mr.flintlock
40 Cal.
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2010
- Messages
- 487
- Reaction score
- 5
I never remove my pinned barrels for cleaning. I only pull them if I need to for maintenance. It really isn't necessary to pull my barrels for cleaning. My breechplug is flat faced.
This is my method for cleaning:
I shoot flint rifles so I plug the vent hole and stand the rifle up and pour water down the bore and let it stand. With the lock removed I clean it first making sure it is clean inside and out.
I then pour the water out that is in the bore and scrape the face of the breechplug to remove the gunk that is attached to the face of the breechplug. I then run a brush up and down the bore a few times. I then run dry patches untill they come out clean and dry.
Next I load a patch with Hoppe's # 69+ and run it down the bore. If it comes out clean I am finished. If it comes out a little dirty I run two dry patches and another Hoppe's #9+ and repeat this process untill the patches come out clean.
It is a personal choice as to whether you remove the barrel for each cleaning but consider this: Lets say you shoot once an week. There are 52 weeks in a year. You remove the barrel each time you shoot. The pins are slid in once and out 52 times a year. That means they are moved 104 times a year. Once out and once in. Metal pins rubbing on wood has to cause at least some wear on the wood over a period of years.
Some of my muzzleloading rifles are many, many years old and have had tens of thousands of shots fired through them, but all still have perfect bores when examined with a drop in bore light.
This is my method for cleaning:
I shoot flint rifles so I plug the vent hole and stand the rifle up and pour water down the bore and let it stand. With the lock removed I clean it first making sure it is clean inside and out.
I then pour the water out that is in the bore and scrape the face of the breechplug to remove the gunk that is attached to the face of the breechplug. I then run a brush up and down the bore a few times. I then run dry patches untill they come out clean and dry.
Next I load a patch with Hoppe's # 69+ and run it down the bore. If it comes out clean I am finished. If it comes out a little dirty I run two dry patches and another Hoppe's #9+ and repeat this process untill the patches come out clean.
It is a personal choice as to whether you remove the barrel for each cleaning but consider this: Lets say you shoot once an week. There are 52 weeks in a year. You remove the barrel each time you shoot. The pins are slid in once and out 52 times a year. That means they are moved 104 times a year. Once out and once in. Metal pins rubbing on wood has to cause at least some wear on the wood over a period of years.
Some of my muzzleloading rifles are many, many years old and have had tens of thousands of shots fired through them, but all still have perfect bores when examined with a drop in bore light.