Cleaning solution
 

I got my new Omega in the mail today and was watching their video and they recomend using presoaked # 13 patches to clean barrel between shots, not knowing anything about inlines I have been reading all I can on the forum and it looks like most people use windex + vinegar, windex+alcohol or auto windshield cleaner+alcohol. I was wondering if I needed to use #13 patches to season barrel or go ahead and use home made solutions. I have a stainlessteel barrel.

RE: Cleaning solution
 

TC #13 is not one of the most effective solvents on the market. It works okay for a first swabbing to remove some ofthe easiest, first layer ofresidue, but other than that it's seems weak to me.
Someone reputablecomplained that it causedflash rusting with black powder,but Ireally haven'tused it onany sub powders besides Pyrodex. I've never actuallynoticedany flash rusting myself, but the person who did hasmany yearsof experience and I believe him. He was mostlikely shooting with black powder and cleaning his gun with itafterwardinhis air conditioned residence.
I've also been led to believe that it's similar to a water soluble cutting oil/solution, and it's advertised as being all natural (but not really like an oil at all).
I useseveral differentsolvents. Rusty Duck Black Off BPSolvent($5/pint jug - available at someWalmarts) evaporates relatively quickly and Hoppe's #9 Plus BP Solvent & Patch Lube claims to not interfere with ignition, and it works.
That TC #13 also seemsto leave a whitish residue on metal surfaces. I've used it as a first swabfor Pyrodex during cleaning, but I always use something else afterward to clean it off the metal, and I wouldn't shoot after using it without first cleaning the #13residue out of the barrel with something else.
I don't care for itvery much and while this may sound harsh, it's my honest &humble opinion.

RE: Cleaning solution
 

Ive used the tc #13 and it wasnt that great. Its expensive too. Windex or kaboom does a much better job.

RE: Cleaning solution
 

TChypes their own brand just like all the others do. Windex with vinegar works as well as anything else out there. Do not saturate the patch, just moisten it. Then follow up with a dry patch.

RE: Cleaning solution
 

I use the 50/50 windex and alcohol in my Omega with great results.
At the range one moist patch two side and then one dry.

RE: Cleaning solution
 

The best I have found is Mean Green window cleaner, It's available at Dollar General stores if you have one in your area.

RE: Cleaning solution
 

This gentleman is right about #13 solvent. As a matter of fact, I have yet to find any so-called "black powder solvent" for sale by anyone that can clean a rifle better than just plain water! NO, I have NOT tried them ALL, but I have tried a sufficinet number to have become skeptical of manufacturer's claims!

I clean my ML's by pouring boiling water through the bore, followed immediately by four or five clean, dry 2.5"X2.5" GI cleaning patches. This removes ALL traces of powder fouling and water. Then, after thebarrel is cool enough to touch, swab it out real good with a patch soaked in Birchwood-Casey SHEATH (now called BARRIER??). If you are shooting an inline, you have already removed the breech plug to pour the boiling water thru the bore, (I use a funnel that fits into the barrel breech) and when you took it out, you put the plug in a glass of hotwater that has dishwashing detergent in it. So now that the bore is clean and preserved, you scrub all the crap off the breechplug and out of the flash channel resulting in a spotlessly shiney clean breech plug!. They you use a rag to dry off the plug, and use your SHEATH patch on it too before screwing it back into the breech. Now take your SHEATH patch qnd wipe all the ferrous metal surfaces on the OUTSIDE of the gun. Now you can safely store it until next time.

Another advantage to the SHEATH is that it dries, leaving the protective coating in place, BUT since it is dry, you DO NOT have to wipe the bore out the next time before you can you load the gun to shoot! It is not likeoil or grease that you have to wipe out before loading, if you used oil or grease to preserve the bore!

If you are using a sidelock instead of an inline, you have to remove the lock, and tilt the barrel to the side slightly to pour the boiling water into the muzzle and let it run out the cleanout screw hole in the bolster or drum of a caplock, or the touch-hole of a flinter. Then, when drying the bore, you have to rotate a patch against the face of the breechplug to dry it as well. This is no problem, because with a caplock you have to remove the lock anyway to clean the fouling off the top of the lockplate,the back of the hammer, andthe recess in the hammer nose. Flintlocks require similar lock cleaning.

I have been cleaning my ML this way since 1968, and have NEVER experienced any problems with this method of cleaning. I don't know when SHEATH first became available, but I have been using it to keep rust off ALL my guns since at least 1963. It is an excellent product.

