Cleaning bore: Is boiling water advantageous?

[Al Bently]

Is using boiling (even even just "very hot") water advantageous when cleaning the bore of a muzzleloader? I have read where some say the boiling hot water evaporates almost instantly. Others claim it promotes "flash" rusting.

I use warm water and it works just fine. Thoughts?

 

[pargent]

Yes & Yes hot water may produce flash rust but that depends on climate so most say , hot water works because when a material is heated the molecules of its makeup start to move around more , a very small step towards a change of state if you will , this then allows the material with the lower latent temperature to be move on with more ease ,(the softer fowling as opposed to the steel of the barrel

 

[LRB]

Warm is probably OK, but where I live, flash rust is guaranteed when just hot tap water is used.

 

[nkbj]

There was a write from a century gone by that was posted somewhere...
Any way, the expert way back then said clean with cold and rinse with hot to help the moisture removal. Life must have been tough what with no paper towels and WD40.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Dunno, never have washed my barrel, Just TC No 13 bore cleaner & dry patches

 

[Vaino]

I just use hot tap water which has gone through the iron filter and softener....never have observed "flash rust".

The advantage of hot water is that the bbl is hot and the water after bore swabbing, just dries up in the nooks and crannies. When the bbl is still hot, Oxyoke 1000 is generously applied to the bore and in fact, all over the metal and wood . I's also good for chapped lips and hands......Fred

 

[Snakebite]

Is using boiling (even even just "very hot") water advantageous when cleaning the bore of a muzzleloader? I have read where some say the boiling hot water evaporates almost instantly. Others claim it promotes "flash" rusting.

I use warm water and it works just fine. Thoughts?

If it's working for you, stick with it. I've used boiling water and never had a problem. (The guy who built my rifle; a well known Texas rifle builder in the 70s coached me thru the processes of loading, shooting and cleaning my rifle); I use WD-40 and have never had a problem. My oldest rifle was built in 1978 and still has a perfect barrel. That rifle has a hooked breach, my others don't and I use "Black Solve" on them, which also works great.

But, what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. I'd advise you to try a couple different things and what works best, stick with it. Pretty simple.

 

[MSW]

I've used hot (but not boiling) water for many years with no flash- rust problems. the humidity has something to do with, or so I am given to understand. I think the real 'trick' (if you want to call it that) is to get to it the next day, run a patch down the bore, and make sure everything's OK.

one guy's advice ... free and doubtless well worth the cost...

make good smoke!

 

[stude 283]

My personal opinion is it depends on the water coming out of your tap.I lived in a village for years and used boiling water with no problem.When I moved to the country and well water with some sulfur had flash rust within seconds.
Might be a good experiment to use bottled water and then tap water.

 

[bpd303]

My experience too. The harder the water (mineral content) the faster flash rust will form.

 

[shguns]

I shot my .54 hawken last sunday.
As soon as shooting was over for the day the gun was cleaned as follows.
I sprayed some "moose milk" (mixture of distilled water, castor oil, 91% rubbing alcohol, witch hazel, and murphy's oil soap) in the barrel after removing the nipple. Then set the breech end in a bucket with barely warm, almost cool, water in the bottom. With a cleaning patch on a .54 brass jag on my bench rod water was pumped in and out of the breech end of the barrel. After the water bath it was onto clean dry patches until they came out clean and dry. Then after it was good and dry a patch with my preferred bore oil was used to oil the bore slightly. I checked it this morning and it was bright shiney clean, no rust, ready for the next shooting session. I live in dry eastern Washington.

 

[coloradoclyde]

There is a time when I use boiling water

When I am cleaning with water outside and the temperature is well below freezing.
I just heat the water in a small pan on a backpacking stove. The boiling water heats everything up long enough for me to get the job done without it freezing.

 

[cynthialee]

I use tepid tap water to wash. Seems to work just fine and dandy, no need to boil water when soap and regular water work well enough.

 

[M. De Land]

I quit the boiling water and the rust quit as well.
Now warm water with dish soap wash ,clear warm rinse then dry patch and alcohol patch and finish up with a Gunzilla patch.

 

[longcruise]

I do the same in cold weather. By the time the barrel is thoroughly "pumped" clean the cold air and cold barrel have reduced the water temperature to warm.

My climate is generally dry and boiling hot water has always produced flash rusting by the time the barrel is cool enough to handle. Local water is not hard or soft. Pretty much tweener mountain snow melt. Hot water cleaning does assure a dry barrel as it cools, but that rust is always there for me!

just warm tap water and drying with patches and alcohol don't produce flash rust in my barrels. Plus, no burned flesh from the hot water!!

My first rifle was a TC in 1974. The manual described and recommended cleaning with boiling water. Maybe that is how the practice became common?

 

[Stumpkiller]

I used to boil and shave Ivory for the soap but have not found an advantage over hot tap water with liquid soap like Pine-Sol or Murphy's.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Technically once you take the pot of water off the stove it stops boiling ”¦”¦so it’s not really boiling water”¦”¦just mighty warm :blah: :wink: :grin:

 

[inthex]

Cool water, couple of dry patches, alcohol, then oil. Hot water = flash rust in my hood.

 

[Al Bently]

Dunno, never have washed my barrel, Just TC No 13 bore cleaner & dry patches

So why post at all in that case?

 

[Al Bently]

Yes & Yes hot water may produce flash rust but that depends on climate so most say , hot water works because when a material is heated the molecules of its makeup start to move around more , a very small step towards a change of state if you will , this then allows the material with the lower latent temperature to be move on with more ease ,(the softer fowling as opposed to the steel of the barrel

This is true. The most obvious example would be the impact hot water has on grease vs. cold water.

I wonder though (flash rusting aside) if there is any real benefit to boiling water vs. simply hot water out of the tap?

I would also like to fine the "best" soap/detergent to use with water. I have been using simple dish washing soap which seems well suited -- fairly gentle, cuts grease, works well as a whetting agent, etc.

I wonder if it would be worth investigating a stronger detergent like laundry detergent or perhaps something like trisodium phosphate?