Cleaning Solutions and Procedures?

[landop]

Im new to muzzleloading and just got a new Traditions Sporter 209 inline and was looking for some pointers on between shot cleaning procedures, after a day of shooting cleaning, and solutions i should use. In the owners manual it has vague instructions and of course advertise their products but i know some of u have better and more helpful advice.
Thanks in advance!

 

[txhunter58]

What powder are you using?

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

 

[Cow Tag]

What I do may not be the standard procedure for most of the muzzle loader crowd. I use a 50%/50% solution of Murphy's Oil Soap (liquid) and isopropyl alcohol. Have used this mixture for years now with good results. Use it to swab the bore between shots and also for the good general cleaning after a practice session or a day in the field. Anyone else use this? Cowtag

 

[El_Matador]

There are plenty of cleaners you can use, I've never tried the oil soap & alcohol, sounds like a nice-smelling recipe. I just use the Thompson T7 cleaner you can buy at the store. Squirt some on a patch, run it down and back. Flip patch over and repeat. I usually scrub just a little right at the bottom where the powder was sitting to remove the extra fouling. That's my procedure between shots and it works great. I think any water based cleaner that provides a little lubrication would work well.

For a thorough cleaning I remove the breech plug and swab the bore with patches until they come out clean. I take a round brush with powder solvent and clean the threads to remove all the old "grease". I clean the breech plug thoroughly with water and a brush, and chase the flash hole with some kind of metallic implement. Prior to putting it back it I run a lightly oiled patch down the bore to remove any debris from thread cleaning and to prevent rust. Then I apply new grease (I use anti-seize) to the threads and reinstall. Lightly oil the surface of the gun and she's all done.

 

[landop]

Thanks for the input guys! It will get me started. I'm planning on experimenting with BH209 powder, and triple 7 pellets.

 

[txhunter58]

Blackhorn 209: Do not use regular blackpowder substitute cleaners. Two good ones are Hoppes #9 or Montana Extreme cowboy blend cleaner. Don't use water or any water based cleaners. If you plan on shooting fairly soon, that is all you have to do. If you are not going to shoot for awhile, use a bore oil.

777: Water is really all you need, but you can use a lot of different cleaners. Regular windex or 50% alchol and 50% windex works well. I generally use a gun oil swabbing after cleaning, esp if I am using a water based cleaner.

With either cleaner, I soak a patch with cleaner and swab the bore, then I put a bore brush on and run that through the bore about 20 strokes. Then another soaked patch/dry patch/soaked/dry until they come out clean.

Next shooting session, you have to clean out the oil before you shoot or it will affect the flight of the bullet. To do that, I pop off 2 to 3 caps, then swab the bore with a dry patch and load. Still many times the first shot (in my experience) goes slightly different, so I do a "fouling shot" then load for target or hunting.

With BH 209, I have shot as many as 30 shots without swabbing once. With 777, I swab between each shot: one spit patch (yes, I actually lick the patch) and then a dry patch, then reload.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

 

[FrontierGander]

blackhorn209 fouling easily cleans up with birchwood casey bore scrubber. Best part, it has an anti rust additive in it so you dont have to follow up with an oil patch for rust protection.

Tip! Run 3 DRY patches down the bore first to remove loose BH209 fouling. Wet one patch with the bore scrubber, swab the bore and then use a bore brush and scrub a dozen times or so. Run another wet patch, let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes so the product can do its job and then follow up with another wet patch, dry patch the bore and you're done.

T7 pellets clean up easy with windex or just some warm soapy water.

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