Cleaning up my Flintlock bore next
 

Have a new lube on the drawing board and still under going testing.

I was going to try a sidelock, but seeing my Kentucky flinter on the wall and knowing it was abused with bore butter as "rust protection" I decided to clean the bore of dust and run the bore camera down.

I about died.

I'll have to cast balls tomorrow and then run about 30 rounds down range and see how it cleans up. Boy this was just disheartening.

I am eager to see how well it cleans up. It a shame the way that bore looks. I have not used bore butter in years; I switched to bear grease as my lube.

Not to change the subject but my cousin was telling me about this new gun oil that was to come out on the market as a rust preventative. All the high praises it was getting, etc. Then an independent lab did some testing on it and found it was nothing but canola oil! Boy would that have been a sham.
But back to the post...MD I'm anxious to see this test too. And after looking at your recent posts, when I get up north I'm ordering a bore scope too.

hahaha canola oil is some nasty stuff to clean off once it sets up. Did a few rifles like that when we had nothing else at hand. Man was that a mistake! Canola oil used to be called rapeseed oil but they changed the name due to it being offensive. A lot of knife makers used to use it to keep rust away but its just to nasty once it dries for my taste.

I made the mistake once of leaving Canola oil on one of my good iron skillets for "seasoning" and such. Man you sure aint kidding about that stuff being rough! That stuff was literally like super glue! I finally broke down and took some steel wool and took it down to the bare metal and had to start from scratch again "seasoning" that skillet. If it hadn't been one of my Moms that was older than dirt and a perfect skillet for frying chicken I would have tossed the thing.

Ya should have used Bore Butter to reseason it! LOL

I got out in the shop today and was able to cast up a bunch of round balls for the .50 so I am all set. Just not sure if I will shoot today or not, fairly windy and cold.

Or better yet... Ballistol :lolabove:

BPS

well 10 shots in the books today. That flint stuff is hard work on windy days.

Already a difference at the muzzle where the light pitting was and actually throughout the entire barrel except for where the powder sits. Tomorrow i'll run some 20 grain loads through the barrel to scrub that section really good.

Thanks to the fine folks on this site I never have and never will use BB.

Initially I use Crisco and bake it off at 450 for about 20 minutes about 3 times. Then I use a light coat of bacon grease at 400 for 15 minutes 3 times. Then I condition it every other month with a 450 Crisco 10 minute bake in. I usually get a pretty good non stick surface doing that. Easily cleaned with just a wash rag rather than needing a scouring pad and having to retouch it up.

MD, what are you using for a grit? I know a guy that used emmory cloth as a patch and mink oil with fairly good results though that sure aint something I would try myself.

That's likely a trade secret SH as he is going to be selling it. I could think of a few things without knowing what was in it. My first guess would be jeweler's rouge. Midway sells it by the pound in a powder form which would be perfect for adding to a bullet lube mixture.

I'll bet most would be surprised at what their bore looked like if they ran a scope down it...Thankfully, deep rifled, slow twist round ball barrels are very forgiving...

Thats one nice thing about this kentucky barrel, nice deep rifling. It feels soooo much smoother today though. I'll reload some peewee loads so I can work on the breech tomorrow.

I buy a lot of collector firearms and my bore scope is one of my most precious tools. You would be dumbfounded at how many times I would hear "yes sir that bore is in pristine condition" then they see the case in my hand and change their tune a bit to "well except for some minor marks" :D Granted a bore light and looking down the barrel can give you a rough idea, but the scope will reveal ALL!

true, but remember we're looking at a magnified picture which shows it up close. What may seem like a horrible monster pit on camera, may just me a very small shallow rust mark.

Alright, tomorrow I am getting back to work on the kentucky bore.

I got it loaded right now with 20gr 2fg goex and ran my camera down. Tomorrow, I'll adjust to 25 grains and check down the bore with the camera. I want to be very close to that nasty pitted area so it can really force the patch and knock that area down really well.

Bob...

There's nothing wrong with using Bore Butter as a patch or bullet lube. It is not, and never will be something one should use as a rust preventative or protectant. It's a vegetable based substance and should be used for shooting only. I know there are naysayers on this forum who will go to their grave dissing BoreButter, but I still use it. As a matter of fact, some of my rifles group better with BB than with TOW's mink oil or some of the other concoctions I've tried. BoreButter got a bad rep because too many folks used it as a rust preventative after cleaning their bore, and that's not what it should be used for.

A lot depends on how you clean your bore after shooting, I learned a long time ago that scalding hot water does more harm than good when flushing your barrel. Tepid or warm water is all that's necessary. Completely dry the bore with patches, followed by a good couple ounces of 91% alcohol swished back and forth followed by a few more dry patches and then follow with a patch of Barricade or Ballistol.

Go ahead and use BoreButter for a patch or bullet lube, just don't use it as a rust preventative.

BPS

Stuff isn't that great of a patch lube either.

