Sidelock Patented Breech/Fire Channel (Cleaning)

[Idaholewis]

I decided to use this old Roached out .50 Cal Renegade barrel for educational purposes, I thought of sending it to Hoyt for a Rebore, Maybe Relined? But decided against it, This Barrel actually shot well, But had to many things going against it, it was drilled and Tapped for See Through scope mounts, 3-4” of the Bore down at the Breech end was in HORRIBLE condition. I completely stripped the barrel of it’s parts and used them on a REALLY nice old .54 Cal Renegade barrel i had tucked under the Bed, I didn’t buy this Rifle for the barrel (I suspected it would be junk) i bought it for the Stock and accessories for a Brand New Green Mountain LRH Barrel in .54 Cal (Affectionately known as my “White Wale” Barrel) Which i now have fitted in this Stock and ready for a test Run :yeah:

The Reason this old .50 Cal barrel shot decent is the riflings were good from the Crown, down about 20” or so, In other words The bullet had a NASTY 3-4” To get through upon Take off, and then the Riflings were good to the Crown. Cleaning this thing would have continued to be a Nightmare, Just not worth the Hassle

 

[Idaholewis]

Enough of the Explanations as to why i did this

Top view

Flipped over

Another view, This Particular Breech plug had the Clean out screw on the Side as you can see, and you can See through the nipple Hole here, The Fire Channel leads directly to, and under the Nipple

Now here is a View of my .50 Cal Cleaning Jag, as you can clearly see the Jag Stops on The Shoulders of the Breech plug, it can NOT get in the Patented breech just behind it.

TC makes a “Scraper” Tool for their Barrels, Here it is, as you can see it is Rounded and designed to fit in their Patented Breech

Here is the TC Tool inside the Patented Breech, again this is designed as a “Scraping” Tool, I rarely use mine, when you clean Properly it really isn’t necessary, But DEFINITELY doesn’t hurt to use it! After all TC designed it for their Rifles :yeah:

 

[Idaholewis]

By the pics above you can CLEARLY see what you are working with, It is ABSOLUTELY Vital that you Clean, and properly Care for this Critical Breech end! Here is where 99% of Hangfires occur in a Sidelock Muzzleloader! After i clean my Rifles, and oil them liberally, Oil gets in the Patented Breech and Fire Channel, All is Good, i want that oil in there when my Rifle is Sitting with a Folded Patch Between the Hammer and Nipple to Catch excess oil. When i get ready to Load a Rifle, i Pull the Nipple, Run a Few Dry patches down the Bore to Absorb Excess Oil, I then Point the Nozzle of my Air Compressor attachment Inside the Nipple hole with barrel pointed straight Down And i BLAST Compressed air through the Nipple Hole, As you can see by my photos above this Compressed Air is FORCING excess oil OUT of the Fire channel, I also Blow The nipple out really good as well. I then Run a Few more Dry patches, Then i Pop 1-2 Caps straight through with the Muzzle pointed down, i Run 1 more Dry Patch, And i am ready to Load my Rifle. Since i started the above method i have yet to have a Cold bore Hangfire, My rifles go off IMMEDIATELY

 

[Idaholewis]

Once your rifle is good n Clean, BONE DRY, And Coated GOOD with oil (I like to see oil spit through the Nipple threads, that way i know the Patented Breech and Fire Channel is coated good) Then Storing them barrel down on a Paper Towel etc. is a good way to go. That way the excess oil works it’s way down and on the Towel

 

[Idaholewis]

Hopefully this helps folks That don’t have a Clue what these things look like inside, The Ole Renegade Barrel Payed the Ultimate price for it

