Cleaning my Black Powder Rifle

J

jspappap

New member
Ok its together and I want to shoot is ASAP. I have read many opinions on cleaning / seasoning etc. Whats the real scoop? Its a 50 cal Hawkens cap n ball How often and whats the best method to clean it? Go slow I'm a newbie.
 
Clean after you shoot it even if you just shoot it once. It wont hurt to let it go overnight but let it go for a month and you will have a rust bucket. Use hot soapy water. I use shotgun bore mops but you can use a tight patch on a jag. Those slotted tip jags are useless for bp. Remove the barrel and put the breech in a bucket of soapy water and use the ramrod with a patch to pull water up the bore. After that let it drain for a bit and then I like to spray the bore liberally with WD-40 to displace any water left. Then use a vegetable based lube in the bore unless you want to clean it all out before you load it the next time. Some people remove the nipple for cleaning. Whether you do or not use an old toothbrush to clean around around the snail and hammer face. You can use whatever lube you like inside the lock and the outsides of the gun. You can't season a rifle barrel.
 
Every time you shoot it.

I use hot water, whatever dish soap my sweetie buys and a scrub brush with lots of patches. I let the hot barrel dry and then treat it with Bore Butter while it's still warm. Your mileage may vary , I live in a pretty arid part of the country but it works well for me..

Edit: coulda saved some typing and wrote, "what Hawg Haggen said... " :)
 
Thanks much. How often do you clean it while shooting it ? I have read as often as every 3 shots up to every ten, but the prevailing recommendation is when you feel the ball getting tighter in the bore.:D
 
Thanks Hawg Haggen

Thanks for the link to another great site. More great stuff to read n learn. I may never sleep again. If I can remember and apply 10% of what I hear and read I'll be a happy camper. Its truly addicting, but as my wife says She knows where I'm at n what I'm doing.
 
How often do you clean it while shooting it
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Not so much cleaning it as swabbing it with something like Windex. I generally don't as the next round pushes the fouling down to the powder charge where its expelled with firing.
 
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