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I hope I have not ruined my muzzloader?Help!!

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Idaho Ron said:
Another thing. Hot water will cause flash rust. All you need is water cold or warm and dish soap.

Yes,,,this is so true. I know use cool water to avoid the flash rust. I have used Bore Butter as a bore preservative with good results. Even olive oil works well as a bore protectant. These days though I am lazy and not so stuck on using natural ingredients, so I use Break-Free.
 
bowkill said:
Use barricade oil after soapy water cleaning and drying, store muzzle down or canted. When ready to load use an alcohol patch and a couple dry ones and life will be good again..

To the OP, be sure you didn't miss bowkill's info above. Storing with oil is fine (and my preferred method), but be sure to remove it before shooting when you next use it. The alcohol will cut/remove the oil and prevent you from having hard to clean "tar" in your barrel.
 
My Experience:I have of late added to my cleaning procedure. My main solvent is half water and half Ballistol. Using this and water and WD 40 as described works well. The new twist came with the use of homemade Ed's Red. Carbon is carbon so it appeared the effort was worthwhile. It was a wonderment how much black stuff would come out after using Ed's Red in this clean barrel. I do not want to start a controversy concerning Ed's Red. I would appreciate suggestions on store bought stuff that attacks carbon deposits.
 
I like TC bore butter for lubing patches and Conicals but found out the hard way it does not season the bore in humid Ohio. Marketing hype.

If I am out of bore butter then Crisco works just as well for lube.
 
Christophero said:
I like TC bore butter for lubing patches and Conicals but found out the hard way it does not season the bore in humid Ohio. Marketing hype.

If I am out of bore butter then Crisco works just as well for lube.

Apparently it does not season the bore next door in humid Indiana either. Wish I had known that before I believed the hype on the product package. All is good now though thanks to these kind folks here on this site.
 
Earlier I started a thread titled: "I hope I have not ruined my muzzloader?Help!!" You folks are awesome.Thank You all for the advise. I took the Pennsylvania .50 to the range today and had a really enjoyable time. Man I love shooting this rifle!It is addicting. Anyway, I came home and took your folks advise. I cleaned her up(to include the nipple and side screw)with Dawn dish soap and luke warm water.Dried her out good(in and out).Then oiled her inside and out with a light coat of WD/40 (I have barricade on order) She cleaned up better and faster with soap and water, than with trying to use "moose milk" and T/C wonder lube and the whole "seasoning"thing.All that stuff is "out the window" to me now.I guess what I have learned from all of this from you all is. There is no "short cut" to shooting and properly caring for a muzzleloader. The facts are that my Pennsylvania 50cal will give me hours and years of enjoyable shooting in exchange for proper cleaning afterwards.There are no shortcuts. Thanks again all.
 
I am glad to hear that you had a good time shooting your muzzleloader. You take care of it and it will take care of you. Im glad you have learned about the marketing ploy in reference to Bore Butter and the seasoning the barrel thing. There are plenty of folks around that exaggerate claims that their products will cut your cleaning times in half and you should invest in their miracle products. Bad for your muzzleloader and bad for your wallet. Good old soap and water is the key and proper lubrication afterwards. Also, Yes! This is a great forum with very good people with alot of knowledge and advice to share. This forum is like taking my daily vitamin. I get my daily dose. A great place to learn and share. Its amazing how much I do not know and how much I have already learned! It is indeed very addictive, but in a good way! Glad to hear you had a good day shooting your muzzleloader. Respectfully, cowboys1062.
 
I had a similar circumstance with a pedersoli Kentucky. No matter what I did, the patches came out brown days later. I used ballistol as a oil. The problem was the preservative used from the factory. Which I believe was a Vavoline Product. Anyway, used MEK and that took care of it. Keep it off the stock though!!
 
You haven't ruined your muzzleloader; you have ruined your life. Now you are going to have to spend untold hours on internet forums, then you will accumulate vast quantities of "gear" such as horns, bags, tools, extra parts, etc. All of that leads to another gun, then another, then another....so forth and so on. First thing you know you will start looking at kits because you begin to realize that you can build a better gun than you can buy, then the kits won't really be good enough and since you have by now accumulated a supply of tools, you will start building from a stock blank. You may even have a brush with some living history folks along the way which is another large branch of the tree.

You have an exciting and wild ride ahead of you, my friend. Hold on tight and enjoy, and don't forget to take lots of pictures.
 
I have several rifles, and the key to keeping the barrel from rusting is.....in addition to what has been mentioned, check the barrel often. The sure fire way is......every day for a week, every week for a month, and every month for a year. This might be a little over-kill, but you get the point.

I hate cleaning after a long day at the range. So, I will remove the lock and clean and oil it. Remove the nipple and clean it, and put a tiny dab of anti-seize on the threads. Clean the barrel oil it and wipe down the outside. Wipe or wax the stock. Then I leave it disassembled, come back later that night or the next day, check it over again, then put it back together. This forces you to recheck your work, and takes away the need to rush though the process.
 
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I wash with dawn and warm water..90% alcohol swab dry swab and olive oil swab..when i smell the oil rancid its time to clean again..an old guy showed me to use bacon grease..but the smell of bacon in my room drove me nuts..i was thinkin of getting some of that barsol stuff..they say it cleans and leaves a film of oil..if so i gotta clean everything.. That will be on days.. the ole ladies not here..sounds like a plan
 
For me just hot water. I bought a hose with a strong magnet that clamps onto my flash hole from a member here, put one end of the hose in a bucket of hot water, put the magnet end on my flash hole, get a tight patch and wash that barrel out! Pull the water in, push it out! Almost dreamy! Swab dry, one good patch with WD40, dry patches, a wee bit of gun oil, and it's good to go. Always run a clean, dry patch down the barrel before you shoot!
 
You guys realize this thread was from 2015.. 😉
but since ya bright back to top, bore butter is not a great bore preservative, it’s ok for a patch lube. There’s no such thing as “seasoning your barrel” and instead of cleaning with moose milk which probably isn’t the cheapest, I use water and a drop of dish soap. Just my two cents!
 
You guys realize this thread was from 2015.. 😉
but since ya bright back to top, bore butter is not a great bore preservative, it’s ok for a patch lube. There’s no such thing as “seasoning your barrel” and instead of cleaning with moose milk which probably isn’t the cheapest, I use water and a drop of dish soap. Just my two cents!
Zombie thread
 
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