first to be a total waste.

You don't necessarily have to clean it until it squeaks the first, or even second time. But if you will agressively attack that barrel each time you shoot it, you will eventually see a big difference.  

And, of course, you can't forget the grease, elbow grease, and don't use it sparingly.
Also, don't forget, you're dealing with a piece of steel, and steel can sometimes be as tough as.....well, as tough as steel.

I'm sure others have methods that work quite well too, and I'm equally sure you're going to get a few more opinions.
Either way, good luck on getting the barrel clean.

Uncle Russ...

[BEAVERMAN]

That won't mess up the bore like bleach would does it?

Denny, it is caustic, but.... no where near as caustic as bleach, thats why the 15 min time limit and flush well with lots of hot water, Ive been doing this for years on my traditions and T/C's and have had no problems with pitting of the steel, if you seasoned it with bore butter or some other grease, I would think that lots and lots of boiling water dumped through the tube would also help melt that goo out of it!

[dennyhawk]

My G.P.R. is still my favorite rifle, but I just can't see letting the New Englander go like that............it's really a GREAT rifle!!!!....what ever it takes!

[nessy357]

I'm thinkin' the same as you Russ, you can season a cast iron frying pan, because cast is porous, ask anyone who's tried to weld an engine block ?
I also clean my rifle like the Beav does, I like to wrap a cleaning patch around a wire brush, works "slicker than deer guts on a doorknob"
Cheers Bob.

[Voyageur]

 "Doc"

[Frank]

Hey guys...About 45 years ago, when I first was introduced to muzzleloading by a junior high school math teacher, he taught me the following cleaning procedure.....Remove the barrel from the stock and remove the nipple from the drum. Using the hottest water that you can stand, add in some Spic and Spam and let it disolve. Place the breach end in the water and with a wet patch, swab out the barrel. As you shove the ram rod to the breach and pull it back toward the muzzle, it will pull the hot water and spic and span into the barrel and back out, through the drum. The barrel will get so hot that you might have to hold it with a towel or wear a glove. The water will turn black, so rinse with clean hot water. When the water comes out clean, remove from the water, wipe it off and the heat from the barrel will dry the water up. Oil the bore with what ever oil you use and it will be squeaky clean.......Another thing I have learned over the years if the gun will be stored away for awhile, oil it with motor oil. This will kling to the bore, just like in your engine and will not let rust form...Try this and you will be pleased with the results and it is somewhat cheaper than all of those cleaners and lubes from the gun store.......Frank

[Three Hawks]

My preferred method of cleaning is to sit quietly at camp with a basin of hot water and all cotton 2" flannel  patches at hand.  I soak a patch in water, wipe and rinse out barrel until the patch comes out clean.  Then I wipe with dry patches until they come out dry.   Then I take one last clean patch, coat it heavily with 1000 Wonder Lube and wipe an even coat into the bore.  I've been doing it this way for fifteen years and my rifle's bore is clean, 'n I can shoot all afternoon without wiping and accuracy's fine.  

What I've learned is that everyone's method works.  I like mine as it works for me.  

I arrived at my method because my rifle, a T-C Hawken had a nasty little idiosyncrasy.  After five or six shots it would develop a tight place in the bore eight inches or so down from the muzzle.  Nothing short of a complete clean would allow a patched ball to pass without a mallet to the ramrod.   I was hunting one year with a good friend who is a damn good auto mechanic who had a Traditions rifle that patterned about 15" at 50 yds and we were taking about these rifles around the fire after supper.  

He rustled around in the junk locker in his pickup and found a tube of fine grade valve grinding compound.  As both of us had rifle barrels that couldn't be damaged, we both made up very tight wet patches, loaded 'em with valve grinding compound and made complete passes the full length of both bores with the gritty patches until the resistance felt uniform the full length of the bores.

I did two patch set-ups, Lee did four, the first three set-ups, the rifling cut his patch. We came to the conclusion it was burrs on the rifling.  The next morning we each fired test shots to see what  happened and satisfy ourselves we had cleared up our problems.  My rifle has never had that tight spot since, his began to shoot into a 4" circle at 50 yards.  Not bench rest accuracy, but it improved that pot iron from trade goods to a good useable rifle.  Both of us use different cleaning methods, and both of our rifles still shoot well.  

Do I recommend using valve grinding compound in your rifle bore?  Lord no, unless it is so bad the bore cannot be damaged.  I got a bad problem solved, Lee got an unusable cheap rifle shooting well.  All for the price of an hour of messing with muzzleloaders.  

Anyway, shortly after that I read the British Army's official method of cleaning muzzleloading rifles and muskets that used only wetted patches until the patches came out clean, then drying the bore until the patches came out dry, then wiping the bore with sperm oil, goose grease or bear grease, as available.  As sperm oil and goose grease are right out and bear grease is difficult for me to come by,  I wipe my muzzleloading bores with 1000 Wonder Lube.  Because I have a lot of it and like the smell.  I've also used automatic transmission fluid as it's synthetic sperm oil.  It works well, too.

Your mileage, as always, may vary.

Gabby ol'

Three Hawks

[Ohio Joe]

Thompson Center claimed that their Bore Butter "seasoned" the bore when used and it was not necessary to clean between shots or immediately after shooting.

They also claimed that if you used a petroleum based cleaner it would break down the seasoning that the Bore Butter supposedly introduced.

Though I like and use the bore butter as a patch lube, I agree with Russ on the seasoning question, and I never wait to clean my rifles after I'm finished shooting.  

Once the bore is clean and dry I oil it with Sheath Oil (which has a small petroleum base) and I have never had a problem with any of my rifle bores.

I don't believe the Bore Butter ever "seasoned" any of my rifle bore's,,, but I do believe that Thompson Center more then likely helped to put many a rifle bore's on the road to ruin with their claim of using the Bore Butter and their suggested poor cleaning practices of waiting to clean your rifle's bore.  I expect some folks took TC at their word with the BB product and seldom cleaned their bore's and helped in the possibility of ruining these bore's.

I'd suggest to keep scrubbing your bore until it is clean an dry - then give it a coat of oil.  As I said, I like the Sheath Oil.

[Three Hawks]

Thompson Center claimed that their Bore Butter "seasoned" the bore when used and it was not necessary to clean between shots or immediately after shooting.

They also claimed that if you used a petroleum based cleaner it would break down the seasoning that the Bore Butter supposedly introduced.

Though I like and use the bore butter as a patch lube, I agree with Russ on the seasoning question, and I never wait to clean my rifles after I'm finished shooting.  

Once the bore is clean and dry I oil it with Sheath Oil (which has a small petroleum base) and I have never had a problem with any of my rifle bores.

I don't believe the Bore Butter ever "seasoned" any of my rifle bore's,,, but I do believe that Thompson Center more then likely helped to put many a rifle bore's on the road to ruin with their claim of using the Bore Butter and their suggested poor cleaning practices of waiting to clean your rifle's bore.  I expect some folks took TC at their word with the BB product and seldom cleaned their bore's and helped in the possibility of ruining these bore's.

I'd suggest to keep scrubbing your bore until it is clean an dry - then give it a coat of oil.  As I said, I like the Sheath Oil.

I had a bad family incident  a few years back resulting in leaving my T-C Hawken uncleaned for over six months. I had just shot seventy rounds at a  Rondy with only the Wonder Lube 1000 on my patches.  The rifle stood dirty in the rack six months or more before I could get to it.  It cleaned easily and there was no damage.  The time was from late September until mid April or thereabouts.   I dunno about other's experience, but they made a believer out of me so far as WL1000 goes.  Winter in Western Washington is not the dry season, either.

Your mileage, as always, may vary.

Three Hawks

[dennyhawk]

I do like Bore butter for oiling my M.L.s after cleaning,and have been using it as a patch lube too.
If a feller don't want to burn this stuff in his rifle or otherwise lubricate with it, what are the other alternatives? In other words, what else should I be using for patch lube???
Or is it o.k to go ahead and use it so long as I give my rifles a good scrubbing after shooting?

[oomcurt]

Hi Denny,

Just my two cents on all this..... I think most everyone has thier own "favorite" patch lube. So I doubt if one could ever get everyone to agree on just one. That said....I use Bore Butter/Wonderlube/ and I think there is another name for it as well....but...I use it in the winter. The reason being...it doesn't get gummy or like glue...meaning it doesn't thicken up. In the summer I use Hoppe's #9 Plus. When it gets hot outside Bore Butter is like...well...butter left out in the sun. Now as for using Bore Butter as a lube...from what I have heard...not a good idea, it appears to not really coat well. Maybe if one lived in a area where the humidity was very low it would be alright..I donno for sure. Regarding that "build up" one hears about after using bore butter for a long time...I never experienced that. However...every so often I do use a wire brush to scrub the barrel with. Along with hot water. Hope this helps somewhat.

All the Best,
Curt

[Uncle Russ]

Tens of thousand of folks use Bore Butter, or its present equivalent.
And, the majority of them are very happy with the results.

I have always been told that if there is a problem with using Bore Butter as a "final barrel lube", it is the fact that Bore Butter / Wonder Lube 1000 / or whatever, will actually hold moisture, if the bore is not perfectly dry after the initial cleaning.

If any moisture is left, anywhere in the barrel, Bore Butter will actually cover it up without removing it.....when allow to sit for any length of time, rust will form where the moisture was "under" the Bore Butter.

Trying to completely remove the moisture is the reason many folks will clean, or at least throughly wipe their rifle a second time, a day or two after it was fired and cleaned the first time.

Uncle Russ...