Thompson Center Natural Lube 1000 Plus Bore Butter is a biodegradable all natural lubricant which contains no petroleum-based oil or additives. It reacts differently (chemically) to the combustion of blackpowder, producing far less "tar like" fouling. It can also be used to field lube bullets. Bore butter is an excellent rust preventative on external surfaces of any firearm.

MD...

I, like you, fell away from the old myth that ANYTHING petroleum based is bad for your bore. I'm always open to trying something new, but I've been shooting ML's since 1973 so I've been around the horn, it takes something eye-opening to move me. If your own lube is so special, why don't you send me a half dozen bottles so myself and the boys I hunt with can try it out. If we like it, maybe I can move some of your product here in the Northeast.

BPS

petro isnt bad for the bore if its cleaned out before loading. Same goes with the natural lubes. Pouring powder into a bore thats been coated with a lube does nothing more than make a mess as the powder sticks to it, making for an inconsistent charge for that first shot.

Ive got to many orders to fill to give away that many but i can certainly spare a few.

Keep rust off steel is what I had in plan when I designed my lube.

This is how much I trust it and this is just the first step.


Supposed to get into the 50's tomorrow, so that's going to make for some great moisture!

WHEW! 22 shots today ranging from 20 grains on up to 100 grains 2fg goex. Man, it was fun though! I had to flip the flint because it became to stubby to knap anymore. After that I was back in action.

I had 3 fail to spark ( 1 due to fouling and the other 2 due to the thick flint) & then 1 flash in the pan when I added to little of powder. Other than that, she was fast and accurate.

I found a new load of 60gr 2fg goex to group excellent at 50 yards.

When I upped my charge to 100gr, I started using precut .015" patches and normally, these are shredded up badly. Today, there was zero shredding/holes/cuts. I think I am getting a lot of the roughness out of the bore. All the other shots I used .018" pillow tick that I cut at the muzzle.

Really no need for pictures until I clean the rifle and run the bore cam down.

That sounds promising MD... curious to see how that bore's gonna look!

BPS

MD - when you get the new batch of polishing lube made let me know and I'll order it off you plus maybe some other stuff. Send me a PM when ready and I'll send you my address and we can arrange payment.
BTW my borescope came in yesterday. I got the 5mm. The box is marked 5mm endoscope. My wife asked me what it was for and I told her that I wasn't paying the Drs anymore for our colonoscopys and that I was going to do them myself and I hope the 5 meter one was long enough for her! She just rolled her eyes at me....

WHAAA HAAAA HAA!!! Bronko, you're too much Bud!! :lolabove: ... Seriously, how much does one of those things cost? Are they really something necessary for guys like you and I? I can see having one if you were in the business of buying or trading ML's a lot, but for those of us who take care of our guns properly, is the cost justifiable? Should we lay awake nights worrying about our bores until we purchase one of these?... LOL!

BPS

I think if an individual believes the cost is justifiable, it is justifiable. No harm to anyone else.

It's OK Oldtimr... I'm just bustin' on my buddy bronko... I'm sure he understands! :wink:

BPS

They run about $15+ depending on size. They really are a great tool to keep on hand. I've used mine a couple times on engines to take a look inside the spark plug and check out the pistons. A lot of great uses for a bore scope.

10-4 Bronko. I am actually getting ready to fill the bottles and label.

Well that's much less than I expected. I figured they would be between 70-100 bucks! Do you have a particular make/model that you prefer or recommend?

BPS

I paid $13.69 on ebay which included shipping. I checked it out and it works great. The 6 little led lights have an adjustable intensity via a rheostat at the USB plug.
Mine has a 15' cord (5M) and is waterproof. I'm sure there could me many other uses for it besides muzzies. You can use it to look anywhere you need to see but can't get your head into or an inspection mirror. Vehicles, duct work, etc.

I am assuming you guys just got the scope/cam cable with a USB and an APP for your smart phone or laptop to operate. Cuzz I know mine was 125 a couple years ago with the hand held screen and such. You sure aren't getting a total package with view screen for 15+.

MD,
Looking at the condition of the and the length of time wouldn't it have been more feasible to have just slugged the barrel and hand lapped it and then used your polishing compound? I realize that you are merely testing your lube and I am eager to review your final results.

Slugging for me isn't to my liking. I want to gently polish this bore and evenly by shooting it with patched balls.

My camera just plugs into my USB port on my lap top and they normally come with a program CD to install so it has its own viewer for adjusting settings and snap pics while you are in the bore.
------

Just swabbed the bore out tonight and ran the camera down the bore.

Muzzle,


Mid-Barrel,


Breech - Nasty pit ring is actually smoothing out a lot! More loads with 30gr 2FG Goex will be shot to smooth this area out more. Best part however, NO blown/torn up patches.

Have you ever used the VFG pellets for lapping the bore. They are similar to a felt wad. This would be gentle and you could still use your lube to polish the barrel. Just a thought...