I know of the general hot soapy water and using my standard Traditions solvent to clean my barrel. Is there anything I should NOT be putting down in there ever in regards to cleaning materials. i.e. there are a ton of cleaning products like foaming sprays and all that good stuff for rifles. should that or can that ever be used in a flintlock barrell? do you coat your inner barrell with anything? Ive been told a light coat of wd-40 on a patch would suffice.
Does a flintlock barrell require special cleaning?
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Be very careful what you coat your barrel with.. I know of a muzzleloader barrel that some sort of gun oil was applies to, and when shot, it hardened up like concrete. I'm talkin we could not get this stuff out with anything, even boiling water poured down the barrel. Eventually had to send the barrel back to the manufacturer to have the stuff removed and the touch hole drilled out.
Some of the more seasoned guys can give some good reccomendations..
Some of the more seasoned guys can give some good reccomendations..
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850 Posts
i dont use anything except soap and hot water.dry it out and oil inside barrel.my gun is 36 years old bore likes like new.wd-40 will not keep from rusting.use plain old 3 in oil.
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First, I use a good blackpowder cleaner, right now I like C-V. After about 5 patches alternating between wet and dry, I run the brass brush dipped in solvent thru and dry it out. Then I do the soapy water treatment followed by plain boiling water. Dry with patches. Let it sit overnight. Next morning, I run few patches with Kroil in it and put it away til next year. Do not use a foamy spray intended for rifle barrels.
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6,544 Posts
WD-40 does not prevent rust.I put NO petrolium products down my barrel.If you choose to do so,clean it out before firing.Burnt petrolium products make a tar in the rifling.I use olive oil in the barrel when I finally put it away till next year.
Plain soapy water followed by a rinse and dried with patches and a hair drier.Keep it simple.
Plain soapy water followed by a rinse and dried with patches and a hair drier.Keep it simple.
Is it ok to run brushes down in there? should they be brass or steel or ? I thought that was a no no......how can i get a good clean on the rifling? If im shooting copper powerbelts etc wont i get those bits in there? and i want to get it out? What is old3? or Kroil? I do have my bore butter..is that a good idea?
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850 Posts
three in one oil.i would use a brass brush.if i had to brush.
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484 Posts
WD-40 is terrible it actually attracts moisture from what I read so use a gun oil product very lightly on a patch prior to putting it away. The only reason to use the oil is to isolate and remove any remaining moisture from cleaning then it protects. Good hot water when cleaning will take care of 99.99 percent of the moisture as it evaporates but like anything if you are cleaning with water and its metal you need a protectant. Just go easy on it and run a patch down before loading and shooting the next time to get rid of the stuff.
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16,275 Posts
As was said, make sure the barrel is cdry before firing.
All good cleaning methods mentioned here.
All good cleaning methods mentioned here.
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1,575 Posts
After my rifle is cleaned and put away,I like to run a couple of clean patches down in a couple weeks just to check that everything is still fine.It always is, but I always check.Maybe a overkill,but I would hate to see it somehow rusted and I didn't notice for a couple months.
as a rule of thumb, petroleum products shouldnt be used with BP...though i know tonssss of guys do it...ive heard stories like Bonzy said...it can make the fouling a BEAR to get out...
im still old school...i believe in "seasoning" the bore...
by that i mean with bore butter...i season mine inside and out...once a year..
when i clean my bore its with hot tap water and solvent patches and a brush...then i'll dry it and run a patch coated im bore butter then another dry one...same with the outside...
my ball patches are also coated in bore butter...
then once or twice a year, i'll boil a pot of water and get the barrel burning hot...dry it real quick and hit the bore and the outside heavy with bore butter...let it dry completely then i'll whipe the excess off the outside and the inside...
alot of guys dont believe in seasoning anymore...alot of guys say they had rust problems with bore butter...
