How long without cleaning?

[TomV]

Jake, my current use rifle was a major expense (even though I think i got a great bargain) which I'm unlikely to ever replace, so I re-clean & natter over it un-repentantly. If I can't get out to shoot, I get my guns out and go through them, tuning, checking that they are clean, re-oiling, & polishing. They are my treasured tools, toys and friends. (Probably one reason I have fewer animate friends...) After shooting, I never go to sleep w/out tending to whichever friend(s) I've had out.

Perfect maintenance for a valued tool.

 

[TomV]

BP is corrosive, need anymore be said. One or one hundred shot ls leaves that stuff doing unhelpful things to the metal in that barrel. I always field clean, then through clean when home and preserve for the next day out.

 

[rdlowe]

I swab the barrel at the range when I'm done and then bring it home and take it apart and go nuts. Occasionally I take it out and swab everything just to keep an eye on things. I swab the barrel between shots anyway. I consider it part of the shot.

I usually have a very similar approach. It really depends on where I am and how much time I have, how hot it is outside, etc. I'm experimenting with new lube recipes in an effort to find something that'll work well on a woods walk and won't require the swab between each shot. Currently using the Dutch method, which works just fine on the target range.

 

[Eterry]

What do you use for patch lube?

Almost always use spit patch. Glad I never got hooked on chewing 'backy, that would be a mess.

 

[TNGhost]

Clean well at the end of the day and don't worry about the rest of the BS.

 

[user 36911]

Almost always use spit patch. Glad I never got hooke on chewing 'backy, that would be a mess.

For hunting?

 

[Eterry]

For hunting?

Absolutely.

 

[user 36911]

Well. my suggestion won't work for you. I was going to say to use your patch lube in your bore when storing it. That way nothing runs into the breech channel and it's not necessary to get it all out before shooting the gun.

Obviously, that won't apply to spit. Not what i'd call a lube. It will dry while hunting and you don't have any lube at all. It's your choice. I'll stay with my bear tallow.

 

[Bob McBride]

One word about spit patching for hunting I’m sure Eterry would’ve passed along if y’all had gotten into it a bit more. If you're going to use a spit patch for hunting make sure your bore has got a bit of lube in it. The patch’ll be dry as a bone in no time at all. I may leave my deer rifle loaded for up to a week during the season if I’m getting out every morning and for that you need a good greasy lube.

and yea, the baccy is a mess. I’m always running down half dozen chunks of Copenhagen each load when I spittle the patches.

 

[Gun Tramp]

I’m always running down half dozen chunks of Copenhagen each load when I spittle the patches.

A friend was told by her doctor that Copenhagen contains lots of salt...

 

[Heelerau]

Been hanging around my family's farm in South Carolina, and have been shooting off and on with my fowler throughout the day. Is this ok? If it goes several hours between shots/cleanings? I always clean the night after use of course. I am worried about rust and such. -Larry

In the 19th century with corrosive percussion caps, you would certainly clean the gun by the end of the day. Now a days with genuine black and modern day caps, a day or two won't matter, in dry weather certainly. I used to be a bit slack as a young bloke and leave my PH Navy rifle for a few days, there is no sign of pitting or discolouration in the bore today.

 

[Bob McBride]

A friend was told by her doctor that Copenhagen contains lots of salt...

Snuff and Long Cut do. That’s why I like them. And why I clean my guns quick.

 

[SDSmlf]

A friend was told by her doctor that Copenhagen contains lots of salt...

Was involved in a discussion on the salt content of chew a while back and its impact on hypertension. Salt is typically listed just behind water and tobacco as far as ingredients. Likely not good for your gun’s bore.
Copenhagen Ingredients by Packing - Altria Pages 1 - 3 - Text Version | FlipHTML5

 

[firestick]

I just shot my two rifles the other day. Let em go for 3 days before I cleaned em. Just ran a moosemilk patch down the bores at the range before heading home. No rust what so ever. Of course I was shooting Alliant Black MZ which I have found to be MUSH less corrosive than BP. Sad they don't make it anymore.

 

[SDSmlf]

I just shot my two rifles the other day. Let em go for 3 days before I cleaned em. Just ran a moosemilk patch down the bores at the range before heading home. No rust what so ever. Of course I was shooting Alliant Black MZ which I have found to be MUSH less corrosive than BP. Sad they don't make it anymore.

Tried the Alliant Black MZ a while back and initially it worked pretty good in cap locks. Unfortunately it clumped up like my wife’s cat’s kitty litter because of the humidity around here. Found it difficult to meter and had a lot of variation with how it performed once the container was opened. Even with desiccant packs in the container, it performed just a bit better than charcoal once the container was opened and resealed, at least in my experience.

 

[BallBoy]

If you listen to the lyrics of the song by Chris Ledoux “Copen Hafen” it says it’s good for all sorts of stuff. He didn’t mention file cleaning?

 

[BallBoy]

Copenhagen guess it doesn’t help with spelling

 

[Bill Austin]

 

[Britsmoothy]

I used my double 12g yesterday.
Never cleaned until this morning.
I would of left it longer but it ended up convenient this morning.
The gun is stored and shot covered in beeswax and olive oil grease.
It was shot yesterday with grease cookies every shot by loading a card, a blob of wonderlube ( not recommended but is there now) and more cards.

No rusting at all. Another reason I would never spit patch or that nonsense dry lubricating thingy folk speak of!

 

[BallBoy]

Truly FUNNY!!!