Cleaning bore: Is boiling water advantageous?

[Johnny Tremain]

So why post at all in that case?

Use Thompson Center's 1000+ products, and avoid the hassle

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I use the pumping method Zonie described. Works great and I don't use up allot of patches getting a well scrubbed barrel.

A+ :thumbsup:

:thumbsup: with my flintlock hot tap water.

Side Note****I use a patch lube that has a murphy oil base, in my .32 I find there is enough left in the barrel to make the tap water "slick" if I am just plugging the nipple & filling the barrel with water.

 

[mazo kid]

Years ago, when I was shooting hooked breech rifles, I used the breech-in-a-can-pump method with hot water and a dash of dish soap. The hot water did warm the barrel and hasten drying, but flash rust was always present the next day. No problem, just clean it up with a patch and re-oil the bore. Now, I shoot flinters and do not remove the barrel; just plug the vent and pour the water-soap mix in, let it stand a few minutes while I clean the lock, and then proceed with the cleaning and oiling. As far as "moose milk" goes, there are many recipes called by that name.

 

[Billnpatti]

We have always known that using hot or very warm water helps in removing dirt and dissolving grease. So, using good warm soapy water, about as warm as the hottest water you might use to wash your hands, will help in cleaning your bore. Using boiling water will not do any more good than just good warm water and could cause burns to your hide. Rinse with cold water is good enough to remove all of the soapy water. Then dry well and oil and you are good to go. Do be sure to get out all of the water and use as good gun oil such as Barricade to protect your bore in storage.

 

[Al Bently]

Have never used soap of any kind to clean a BP rifle. Just plain, hot tap water does fine. Soap would just be another item to take on a hunting trip.....got too many items as it is....like keeping it simple......Fred

Water with the right sort of soap (or detergent) cleans better than plain water. Simply put, there's chemistry behind that statement. Using a bit of soap or detergent also doesn't complicate things -- even on a trip.

There can be long discussions about what temp of water to use, whether to use water at all or what types of soap/detergent to use, but I think it's nonsense to promote "water only" under the guise of keeping things simple.

Imagine going out and shooting a couple of BP guns. Bringing them home and cleaning them only with water. Once complete imagine washing your hands only with water (under the guise of keeping things simple) before sitting down to a meal. Just not going to happen in 99.9% of cases -- and for good reason.

People like to point out that soldiers/marksmen of generations past often only used water in the old days. No one asked if they had any soap available (some even used ashes) or how long it took them to clean their arms.

 

[Al Bently]

I use the pumping method Zonie described. Works great and I don't use up allot of patches getting a well scrubbed barrel.

Same here. Possibly 3 patches? The soapy water is filthy at first. Once it clears I change the patch to a brush. Then back to a patch. Then maybe one more patch and that's it.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, if a person starts with a clean barrel which has been wiped with a alcohol patch to remove all traces of oil and he/she uses a oil free patch lube like spit, plain water will work quite nicely to clean it.

If the patch lube has any kind of oil grease or wax in it, water alone won't be enough to clean the gun.

Oils, greases and waxes protect the fouling that they contaminate just like they protect the bore from water.

This is the reason I always suggest that a person should use a good detergent in the cleaning water.

It will cut thru the oil, grease or wax so the fouling can be washed away.

 

[Al Bently]

IMO, if a person starts with a clean barrel which has been wiped with a alcohol patch to remove all traces of oil and he/she uses a oil free patch lube like spit, plain water will work quite nicely to clean it.

If the patch lube has any kind of oil grease or wax in it, water alone won't be enough to clean the gun.

Oils, greases and waxes protect the fouling that they contaminate just like they protect the bore from water.

This is the reason I always suggest that a person should use a good detergent in the cleaning water.

It will cut thru the oil, grease or wax so the fouling can be washed away.

I wouldn't argue that water alone will not work satisfactorily given either a totally oil-free environment or perhaps enough time to keep patchin' away until the oil/wax/grease is mechanically worn away.