but ive been doing it that way for 7 seasons now...my bore is bright and clean and so is the outside...where i think the seasoning really shines is with the fouling...i can honestly shoot patch n ball all day long without cleaning...ive went over 20 shots before and it never really got much harder to load than the 2nd shot...and it cleans real easy...a couple minutes in the wash and im drying it and done...
water also beads off the outside like a waxed car which tells me the seasoning method i use does work...i whipe it clean before hunting and its dry clean metal...water beads off it though...
its like a cast iron skillet...to season one you get it real hot and smear it with grease and then your eggs wont stick...the metal gets hot, opens the pores and the grease (bore butter in the barrel) soaks into the pores...
the rust issue IMO is with guys not getting the barrel hot enough, and/or not getting it completely dry before hitting it with bore butter...
i rarely use solvents..i used some "rusty duck" for a while when i got it dirt cheap and it didnt impress me none...just a patch and hot tap water and a brush...
thats what works for ME....that method has upset many guys though and most wont touch it now...and many use wd-40 or regular gun oil...ive even seen guys use oil on ball patches...but those same guys have trouble loading after 1 shot....and their accuracy isnt near mine...
im still old school...i believe in "seasoning" the bore...
by that i mean with bore butter...i season mine inside and out...once a year..
when i clean my bore its with hot tap water and solvent patches and a brush...then i'll dry it and run a patch coated im bore butter then another dry one...same with the outside...
my ball patches are also coated in bore butter...
then once or twice a year, i'll boil a pot of water and get the barrel burning hot...dry it real quick and hit the bore and the outside heavy with bore butter...let it dry completely then i'll whipe the excess off the outside and the inside...
alot of guys dont believe in seasoning anymore...alot of guys say they had rust problems with bore butter...
but ive been doing it that way for 7 seasons now...my bore is bright and clean and so is the outside...where i think the seasoning really shines is with the fouling...i can honestly shoot patch n ball all day long without cleaning...ive went over 20 shots before and it never really got much harder to load than the 2nd shot...and it cleans real easy...a couple minutes in the wash and im drying it and done...
water also beads off the outside like a waxed car which tells me the seasoning method i use does work...i whipe it clean before hunting and its dry clean metal...water beads off it though...
its like a cast iron skillet...to season one you get it real hot and smear it with grease and then your eggs wont stick...the metal gets hot, opens the pores and the grease (bore butter in the barrel) soaks into the pores...
the rust issue IMO is with guys not getting the barrel hot enough, and/or not getting it completely dry before hitting it with bore butter...
i rarely use solvents..i used some "rusty duck" for a while when i got it dirt cheap and it didnt impress me none...just a patch and hot tap water and a brush...
thats what works for ME....that method has upset many guys though and most wont touch it now...and many use wd-40 or regular gun oil...ive even seen guys use oil on ball patches...but those same guys have trouble loading after 1 shot....and their accuracy isnt near mine...
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I get this question a lot and the method of cleaning depends on what you're shooting. If you're shooting PRB's with an organic lubed patch, a good detergent and warm, not hot, water will suffice. The detergent should specifically state that it is in fact clean rinsing in that it does not leave any residue behind.
Warm water rather than hot because hot will cause flash-rusting if you can't get it wiped dry quick enough. Warm water does not evaporate as quickly and will help eliminate the flash-rusting issue. While flash-rust is very thing and easily wiped off, it is in fact removing metal from the barrel and roughing up the bore. You won't see drastic changes post-cleaning but you will notice increased fouling and reduced accuracy over a period of time following several cleaning cycles when flash-rusting occurs.
If you're shooting the pistol bullets wrapped in a condom (sabots) you need to first clean with detergent water to remove the powder fouling; then follow with a chemical solvent that will remove the raw plastic fouling; then follow with another detergent water cleaning to remove the powder fouling that was trapped under the plastic fouling. If you've got burned-on plastic fouling ... lots-o-luck to ya! Standard plastic solvent for use with sabots will not remove carbonized plastic fouling, it has to be done with strong chemical solvents in conjunction with mechanical scrubbing with a stiff bronze brush. I've had customers bring me plastic fouled barrels that required a cleaning regiment of scrubbing & soaking for 3-4 days to get them clean and I'm using a powerful plastic solvent that isn't even available for retail sale.
