First, I use a ROUND toothpick, not a "square" one. After all, the flash-hole is
ROUND.
I remove the lock and stuff some paper towels in that area, then lean the rifle to it's left and pour super-hot, very slightly soapy water down the muzzle... and let it sit a few minutes to loosen up the "crud" in the bore.
Then I turn the rifle over above the toilet and let the blackish, dirty water and crud run out. Then I run a .50 caliber cleaning
nylon bore-brush up and down in the rifle's bore, then add more CLEAN (
not "soapy") super-hot water down the bore and let it sit a minute or two... then dump it out and, again, run the nylon bore-brush on a wooden ram-rod up and down in bore several times and, again, after dumping out the water in the toilet.
At that point, the barrel is kinda hot and the bore is usually "clean". But to check it, I let a very tiny LED "light" slide down the bore to check how clean the bore probably is. If it's clean, I remove the round toothpick from the flash-hole liner and run a clean, wet-with-very-hot-water cotton-covered pipe cleaner in and out of the flash-hole liner several times to clean out the flash-hole liner.
Then I blow compressed air from my small air-compressor into the flash-hole liner, then put a new, clean round toothpick back in the flash-hole liner hole, pour a little more super-hot water down the muzzle and into the bore, then turn the rifle up-side-down over the toilet and dump out any "crud" and water that's still in the bore.
Then, I again blow compressed air down the bore until it's "dry". Then I blow compressed air into the flash-hole liner and alternate back and forth between blowing compressed air down the bore, then into the flash-hole liner until everything is very dry.
I, then, put a clean oily cloth on a jag and push it up and down in the rifle's bore... twisting the ram-rod a quarter-turn after each thrust down & up... and do that at least 8 times so that each area of the bore is touched TWICE by the clean, oily cloth.
Then I put a little oil on a clean, dry pipe-cleaner and push the pipe-cleaner in and out of the flash-hole liner several times to lube that area.
Then I clean and re-oil the lock and re-install it... and then fold-up a paper towel several times, put the paper towel on the floor behind my computer room's door and place the rifle's muzzle on the paper towel... storing it up-side-down so any excess oil will run OUT of the barrel's muzzle while sitting there.
Naturally, when I go to the range, if I'm shooting the Hawken cap-lock that day, I add a percussion cap to the cap-lock's nipple, cock the hammer and pull the trigger thus firing the cap to insure the flash-channel is "clear & clean".
If I am shooting the flint-lock Long Rifle, I put a small amount of FFFFg in the frizzen pan and maybe 10 grains of FFFg in the barrel... and drop the flint on the frizzen to shoot sparks into the frizzen pan... thus firing the priming powder charge which, in turn, fires the light powder load insuring the flash-channel is clean of oil and any "debris"...and that barrel is clear of oil and is "dry" and ready to accept & keep the powder dry.
This is a "longer read" than I intended to post, but this is the whole "story" for cleaning either a percussion cap or a flint-lock rifle... and I have and shoot both.
Strength & Honor...
Ron T.