Amount of boiling water needed:

1 quart: .36 caliber & under
2 quarts: .38-.54 caliber
3 quarts: .56-.62 caliber
4 quarts:.66-.75 caliber

RE: Cleaning solution
 

I see you are wanting to know about swabbing between shots, A spit patch works fine, yep real spit, just a little tho. dry patch to follow works mighty fine. Cleanup at end of day any water based cleaner wil remove all fouling.
Redclub

RE: Cleaning solution
 

RC, but most people aren't so full o spit. :D

RE: Cleaning solution
 

I dunno a lot of guys over here there cup runneth over
I shot the .410 today
RC

RE: Cleaning solution
 

Rusty Duck Black Off is the only thing that I use in cleaning. I used to"work" the hassle of hot water and soap, but after trying the black off solvent, NEVER, neverAGAIN. We all know that dreaded feeling of havinng to clean the muzzleloader after a shoot, but black off is so quick and easy, I don't dread the clean up any more. In fact, I shoot much more these days than I ever did, and I attribute it to the easy clean-up. Clean up involves simple swabbing with patches -using a properly sized jag - until they come out clean (and it won't take many). I use wet patchesto handrub/clean around breech area and nipple. During a shoot, and Iuse only sabots these days, I simply run a wet (and I mean wet) patch down and up the bore after each shot, and flip the patchonce over; Ican ram the sabot down foreach subsequentload like it was the first shot after a major clean. Black off is cheap, lasts a very long time, and I am convinced that it is the BEST solvent available. It does NOT affect ignition in any way, and I use only the ole #11 caps for ignition; never had a hang fire from a damp bore (and I am certain that it has been damp from the stuff, but it is alchohol based, so I think that it may actually help ignition). The black off is so cheap, there is no reason to NOT try it out. Black off is only a cleaner, so when storing the gun, a rust inhibitor is still necessary. Try it out, and I know that you'll like it, and it may provide you with more time to shoot, as you won'tspend as much time cleaning the smoke pole.

RE: Cleaning solution
 

I like the "universal solvent" H²O.... plain old water!
I use windex, Butch's BP Bore Shine, T/C #13, and automotive anti-freeze diluted with water.........
but plain old water works well, too.

RE: Cleaning solution
 

+2 On the Rusty Duck!:DIt makes cleaning the gun a breeze. I carry the small container ( Looks like your wifes jewlery cleaner container) with me to the range. I run a couple of wet patches through the bore,then a dry one. I toss the breech plug into the container,and leave it there until I get home. Once home I use a brass bore brush (with more Rusty Duck,and scrubb the bore,then two dry patches,a light coating of your choice of bore protectant. Remove the breech plug clean it,lube the threads,and install it in the gun. Real painless,and I could actually do everything at the range,and be done with it in 5 minutes,but I like to let the breech plug soak. I believe it helpsdissolve the crud better making cleaning the breech plug easier. Ron

RE: Cleaning solution
 

Something I've found to work great is 624 cleaner from TechChem,Inc. It's $8/gallon. I put about a half-pint in a small plastic container (pint sized? Dollar Store cheapo with lid). Drop the small parts in the container and let soak while I do the bore and action. I use a tooth brush and breech brush dipped in the 624and quickly scrub the hideouts and run a few dampened patches through the bore. Wipe down all the small parts with a shop towel or rag, run a 624 dampened pipe cleaner in and out the breechplug a few times, then run a bit of alcohol through the flame channel. When done, put the lid on and use it until it's just too dirty (number of uses depends upon how dirty the rifle got but probably three complete cleanings).

The only thing it doesn't seem to get rid of is plastic deposit. Super Clean from Wal-Mart takes care of that (be careful... if used in your bore follow with a couple of patches with 624 or several with water).

Good stuff. I blow everything dry after the above and coat with preservative such as BreakFree CLP.
624 is made by a local business so I don't pay any shipping - your price with shipping might make other products more desirable. http://techcheminc.com/cleaners.htm#Spray%20624™ down the page a bit.

I've always been very meticulous in cleaning and surely take more time than most. My methods in the past have been "whatever strikes my fancy" on that particular day but always the same result - a clean and protected rifle. The 624method has lately become a routine and my cleaning time has been cut in half.

RE: Cleaning solution
 

That's what I bought also. And it cuts the powder fouling like RIGHT NOW! Pretty good stuff and it only costs a buck! I was truly amazed at how fast this stuff works. Get the version with vinegar. At least thats what I bought and was recommended on here. Thanks!

chris