.50 cal Hawken from interarms

armouredtrooper

armouredtrooper

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I picked up a .50 cal percussion from Lock N' load and shot it a couple of times with triple 7 and patched round ball. I zeroed at 100 I was able to get a three inch group with 100 gns of powder. I love it! Now I need to find out from you pros about barrel care. I checked the bore and found a layer of rust on the grooves. I've had the rifle for a week and I cleaned out the barrel with hot soapy water and then after drying used a light film of oil (CLP) for storeage after every shooting session.. How do I deal with the rust?
Another website mentioned plugging the barrel and pouring vinigar down the barrel and letting it stand for a few days. Since vinigar is an acid, won't that cause more of the same?:confused:
 
Go to muzzleloadingforum.com and have a look around. There is a lot of know how about traditional muzzleloaders there. I use dish soap and water, then dry patches, and run a few patches with Ballistol on them. I always check my muzzleloaders the next day and every so often, but have never seen rust since I started using Ballistol.
 
If you clean it with hot soapy water, make sure it is HOT!!
The rinse it with super hot water.
As soon as it is dry, give it a good spray with WD40, wipe it out, then alight oil.
Leave it , and the nexrt day wipe it out again.
I wuit cleaning with water years ago, and use Engine tunner in a can.
Wipe it out, the put a light coat back in.

Cat
 
I will semi reverse what Cat just said :>) First and foremost is that when you are putting the gun away, oil the inside of the barrel with something that is non volatile (does not evaporate) and something that does not migrate. I use a spray light grease called Fluid Film which I spray on the patch the wipe the bore with it. I suspect motor cycle chain grease might be the closest product to it, in the absence of Fluid Film. While Dave is essentially displacing the water with WD40 before oiling the bore, the important issue iss that WD40 is volatile and only lasts a week or so.
In terms of the current rust after a week or so, run a bronze brush down the barrel a couple or three times then oil with Fl Fm or equivalent. Next time you shoot the gun you will be polishing the minor rust out with the patched balls.
You may have got the rust for two reasons; if you are using soap, perhaps you did not rinse it out enough afterwards. I am not familiar with CLP but if it is light perhaps it evaporated or if the gun was vertical, it may have migrated down the barrel.
I don't bother with soap when cleaning; hot tap water and a bronze brush. Also be sure to remove the nipple and clean out screw each time and wash them and coat with axel grease before re installing. The grease prevents fouling from getting in the threads. If the nipple is frozen, soak the barrel in warm water for 10 minutes and the fouling should soften.
finally I use a 20/28 guage brush and when new and it gets to the bottom of the barrel you need to twist it as you pull back to get the bristles to reverse. Save an old worn one for your patches and use a relatively new one for cleaning.

cheers mooncoon
 
I've used water and soap. rinse with hot water, wipe dry, WD 40 and wipe that too. I don't leave barrels oiled. done this for years and have no rust issues.
Since yours came rusted, try a good brushing.
 
A lot of it depends on the humidity in your area. The fact that you have rust in a dry barrel suggests to me that you should work on the basis of a humid area.
Be aware that WD40 is an extremely controversial issue and borders on political discussion. Locally it is universally dispised but obviously there are some who are able to get away with using it.

cheers mooncoon
 
armouredtrooper said:
I picked up a .50 cal percussion from Lock N' load and shot it a couple of times with triple 7 and patched round ball. I zeroed at 100 I was able to get a three inch group with 100 gns of powder. I love it! Now I need to find out from you pros about barrel care. I checked the bore and found a layer of rust on the grooves. I've had the rifle for a week and I cleaned out the barrel with hot soapy water and then after drying used a light film of oil (CLP) for storeage after every shooting session.. How do I deal with the rust?
Another website mentioned plugging the barrel and pouring vinigar down the barrel and letting it stand for a few days. Since vinigar is an acid, won't that cause more of the same?:confused:
Click to expand...

I try to stay away from petroleum products on my bp firearms. the sulfur in the powder tends to cause the barrel to foul alot easier when mixed with oil. it also neccesitates a proper fouling shot ( 5gr of powder with a loose patch wad on top) without a projectile to remove any traces of the petroleum product, and keep the fouling to a minimum. oil can also cause the priming compound in your caps to become inert.

For the "traditional" items i use BP ( i find pyrodex to be very corrosive, anyone seen the pits in metal parts that develop from using pyrodex) and clean as suggested above with boiling water. then use thompson bore butter on the exposed metal ( not the inside of the lock though) for a protective film.

for the inline "modern items" i use clear shot or triple 7 ( they foul less and ignite easier than pyrodex) and follow the same cleaning/storage technique.

just my $0.02

tg
 
I have a "Traditions" Hawken percussion 50 cal. I use their cleaning concentrate for the initial cleaning. Run patches until dry (or as close to dry as you can get). I then swab the barrel and bolster drum with rubbing alcohol and run patches again until dry. Last step is a good coating of wonderlube on a patch. I have had no signs of rust. Before shooting again a few clean patches are run through to remove excess wonderlube. I use Pyrodex Select granular and have had no problems.
 
Thanks guys, I'm going to get some of that bore butter. As far as the rust is concerned, I found a FN gas chamber bronze brush .50 dia at a gun show recently and it works great down that barrel and the rust shouldn't be a problem.
 
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