Use a jag. I can't stress this one enough because the eye type patch holders and worms do not put enough pressure on the patch to effectively clean the rifling grooves. A jag will press the patch into the rifling, patch should be thick enough so you can feel the increase in resistance when pulling it back out - if it comes out as easy as it went in, the patch isn't thick enough or the jag is too small.
As other already said, WD-40 is pretty much useless and the solvents that make it a liquid when it comes out of the can will evaporate leaving a waxy residue behind that will get gummy or turn into a nasty hard varnish type material that is not easy to remove. For long-term and maximum protection, I have gone to a custom blended 100% synthetic oil. Yes, the bore should be wiped well before shooting but if you leave a little behind, it won't turn into the hard carbonized and difficult to remove fouling that petroleum oils produce. For short-term storage under good conditions (within a week or two), use your patch lube provided it's capable of preventing rust.
Warm water rather than hot because hot will cause flash-rusting if you can't get it wiped dry quick enough. Warm water does not evaporate as quickly and will help eliminate the flash-rusting issue. While flash-rust is very thing and easily wiped off, it is in fact removing metal from the barrel and roughing up the bore. You won't see drastic changes post-cleaning but you will notice increased fouling and reduced accuracy over a period of time following several cleaning cycles when flash-rusting occurs.
If you're shooting the pistol bullets wrapped in a condom (sabots) you need to first clean with detergent water to remove the powder fouling; then follow with a chemical solvent that will remove the raw plastic fouling; then follow with another detergent water cleaning to remove the powder fouling that was trapped under the plastic fouling. If you've got burned-on plastic fouling ... lots-o-luck to ya! Standard plastic solvent for use with sabots will not remove carbonized plastic fouling, it has to be done with strong chemical solvents in conjunction with mechanical scrubbing with a stiff bronze brush. I've had customers bring me plastic fouled barrels that required a cleaning regiment of scrubbing & soaking for 3-4 days to get them clean and I'm using a powerful plastic solvent that isn't even available for retail sale.
Use a jag. I can't stress this one enough because the eye type patch holders and worms do not put enough pressure on the patch to effectively clean the rifling grooves. A jag will press the patch into the rifling, patch should be thick enough so you can feel the increase in resistance when pulling it back out - if it comes out as easy as it went in, the patch isn't thick enough or the jag is too small.
As other already said, WD-40 is pretty much useless and the solvents that make it a liquid when it comes out of the can will evaporate leaving a waxy residue behind that will get gummy or turn into a nasty hard varnish type material that is not easy to remove. For long-term and maximum protection, I have gone to a custom blended 100% synthetic oil. Yes, the bore should be wiped well before shooting but if you leave a little behind, it won't turn into the hard carbonized and difficult to remove fouling that petroleum oils produce. For short-term storage under good conditions (within a week or two), use your patch lube provided it's capable of preventing rust.
well i got the gun pulled apart and cleaned the barrell starting with the traditions 'orange' cleaner..lots of black residue...i ran 4 alternating patches of wet and dry to clean it out...didnt see any plastic fouling to speak of. from there i went to straight hot water..not boiling. pump siphoned the barrell in a bucket saw some black bit blow out the touch hole...not many though. IMMEDIATELY ran a dry patch thru..got a faint yellow patch color..flash rust? blew it out with compressed air....patched it with the orange cleaner again and dry patched it again. all appears to be clean and dry. how can I clean the lock area good...is running or dunking it in hot water a good idea? I will not attempt to take apart the lock mechanism so maybe i should just clean with my mini brushes the best i can? I know I can not get the lock mechanism back together. If I dunk it am I asking for problems I cant solve?
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