Bore Treatment

[silky]

So I've searched both this forum and the internet in general for methods of pre-treating the bore of a rifle to seal it and and make it easier to clean later on.  I did find one pretty simple method where you fill the barrel with hot/boiling water, wait for the barrel to heat up from it, then swab the bore with a swab soaked in Bore Butter; the idea being that the heated water and internal bore will melt the Bore Butter and fill the pores.

So, two questions:

1. If I were to use this technique on a cold-browned barrel, will the heat affect the now complete finish on the exterior of the barrel?

2. What other techniques have you guys found to be effective?

Thanks, guys!  I have lots of newbie questions...

- Tom

[smylee grouch]

Might be a good way to BROWN the inside of the barrel which I see as a bad thing.

[n stephenson]

You could lightly and evenly heat it with a propane torch. It doesn't need to be over 300 degrees . When I season skillets I don`t get them over 350 , you don't have to get things blazing hot to season them . I don`t season rifle barrels , I just shoot them with bore butter, it may season them some ? never really gave it much thought. I use Crisco to season old collectable skillets , it`s the best thing I have found.

[rich pierce]

There's no need to season a bore. Keep it clean then greased and it will be fine.

[elk killer]

In well over 40 years of shooting flintlocks, I have never seasoned a barrel,
used bear oil for patch lube, didn't ask the bear if it was seasoned,

[WadePatton]

Shooting good snug combinations and then one squib load at the end of your session and using room-temp water is the most effective way to find a bbl easy to clean.

Lots of myths need busting. I think if you'll search the subject you'll find considerable discussion previously here. Some from professional metallurgists, chemists, as well as seasoned veterans of the sidelock too!   

also, Welcome to this fine pursuit. If you inquire about something and replies are slow in coming it may be because it's a "hot topic" that gets discussed over and over and over here. Sometimes we need "recovery time" after a "new round" of such in order to get interested in the debate again. There are always two sides, and even more when it comes to things like patch lube or rifling preferences. 

Feel free to search out these sorts of things. But also, don't hesitate to ask when you need to.  It's simpler than it often appears, after a while, eventually.

[Natureboy]

  I used Bore Butter just once.  I've been using cast iron frying pans for years, and know that you "season" them by using hot oils and wipe them out or use hot water to clean them (never, ever use soap).  So using their suggestion that they can "season" the bore with their grease, I tried it and had to get a friend to hold the ramrod while I pulled like mad to extract the patched cleaning jag.  I've never had a gun foul so badly.  Now, I'm definitely a convert to Daryl's method of a tight ball and patch combination, which cleans the bore on the way down, and allows me to shoot without having to wipe.  I usually just use spit--I put the cut patch in my mouth while measuring out the powder charge, and then the spit-lubricated patch and ball slide down with just a series of hard pushes.  Sometimes I'll use patches pre-soaked with Lehigh Valley or Mr. Flintlock, which are apparently the same thing.  Spit wouldn't work for hunting, because it would dry out.  I don't put the pre-soaked patches in my mouth!

[smylee grouch]

Silky, many people here have had whats called flash rusting in their bores when they use boiling water so that is why myself and many on this forum dont want to use boiling water to clean. Also as has been explained my those more scientific than I, every thing that is bad for your rifles bore desolves (sp) with plain ol'e room temp water then it's only a mater of getting it dry and oiled not seasoned. I like to use WD-40 after my bore is clean and sometimes bear oil after that if I don't plan on shooting for an extended period. 

[PPatch]

Welcome to ALR Silky.

I guarantee that if you fill a 12L14 modern steel barrel, of which a great many of today's barrels are made from, with hot water it will cause instant flash rust when you pour it out. You can't "season" a modern steel bore like might have been done with wrought iron barrels back in the day.

Just shoot the heck out of it and keep it clean and oiled.

dave

[Turtle]

 Wade,
I'm interested in your comment about firing a squibb load last. Could you elaborate please?
                                              Thanks, Turtle

[moleeyes36]

Welcome to ALR Silky.

I guarantee that if you fill a 12L14 modern steel barrel, of which a great many of today's barrels are made from, with hot water it will cause instant flash rust when you pour it out. You can't "season" a modern steel bore like might have been done with wrought iron barrels back in the day.