What I would argue is that using (or bringing along) soap/detergent does not make things materially more difficult or that under almost all circumstances, soapy water doesn't do a better job of cleaning than water alone -- even if both yield satisfactory results.

 

[AZbpBurner]

Soap acts as a surfactant when mixed with water. It lowers the water's surface tension, helping to bettr dissolve and un-adhere particles stuck to the barrel surface.

In this instance, the ancient conventional wisdom of using hot soapy water to remove powder fouling from a barrel is as sound and effective today as it was 50 years ago.

 

[necchi]

Soap acts as a surfactant when mixed with water. It lowers the water's surface tension,,,,

Exactly, :thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

I wanted to avoid words like surfactant for fear that someone might think it was some sort of disease and forever swear off touching it again. :grin:

 

[M. De Land]

I remember some fella explaining why soap worked by saying it makes water wetter! :rotf:
Thought that was a pretty good description.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Wake me when this is over!
ZZZzzz... ZZZzzz... ZZZZzzz........

 

[Zonie]

Everyone is free to leave any time they choose.

There's probably another topic you might find more interesting.

 

[coloradoclyde]

:rotf: :thumbsup: :wink:

 

[Al Bently]

I remember some fella explaining why soap worked by saying it makes water wetter!

Thought that was a pretty good description.

Detergent IS a "wetting agent" (or surficant) that reduces the surface tension of a liquid and thus allows it to spread more easily.

I suspect that's what the other poster meant.

 

[Ken Cormier]

In 1978 when I got my first m/l I bought every chemical cleaner available in my area. Some worked some not so good. Tried all the handmade juju mixes that I heard about at the range and read about. Again some worked some did not so good. I am not a chemist and did not do this as a doctor's thesis. Just a guy trying to keep his weapons in shootable condition. Then the guy who took me under his wing and I were at a 3day shoot. At the end of the day when we started cleaning guns. I got out my box of cleaners he put a pot on the Colemean stove. So t o cut this drivel short. He just warmed the water not hot started his cleaning. He was done and tipping little brown bottles while I was still cleaning up my mess. This man joined the NMLRA in 1935 started shooting originals then. As he explained to me that the guns had always been cleaned with water back then and were accurate enough to set records at Freindship that can never be broken just tied. My point is if hundreds of years of no chemicals to clean black powder guns that some of them to this day are shootable. Why do you need or want any thing different. The shoot that John and I went to was in 1983 to this day I ONLY use warm to the touch water to clean and rinse then a patch with bear oil good to go . The barrels of any of the guns as still as nice to day as when bought. Just my rant.
The point is if it is not broke why try to fix it. Attention to your investment in your gun makes it worthwhile to keep after it and not be negligent in it's care . I am done.

 

[M. De Land]

Water will work but warm soapy water works better.
Try the little test on your hammer or frizzen with a tooth brush and warm water verses warm soapy water.
Which one dissolves the baked on fouling faster?
We somehow get the mistaken notion that certain things stop evolving and at some point we know all there is to know about a subject. One variable can change the whole equation and open up a whole new realm of possibilities.

 

[Dean2]

Water will work but warm soapy water works better.
Try the little test on your hammer or frizzen with a tooth brush and warm water verses warm soapy water.
Which one dissolves the baked on fouling faster?
We somehow get the mistaken notion that certain things stop evolving and at some point we know all there is to know about a subject. One variable can change the whole equation and open up a whole new realm of possibilities.

I completely agree. The fellow that invented the coat hanger was not the real genius. The coat hanger was originally intended to keep coats looking good, shoulders square and had the added benefit of being able to store more coats but they were then still hooked onto the old fashioned vertical peg coat hooks. The guy that thought up putting a round bar horizontal and hanging the coat hangers from that was the true genius.

 

[robinsroost]

Yall argue this like you are going to change each other's minds and methods, LMAO.......Robin :stir: