Blackpowder bore cleaner ideas

Rebelson

Rebelson

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The bush in Southern Bantario
Looking for a good BP bore cleaner for use in the feild and when I get home for my 50cal flintlock. I've always used 70% rubbing alcohol on a just barely damp patch between shots and that works good enough to keep the groups passable. When I get home I've always done hot soapy water on a swab after brass brushing and a few alcohol patches, then dry patches till dry and clean then 1 lightly oiled patch for storage. Seems like when I hit the range the next time (usually about a week later) and I run a dry patch to remove the oil before loading I'm getting small amounts of fouling on the patch? I've read varying opinions on windex mixs and ammonia mixs, ammonia makes me nervous as it'll trash the brass nose cap from what others have said. What do you use? And why am I getting residue after a good cleaning? Would alcohol mixed with ammonia like others have said harm the barrel?
 
After flushing most of the fouling with water, I’ll dry and then use ballistol for any final cleaning and storage. Never had a rust problem with black powder muzzleloader, BPCR or black powder in revolvers
 
Rebelson said:
Looking for a good BP bore cleaner for use in the feild and when I get home for my 50cal flintlock. I've always used 70% rubbing alcohol on a just barely damp patch between shots and that works good enough to keep the groups passable. When I get home I've always done hot soapy water on a swab after brass brushing and a few alcohol patches, then dry patches till dry and clean then 1 lightly oiled patch for storage. Seems like when I hit the range the next time (usually about a week later) and I run a dry patch to remove the oil before loading I'm getting small amounts of fouling on the patch? I've read varying opinions on windex mixs and ammonia mixs, ammonia makes me nervous as it'll trash the brass nose cap from what others have said. What do you use? And why am I getting residue after a good cleaning? Would alcohol mixed with ammonia like others have said harm the barrel?
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I do not have much experience with black powder, but from what you wrote, as if the oil has loosen up a bit more fouling left behind after cleaning. Is about the only useful thing that I have found to do with a bore scope - to inspect to see what I cleaned out and what I missed - little bits of it jammed into corners of groove and rifling, for example. I would hesitate to believe there is such a thing as "do once" and get 100% of it? Not black powder - smokeless powder - for sure, I used one brand of cleaner until patches looked clean - I thought that I was done - then another brand of cleaner brings out more stuff on next patch.

In my case, I believe I have to remove jacket fouling and carbon deposits - not sure there is any one product that will deal with both - so I use carb cleaner for carbon, and WipeOut for bullet jacket fouling - I do not deliberately use cupro-nickel jacketed bullets, but some rifles are so old, they may very well have some of that in there. I only know to soak those bores with Ed's Red for several days, and hope that stuff seeps underneath that fouling to make it let go from the barrel. I suspect about any "juice" would work if you clean the bore after a day's shooting - it is bores on previously owned rifles, that were not likely cleaned for 40 years, that I struggle with.
 
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For many years now I have always cleaned black powder from bores after a shooting session with boiling water with some dawn dish detergent added. I block the nipple in a ML with a piece of leather and let the hammer fall to hold it there. Fill the bore to muzzle. Pour it out and fill it a second time and pour out. Then I use a cloth patch to remove any moisture and an oiled patch for the last pass. Nipple is removed and cleaned separately. My black powder cartridge rifles get the same treatment. Muzzle down into a paper towel to block the water running out. Placed in the bottom of a large plastic bowl. Fill from the breech until full and then lift and let the dirty water run out the muzzle and then again. Finish with cloth patches and oil. The boiling water heats the barrel and the moisture quickly evaporates. Old fashioned but effective.
 
Potashminer said:
I do not have much experience with black powder, but from what you wrote, as if the oil has loosen up a bit more fouling left behind after cleaning. Is about the only useful thing that I have found to do with a bore scope - to inspect to see what I cleaned out and what I missed - little bits of it jammed into corners of groove and rifling, for example. I would hesitate to believe there is such a thing as "do once" and get 100% of it? Not black powder - smokeless powder - for sure, I used one brand of cleaner until patches looked clean - I thought that I was done - then another brand of cleaner brings out more stuff on next patch.

