IT'S ALWAYS THE LITTLE THINGS.

[flashpoint]

I've got 2 years of ML under my belt. From not knowing "anything", to now knowing "something", I am a long, long, loooooong way from knowing "everything". There are so many big things to learn not to mention all the little things that you never even think about; or even think to think about. I mean with everything we need to be aware of, who would think that we should know that we need to oil our gun sights? Evidently, not I! With over 60 years of taking great care of and cleaning those "other" guns, I had never once oiled, or ever had to oil any gun sight what-so-ever. I have been trying to turn the elevation and windage screws on my T/C Seneca rear sight and they haven't budged. With deer season only a week away, I became desperate and with great fortune I found that Track OTW had a Cherokee sight that would fit. Glory be! Thinking that the screws were either stripped or somehow seized up, I did a frantic search to find new replacement screws all to no avail. Finally meeting with my gunsmith with my pitiful explanation as to what I though was wrong, he replied "screw the screws" it's the whole sight that is rusted. What the ???? Fortunately, the new Cherokee sight will solve the problem. So I asked him how can I avoid the same thing happening in the future? He looked at me and said "keep the damn thing oiled". I suppose hunting in the rain, giving the barrel a cleaning in hot soapy water all contributed to my problem. Wow! Just a little thing like oiling a sight can make all the difference in the world. Who knew?

 

[smokingoodtimes]

Ballistol is your friend. When I’m done cleaning or if I won’t be able to clean it for a couple days I hit em with a coat of it and haven’t had an issue with rust since. Two months ago I had my Pedersoli Kentucky flint out and knew I didn’t have time to clean it so I hosed the thing down with ballistol inside and out and I completely forgot about until about 2 weeks ago. I was expecting the worst but there wasn’t any rust on the lock or in the barrel. Obviously not going to make a habit of not cleaning but that’s one product I’ve become a believer in.

 

[Grenadier1758]

For all the years I have been shooting muzzle loading firearms, I find I often learn something new every day or that something that I do so naturally is something totally new to someone else. Just keep on learning. It wasn't that long ago that I learned to store my freshly cleaned guns muzzle down to keep oil from thickening up to varnish when stored. Now its so normal that I am surprised when I hear of someone who has failure to fire with a freshy clean gun. And I find out that the gun was stored muzzle up.

 

[Carbon 6]

Don't beat yourself up, T/C sights were problematic from the get-go. I'm a big fan of fixed sights.
You'll never learn everything, just keep learning.

 

[flashpoint]

Don't beat yourself up, T/C sights were problematic from the get-go. I'm a big fan of fixed sights.
You'll never learn everything, just keep learning.

Thanks Carbon 6

 

[Bledfor Days]

I like this little Lucas oiler for things like sights, nipple holes, triggers, etc... Its easy to control amount of oil dispensed through the little needle on top. Made in USA too!
Of course, a full size pic because that's me.

 

[hanshi]

I'm unaware of anyone who "knows it all". Learning is something you'll do every day whether you realize you're doing or not. In simple terms, one needs to know only three basic things: 1. How to shoot it. 2. how to clean it. 3. How to feed and care for it. Most everything you need to know is covered by these three categories.

 

[flashpoint]

I'm unaware of anyone who "knows it all". Learning is something you'll do every day whether you realize you're doing or not. In simple terms, one needs to know only three basic things: 1. How to shoot it. 2. how to clean it. 3. How to feed and care for it. Most everything you need to know is covered by these three categories.

Thanks Hanshi. Sound advice.

 

[renegadehunter]

After cleaning my barrel in a bucket of soapy water and drying the outside with a towel I always blast around the sights, under rib, and tenons with some canned air. My rear sight is a bolt on style, it is surprising how much water comes out from under it.
We all learn one way or another. I wasn't doing the above for the first couple of years. Then I decided to change out the sights to fiber optic. When I took the factory rear sight off there was some surface rust under it. Not a lot surprisingly, it rubbed right off with some Ballistol, but it clued me in to pay more attention to that area after cleaning.

 

[flashpoint]

After cleaning my barrel in a bucket of soapy water and drying the outside with a towel I always blast around the sights, under rib, and tenons with some canned air. My rear sight is a bolt on style, it is surprising how much water comes out from under it.
We all learn one way or another. I wasn't doing the above for the first couple of years. Then I decided to change out the sights to fiber optic. When I took the factory rear sight off there was some surface rust under it. Not a lot surprisingly, it rubbed right off with some Ballistol, but it clued me in to pay more attention to that area after cleaning.

THanks Renegade. I have just started using the canned air. I was surprised also at the water that came out from it. I then gave it a drop of gun oil.