My rifles are always stored with an oiled bore and are refreshed with an oiled patch every couple of months. Every rifle I own is sighted in on a cold and clean barrel and stays that way forever; I have a couple of centerfires that were sighted in 20 years ago and still knock the bullseye out without any adjustment in 20 years.

My flintlocks are stored oiled as well; I just make sure it's completely dry before I oil them. My flintlocks are cleaned white after every shot when hunting unless for some reason I would need to load it very fast for a follow up shot. That has never happened; rapid follow up shots and muzzleloaders don't mix. When I clean my flintlocks I do so with warm (not hot) water and a little dish soap in a 5 gal. bucket, dump the bucket, add some clean warm water and pump some more patches and dry with some more patches. Next I run a few patches with denatured alcohol down the bore and a dry patch which should come out completely white. Now stand it on the muzzle end for at least a couple of hours so you are sure it is completely dry and run a cleanoiled patch through the bore.

When your ready to hunt run a fewpatches with the denatured alcoholdown thebore; next pour a little down the bore and let it soak in for a few seconds; turn it muzzle down to drain out and then runa couple dry patches; run a dry patch down the bore and leave it on the jag and ramrod and stand it in the cornermuzzle down on the ramrod for a few min. or so. Your barrel is now clean as a whistle and oil free; the denatured alcohol will dryand clean clear into the pores of the steel.

Do not load a charge until you get to where you want to hunt and therifle has adjusted for the temperature of the day. Clean, dry and deadly accurate first shots are now yours; rapid follow up shots seldom require pinpoint accuracy but first shots most always do.