easiest to shoot and clean?
 

In your opinion what gun is the easiest to load, shoot, or clean?

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

A M1A1 Tank.................... just fire & drive it through the car wash!! :D

I know - I'm a smarta$$. [&o]

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

Most guns are pretty easy to clean some do clean quicker than others. Sidelock guns clean up pretty easy until you have to clean the lock which requires removing it from the gun. Inlines also clean easy for the most part. A few have bolts that need to be taken down and if you ever did that on a bolt action rifle you know what a pain it is. My Encore is real easy to clean but I have to remove the barrel because I am to cheap to buy the folding extractor that came out last year. I have been told the Omega's clean up real easy too.

I own an old T/C Scout that cleans up easy too. It breaks down into three groups of parts that by themselves clean very easy. Less than an hour tops on all guns that I know of once you get use to them.

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

Actually a good percussion cap sidelock is easy to load, shoot and clean. Take a quality sidelock like a Thompson Center Hawkins and shoot Triple Se7en, APP, or Pinnacle powder and patched roundball and they are easy to clean up afterward.

Any rifle you shoot has to be cleaned. You might as well get used to it. In the modern inline rifles I would think the drop blocks like the Omega, Revolution, Persuit, Kodiak, or Sidekick would be the easiest to load, shoot, and clean.

Actually I have a T/C Black Diamond XR and most people claim they are a bear to clean. My personal opinion on my Black Diamond, Wolverine II or Staghorn is, I do not feel they are all that bad to clean at all. Once you have cleaned them a few times you learn short cuts. Meaning, you learn what to clean first and how to clean it properly. I can clean any of the rifles in around 10 minutes, 20 minutes if I take my time and relax. Cleaning them is all part of the sport. If you want a muzzleloader that is most forgiving for cleaning then get a Savage and shoot smokeless powder.

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

Quite a bit of variability in your question.

The amount of fouling really governs the easy although none of it is really that bad.

Comes down to powder choice IMO. Black powder and pyrodex FFG is the most fouling there is.

Modern synthetics are much cleaner shooting, but still will grunge out your rifle after 20-40 shots at the range. Mostly from primer/cap fouling.

Break action modern ML's have a slight advantage to cleaning.

Sidelocks are not difficult by any means. In some cases, they are easier as they are not as intricate.

Takes me about 30-40 minutes to clean and storage a muzzleloader depending on what powder/cap/primer I'm shooting and how many shots I've fired. And if it's a wooden stock model or synthetic. But I am very meticulous.

The 10 minutes and you are clean is really marketing fluff unless you only shoot a couple of times each session.

Cleaning and caring for your ML should be a pride and thoughtful activity. You may find
a model that takes 5-10 minutes more or less, but that really is negligable if you are doing a good job.

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

When I first starting dabbling in muzzleleaders, the idea of cleaning was something I had resolved to avoid or at least minimize. It's really no big deal. Doesn't take very long. I almost enjoy it, to be honest. Have you actually been present when someone else has cleaned one at the end of shooting session? Roskoe

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

What everyone else said.

Ease of cleaning is mainly a function of getting it done. Every firearm has it's preferences on what it wants for cleaning. The key with BP arms is to do it, and do it soon - to prevent problems down the road.

Don't let the issue of cleaning be a determining factor - get a firearm that is comfortable in your hands and has a good reputation behind it. THAT is the most important thing.

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

My TC Black Diamond is very easy to clean, much easier than the TC Hawken I replaced it with. There is nothing tricky about it.

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

Ditto...hooked breech rifles are a snap to clean

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

Of the muzzleloaders that I have owned, the Omega is by far the easiest to clean.

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

Hey,
One thingyou might want to do is get some rubber gloves.And clean the rifle outside.
I've found that the rubber gloves keeps your hands from getting all discolored,from the powder,and if you use the stronger cleaners this will be better for your health.
The CVA cleaner states that the stuff is real bad.But I think the CVA cleaner is great, even with all the health risk.
Just my 2 cents.:D

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

Hands down the Savage 10-ML... just clean it every 100 rounds or so!!! plus having a muzzleloader that shoots a 250gr SST at 2400fps is nice too :D

P.S.---> check the laws in the state your in, some don't allow smokeless powder in muzzleloaders

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

I also agree.

The Sav 10MLII shooting smokeless is the king of clean ML shooting.

RE: easiest to shoot and clean?
 

My sidelock is pretty easy. Boil a pot of water, add some Murphy's Oil Soap, take out the nipple, pull the wedge(s). Stick the barrel, muzzle up into the pot, pump the soapy water in and out of the barrel. When it gets too hot to hold, pull it out and invert it so water runs out. Plug the nipple hole fill the barrel with alcohol, drain, lube, put the barrel back in the stock, nipple back in the bolster, and rifle back in the safe.