Cleaning BH209?

[jm1607]

This is my first time using it..

I just noticed the side of the jug says to only use their Montana Extreme solvent and not to use other solvents.. Is this true? Can I use my Knight brand solvent or do I need to buy this stuff?

 

[CoHiCntry]

Whatever you usually use on your centerfire rifles will work just fine. Don't use any solvent made for muzzleloaders. I use Hoppes #9.

 

[jm1607]

Ah.. So no Knight Solvent? Can I use Knight saturated pads between shots?

I think I have some Hoppes #9 laying around...

 

[CoHiCntry]

I'm not familiar with Knight solvent. If it's a water based solvent made for black powder then no, you shouldn't use it. You don't need to swab between shots using BH209. Thats kinda the beauty of it, aside from the other benefits in performance. Just clean it up at the end of your range session like you would most centerfire rifles.

 

[Shrek]

Any old regular rifle cleaning solvent will do but like what was said earlier you don't need or want to clean every couple of shots. I've shot well over sixty rounds in one session without cleaning . After about the third shot it reaches a dirty level and just stays there. You do need to clean it when you are done shooting because to make it a legal black powder substitute they have to leave some sulfur in it which will eat up your barrel. Shoots more accurate if you weigh charges rather than use a volume measure. Makes a little difference not a big one.

 

[MuleyFever]

Why not use water? I have used my T/C bore cleaner for the last year with no issues.

 

[Travis Bertrand]

because it has nitrocellulose in it. it is designed to be cleaned with a solvent that is not water based. Clean it like you would clean you deer rifle. Like shrek said, no need to run patches between shots, just clean it at the end of your shooting session.

For what its worth, Montana Xtreme makes quality cleaning products and they work really well with BH209. They have a formula specifically for the stuff as well. Cant go wrong there!

 

[COlineman78]

Thompson Center T7 works amazing for me. Far better than Hoppes #9. I have not used BH209 however and primarily run 777.

 

[Travis Bertrand]

Thompson Center T7 works amazing for me. Far better than Hoppes #9. I have not used BH209 however and primarily run 777.

They are two completely different powders. T7 is water based and works well with 777 however will not do the trick on bh209

 

[Shrek]

If you are running sabots they leave plastic fouling and the cleaners I was using wasn't getting it out and the bronze brush wasn't really kicking it either. Went to JB's bore paste and it made a world of difference. This was on my TC Encore , traditions , and cva front stuffers. They are not the finest lapped of barrels but with regular use of JB's they smoothed out and fouled much less.

 

[MuleyFever]

I have been using the T/C Number 13 bore cleaner. It gets my bore clean.

 

[CoHiCntry]

If you are running sabots they leave plastic fouling and the cleaners I was using wasn't getting it out and the bronze brush wasn't really kicking it either. Went to JB's bore paste and it made a world of difference. This was on my TC Encore , traditions , and cva front stuffers. They are not the finest lapped of barrels but with regular use of JB's they smoothed out and fouled much less.

I've heard, but never experienced that the JB is so abrasive it will start increasing your bore diameter over time. Might not be an issue when shooting sabots (I don't use sabots so no experience there)? Just a heads up. I've got some JB and Kroil to work on a troubled Hawken barrel. That JB is supposed to be good stuff!

 

[Shrek]

I'm sure that it could and I don't recommend it for fine custom barrels but the precision of factory muzzle loaders isn't the same as a benchrest barrel and the plastic sabots don't break in a barrel and take the fine machine marks off. They just get sticky with plastic fouling fast. The JB's polishes the bore nicely and the fouling drops off noticeably. You then need to use the JB's much less. There's plenty of benchrest shooters who clean with JB's to remove hard carbon and polish rough throats later in a barrels life too. It's not some fierce abrasive but all things are relative.

 

[jm1607]

Thanks guys, I used some Hoppes last night and it seemed to do the trick just fine. Have some Barnes cleaner on order so next time I'll probably use it...

 

[mtswampfox]

Thanks guys, I used some Hoppes last night and it seemed to do the trick just fine. Have some Barnes cleaner on order so next time I'll probably use it...

Barnes cr10 has been a favorite bore cleaner for years, powder and copper remover

 

[rayporter]

just about every benchrest rifle get a JB treatement after a match. if it could hurt in any way we would not use it. flitz and iosso are also used, both could help get carbon out of a muzzy.

i keep a couple quarts of butches bore shine around so it gets used the most. i also keep lead remover and gumout. the gumout is for plastic.
i havent seen the need to remove copper in a muzzy yet so the sweets and cr10 havent been used. someday i might have to remove copper, just not yet.

hoppes should be as good as any and better than most.