cleaning the lock

[newkid]

For those of you that shoot real black powder, how often do you remove the lock for cleaning? Should I do it every time I clean the gun after shooting, or just occaisionally? I shoot a TC Renegade.

Thanks

 

[rabjr]

how often do you remove the lock for cleaning?

I remove mine everytime and clean it/lube it good.

 

[RetiredMedic]

Every time, after each shooting session..

 

[Ridge]

I pull mine off once a year....usually right around the end of hunting season. If the mortice around the lock is tight there shouldn't be much getting in there.

 

I pull my locks off and clean them every time I shoot them after cleaning the barrel. Just part of the daily program.

 

[graybeard]

I'll have to say the lock should be cleaned every time. I have a caplock Kentucky that I started BP with and didn't know about cleaning the lock. :shake: After a couple of years it was a mess and expensive to have fixed. graybeard

 

[roundball]

Several TC Hawkens...I remove/clean them after every use with a toothbrush and hot soapy water that the barrel is soaking in as part of the regular cleanup process.

Blow off the water with an air compressor (or shake off the excess water if you don't have air).
Then I use an aerosol can of WD40 to blast deep into the lock internals and drive off any remaining water, then blow that off.

Rifles don't get put up until they're 100% showroom ready again so I can forget about them if I want to...I never leave them partially clean for fear of going off on a tangent with a different caliber or something and forgetting to get back to one to finish the job.

 

[david50]

every time just to be sure,did the same thing as Greybeard with a CVA squirrel rifle.didnt clean it for several years,just out of pure lazyness,had to replace the lock.wasnt all that exspensive but still it could have been avoided.

 

[Zonie]

When I was just a boy with my first rifle, my father told me, "Always clean your gun like it's the last one you will ever get."
These words stuck in my mind and to this day I totally clean every part of my rifles when I'm finished shooting them.
Of course that includes removing the lock to get every bit of dirt/powder residue etc off of it and then re-oil all of the surfaces.

zonie

 

It depends on the number of shots fired and the conditions they were fired in. If I shoot any more than about 20 rounds - I take it off and give it a good brushing and oiling. If I shoot for an extended period of time, like all day, I take it off and soak it in Butche's bore cleaner and then dunk it in boiling water until all the crud is out, let it cool and oil with Shooters Choice.

 

When I was just a boy with my first rifle, my father told me, "Always clean your gun like it's the last one you will ever get."
These words stuck in my mind and to this day I totally clean every part of my rifles when I'm finished shooting them.
Of course that includes removing the lock to get every bit of dirt/powder residue etc off of it and then re-oil all of the surfaces.

zonie

Darn good advice from a wise old man. My dad told me the same in similar terms. :hatsoff: