Woody Morgan
62 Cal.
To be honest, I've been a slob when it comes to shooting unmentionables the last fifty years. Solvents, black stains on the clothing, having to wash hands 3 times to get 'em clean after shooting...I hate it so my "others" go until they get stiff all except for the "constant companions".
Recently, black powder arms entered into my life...specifically a .50 caliber Traditions Hunter flintlock rifle. I'm thinking, "My gawd these things get FILTHY" and they do...but getting them clean is a breeze I have found out. A bucket, some warm water , a squirt of Dawn, a couple of patches, a little WD40 and it's magic.
I'm a range operator and today was a quiet day and I was sitting around stalling about cleaning the rifle from the day before when I "bit the bullet" so to speak and decided to dive in. Got a bucket of water, put a shot of Dawn innit, broke down the rifle (jeez, that was easy!), took the flint out of the lock and somehow wound up with a previously unmentioned squirt bottle of Windex in my hand. What the heck. Gave the lock a shot and one down the bore just 'cuz. Grabbed a nylon brush and scrubbed the lock and the flash hole on the barrel. Gee, that knocked the crud right off! Grabbed the barrel and unscrewed the flash hole liner more for the experience than anything. Dropped the back end of the barrel into the soapy water, squirted some Windex on a patch and ran it to the bottom of the bore. Pulled the rod out a bit and started the pump. Lotsa bubbles and a quick cloud of black water then...nothing. No more black water squirting out of the flash hole. Huh. That was quick. Rinsed everything off with a hose, hit it all real good with the compressor hose, a patch with WD40 down the bore and a light film on the lock. I grabbed the flash hole liner, put a tiny bit of white lithium on the threads and screwed it in just snug. I put it all back together and thought "Dang, Woody. That was a snap! If only the smokeless toys were that easy!" It was actually shorter than typing this post.
I've got about two dozen rounds through the rifle in the last coupla days with only one misfire but I know what caused it. I've shot 200 grain .45acp bullets in sabots and 250 grain powdercoated lead R.E.A.L.s my buddy and BP mentor Mikey made for me hitting a 12x16 metal plate a lot more often than not and I'm getting really comfortable loading and shooting this new/old technology.
*click* flash! BOOM!! Heck yeah. This is FUN!
wm
Recently, black powder arms entered into my life...specifically a .50 caliber Traditions Hunter flintlock rifle. I'm thinking, "My gawd these things get FILTHY" and they do...but getting them clean is a breeze I have found out. A bucket, some warm water , a squirt of Dawn, a couple of patches, a little WD40 and it's magic.
I'm a range operator and today was a quiet day and I was sitting around stalling about cleaning the rifle from the day before when I "bit the bullet" so to speak and decided to dive in. Got a bucket of water, put a shot of Dawn innit, broke down the rifle (jeez, that was easy!), took the flint out of the lock and somehow wound up with a previously unmentioned squirt bottle of Windex in my hand. What the heck. Gave the lock a shot and one down the bore just 'cuz. Grabbed a nylon brush and scrubbed the lock and the flash hole on the barrel. Gee, that knocked the crud right off! Grabbed the barrel and unscrewed the flash hole liner more for the experience than anything. Dropped the back end of the barrel into the soapy water, squirted some Windex on a patch and ran it to the bottom of the bore. Pulled the rod out a bit and started the pump. Lotsa bubbles and a quick cloud of black water then...nothing. No more black water squirting out of the flash hole. Huh. That was quick. Rinsed everything off with a hose, hit it all real good with the compressor hose, a patch with WD40 down the bore and a light film on the lock. I grabbed the flash hole liner, put a tiny bit of white lithium on the threads and screwed it in just snug. I put it all back together and thought "Dang, Woody. That was a snap! If only the smokeless toys were that easy!" It was actually shorter than typing this post.
I've got about two dozen rounds through the rifle in the last coupla days with only one misfire but I know what caused it. I've shot 200 grain .45acp bullets in sabots and 250 grain powdercoated lead R.E.A.L.s my buddy and BP mentor Mikey made for me hitting a 12x16 metal plate a lot more often than not and I'm getting really comfortable loading and shooting this new/old technology.
*click* flash! BOOM!! Heck yeah. This is FUN!
wm
