My first muzzleloader

[AZ-Robert]

Magic! :grin:

If the jag is the right size for the barrel, the sides of the barrel smoosh the patch into the grooves in the jag. Makes a nice tight seal. Works great. :thumbsup:

:grin: Yep, it's the magic of friction. It will hold it so tightly, that you can get that bugger stuck down there if it is not lubed or the barrel a bit damp.

 

[-h@rKByte]

Thanks :grin: ,

My rifle looks almost the same as that one, it has a lower profile triger gard/hand grip. and does not have any metal on the stock. So WD-40 is safe to use for storage? And if I dn't have a jag, could I use a regular swab? But I'm near 100% sure I have one.

Thanks,
- $h@rK

 

[Slamfire]

I swapped out the pin on my underhammer fer a #6 hex set screw. When it comes time to clean, I remove the screw, pull of the foreend, and spin the barrel off the breach plug. Then some Hoppes No.9+ cleans the barrel without discolorin' the wood. :winking:

 

[Zonie]

WD40 is a water displacing (hence WD) fluid that is meant to drive water out of small areas. It doesn't make a good rust preventing lube.

I usually use Birchwood Casey "Sheath" which leaves a protective film on the metal.
There are several other oils that will do a good job, but avoid oils made from petrolium like motor oil or machine oil.

Petrolium based oils if left in the bore seem to turn the fouling from black powder into a very hard rather waterproof substance that makes loading and cleaning the gun very difficult.

Even a coating of Olive Oil (or better yet, Castor oil) is far better than WD40 for rust protection.

 

[-h@rKByte]

Could I use Lucas gun oil?


Thanks,
- $h@rK

 

[Zonie]

IMO, you can use any oil you choose but I would advise you to just wet a dry patch and run it down the bore several times, rotating it between rams to make sure it evenly coats just the bore.

You really don't need much (if any) oil in the flame channel that connects the bore with the nipple.
Before you shoot the gun next time, run several dry (or alcohol (denatured) soaked patches) down the bore to wipe out as much oil as you can. If you use the alcohol soaked patches, follow them with a dry patch or two to remove the wetness before loading.

I mention above the alcohol should be the "denatured" kind that is used as a shellac thinner.
Rubbing alcohol is only about 70% alcohol, the rest being water and IMO it doesn't do a very good job of removing oil.

 

[AZ-Robert]

And if I don't have a jag, could I use a regular swab? But I'm near 100% sure I have one.

Anything is better than nothing! But the jag does two things for you that a slotted tip or a bore mop don't do well -- it makes the cleaning patch fit very tight to the bore (good scrubbing) and it gets all the way down to the end. If you don't have a jag, you should get one. They look like this:
[url] http://www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/tableList.aspx?catID=6&subID=49&styleID=152[/url]

Could I use Lucas gun oil?

You could, but if you use any type of regular gun oil inside the barrel, you'll want to wipe it out of there before you start shooting. Folks that do use oil usually mop it out of there with alcohol then dry it with a dry patch (being careful not to get the dry patch jammed down there).

Opinions vary on whether or not to use regular gun oil (almost all are petroleum based) or to use something like bore butter or olive oil to prevent rust. Best advice is to shoot it every week, that way you don't have to worry about "storage" :grin:

 

[-h@rKByte]

Ok, I think I have one of thouse. It does not look the same as thouse, but very close to it.

Would paint thinner work?

And I don't know if I will be able to shoot it every week maybe a couple times a month.

Thanks,
- $h@rK