FUBAR'd Fifty Cal ? Can it be brought back to life ?

Devlin

Devlin

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My father dropped off his old muzzleloader to me tonight, he's older and struggling with the early stages of Alzheimers and has not taken proper care of the gun. It's not a terribly expensive gun but I'd like to see if it can be cleaned up and brought back to a good state. It's a Traditions Pursuit inline .50cal. After a quick look I am more than certain it needs a serious going over and cleaning, potentially replacement. I have not attempted to fire the gun in its current condition.

I know exactly zero, nada, nothing, bugger all about muzzleloaders but thought I'd start here and off to consult Youtube and the Google machine on how best to tackle this. I'm more of a shotgun and precision smokeless rifle person. So I am completely new to this world, I had to use a brass punch and a soft mallet to get the breach plug out but it did come free after a reasonable amount of taping away at it.

Some pictures below of what I'm facing here. Welcome any advice or guidance on this from those with experience.

The breach plug flash hole surface
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Looking down the breach
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Muzzle End of barrel
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I'd give it a good cleaning, then you will be able to determine how bad the barrel is rusted and pitted. If the barrel is very pitted it may be beyond repair.
 
Magellann said:
I'd give it a good cleaning, then you will be able to determine how bad the barrel is rusted and pitted. If the barrel is very pitted it may be beyond repair.
Click to expand...


Any recommendations on cleaning products or procedures that work well. Googling is telling me to stay away from petroleum based products and get something dedicated to muzzleloaders and black powder fouling.
 
with real black powder hot water works well id start there and use a brush just put one end in a bucket of water and use the brush on a cleaning rod to pump it through. you may need a little something more to get rid of that though maybe some jb bore bright after initial cleaning
 
I'd start with a brass bore brush and a solvent like varsol.
That should remove the easy rust and allow you to see what you are up against for a more thorough cleaning using a bore cleaner.
The breach plug can be cleaned up on a brass wheel easily.
 
It is done. The fowling after each shot with that much rust and pitting with be throwing the bullets all over the place. Clean it up and find someone who needs a mantle piece.
My humble opinion.
 
Youd be suprised how much a lead projo can be forgiving on beat up barrels. The slow twist rate with the obturation of the boolit, will be to your advantage .


Clean it, shoot and and see

Worst case senario itll be a wall hanger
 
What I would do is thread the plug back in GENTLY, plug the flashole with a toothpick and pour the barrel full of kerosene or diesel and let it sit overnight. Scrub with the brush next day. Then I would take some Sweets 7.62 or similar to take care of any plastic residue. I have seen muzzle loader barrels that looked like pitted steel pipe that still are perfectly functional and accurate enough for the average guy or gal.

The bore of my 20 yr old TC Encore has pitting in the powder/bullet seat area that is just plain ugly and has been for years. Only gun I own that always hits where it is pointed every time.
 
I'd bet a round that it'll shoot PL just fine. It ain't gotta look surgical to shoot, lol.
Got a Winnie 94 that is way past that. Gets me a deer every 3rd year or so, got to take the others out too.
Mind you, maybe them 'new and improved inlines' can't tolerate that sort of nonsense?:stirthepot2:
 
JB Bore paste will clean up a lot, might want to go to a all lead conical with bore butter /lube ...I did that with a messed up knight 50 cal years ago and it turned out to be my best muzzleloader.
 
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