Just shoot the heck out of it and keep it clean and oiled.

dave

Silky,

Dave's advice is concise and spot on accurate. 

Mole Eyes

[silky]

Guys,

Thanks for taking the time to answer/explain.  I'll definitely just keep it clean and well lubricated.

I appreciate the welcome, and I look forward to learning more from you guys!

- Tom

[Darkhorse]

I would be careful with bore butter, especially if you base everything on what the label says. I've been using it for at least 20 years and still do for a hunting load that may stay loaded for a couple of weeks. I get fine accuracy with BB also. The problem, to me, starts with this seasoning idea. Bore Butter will season a barrel. Or at least the chamber area. But when it does it traps any dirt, water or fouling between the seasoning and the steel.
After you've been lubing with BB for awhile you will start to notice a thick, brown crud on your cleaning patches even after the bore should be clean. Take the barrel out and clean in a bucket of soapy water until the water comes out clean. Drain the barrel and swab with a dry patch. The thick crud will be on the patches, you haven't gotten any out of the barrel.
So once I figured this out I cleaned the barrel with brake cleaner and that got the crud out. Or rather, I got the seasoning out.
Now I no longer shoot long strings with BB and I also clean with brake cleaner when the crud starts showing up.
Now we are happy.

[WadePatton]

Wade,
I'm interested in your comment about firing a squibb load last. Could you elaborate please?
                                              Thanks, Turtle

I picked that up from Daryl, but it's rather simple:

As we are of the load-tightly-enough-to-prevent-build-up-camp (or: Load Tight-No Wipe LTNW ), there's no build up between shots. But of course the last shot  leaves its sooty trail in the bore.  The less powder burned for the last shot, the lighter the trail.

[Scota4570]

Anyone ever mess with moly paste?

[Daryl]

Wade,
I'm interested in your comment about firing a squibb load last. Could you elaborate please?
                                              Thanks, Turtle

I picked that up from Daryl, but it's rather simple:

As we are of the load-tightly-enough-to-prevent-build-up-camp (or: Load Tight-No Wipe LTNW ), there's no build up between shots. But of course the last shot  leaves its sooty trail in the bore.  The less powder burned for the last shot, the lighter the trail.

The main reason I went with a squib load, 20 or 30 gr. of powder, was that the powder chamber area gets a buildup of powder fouling, that never gets removed until time to clean the gun at home.  By the time you've shot off 30, 40, 50 or more shots, the ram rod will not push the patched ball down the same amount as the first few shots.  This is due to the powder fouling buildup in the breach area.  This accumulation can be considerable, thus I started using a squib load as my "last shot of the day".  I sometimes put it on a large plate at the start of our trail.  The low-key-sounding pow--long delay---tink, is rather amusing - to me. 

My patent breech holds about  12 to 15gr. of powder, a little more makes certain it is full & the ball can be seated onto the powder.   When the almost sloppy wet patched ball is shoved down the bore, it pushes this buildup of fouling ahead of the plug, but behind a normally seated ball, back down to almost the bottom of this chamber area. Upon firing, all of the fouling pushed down is ejected with the patched ball, thus leaving the barrel even easier to clean than it would be otherwise.

I would think that people who do not remove their barrels for cleaning, would find the shooting of  squib load to finish off the day, to help with the chore of cleaning the gun with the bl. still in the stock.

This thread should probably be in the shooting forum.

[bgf]

Anyone ever mess with moly paste?

I use it all the time, but not in ML barrels:).  With a cloth patch, there is no metal to metal contact.

[JCKelly]

Just for fun -

Steel, even that God-awful stuff you all use for barrels, does NOT have pores.

Cast iron does, where all those little graphite flakes are open to the surface. Holds lubricant well.

Hot water is a good way to rust a barrel.
An even better way is hot soapy water, so salt from that soap is available to help rust.

For the sake of your barrel, do not ever heat it with a torch. All it needs is for one side to be about, say, room temperature to hot-to-the touch, and the opposite side to be 300F. That is enough for it to take a permanent bend.

Metal expands in volume when it is heated. Metal also becomes weaker when it is heated.