Around here you have to drive about 30 miles one way to pay T7 Prices for real black. some of us (me) do not want to order 25 to 50 pounds of the stuff and pay the hazmat fee to use the stuff. So far I've been doing good getting T7 for less than 10.00 a pound at Wally world end of winter sales.

As for cleaning I still feel today that there isn't a much easier ML to clean than a T/C hawkins or sinular type rifle. Remove the nipple throw it in a pail of scalding water with a good amount of dollar store dish soap. several pumps of the water sulotion up and down the bore. Dump out that mess refill the pail with more scalding water to rince. By the time you fish the nipple out of its bath and wipe down the stock the barrel is dry enough to oil and wipe down.

I am amazed at how many I hear and see make the statement of how easy the rifle is to clean effected what they bought.

I guess that is why I see so many cars/trucks covered with road salt and mud is there is no cheap car wash in town and the person won't use a quarter wash as it is to labor intesive.

Al

I have to agree that the cleaning does not have much to do with what I use except I don't use 777 because of the crud ring none of the rest are a problem. With as high as 4 or even 5 big game seasons open at the same time for those of us that get lucky and get an elk tag I am not going to use some thing I have to clean every shot and lose a chance at some thing over it.

What are you using to preserve the barrel after you finish cleaning it? Was just wondering if you might have found a protectant that doesn't let the black powder adhere to the metal as much? If you are not doing anything different in that area, then I don't know.

This barrel is treated with Rem Oil. I swab it all out before I shoot. And this thing will shoot a long time before it needs swabbing. I personally thing the large caliber has something to do with all this.

I have pretty much always(since 1970) used regular ol black powder and cleaning has just not ever been a problem. Back about 1975 I was still shooting percussion rifles and tried Pyrodex but really didn't like it. I seemed to have too many hang-fires. Being one to have an open mind to new products , I have tried several other BP substutes over the years but have found no real advantage in them for my use. One exception is that I like triple 7 for use in my 1858 Remington. It just shoots cleaner.

When I used my old CVA big bore Mt. Rifle I would drop the breach end of the barrel in very hot water ( no soap) and pump it in and out of the barrel a few times and the patch always came out grey. The barrel would become so hot that I could not hold it without an oven mit. Followed up with several dry patches that always came out clean and I was done cleaning. I would always oil the inside of the barrel the next day after the barrel had cooled. The bore on that rifle is still in perfect condition today.

I now shoot flintlock rifles with a non-hooked breach and pinned barrels . To clean I remove the lock and plug the vent and pour cold water down the bore and let it stand for a few minutes while I clean and service the lock. I then pour the water out and run a brass brush down the bore a few times. This removes any crud in the breech area. I then run dry patches in and out. The first couple of patches are usuallp pretty black but the third or fourth patches are usually fairly clean. Next I use patches soaked with Hoppes #9+ using two dry patches to one Hoppes#9+. Usually, the second or third patch with Hoppes comes out clean. Last I scrape the breech face to remove anything that may have been pushed down the bore.. Ths only takes a few minutes and my rifles are ready for the next shoot.

Well as I said, cleaning a rifle has just never been that big of a chore for me. It is a little like gutting a deer after the kill. It needs to be done but shouldn't be an all day job.

One trick that my wife has taught me about cleaning black powder is NOT to do it inside the house.