To clean or not clean??

[waksupi]

I thought I would update the posting we hunted every day hard from the 25th of nov. until the 10th of dec. temps ranged from a negative 14 plus the wind chill to 45 degrees above shot a total of 3 deer with 3 different guns. all had been shot at least once during the season, and reloaded without cleaning. we unloaded our guns yesterday without any failure to ignite or hang fire. the comment was made earlier that we were going to have a ruined barrel because we hadn't cleaned after shooting or left or guns loaded for the entire season plus. so here is pictures of our barrels after cleaning with plain hot water and then running 1 wonder lubed patch this is the way we've been doing our guns since the day wonder lube/TC 1000 plus hit the market 30 some years ago View attachment 277168View attachment 277170View attachment 277171

Good heavens, I see pitting on every surface in the last photo! Good reason to not do it that way. If I was looking at a rifle to buy, that would be a pass.

 

[Brokenbear]

I do believe the gentleman on his initial post indicated that he was using 3F Triple Seven ..I have said it on this forum before that T7 just is not as corrosive as holy black not to mention it's propensity to deliver more velocity volume for volume

Secondly ..I believe you will note he is in the western states ..Wyoming in particular where as I type this the CURRENT humidity outdoors is 16% and his indoor humidity is 20% ..my current outdoor humidity here in Missouri is 75% !!!!!75%

Where you live and time of year is EVERYTHING as to what YOUR real world experience has taught you as to how one has to treat one's equipment

I too shoot T7 mostly ..and I do deal with high humidity ..and I do subscribe to clean ASAP.. BUT ...my gun room has a whole house dehumidifier as well as all gun safes have their OWN de-humidification systems as well as an alarm system that sounds off at a 50% threshold which is still considered dry air ..

I give you the above background to tell you this... coming home from a range session with both cap n ball revolvers and rifles ..all fired with T7 ... I was hit by a kidney stone attack ..wife helped me get my front stuffers to my gun room then to the ER ..then surgery for 7 stones

Almost a month later I faced what I just knew would be a sad effort to recover/salvage what I could of the mess sitting in my gun room

The only thing I can attribute no disaster at all ..none ..Nada was T7's forgiving trait of being less corrosive than other powders and l-o-w humidity ..

Yes clean your guns ASAP but there can be a "grace period" in some circumstances

BEAR

 

[Rebel bull]

Might we conclude then that it is okay to not clean our black powder barrels for several days after firing? That can only mean you have discovered a truth that has lain dormant for many years. No one knew this until now.

think about it do you really believe that the soldiers at valley forge unloaded their guns every night and cleaned them? or the soldiers on either side at Gettysburg after fighting all day unloaded and cleaned? or any of the long hunters did? what I suggest is that they cleaned only when it was convenient and prudent to do so ie: lots of water to do so . I also put it out there that they didn't use a fancy lube the overwhelming majority of them used what was available some form of fat/tallow ( demonstrated by the amount of original rifles with lube holes in the butt stock ) and possibly a rendered version of the same and the richer more prosperous may have used sperm whale oil, but given the length that they were beyond civilization and what they could pack and carry . I never have said that you shouldn't clean after shooting, what I said is that it isn't a hunt breaker if you use a reasonable approach to it .
My rules for every body that I help/teach are as follows
1 never ever use a petroleum based product inside the barrel
2 if you are adamant about using any of the substitute powders then you absolutely need to get your barrel surgical clean before storage
3 a simple wipe of what ever you are using for patch lube is sufficient to store your gun. me personally I use wonder lube and nothing else inside and out from the day I acquire it. the first 2 guns I owned I built in the early 90's late 80's were being shot approximately 1,000 rounds a year. about 10- 12 years ago I started acquiring what I call pretty guns and only shooting them so the first 2 were relegated to the corner of the display case a year ago as a result of somebody bitchen about long term storage with wonder lube i pulled the flint lock out and ran a lubed patch down the barrel to see if any corrosion had formed the patch came out looking like I would have expected any lubricant to look like after sitting for a dozen years. because I had done this I took that gun to the monthly shoot and won 3 and tied a couple more matches which is the best I done in years ( maybe I should shoot it instead of my pretty guns ) I cleaned it as I always have during the next week following the instructions that wonder lube/bore butter/TC 1000 plus said when it came out nothing but hot water NO SOAP OF ANY KIND do this and it works .
4 in the winter never ever use windshield wash to wipe the bore if you are in the middle of a shoot and you have fouled the barrel to the point of your tearing the patches as you load OX Yoke makes a cleaner/lubricant made to be used with wonder lube and is available from RMC prod.

