Maintenance ~ Trad Muzzleloaders

[Rob DiStefano]

H2O is all the "chemical" needed. Works as well today as in the 18th century. Follow up with an oil of one's choice.

Fastidious maintenance is the key to keeping all black powder guns in tip top condition.

Cleanliness begets reliability and ease of maintenance cleaning.

Procrastination and neglect are the enemies to conquer.

[KDubs]

Well said
Kevin

[No Powder]

Glad you mentioned that Rob. I truly believe a lot of fellows aren't getting their barrel dry after cleaning. Especially if using water for cleaning. And I believe the patch size is part of the problem. I cut my cleaning patches out of cotton flannel. About .016" thick. I don't believe shape of the patch is an issue. I cut mine square. 32 cal. are 1 3/8" square. 45 cal. are 1 7/8" square and the 50 cal. are 2 5/8" square. We're getting hit with single digit temps and high winds again so might as well chew the fat about muzzleloaders.

[Rob DiStefano]

Glad you mentioned that Rob. I truly believe a lot of fellows aren't getting their barrel dry after cleaning. Especially if using water for cleaning. And I believe the patch size is part of the problem. I cut my cleaning patches out of cotton flannel. About .016" thick. I don't believe shape of the patch is an issue. I cut mine square. 32 cal. are 1 3/8" square. 45 cal. are 1 7/8" square and the 50 cal. are 2 5/8" square. We're getting hit with single digit temps and high winds again so might as well chew the fat about muzzleloaders.

Yep, I totally agree. 

[Second-rate Marksman]

I truly believe a lot of fellows aren't getting their barrel dry after cleaning.

I concur. I run a patch soaked in WD-40 to drive out any lingering moisture, then finish each cleaning with a lightly greased patch down the bore. I've never experienced the rust problems that often get mentioned.

[No Powder]

Glad to hear from ya Eric. Been pretty quiet lately. Nice to have a young pup on here once in a while.

[Winter Hawk]

  I've been known to run a patch wet with 91% alcohol down the bore after cleaning it with water, prior to using dry patches to get rid of the last wee bit of wetness.  One of these days I need to try WD-40, which I hear so many good things about.

~Kees~

[Rob DiStefano]

WD40 is good stuff ... lotta trad ML folks are negative on it, mostly to not use it as a oil (for which I agree), but I find it great to use as a moose milk+++ alternative for fouling control or temporary swab-and-leave after the the last shot of the day is taken, and to keep the powder residue soft during the trip back to the ranch.

Between each shot (or multiple shots) I'll use a wet patch (unless otherwise noted a "wet patch" means moose milk or WD40) to swab out the fouling with one patch, then a pair of dry patches, then ready to load.

End of session gets s wet patch in and out, then a wet oil only patch which is left down the bore.

ASAP get to cleaning maintenance - lock removed and stuck in a pail of tepid tap water, toothpick in the touch hole, tube is filled to near the top with that fantastic H20 chemical and left standing ... lock is scrubbed until reasonably cleaned, spritzed with WD40, patted down for excess removal ... toothpick removed, water pisses outta the tube, jagged wet patches run down and out the bore 'til one comes out reasonably clean ***, dry patches down and out 'til one looks reasonably clean***, sloppy wet oil soaked patch down and left in the bbl.

+++ "Moose milk" is a blend of water soluble oil and plain water in perhaps a rough 1:10 to 1:4 or so mix.  One such water soluble oil is Ballistol.  I prefer Ballistol because unlike WD40 and most other oils, Ballistol is totally non-toxic and it's actually good for wood and leather.

*** "Reasonably clean" means not perfectly clean.  That's not gonna happen any too soon and is a waste of time to make happen.  What will be seen is a light "dirty grayish" patch as it's impossible to fully remove all "iron/steel seasoning" deep in the molecules of the metal; to remove that is totally unnecessary and you'll spend extremely unnecessary hours attempting to remove what is essentially "bbl seasoning".  Any patches showing reddish/brownish hues that signify rust must be mitigate ASAP.

 

[Rob DiStefano]

What patch lube to use?  Whatever works best for any specific gun and you.

Using ANY straight saliva or pure water for a patch lube can be Excellent - just make SURE to swab the bbl with a patch containing some measure of oil ASAP so the saliva salt or water won't get a hold on forming rust.

