ejpaul1

I am new to blackpowder shooting/hunting and I didnt know which one to get to clean and lube. I have a traditions yukon and I bought this hoppes stuff. It says it is just dandy, but does anyone know about it? My pal uses wonderlube for his 1:66 ML and he loves it. SHould I use this? EJ

270 bdl

Don't use a petroleum product with blackpowder. It will create way too much fouling . I use warm water mostly.

cayugad

I use petrolum based products all the time to clean my rifles, without problems. The trick is to make sure you get the stuff out of the barrel before you load the first time. This is done with a simple patch dipped in Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol that you buy at any Wal Mart. Swab the barrel with it, a couple dry patches and you're good to go.

As for the Hoppies.. go ahead and use it to clean your rifle. There are better cleaners out there IMO but it will work just fine. As for the Wonder lube, that is a whole different set of considerations. Personally I do not use Wonder Lube, Bore Butter T/C 1000 what ever you want to call it... other then to lube a conical now and then.

Another simple cleaner for your rifle is a 50/50 mix of Windshield Washer Fluid and isopropyl alcohol. You can swab the barrel with the stuff between shots, you can use it to remove fowling when you clean. And it will help dry the barrel between shots. Swab the barrel with short strokes between shots, then a couple dry patches and you can load again and get some great accuracy.

As for your friends rifle with the 1-66 twist, they are shooting roundball most likely. That is why they are using wonder lube. You with a 1-28 twist should concentrate using powerbelts, saber tooth conicals, maxi ball, and sabots of all different weights and shapes. A load you might want to try is 100 grains of Pyrodex RS and a 250 gr Shockwave. It should be a good load, but then all rifles are different so you never really are sure.

alleyyooper

Hoppes #9 was brought to the market place many years ago when many hunters were still useing black powder ML & cartriges. It worked well for them and it works well for me these days. Maybe better stuff on the market but I am always reminded of when I was a tike and dad opened the Hopps #9 and dipped his bore brush in it every time I smell it.
Yup lots of newer stuff but no memorys with them either.

Al

cayugad

Hoppies makes a black powder solvent and patch lube that I am using now. I can not say I like it as a patch lube, but it does seem to clean crud out of the bore well. I am going to try the stuff this summer when it is hot and see how it acts in heat.

heinz57

thanks again CAYUGAD for ur 50/50 formula to clean muzzleloader barrels .it does a great job ,also dries the inside of the barrel in seconds...also use it on my breech plug ,and i have noticed on my TRADITION accuracy has improved [mine likes a clean barrel] it does not like a fouled barrel ..i have posted ur formula on my hunting forum and have had good feedback from fellow hunters..thanks again .

cayugad

I am glad it is helping some people. The price is sure right...

Semisane

Hey CAYUGAD. Thought I'd give your 50/50 formula a try. Went out to thegarage and grabbed a gallon of PEAK "Windshield Wash And Bug Remover". Looking at the lable, I find the ingredients to be water and methyl alcohol - nothing else. Mixing this stuff with isopropyl alcohol would just seem to produce a stronger alcohol mix. I don't know if methyl vs. isopropyl is significant. Is seems I could just as well dilute my pint of isopropyl withabout a half cup of waterand get the same results.

Does the washer fluid you're using have additional ingredients?

cayugad

I could not really tell you what is in the windshield washer fluid. I like to use the summer blend cheap stuff from Wal Mart. When I was experimenting with different cleaning stuff, I wanted to try simple Windex. Not having any in the house, I went out outside and used windshield washer fluid and water. Well that causes some minor hangfires for me, so instead of water, I mixed it with isopropyl alcohol in 50/50 and it worked excellent. I just never changed after that. Lots of people use simple Windex. There are a lot of different solvents and liquids they use to swab. I just stuck with this because it worked for me.

oldrookie

I use the clear windex. Not sure what the colored windex has in it but the clear has vinegar. I use it in between shots and also after the hot water cleaning at home.