New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

Hi all. I recently got a CVA Optima Elite in .50 cal and had a blast shooting it. Afterwards, I took it home and cleaned it and put it up until the next time I shoot it.

However, talking with some friends that have muzzleloaders, it appears that I may have missed out on some key things when it comes to cleaning them. So, going at it with an open mind, would you please give me some insight on your cleaning practices?

I want to make sure that I'm doing this right so that it lasts me a long time instead of me missing something important and ruining my ML.

Thanks in advance.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

I am relatively new to blackpowder as well. I also have an optima. After trying several methods of cleaning, I have narrowed it to the following:

pull the breech plug and soak it in cva solvent. while that is soaking, I now use butches bore shine for blackpowder. saturate 3 to 4 patches run them down the barrel several times eachthen dry patch it several times. Once its good and dry, I use couple of patches of birchwood casey lubricant and the barrel is done. Cleanup breech plug from soaker and it done. I also use the birchwood casey around the action and hammer. Spray it down in there and you will be amazed what junk comes out of that area. Wipe the excess and your good to go. By the way, I wipe the exterior down with a hoppes silicone rag before storing.

Not sure if your optima is nickel, if so, wipe whatever cleaning solvent off immediately or it might stain the finish.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

It's always good to look in your manual to find the proper way to clean your ML. If you didn't get a manual you might contact CVA. I might go over board but here's what I do. When I'm done shooting for the day I run a couple of patches with 50/50 mix of alcohol/windshield washer fluid down the bore. Then I run a patch with CVA Barrel Blaster Gel down. A couple of dry patches. Then I pull my breech plug and put in a small jar with alcohol until I get home. I'll then take a brush and run it down acouple of times and then some more patches of the 50/50 mix. A couple of dry patches till they look clean. Then one more patch with some Rem Oil with teflon. This really only takes a few minutes. Then when I get home I take the fore arm off remove the barrel and clean the heck out of everything, the face around the firing pin, the forearm, everything. You'd be surprised how much residue gets inside the forearm. I usually run a couple more patches down the bore with the 50/50 mix then a couple dry ones then one more with the Rem Oil. I clean all the anti sieze off the breech plug, make sure the flash hole is clean, recoat the breach plug and reinstall it. Wipe the whole gun down with rag and Rem Oil. It's very important to clean anduse anti sieze on that breech plug. It may sound time consuming but your ML will last you a long time if you take care of it.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

Yeah, that sounds about what I'm doing. However, from what my friends are telling me, they all use the hot water and cleaning solution as part of their cleaning regiment.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

I am a traditional guy, hot soapy water is hard to beat. I never understood why some people think that it inconvenient to do so. My guns are all side hammers. I just pull the barrel and swab it out in the sink. rinse and towel dry the outside and put a dry patch down the barrel. I usually cook em in the oven for awhile to make sure the bore is dry. Swab it out hot with some patch lube and viola, ready for action or storage. The first generations of in lines were sort of a pain to clean this way, but lots of them nowadays wouldnt be hard to hot water clean. I have yet to try any commercial solvent that works as well and hot water and dish soap is cheap.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

Hot soapy water is still one of the best cleaners there is for black powder fowling. It removes it, and is cheap to use. It is more commonly used with traditional rifles although I use it as a basic cleaner with my inlines as well. The way described, with the cleaning patches works just as well.

The main thing with what ever method you use, get ALL fowling out of the barrel. From time to time, a bore brush with solvent to remove copper, lead, & plastic traces is a good idea. After you dry patch the barrel and the patches come up clean, coat that barrel with a very high quality gun oil. Now some people use bore butter and that's fine, their rifles. I know a fellow that uses 10W-30 motor oil. He claims it does the same thing. Again, his rifle. I use Birchwood Casey Sheath a.k.a. Barricade, or Rem Oil with Teflon, among some. The main thing is get that metal coated. Also be sure to wipe the outsides off good.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

I use cold water for the first stage of cleaning. A few very wet patches through the bore until they look clean. Then a bristle bore brush through the bore a few times. Then patches with a commercial cleanr (I like Butch's bore shine) following the directions on the cleaner chosen.
Then I WD-40 the barrel to get rid of any lingering moisture, soak up the WD-40 with dry patches, then lube with RemOil.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

i use hot soapy water with my traditional rifles. However, with my stainless steel winchester, i simply use windex. Make sure you clean your breech plug threads that are Inside the barrel. If you go the hot water way, be sure you dry the barrel really good and then lube it. I used to use rem oil when i would lube my barrel after cleaning.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

What do you guy's use to clean the threads inside the breach when you takre the plug out?? Just curious-I am looking for a new idea. I use one of the round chamber brushes, I am just wondering if there is a better way. Tom.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

I use a bore brush and it seems to work just fine. Of course I wash my inlines in the sink with hotwater and soap. I like to put liquid soap into the bore and then work that to a nice lather with the bore brush. After that I rinse the barrel out and the threads are nice and clean.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

I have a Knight disc extreme.
I remove the bolt and pull the breach plug. I get a bucket of warm water and add some simple green. I then stick the muzzle in the bucket and run a brush up and down a few times, then get a patch and run it up and down until fully washed. Running the patch up and down pulls the soapy water up in to the barrel and flushes it nicely clean. I'll then switch to clean warm water for a good rinse. A bore brush and an old toothbrush work well on the breach threads.

After that it is dry patches until clean and dry, then oil, etc.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

Simple steps....
1. Remove breech plug
2. Use standard ML bore cleaner and clean that sucker(barrel) till it shines.
3. Clean breech plug threads with a brush--I just put solvent on the brush and scrub the hell out of it.
4. Clean the breech plug. I just throw it in a thing of soapy water and then scrub it with a brush. Let everything dry and reassemble. Don't forget to put anti seize grease on the breech plug or you won't get it out again.
5. Oil everything well. Don't go way overboard but use enough to protect.

That about does it....nothing too complex. You'll figure out the best method eventually.

RE: New to muzzleloading - need cleaning advise.
 

I dont do the in line thing, just traditional and since ~1976. I've tried a few "homebrews" and a couple of the off the shelf materials but fer some reason I always come back to HOT water and Murpheys oil soap until the bores shiney bright followed by a HOT clean water rinse and 1-2 patches with a dab of oil. Mebbe I come back cuz the bore on my T/C is as good as a rifle with over 10000 rounds can get without any observable pitting...

Keep yer powder dry,

D.