Cleaning your Muzzleloader

[cnelk]

There are several ways to clean a muzzleloader and guys have their own favorite way.

Let’s hear how you clean your ML

 

[RS3579]

Couple pre soaked cleaning patches and then HOT HOT tap water in a bucket with Dawn dish soap pulling the water into the barrel. You can feel the barrel getting warm. Then run patch till dry. Small amount of oil to coat the inside of barrel for storage. Next time shooting run a couple patches to clear oil. Never had a problem and no issues with accuracy.

 

[MuleyFever]

Patches until it's clean.

 

[Jethro]

In-line gets cleaned with TC13 bore cleaner and then oiled. Flintlock gets hot soapy water bath and then a patch of bore butter.

 

[cnelk]

Ive used Windex on patches to clean to bore for years. Works awesome.
I also use carb cleaner when I take apart the firing pin assembly and breech plug since the powder residue has lots of carbon in it, it works great.

Lightly oil everything when complete

 

[MallardSX2]

Hot water
Patch brush patch brush
Hot water
Patch brush patch brush

Repeat until clean.

Light coat of oil in bore once it was dried.

Sometimes I put a wine cork in the end of my barrel and use a small funnel to dump boiling water down the bore. Depends on how much I have shot and what kind of powder.

 

[TAArrowood]

For my cap and ball I take a 3 ft piece of surgical tubing and press it over the tip of the nipple.. I then use a cleaning rod with a tight patch to suck boiling hot water with dawn into the bore... After several passes.. I replace with clean hot water and repeat until the water is clear with no soap.. If the water is hot enough the barrel gets super hot to the touch and will dry completely and very quickly.. I then run a clean patch with a small amount of bore butter down.. The rubber tube keeps the cleaning water away from everything but the bore during the cleaning process..

 

[Keith Stone]

28 guage bore snake sprayed down with hornady one shot. Pull it through twice and done

 

[LookinforDirt]

CVA Optima V2. I use Blackhorn 209 powder. Patches until clean using Hoppies #9. Then dry patches. I will run a nylon brush through it to remove any potential sabot fouling. I soak the breech plug in Hoppies as well. Use a drill bit to clean the flash hole.

 

[cnelk]

A welders tip cleaner kit is helpful to clean the breech plug

 

[elkivory]

CVA Optima V2. I use Blackhorn 209 powder. Patches until clean using Hoppies #9. Then dry patches. I will run a nylon brush through it to remove any potential sabot fouling. I soak the breech plug in Hoppies as well. Use a drill bit to clean the flash hole.

Accura V2 . Pretty much do the same, and use a acetylene torch tip cleaner on small flash hole. I was typing this when cnelk put pic up. That's the tip cleaner.

 

[mod-it]

For my caplock,
Pull nipple and soak in hot water with Hoppes BP solvent.
Remove barrel. Put breach down in a bucket of hot water with a couple drops of dish soap. Patch on a jag up/down the bore several times. Change out bucket of water to just plain hot water, change patch on jag and make several passes for a rinse. Remove barrel and lean against a post bore down to let it drain and dry.
While waiting I wipe down the stock and clean the lock (I only clean the inside of the lock about once a year), including inside the hammer cup, with a rag and q-tips damp with hot water and a bit of Hoppes BP solvent. Then I wipe with a dry rag and then wipe down external metal with a rag with a bit of Barricade on it.
Then the nipple gets fully cleaned. Run a nipple pick through it and then run hot water through it. Blow it out with air.
Then I go back to the barrel, blast it out with air, including around the sights, rib, tenon, ram rod holders. Then I pour a bit of denatured alcohol through it, from bore and out through nipple. Let it sit 5 minutes, blast air through it again, and then dry patches until sure it's dry. Then a light coating of barricade in the bore and put back in the stock. Put anti-sieze on the nipple threads and install again. Whole rifle gets wiped down with an oily rag and put away bore down so none of the Barricade, if I applied a bit too much, runs into the flame channel before it dries to a film.

 

[twalk2]

Muzzle loader bore cleaner patches till clean, a bunch of dry patches and couple of patches with bore butter.

 

[Schnee]

1 wet patch and 2 dry after every 2 shots at the range. Complete disassembly and hot water afterward. Air dry and a light coat of oil and some breach plug grease.

 

[Rich M]

using alcohol/washer fluid mix on patches - run one or two thru every couple shots followed by a dry patch, front and back.

after day is done, will use the same mix and clean the threads and nooks and crannies. Then run dry patches and oil the gun up.

Flitz polish on outside and sometimes polish up the bore if it will sit for a long time. I have a ML tag this year but it will be about 3 years after before I see another. The polish keeps it protected.

 

[Point Man]

Warm water ( hot water creates flash rust ) with Dawn dish soap or Ballistol. Blow dry with compressor followed up with dry patches and alcohol. Coat bore with Barricade for storage.

 

[birdog]

For BH209 I use Hoppe's #9. Dry patch then wet patch until it's clean followed by two dry patches. Light coat of Ballistol on a clean patch if it's going into the safe. I will be switching to Boretech black powder solvent shortly. I use the Boretech Copper Remover and their Carbon Remover on my centerfires and that stuff is awesome.

 

[jimmy33]

Windex wipes work like magic!


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[Juan_ID]

Bought a muzzy years ago and got almost all the info I use from @sabotloader, he’s got a wealth of knowledge so thank you sir! Windex patches and a bore snake after a range trip, usually just a few spit patches while at the range depending how many rounds I shoot. Then just drop the breech plug and nipple into a cup of windex for the trip home and then use an old toothbrush and pipe cleaners to fully clean the parts before reassembly whenever I get around to it. My ultralight has sat in the safe for about 8 years waiting for a chance to punish my shoulder again, happy to say I got a muzzy tag I’m preparing for and it’s just as fun to shoot as I remember.

 

[Dented]

@sabotloader is a wealth of knowledge. He cut untold hours of mistakes off of my learning curve. Excellent cleaning regimen.