In my case, I believe I have to remove jacket fouling and carbon deposits - not sure there is any one product that will deal with both - so I use carb cleaner for carbon, and WipeOut for bullet jacket fouling - I do not deliberately use cupro-nickel jacketed bullets, but some rifles are so old, they may very well have some of that in there. I only know to soak those bores with Ed's Red for several days, and hope that stuff seeps underneath that fouling to make it let go from the barrel. I suspect about any "juice" would work if you clean the bore after a day's shooting - it is bores on previously owned rifles, that were not likely cleaned for 40 years, that I struggle with.
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I have read that many use ammonia and alcohol to remove heavy Cooper fouling with ease. Does anyone here have any experience with it? Worst case I'll be the guinea pig again and see if it is truly as good as other say. I have some 303 brit smle takeoff barrels that are heavily copper fouled and the throats are eroded that I wouldn't mind if they were destroyed by etching.
 
Perhaps you might want to take that WipeOut advertisement test - clean with other stuff, until you think bore is clean - shoot in some foaming WipeOut and let soak in there overnight - in morning, first patch through tells you what was left in there - any "blue" stain is telling you that it was working on copper stuck in there. I noticed as if in layers - vivid blue for some patches, then browns and blacks but no blue, then back to blue, and so on. For very cruddy bore, that owner was quite frank to have "never" cleaned that 30-06 bore in 30 plus years, it took me 12 overnight soaks, plus 12 day time soaks, to get clean patches coming out. I did not use bore brush - just foaming WipeOut and three clean, dry patches each time - snug fit into bore on a "spear" tip jag - so was "one way" trip through the bore, from chamber end.

That was in the days before I owned a bore scope - had to rely on what I could see coming out on patch to "guess" what was still left in there. Since I got bore scope, about worst was a couple Stevens Favourite rifles and a Deutsche Werke - Werke Erfert Mod. 1 .22 - made circa early 1900's, I think - could see in bore scope as rust pits being exposed - then as rust pits being cleaned out - lots of scratches, etc. on top of the rifling - grooves had much grunge caked in there - I do not think I was causing those scratches. I was using multiple new bronze bore brushes in those, besides the patches and jag. I capped ends of barrel and filled with various "juice" for overnight soak - acetone, Varsol, ATF, kerosene, etc. - oddly perhaps, just plain boiling water seemed to move a lot of it - might have been that heat making the crud let go.

Your elder .303 British may be fouled with cupro-nickel jacket material - I believe that is entirely different stuff to get out - compared to more modern gilding jacket material - as if that old time stuff welded itself to the barrel steel - I think military armourers had really nasty stuff to get that fouling out - sort of was a race between getting that crap out and ruining the barrel.
 
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I ordered in a gallon jug of Ezzox , I found this stuff when I stayed at the owners house of Plenty O Patches when he owned the company he made up kits for RCMP depo and he was a Master Class Bench rest shooter.
I have been using it in my BPCR rifles since. Seems to clean them well and keep them rust free.

Front stuffers I shoot round ball with a patch ball combo .patch has 9/1 mix castor oil and alcohol keeps the fouling down and easy clean up with Ballistol
 
Potashminer said:
Perhaps you might want to take that WipeOut advertisement test - clean with other stuff, until you think bore is clean - shoot in some foaming WipeOut and let soak in there overnight - in morning, first patch through tells you what was left in there - any "blue" stain is telling you that it was working on copper stuck in there. I noticed as if in layers - vivid blue for some patches, then browns and blacks but no blue, then back to blue, and so on. For very cruddy bore, that owner was quite frank to have "never" cleaned that 30-06 bore in 30 plus years, it took me 12 overnight soaks, plus 12 day time soaks, to get clean patches coming out. I did not use bore brush - just foaming WipeOut and three clean, dry patches each time - snug fit into bore on a "spear" tip jag - so was "one way" trip through the bore, from chamber end.

