doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Black Powder Field Cleaning - Comments?

Your guns are not going to instantly turn to rust when using black powder. 50 to 60 rounds of 3 dram loads and a wipe of the exterior before putting into the case and you are good to go. I take with me a dish pan, dish soap, use hot water and a snug fitting jag and patches. A good bore brush and a few minutes cleaning until the patches come out clean, dry and oil. I use Slip 2000. You can leave the cleaning until the next day without any harm. The fouling is a bit harder but still cleans easily with the hot water and soap. A English type 12 bore chamber brush works well or a US 10 ga. bore brush with a bit of 4-0 steel wool wrapped around also works well. Soap and hot water quickly dissolve the powder fouling and the brushing loosens any hard deposits. I've been doing this for 45 years and have never had any problem with rust. The plastic dish pan makes the hotel staff much happier that using the bath tub and one can sit outside and enjoy a good cigar while cleaning the tubes.

Stan, I mistyped, Knew it was alcohol , soap and Peroxide and had Ammonia on my mind.
I have it mixed up and used it some, have you not had any after rusting with it?
I will monitor it again. Are you using Soft Soap?

Murphy's Oil Soap, Leighton. It is a vegetable based soap. Don't know if that matters or not, but it has worked for me for a long time.

No rusting problems. However, I remembered that I omitted mentioning a step in my cleaning process. After the mixture is used and the bore is dried with patches as much as possible I drench the bore with a moisture displacer like WD 40. I then dry it again and use the RIG.

Sorry I forgot to mention that.

SRH

The old "Moose Milk" formula of Murphy's oil soap, Hydrogen Peroxide and alcohol goes back forever in muzzle loading circles and it works well. Some experienced rusting after because they thought the Murphy's was oil. It is not and the bores must be dry and oiled after cleaning. The hot soap and water works quickly and gets results much faster. Tight jag and patches pump the water up into the bores and washes the fouling out quickly. It takes me all of 10 minutes to completely clean my guns. 2 or 3 inches of the muzzles are in the water and when clean dry very quickly. Do not forgo the black powder experience just because you are afraid to clean. It is very easy and a great amount of fun hunting or clay shooting with black.

I once had a disaster trying to clean black powder residue out of a gun with a long handled brush in my wife's kitchen sink. People have suggested I use a coffee can of hot soapy water to clean the barrels as described above.

My question: what keeps the water from getting into the gap between the ribs and the barrels on an old double that may not be water tight at the muzzles?...Geo

Answer: Nothing.

Ever hunted in the rain?

Most dwellings are warm enough to quickly dry the barrels and if one is concerned, a bit of gently warming with a hair dryer would solve the problem. My guns do not have any gaps at the muzzle or loose ribs and I've not had a problem with rust. Keith is correct on hunting in rainy conditions. I keep a towel to wipe dry my guns and carry on. If they get really wet, I just remove the locks or bottom plate on a box lock gun and let them dry. Lightly oil and reassemble.

Equal parts Murphy's Soap, rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide works very well on the gun and cleans your hands as well and is very popular with shooters using BP for guns in Cowboy Action Shooting. Give the barrels a couple of squirts, let sit for a few minutes and then push wadded up paper towels down the barrels and repeat as necessary. Usually 2 or 3 passes is enough.

While waiting a couple of hours or a day to clean the guns won't hurt them, I have found that cleaning them right after I am done shooting seems to make the clean up be easier then waiting until the next day.

I do my best to stay inside out of the rain. I've had my turn in the barrel with rain, snow, icy rain, and sleet but in my declining years it has occurred to me that I could just wait and go tomorrow...Geo

To keep my wife and dog happy I always wear latex gloves when cleaning my blackpowder guns. Once the goo has blackened the hands it is devilish to remove. I think it penetrates the skin's pores.