This is my humble opinion and a lot of my fellow shooters disagree with it but the proof is in the ones that use my method win more then their share of matches. Age is catching up with me and since retiring 8 years ago I don't shoot as much now as its 350 miles one way to the club we chartered but we still go 10 months a year. All of the shoots that are closer are dress up to shoot and they gripe about losing attendance .

 

[Old Shepherd]

I agree with all Rebel Bull has written. I was looking at this tread when it first started when I was in Georgia hunting white tails. I have never been in the south before and thought, well these fellas that are down on Bore Butter must have an issue due to the humidity. Except I have been using Bore Butter since it came out and like it. I was using original Civil War era carbines and muskets to hunt with using black powder and treat them just like my production muzzle loaders when it comes to cleaning and care. I have waited until now to share my opinion on the subject. I live in Eastern Washington State. It is dry and then some.
This may make a difference. When I clean a black powder weapon I use hot water only or if still in the field or match shooting I will use TC #13 to quickly clean a bore (IF) I am having fouling issues after many rounds. Then when the weapon is clean, I send a scalding hot water rinse down bore, one dry patch and then Bore Butter to put her up. I clean every time after I am done shooting my guns. The Bore Butter coats my barrels and protects them from rust and makes them very easy to clean. In my opinion. I have used Crisco, lard and a home made mixture of lambs tallow and bee's wax. They all perform about the same for me. I like the fact that the Bore Butter tubes keep the material fresh so it doesn't dry out and get crusty. I don't buy the claim on the Bore Butter label about not cleaning after ever shooting session. However using it the way that I do, I am well pleased with the product.
Old Shepherd

 

[SOLANCO]

To Clean or Not Clean?

Do you shower? Brush your teeth? How long between before you are uncomfortable?

Some decades back on a continent far away I would grow more and more uncomfortable the longer I waited to maintain my weapon after use.

 

[necchi]

Age is catching up with me and since retiring 8 years ago I don't shoot as much now as its 350 miles one way to the club we chartered but we still go 10 months a year. All of the shoots that are closer are dress up to shoot and they gripe about losing attendance .

Gadd's, that's dan. I don't shoot with the dress-up crowd anymore either. john.

 

[BillRob]

I've recently started following this thread. A few things come to mind:

There is not much worse than an Idaho dirt road..... or better.

Eastern Washington is indeed dry. Very dry. Damn dry. (Even drier than Eastern Idaho.)

I can't imagine using a properly sized R.E.A.L. (Rifling Engraved At Loading) bullet cast from anything besides pure lead. Because the REAL bullets engage (engrave according to Lee) the rifling during loading, they are difficult to load even when cast from pure lead - especially after one or two shots. 90%? Not for me - at least not for hunting. Sometimes I speculate but in this case I speak from experience. (Same with regard to Idaho dirt roads.) A slightly undersized REAL bullet with some kind of over-powder wad? Maybe, but why use a REAL bullet if that is the plan?

Definitely not a good idea to change your program right before a hunt - even if the graybeards think its a good idea.

Did the O.P. end up getting his elk?

BillRob

 

[necchi]

Did the O.P. end up getting his elk?

I don't know, I didn't respond when if first came up,,
but then someone had to chip in 10 days later so I thought what the heck,,, might as well.
Don't worry, it'll come up again next year

 

[reddogge]

Gadd's, that's dan. I don't shoot with the dress-up crowd anymore either. john.

Me too. I stopped dressin' up in the early 80s.