As some are aware, I have been seeing if all the hype about the Montana X-treme products are just that.. the real deal or hype. I started out kind of unsure how to even use the stuff. I had the Montana X-treme Bore Conditioner and was using it how I thought. And it seems to be really getting the carbon, old powder, and lead out of the barrels. But I was not sure I was doing it right.
So I contacted Don at Western Powder. As always, they are more then ready to help and inform others how to use the products. For that I am thankful that a company would take the time to do that. Thanks Don.
I also got the rest of the Montana X-treme products. The Cowboy Solvent that is supposed to take out carbon, old powder residue, lead, etc.. And some of their gun oil. Besides the bore conditioner.
So I started using it on a number of my rifles. And I wanted to see if they would protect the bore, and make a different to the rifle. Well today I got the shock of my life.
I am almost obsessed when it comes to cleaning my rifles. I never worry that it might take me five or even ten minutes longer to clean a rifle. I want a clean rifle and settle for nothing less. Today I was shooting a traditional rifle of mine. It was a Green Mountain Barrel .58 caliber 1-70 twist. This is a great rifle.
When I swabbed the bore prior to shooting, the patch was nice and clean. I dry swabbed it and then wanted to shoot it to see if this was going to make a difference because I had plans to treat the barrel after the shoot with Montana X-treme products. I did pop two caps through the nipple to make sure the fire channel was clean. Then enjoyed the afternoon on the range.
When I returned to the house, I gave the barrel a water bath which is common when I clean a traditional rifle. The patches on the water bath showed clean. So I then ran some Rusty Duck through it and again, no sign of fowling. Here was the shocker start.
To be fair to the Montana X-treme products I wanted to use them as it was explained to me. So I first poured boiling water through the barrel to remove any traces of Rusty Duck solvent or oil from the rifle. With gloves on, I dry patched the barrel and got clean patches out of it.
I then put a 20 gauge brass brush on a shotgun ramrod. I took the Montana X-treme Cowboy solvent. I dipped the brush into the solvent and while it was dripping with solvent, began to scrub the bore. I gave it twenty strokes. Dipped the brush again and gave it twenty more.
I then took clean patches and saturated them with Cowboy Solvent and then swabbed the bore. The photo you will see shows the progression of patches out of my "clean" (or so I thought) barrel.
With that first patch, my jaw just dropped. This rifle had given me a clean patch and then something like this comes out of it. Remember, it had a hot water bath and some Rusty Duck patches. This is the way I normally clean my traditional rifles. I've been doing it this way for years and never had a problem. But to see patches like this come out of one of MY RIFLES.... so I kept swabbing with Cowboy Solvent and the patches got better and better until finally they were clean.
I then dry patched the barrel free of solvent. I dropped a small flashlight down the bore of this big cannon to check it. WOW!!!! it was spotless. So I took a patch and applied some Montana X-treme Bore Conditioner. I then swabbed the barrel with that. That patch came out clean. But I swabbed the bore with a second patch of Bore Conditioner. I will be checking this barrel in the very near future.
Was I surprised that a product could get something like that out of one of my rifles?? You bet your you know what I was. This was a real eye opener. I am going to be testing another rifle tomorrow the same way. And see if that one also behaves like this.
I have a feeling I have a new bore cleaner and treatment for my rifles..
thanks Don for the eye opener...
Using the Montana X-treme products
