Boiled Vinegar???

[tiger955]

I was at a shoot a while back and a fellow told me that after a period of shooting and cleaning accuracy would fall off. He said when this happens to clean the gun normally and then plug the touch hole and fill the barrel with boiling vinegar. After it cools a bit to clean again normally and accuracy will be back.
Has anyone else heard of this? I don't have any problems with my rifles but I was just wondering if maybe he is getting buildup from his patch lube that the vinegar is cleaning out. He has been around muzzleloaders for quite a few years and was talking like this is a normal occurrence.

 

[LRB]

Vinegar is basicly acetic acid and water. It is a mild corrosive and will lightly etch iron. I believe you are right about the vinegar cleaning out lube fouling residue, but there are less aggresive ways of doing that. Every time your friend does that process, he is losing metal. A faint amount I'm sure, but if done often enough, that faint amount could add up and create a new problem. I really don't know about the harm of long term use, but I would not use it on any regular basis.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I agree and wonder if he uses hot water in his normal cleaning process, OR doesn't let the hot water sit, and dissolve the crud as his vinegar solution is doing. Meaning, perhaps the heat and the time is doing the trick, and the vinegar is actually a negative factor. ???

LD

 

[Bill Hall]

I agree with what the others have said. Vinegar isn't a really aggresive acid, but its effects are accumulative. It will eat up the metal after repeated uses, and boiling it will only speed up the process.

I often use a homemade stain that is made from vinegar and dissolved steel (vinegaroon?). If you add some steel wool to a quart of vinegar (5% acid I believe), the steel will dissolve within a couple of days. To me, that's a good indicator of how corrosive vinegar is, and I wouldn't put it down my barrel. Bill

 

[mnbearbaiter]

50/50 mix of vinegar and water will not harm the bore! A friend who shoots Pyrodex uses it in his guns, he does so like this! Before storage, or after leaving the range he removes the nipple and fills it in with a short screw of the same thread size with thread tape on them! He then fills the bore to the top and sets a timer for 10 MINUTES, i repeat 10 MINUTES! After the 10 MINUTES are up he pours the vinegar/water/fouling mess down his garage floor drain! Aparently 10 MINUTES is all the longer he trusts for this process! A little bore brushing followed by a few alcohol soaked patches and finally a light coat of rust inhibitor like Barricade and hes set!!!!

 

[tiger955]

It just didn't sound like a real good idea, and I have never heard of it mentioned before, so I just wondered if anyone here had. I clean my bores with real hot water and never had a problem with build up. I'll have to ask next time I see him what he is using for patch lube. Knowing him it is probably a formula he devised. Might have some petrol products in it causing buildup.

 

[bangfxr]

I was tought lang ago to use hot soapy water let it sit in barrel for a little bit, dump it out swab barrel do it again 2 more times then run hot rinse water through it. The heat will help dry the barrel, run swabs through it till they come out clean then apply a lite coat of oil to a dry swab and run it through. There you go its clean. I wouldnt use any amount of vinegar or anything else down my barrels. But thats my $0.02 worth.

 

[Many Klatch]

Reminds me of the old story about urinating in a barrel and leaving it over night to "tighten up the groups".

I like hot water and spic and span to clean my smokepoles.

Many Klatch

 

[Billnpatti]

I'll tell you, I sure do have my reservations about putting any kind of acid in my barrels for any length of time. Others may do it and swear by it but it's not for me. I'll stick to non-petroleum patch lubes to keep from causing any goo from forming in my barrel and use only hot water and soap to clean my barrels. I know some say not to use hot water but I do and have no problems with it. I also rinse with hot water. I follow that with a good spray of WD-40 to displace any residual dampness. I thoroughly wipe out all traces of the WD-40 with several dry patches and then run a patch dampened with Barricade through my bore. That gets it good and clean and ready for storage until the next shoot. Before shooting it next time, I run several dry patches through the bore to get it good and dry with no traces of Barricade and I am ready to go.

I don't know about the vinegar thing so I will leave that to others who believe in it. I like my cleaning method and so far I have never seen any loss of accuracy. I guess it's like Davie Crockett said "Be sure you're right, then go ahead".

 

[jamesthomas]

I just use some cold tap water with a dash of dish soap. Spit for lube at the range, I use perhaps 6 to 8 patches to clean and preserve, takes about 10 min. or so. Might take me a little longer and couple of extra patches if I shoot my hunting load with Mink Oil.

 

[fatboy]

cold water a bit of soap and tight patch and brush one older guy liked windshield washer fluid to clean with. I have used simple green cut with water to clean with also and work well enough

 

[Joel/Calgary]

One of the major components of BP fouling is potassium carbonate. This is most often loose and easily removed or dissolved, but can on occasion be fused (melted) forming the "hard fouling" one sometimes finds. Once fused into a solid, it is both hard and much slower to dissolve in plain water, but will readily dissolve in acid, like most (all?) carbonate minerals. Vinegar, especially hot, would be an effective way of dissolving, or at least softening, this portion of the fouling if it had built up. (This is summarized from memory of various writings by the Mad Monk).

Regards,
Joel

 

[paulab]

Go on youtube and look up "etching knife blades with hot vinegar". Then tell me it's OK to put in a rifle barrel. Paul

 

[pa woods roamer]

Vinegar will definitly remove the Blueing on your Barrel. I know this from personal experience......

 

[RushCC]

If his gun's rifled I would'nt be suprised if someday, the barrel will need a sleeve put in. Like several people said, vinegar is an acid,and I sure would'nt do it to any of my guns or recommend doing it.