That was in the days before I owned a bore scope - had to rely what I could see coming out on patch to "guess" what was still left in there. Since I got bore scope, about worst was a couple Stevens Favourite rifles and a Deutsche Werke - Werke Erfert Mod. 1 .22 - made circa early 1900's, I think - could see in bore scope as rust pits being exposed - then as rust pits being cleaned out - lots of scratches, etc. on top of the rifling - grooves had much grunge caked in there - I do not think I was causing those scratches. I was using multiple new bronze bore brushes in those, besides the patches and jag.
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I'm looking deeper into the use of ammonia for the removal of fouling, seems promising. I think I'll do more research into ammonia Cooper fouling mix's and pick one then after using and wiping the bore dry, try using WipeOut to see if anything remains.

Also nine35 in Canada sells 22lr liners 24" long for under a hundred. Sounds like prime candidates for relining. And the liners are already chamber reamed.
 
When I'm loading a patched ball into a muzzle loader, I just make sure the patch is soaked with "Spit Patch" or a mixture of 20% Ballistol/80%Alcohol. I have a small container with the patches pre lubed and that does the job of softening the BP fouling very well.

When I'm finished shooting for the day, I have larger patches, soaked in the same stuff, that I run down the bore on a slotted rod tip.

This will keep things from rusting until that evening or even the next day when I can disassemble and clean them properly with soap and hot water.

Ballistol is fine for storage but it isn't my first choice, simply because if it's left for extended periods (I don't shoot BP as much as I used to), and this thread prompted me to go to the safe and pull out my Lyman .50 cal Trade Rifle to take a peek down the bore and at the nipple.

I haven't shot it for at least a year. I wiped it on the outside with "Birchwood Casey Sheath" and then with a fine film of Kroil and Slicker mix.

I use a 50/50 Kroil/Slicker mix because it's very easy to clean out with a quick patch through and even if it's left in the bore for a year or two, never gets sticky. Not only that, creepy crawlies don't like it and don't get into the bores.
 
I always have just used hot water(hotter the better) and pumped it through the bore if I can if I cant(martini and snider) then I flush them out with lots of water.

Real black powder isn’t going to cause rust super quick it’s no corrosive it’s hygroscopic it adsorbs moisture from the air. Fact of the matter a lot of our antiques with pitted bores are actually from corrosive priming compounds.
 
antiqueguy said:
I always have just used hot water(hotter the better) and pumped it through the bore if I can if I cant(martini and snider) then I flush them out with lots of water.

Real black powder isn’t going to cause rust super quick it’s no corrosive it’s hygroscopic it adsorbs moisture from the air. Fact of the matter a lot of our antiques with pitted bores are actually from corrosive priming compounds.
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This/\

That's why the Ballistol.

To say BP doesn't promote corrosion???? Mix water with sulphur residue and you will get corrosion. Not right away, and if you live in a very dry area, maybe not for a few months.

If you live in a high humidity area, or store your rifles where they can get condensation on them, you will get rust, inside and out.

My firearms are in relatively dry storage, in safes or safe room but I don't take any chances with with them. That's why the wipe down with Sheath on the outside and the final film of 50/50 Kroil/Slicker.

Keeping BP rifles clean and lubed is cheap and easy, why take a chance on ruining the appearance of a valuable antique or even a modern clone???
 
If you're shooting in the great out-of-doors and don't have boiling water ready at hand it seems that a Ballistol-and-water scrubout might be practical, then patch with oil.

(I have a not-yet-fired BP rifle for which I'm still working up that part of the procedure before I take it to the range to fire. Absolutely no sense doing that until I'm ready to clean up afterwards.)

Or does anyone take a camp stove out to the range for a bit of field-expedient boiling water for barrel cleaning?
 
I always run water through the coffee maker and then dump it down the barrel in the kitchen sink ( provided the wife isn't home). I also use Windex and dish soap. Not sure when I started doing this but haven't lost a barrel yet.
 
When I had an in-line muzzle loader, I was shown just to keep a patch in my mouth - make it "spit wet" - that was mostly to swab bore after firing to get next sabot down that tube. The boiling water thing - was from old British Army, I think - at end of day, that the rifles had been fired. Not two weeks later - that day ...
 
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