ditto - no need for soap. I use cold water and patches. #1 - Remove the lock and put paper towel in the lock area,held in with the lock bolt from the lock side, if necessary - when cleaning only at rondy only, I stop the vent with a round tooth pic, then let cold water sit in the bore for 5 min or so, pull the peg, then soak again, pull the peg and wipe out with 6 or more patches until clean and dry - the first one will blast water out the vent, cleaning the internal recess and breech plug quite well, once dry, then spray copious amounts of WD40 down the bore, patch out the excess WD40, blasting it out the vent.
Wipe the barrel down and wipe the stock off with a towel. Done - and do that for the length of the rondy- 3 days, 10 days, whatever. Oh yeah - Clean the lock in a cup of water, using a toothbrush. Shake it dry, wipe, then spray copious amounts of WD40 all over the lock, shake it and blow the excess off with your mouth. Wipe again and replace. Done - about 20 minutes max. if letting sit for 5 minutes between pouring out the water and refilling & drinking beer- of course.
At home, I remove the barrel and stick it into a conatiner full of tap water - cold. Flush and flush - up- and down until I think it's clean, maybe 20 strokes - uses one patch. Drying takes only 3 or 4 patches after that. the force of the water being blasted out the vent scours the breech plug and internal cavity of the vent or nipple seat and channel very well. Squirt copious amounts of WD40 down the tube then blast it out the vent. Change patches and run it in and out of the bore. Use the first to wipe the barrel down.
Clean the lock with a toothbrush in the water. Use compressed air to blow the water off the lock, then spray liberally with WD40 wiht a spray bottle. That does not wash or blast the moly grease from the bearing surfaces. Shake it dry and set aside for a while. Clean the fouling residue from the stock, replace the barrel and pins. Blow the lock off with compressed air and replace. Done - time - about 10 minutes - maybe 15 of poky at it.
Store the rifle muzzle down, so the oil in the WD40 won't plug the vent or nipple. It merely runs out the bore, the solvents/carriers dry and the oil remaining protects the bore. Been working perfectly for me since 1980 - - YIKES - that's 30 years. Prior to that, I used hot water, flash rusted the gun each time I cleaned it. 1st drying patch came out red with rust. You could see & feel the rust in the bore. That stopped when I changed to cold water - never rusted one since. Always bright and shiny now.
I've heard of guys that have to clean often while shooting it's just too difficult to load - fouls and guys who say they live in moist climates and therefore need better rust protection, that the bore rusts with only WD 40 for oil - makes me wonder if they now use or used hot water and soap. Just a thought. I've used patches that burn and shredded in one shot, yet the bore did not get hard loading after 2 or 3 shots - after 10 - somewhat, but not after just a few shots. I've shot 10 paper ctg.s with 165gr. 2f and a .686" ball ina .69, bore fouled so badly that another could not be loaded, so I shot a cleaning shot, spit-wet .020" patch and same ball with 80gr. of pwoder. That cleaned the bore enough for another 10 shots with paper ctgs. I really do wonder why people have to clean often due to hard loading. It just doesn't compute. Why not fire a cleaning shot of a wet, thick patch and large ball?
Food for thought.
Using these methods, I've not rusted a barrel. When I used hot water in my first gun, I rusted my barrel due to the flash rusting and perhaps the soap I was told to use, exacerbated the problem of the hot water. perhaps it was the steel TC used then - perhaps it was something else. I know several other guys who badly rusted their barrels using hot water and soap. I stopped rusting barrels when I switched to cold water. If de-breeched, it is difficult to look at a 60 watt ceiling light through them - like a magnifier - no rust, no pits - so shiny!
I stopped using hot water to clean my muzzleloading rifles after reading a letter a friend received from Holland and Holland - the old, Best Quality English Gun makers of World Renoun, not the US company who uses that same name. The letter from H&H told Will to use cold water only when cleaning his almost priceless antique rifles and shotguns. They said - Do NOT use hot water as it will promote flash rusting, which is accumulative. The said - Do NOT use soap as it will corrode the soft steel and iron of the barrels - use only cold water for cleaning- nothing else is needed.
Only someone with something to sell you or someone who is merely repeating what the salesman said, will tell you that you need a commercial product to clean your muzzleloading guns. Water cleans as well as anything.
This, of course, is if you aren't coating it with a foreign object or material that requires 'other' methods. If you are using something that coats your bore - stop - take a note from Holland and Holland, the London Gun Making Firm established 1835 - you don't need it.
