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New Caps: The latest Remington #11 & CCI Musket caps

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I can tell you about my cleaning experience. It may or may not square with other people's techniques, but it worked for me. If it sounds too simplistic for you, I apologize. But it's because there might be some new shooters (or some who are new to black powder) who may read this.

If yours is a T/C Hawken, like mine, you can easily remove the barrel and the nipple. That's where to start. If your breech is really crudded up, getting it clean might be a big job to start with, but it will be a snap after you finish that intial cleaning.

To prepare my barrel for a really good cleaning when it was in its worst shape ever, I started by removing the barrel completely. Mine come off by tapping out the wedge keeper pin and pulling up on the barrel. Then I ran some hot water in the tub and added some dish washing detergent. I put the barrel in the tub and let it soak for several hours -- might have been 4-5 hours. I believe that softened some of the stuff inside, at least a little.

I had a small, curved brass probe that I had bought at a gun show. I ran it down through the nipple hole, digging and scraping the whole way. I also used a piece of coat hanger, a bobbie pin, a paper clip, and a tightly twisted linen patch. At some point I could actually see some rusty looking crud and small chunks started coming out. Next, I used Liquid Wrench, Hoppes 9, Marvel's Mystery oil, and Kroil to penetrate and loosen up the rest of the crud. I'm sure it was overkill. Lots of elbow grease, and eventually it was clean.

CAUTION: I did have the benefit of having removed that little screw/plug thing at the breech end that you're not really supposed to remove. It allowed me to be able to go straight in with different sized half-worn cleaning brushes. If your gun has this plugged hole, I don't recommend removing it. As others have commented, you can booger the threads or otherwise mess things up badly. I got lucky. You do NOT want to take a chance on creating a weak link in the system and risk blowing smoke out the wrong end of the pole!

Now that I have all that gunk out, regular cleaning is just a matter of removing the nipple and the barrel after shooting, and sticking the breech end into soapy water. Then I take a patch-wrapped cleaning jag to it, pulling the soapy water up through the bore, and then pushing it back out throught the nipple hole. I also use a patch-wrapped cleaning brush to get into the rifling. After running several patches down the bore until they come out clean, I figure I've done a pretty good job of cleaning. I end up with very hot water, so it will evaporate quickly.

After cleaning, I run a lightly oiled patch (RemOil or your favorite) down the bore, and lightly wipe down the exterior of the barrel with oil too. It's important to use good thread lube when you replace your freshly cleaned nipple. When you're sure the rest of the rifle is clean, you're ready to replace the barrel, wipe off any finger prints, and store your rifle. I hang mine on a horizontal three-gun rack in our bedroom, right above my lever rifle and my Winchester model 67 single-shot .22.

Before shooting again, I run a couple of dry patches down the bore and snap a cap before loading powder and ball. When I snap the cap, I try to find a leaf or a few blades of grass to aim at from a few inches. If the grass moves when I set off the cap, I know the breech and bore are clear. Hopefully they are dry too.

Good luck.
 
Have you guys tried to find pipe cleaners lately? Since not a whole lot of folks smoke pipes anymore they are not available at the grocery anymore. I found "twizzlers" at Wally World in the arts and crafts section. Basically xtra long pipe cleaners used to make ?????. They make really good muzzleloader cleaners...really cheap per hundred!
 
Thanks for the tip. The last pipe cleaners I got came from a tobacco store, and they were severly overpriced. I don't smoke, so I wouldn't normally go there anyway.
 
Mine is not a modern repro. I can take the barrel off easily enough, it just doesn't appear that anything is removable from the breach.
 
Zonie said:
I'm sure your tongue was in your cheek when you posted but IMO, it is not really a "forbidden screw".

If it comes out easily I see nothing wrong with removing it to aid cleaning or, for pouring some powder into the flame channel in case you've dryballed a load. I've done it myself.

The thing is, a buggered up screw detracts from the appearance of a nice rifle and I've seen more than my share of these screws damaged by someone who was trying to get the screw out.

IMO, if it resists removal, just leave the thing alone, remove the nipple and clean the gun or pour your dryball removing powder load down thru the flame channel that's under it.

:thumbsup:

I like to remove the clean out screw and continue to pump water through it while I have the barrel in a bucket of hot water. when I first put the barrel in the bucket, I leave the nipple in and only remove it after I have run a few pumps throught the nipple. This helps clean the nipple up. Then I remove the nipple and clean out screw and run some more water through it.
 
You are right about pipe cleaners being hard to find. You can still get them in craft stores, but you might find they are made from some non absorbent material and some are very fuzzy. they still work to run through small places but do not get oil or water out of those places. I am still looking for the old fashioned kind (still have a few). As for the magnum caps I understand they are not more powerful than the regular caps , but the fire lasts longer. We are talking about a few miliseconds here. I heard this from a manufacture of center fire primers.
 
Trumpetman said:
Thanks for the tip. The last pipe cleaners I got came from a tobacco store, and they were severly overpriced. I don't smoke, so I wouldn't normally go there anyway.
there's a tobacco store 2 miles from me that i have purchased old fashion pipe cleaners from over the years. they are still $.99 per 56 and made in USA. the manufacturer is B.J. Long of Rochester, NY 14605 or www.bjlong.com
 
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Well I'm glad I stumbled onto this topic for peace of mind.I've always only used CCI #11 Magnum caps in my TC Hawken .45,mainly because that's what my local gun guy carried.Last week I was running low on caps and could only get standard Remington #11 and not really having an understanding of the difference,I was a bit apprehensive but bought them anyhow?I use 3F Goex only,and basically the same cleaning regiment as Trumpetman,always snap a cap at a cleaning patch on the floor to check for obstructions,so it sounds like I should be fine with the Rem #11?Regardless,I'll be trying them out on targets for now,I still have a cpl dozen(?) CCI Mags for hunting this fall.
 
Len Graves said:
You are right about pipe cleaners being hard to find. You can still get them in craft stores, but you might find they are made from some non absorbent material and some are very fuzzy. they still work to run through small places but do not get oil or water out of those places. I am still looking for the old fashioned kind (still have a few). As for the magnum caps I understand they are not more powerful than the regular caps , but the fire lasts longer. We are talking about a few miliseconds here. I heard this from a manufacture of center fire primers.


Len - If you need some let me know - I can get you some the next time we are at the range.

Foster From Flint
 
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