Cleaning your Muzzle loader

[mooman76]

I'm just kind of curious and not directing this at anyone but I have been using Hopps#9 to clean with for about 30 years without any problems. It isn't the new Hopps#9 BP solvent and it doesn't say nitro solvent either. Just the plain old Hopps#9 solvent(petroleum based) used to clean all guns and is a bore cleaner.
Anyway to the question, how many people that say you can't use it have actually tried to use it and it didn't do the job for them? Could it be like the old adage that you can only use dead soft lead in a muzzle loader? I'm not advocating that people should run out and use it instead of what they are doing. Use what works for you. I started using it before there was internet to speak of so I didn't know any better. A few years ago I started using water and started seeing some rust show up so I went back. I probably didn't dry it as good as I thought but Hopps worked for me so I went back.

 

[Zonie]

Hopp's #9 Solvent didn't work well for me.

It did soften the fouling and with enough cleaning patches and reapplication of it to the bore I eventually got the bore clean but IMO, it made for a lot of unnecessary scrubbing.

Just my opinion based on trying it once.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Tried it years ago when I was green as grass...worked terrible caused lots of rust...

The thing to remember about cleaning is that it really doesn't matter what you use if the gun is clean when you're done.....A clean gun is a clean gun.....some things just get you to that point quicker and easier....

I cleaned my gun using spit once......it worked...

 

[agill]

I use it after soap and water. Then oil for storage.

 

[tenngun]

Use that that works for you, as rifleman is fond of saying its a do your own thang type of sport. Water has been the go-to for near 700 years, works for me.

 

[Cowboy]

Hot soapy water for me followed by dry patches and then finally BC Barricade.

 

[Dewey]

Hot soapy water for me followed by dry patches and then finally BC Barricade.

Same with me, only I also use WD40 to help get the water out.

 

[Juice Jaws]

Hot water and a little soap works the best for me. Then oil it down with ballistol.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

As a kid the only solvent we had was Hoppe's #9. Did a craptastic job when I got a couple of muzzleloaders. It's a solvent though, and not a rust preventative. but Hoppe's oil did fine for that. Found that soap and water, followed by rubbing alcohol on a patch, then dry and then oil worked when I was a kid. Later found that soapy water, or even water with a single drop of liquid dishwashing detergeant worked very well, then drying and oiling.

LD

 

[tenngun]

Will use a them sliver of lye soap if real dirty. I wipe between shots, but find that an afternoon of shooting is still dirtier then 5 or 10 shots. :idunno:

 

[longcruise]

I have never used the classic hopped #9 to clean an ML gun but did try the #9 black powder lube/solvent. It works great as a patch lube but not so much as a solvent.

The test that opened my eyes to the ineffectiveness of it as a solvent was comparing it to plain old water. I compared it on exterior fouling on the barrel and stock. The hopped would eventually remove fouling, but it seemed to be more a result of vigorous and hard scrubbing. Water, OTOH, easily wiped away fouling with a few light passes.

My easiest and fastest clean ups are after shooting spit patches or dish soap and water lube. Any grease based lube is a little more effort and benefits from having some dish soap added to the water.

So, that's been my experience. It has lead me to eschew any and all supposed BP solvent.

 

[Jamie from Alberta]

I've used commercial solvents to clean my Bp guns and even fallen for the TC type black powder cleaners but you really can't beat good 'ol hot soapy water. And when I'm at the range or hunting I take along a mixture of rubbing alcohol, peroxide and Murphy's oil soap.
This followed by a generic brand of gun oil. :thumbsup:

 

[wayne terry]

What ever works for ya, and if it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[robinsroost]

Probably the quickest clean up I have used is carburetor cleaner. I use the cheapest I can find, usually from Big Lots or Walmart. It not only cleans the fowling, it completely degreases everything, so be sure to oil the barrel, inside and out, and the action........Robin :wink:

 

[ohio ramrod]

Carb cleaner certainly works to clean, but can take the finish off any wood it comes in contact with. While I use warm water and a drop of soap; to each his own. If what you are using works for you, keep using it! :idunno:

 

[Mad Irish Jack]

I'm a soap and hot water guy. I have some generic wet Baby Wipes for the range. I found this method from some grey beards who told me, "If it cleans the s(stuff) off a baby's a(seat), it'll clean the s(stuff) out of my guns!":hmm: It does, and also does an amazing job on your hands. The generics are less costly than the name items. Using them at the range makes it easier at home for that ultra clean care.

 

[Shooey]

I've used Hoppe's, but prefer Ballistol, or water for cleaning. I use Barricade to protect from rust.

 

[spudnut]

I do the traditional cleaning,I remove the lock, plug the touch hole,fill the barrel with warm water and set it aside while I clean the lock,Then swish the water back and forth , dump it out and repeat till it clears,Then wrap tow on a worm,more water down the bore and scrub ,rinse to see if more gunk comes out( Oh its a Bess by the way) then wipe the bore with dry rags till clean then oil with olive oil, I DO blow the lock out with carb cleaner once a year or so.