[No Powder]

All very good advice Rob. The only rifle I have that will get brown on the patch, is one that had some rust in the barrel when I bought it. Worked on it with Scotch Brite and steel wool wrapped around a smaller caliber brush. I believe the brown is still some minor rust that is still in there and is loosened up by the oily patch that I run down the barrel after cleaning. I believe over a period of time it will finally disappear. Could the light gray I see on a patch be graphite? 🤔

[Rob DiStefano]

... The only rifle I have that will get brown on the patch, is one that had some rust in the barrel when I bought it. Worked on it with Scotch Brite and steel wool wrapped around a smaller caliber brush. I believe the brown is still some minor rust that is still in there and is loosened up by the oily patch that I run down the barrel after cleaning. I believe over a period of time it will finally disappear.

Yup, I totally concur, Sir.

Could the light gray I see on a patch be graphite? 🤔

Could be, but more than likely a highly diluted amount of powder residue.  This is kinda like coffee drinkers staining their teeth over a relatively long period of time, and now trying to get the brown out is like pulling teeth or resorting to acids that can/will do harm.

I will add that both post powder corning glazing and graphite is typically done to most commercial powders.  I've heard that Swiss uses a Lot of graphite.  The reason for the glazing and graphite is to allow the powder to flow more freely.  Powder that is neither glazed or graphite coated will clump up in powder measures and horns.  I will only glaze and never have a need for graphite.  "Glazing" means to mill just the completed powder (no media in the mill, just loose freshly corned/compressed powder) to knock off any sharp edges - again, to make the powder freely flow out of containers.

[No Powder]

Glad you explained glazing. Cause I sure didn't know what it meant. Definitely a necessary step in the process if it makes it come out of the horn easier.

[Second-rate Marksman]

One of these days I need to try WD-40, which I hear so many good things about.

~Kees~

You really should give it a try. I used to wipe my guns down liberally with WD-40 to remove fingerprints and would even spray it directly onto actions and trigger components. Later, a locksmith set me straight- she hated the stuff because it can purportedly gum up and varnish over time- so I stopped using it as a lubricant. Can't say I ever experienced that in the many years I had used it, but her warning was enough to make me rethink my process. That said, WD-40 shines when it's used for what it was actually designed to do: displace water before proper lubrication and protect against rust.

I really like to utilize it for my lock cleaning also. I run my locks under the sink with a drop of dish soap and scrub them with a toothbrush. After that, I blow them dry with compressed air, give them a light spray of WD-40, and blow them off again. Once the moisture is fully displaced, I follow up with a very light mist of Ballistol and a small dab of grease on the moving parts. Done deal-- ready to go. Probably sounds more involved than it really is-- in reality, it takes all of about five minutes, if that.

For anyone who isn't aware, WD-40 was originally developed to protect the outer skin of the Atlas rocket (the first ICBM) from corrosion. Used in the role it was intended for, it works exceptionally well.

There are about a million and one ways to clean a muzzleloader, and just about everyone is convinced their method is the right one. In reality, most of those methods work just fine, because they're all trying to accomplish the same handful of critical tasks-- just in different ways.

At the end of the day, effective muzzleloader maintenance really comes down to three fundamentals. First, you need to neutralize and remove the corrosive black powder residue. Second, you must make absolutely sure that any water used during cleaning is fully driven out, especially from the breech area and other tight recesses where moisture loves to hide. And finally, you need to leave the metal properly protected with an appropriate oil or grease for long-term storage. Pretty basic stuff.

How you get there- hot water or cold, soap or no soap, patches or dunking the barrel- is largely a matter of personal preference and experience. What matters far more than the specific ritual is that these three goals are met every single time. If you accomplish that, your muzzleloader will stay clean, rust-free, and ready to shoot, regardless of which "best" method you swear by.

Whew! I'm sorry... that was a novel.

[Second-rate Marksman]

What patch lube to use?  Whatever works best for any specific gun and you.

Hear, hear! Patch lube is one of those topics that tends to get overanalyzed and needlessly complicated. At its core, a patch lube only has a couple of real jobs: keep fouling soft so loading stays consistent, and protect the patch from being scorched as it travels down the bore. If it's doing those things, it's doing exactly what it's supposed to do.

Everything beyond that- exotic recipes, secret formulas, endless debate- is largely a matter of personal preference and tradition. Different lubes may offer small advantages in certain conditions, but none of that changes the fundamentals. If your patch comes out intact, your fouling stays manageable, and your rifle shoots well, the lube is doing its job.

[No Powder]

Very well said Eric. I guess if that WD-40 stuff is good enough for a rocket, it surely ought to work on a smokepole. And there's one thing for sure, if someone hands you a muzzleloader, it sure doesn't take long to figure out if it had TLC, or it was neglected. I vote for TLC.