HuntingNet.com Forums - View Single Post - How do you clean your muzzle loader?

10-05-2010 | 05:45 PM

#4

cayugad

Dominant Buck

Joined: Feb 2003

Posts: 21,193

Likes: 0

From: Wisconsin

INLINE RIFLES
There are two ways I clean them. A lot of it depends in whether the scope comes off or now. The main way is …

Insure the rifle is unloaded. If you are not 100% positive, check that rifle.
Break the rifle down to as many pieces as possible, according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Place all the small fowled parts in a water soap solution or solvent solution. Normally the water and soap work fine. These include the breech plug, the hammer striker, etc..
Remove the scope if possible. Pay attention here to insure you do not loose any part from the scope rings (voice of experience here).
With the barrel now broken down, I like to swab the bore with Windex, Simple Green, 409, soap and water patches, or any other favorite solution to remove as much of the fowling as possible. Usually two patches are enough. I always like to work from the breech to the muzzle so I do not move any more fowling then necessary over the breech thread. The patches can be very saturated now.
Now I run solvent patches through the bore of the barrel and over the parts I cleaned, including the scope. I want to make sure there is no sign of fowling anyway.
Visually inspect all parts and the bore of the rifle.
With an air compressor, blow out the breech plug. And I like to wipe all parts off with a patch with some alcohol on it. Then some dry patches to make sure there is no hidden water on them. The same of the barrel. I like to swab the barrel with an alcohol patch and then dry patches until I am sure it is dry.
After I am sure the bore of the rifle is clean and dry, I swab the bore with favorite gun oil. I also wipe off the scope, and all other parts except the breech plug. Wipe the outside of the barrel off as well as the scope.
Now apply a good coating of the Teflon tape or breech plug grease, or both. What every you feel most comfortable with. I use Slick 50 One grease. I then like to put the plug back in the rifle since I shoot so often.
BUT if you will not shoot that rifle for an extended period of time, you might be better served to place all those small parts in a zip lock baggie. With a paper punch and some duct tape, tape a corner of the baggie and punch a hole through the tape and bag. This will give the bag strength. Now a small piece of string and tie that to the trigger guard. You now have a clean rifle and all the parts ready for the next time. In this bag I also on a small piece of paper write down what this rifle's favorite load is and where it is sighted in to. In case you have a couple of rifles and can not remember all of their loads.
Reassemble the rifle according to manufacture's recommendations.
I also put a small amount of the Slick 50 on the lug screws. As I screw them in to hold the barrel to the stock this helps protect them from rust and it helps them in removal the next time.

You have given your rifle a water bath and the patches come up clean. You then run another patch and the patches come up gray looking or they have rifling streaks. What that dry patch is picking up is moisture with fouling in it, left in the breech. Keep pushing dry patches through it. Usually three is enough. Then they will come up clean. Now oil the bore with a clean patch and your favorite gun oil.

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