When you clean these Sidelock barrels, Use a bucket of Tap Water, Dunk the Breech end in the Bucket, When you push a Patched jag down the Bore to the Breech Plug Shoulder “Stop” and Draw it Back out slowly it pulls Water back up in the Bore, i pull back about 12” or so and then RAPIDLY push the Rod back in til it Stops on the Breech Plug Shoulder, this “Rushes” Water back through the Patented Breech and Fire Channel, Do this several times. You don’t need any special tools to do the Job, just a proper Jag and Good fitting Patch. Some say A bore brush is not Necessary, But I personally like them, i use ONLY the good “Loop Through” Style brushes, Either Bronze, or Nylon. AVOID the press fitted brushes in a Sidelock, they are an accident waiting to happen, they can, and will Pull apart! It’s a bad feeling when you have a Brush Bottomed out in your barrel and you pull your cleaning rod back out to find the Brush is no longer attached to your Cleaning Rod :shock: I had it happen 1 time, luckily i was able to get it without much problem. If this ever happens, use a Copper tube that just fits inside the Bore, push it down and “Over” The brush, it will come Back inside the Tube. Avoid this problem by using a Loop Through brush in the First place :yeah:

Here is what i use, “Loop Through” and i use both the Bronze and Nylon, Notice how the Wire loops through the Ferrel end, These will NOT pull apart :yeah:

This is a Press fitted brush, AVOID these in a Sidelock Muzzleloader!

I shoot a TON, Therefore i go through LOTS of Patches, You can go to a Thrift store and get a Lifetime supply of Old Cotton T Shirts and cut them up in to Patches the Size/Sizes you need. I use a Piece of Plexi Glass and a Fabric cutter i got from Walmart that works like a Dream, i can cut up a BUNCH of Good patches in no time!

 

[Idaholewis]

Here is my Sidelock Cleaning Video. My cleaning Rod is a Stiff 3/8” Treso Fiberglass Ramrod (Slick coated) i got mine at Buffalo Arms, they come in 8-32 Thread, and 10-32, All of my Muzzleloader stuff is 10-32, These Rods are REALLY long and designed to be cut down to a length of your Choice, My longest barrels are 32” i cut my Rod to 36-37” So i have extra “Handle” room to get ahold of good. I also have a Solid Brass Range/Cleaning Rod i had made by October Country, It is a really nice Rod, but i don’t use it that much due to it being extremely heavy, I use it more as a Range Rod for loading tight fitting Conicals. I highly advise the Use of a Longer Designated Range/Cleaning Rod for Cleaning rifles. Some folks use the Ramrods that came with their Rifles, I don’t like this for cleaning or Range use due to their Short length (For Hunting they work Great) they don’t leave you enough to hold on to when seated against the Breech Plug, makes for an Easy way to get your RamRod Stuck in your rifle when using a Tight fitting Patched Jag. I also use Treso Jags for each Caliber, they are Solid Brass but have Steel thread inserts and they won’t break, Solid brass Jags with Brass threads can Break off in your barrel

 

[Idaholewis]

The above pretty much covers everything on Properly Cleaning a Sidelock Muzzleloader.

Here is the Copper Chore Boy i spoke of in my Cleaning Video above, Make DARN sure it is the Pure Copper stuff! Chore Boy brand makes a few different types, Stainless being 1 of them. You want the Pure Copper Chore Boy :yeah: When Wrapped Around an Old Bore brush this Stuff REALLY gets with Cleaning a NASTY bore! From Leading, to a Neglected Rusty Bore. A properly maintained Muzzleloader does not need this, This is Geared toward a Leaded, Rusty Bore. Of course this is NOT gonna remove/fix Pitting, But it will sure get with Surface Rust, and any possible Leading. To Date i have NOT had ANY issues with Leading in any of my Muzzleloaders Shooting Grease Groove bullets, Good lube, and an 1/8” Wool felt OP Wad and you are Good :yeah:

Here is an Old Bore brush i have wrapped in Copper Chore boy, Cut it with Scissors, pull it apart, Whatever it takes to Get pieces of it that you Can tightly Wrap Around the Old Bore Brush, Make DARN sure to use a GOOD LOOP THROUGH Bore brush as i have pictured above, Those press fitted types should be outlawed, They are JUNK for Sidelock Muzzleloaders