Gene's Black Powder Seasoning Gun Lube

[longcruise]

I've settled on water with a bit of dish soap for cleaning, a few drying patches,  a bit of alcohol  to displace moisture then very light machine oil to store it.  I like to wash the oil away with alcohol before loading.

[axelp]

with your process, how many patches on the average does it take to get your bore clean and oiled?

just curious

K

[Daryl]

1 for cleaning, 4 for drying - the last drying patch is the one used for oiling the bore. A few times, I've run out of flannellette and had to use an extra patch or two due to the cleaning patches used being a bit too thin/not quite tight enough to do the drying and lubing with 3 or 4.

[bob in the woods]

When in the field, i.e. moose, deer, or bear hunting, I  usually use tow for cleaning. When we are out for a week , moose hunting, it is often wet . The only modern type stuff I take along for maintenance of my firearms is a small container of WD40. 

[longcruise]

with your process, how many patches on the average does it take to get your bore clean and oiled?

just curious

K


[/quote

Two for the water.  The breech is submerged in a container of water.  I work two patches with the water step because the first one usually wears through.  Three to dry the bore Followed by a pour of alcohol then a patch worked rapidly to blow the alcohol out and dry it out.  Finally, I use enough light oil to get into the patent breech or drum (I don't shoot flint) and a patch to wipe away excess and then stored muzzle down.

So, that's about five as a minimum.  May use more on occasion.  Conservation of cleaning patches is never a consideration. The whole process is preceded by plugging the nipple  and pouring the barrel full of water and Left to soak while the Lock and stock are cleaned up.

Two or three guns can be cleaned in less than two beers.

[longcruise]

Darn phone!

[axelp]

Daryl, how many times do you push a single patch thru the dirty barrel to get it clean? Do you rinse the patch? Or does the pumping action of the water do the trick without changing patches? I don't submerge my vent in a bucket because I do not remove my barrel from the stock--I might do that once a year, or after a particularly wet snowy outing?

[Daryl]

Daryl, how many times do you push a single patch thru the dirty barrel to get it clean? Do you rinse the patch? Or does the pumping action of the water do the trick without changing patches? I don't submerge my vent in a bucket because I do not remove my barrel from the stock--I might do that once a year, or after a particularly wet snowy outing?

I remove the lock and barrel from the stock. I clean the lock in the water in the coffee can using a toothbrush on the fouled areas. I find if I don't scrub the bearing surfaces, the moly grease I have on those will remain for up to a year.  I blow off the lock, wipe it down, then spray if all over with WD40 - shake it off, and set it aside until I clean the barrel. 

I then put the breech end of the barrel in the container of water - lately that is a red plastic Folger's Coffee can. I use one patch and pump/suck water into the bore all the way to the muzzle-end of the barrel, then push hard, flushing that water and fouling into the container. Suck/flush/suck/flush - maybe 20 times. The patch itself will be only slighty greyish by the time the barrel is clean. Then, out of the cold tap water, wipe off the outside with a towel, then run a folded flannelette patch to the bottom of the breech, then out, in and out again, then change to another. By the time the 3rd one is used, the bore is both clean and dry. Then I spray copious amount of WD40 into the bore until it dribbles out the vent or nipple seat doesn't take as much as you might think, but at $30.00 per gallon, the gallon will last a couple years if you shoot a LOT.  I then take a new patch, double it and run it down to the breech- hard, this will blast excess DW40 out the vent or nipple seat - up, down, up, down and then use that patch to wipe down the outside of the barrel.

 I then blow the excess WD40 off the lock with an air hose or can of compressed air. Reinstall lock and barrel and done. It takes about as long to type this out, than it does to clean the rifle.  Maybe 10 minutes at the outside. Been doing it this way since the 70's.

I have NEVER had a bore rust after being cleaned this way, but then, I've never used Balistol.

2 guys I know very well tried it and BOTH had rust in their barrels the next morning.  I would question using a water soluble oil as a rust preventative.

[axelp]

Daryl, I see now how you only use one patch to clean the bore. Makes sense.

The guys at Gene's Lube specifically recommend NOT flooding or pumping water thru the bore and not using soap or any other solvent or rust prevention--- as that will disrupt the "seasoning of the bore" They claim that after the bore is "seasoned" they can use only 1-2 saliva wet patches to arrive at a totally clean bore after shooting more than a hundred shots... again, without flooding and pumping of water?

Frankly, I do not see how their claim is even possible. I spoke to them direct and they stated that they have many hundreds of satisfied customers over 30 plus years, and have NEVER had even one person report a problem with rust, and I assume they all were able to clean their guns with three patches... I posted here in the hope that a few of these satisfied customers would be members here and reply/support their claims...

I gave Gene's Lube a fair test, but I had to stop because when I checked my bore a day after cleaning and using their product as prescribed, I found my bore was rusty and required 8-9 patches to pull the rust out and relube the bore...

[Bill Ladd]

Daryl - I may have missed it, but is your rifle a full stock with pins?

[longcruise]

Ken, I shoot at one of the clubs they reference on their website as well as some of the events mentioned.  As far as I know I've not encountered any shooters using their lube.  Still, it may be a great lube for shooting,  but your test pretty much confirms that relying on seasoning is not a good idea!

[axelp]

Yep. I get better results (and far better protection) from my usual method. I found that as a patch lube, Gene's performed fine, but its not much of a rust inhibitor....

I would really like to hear from someone (other than the vendor) that uses their products first hand and compare notes. Their three spit patch claim sure seems like a whopper. I wish I could have given it a fair trial and put that question to rest, but not at the sacrifice of my gun.

K

[longcruise]

One thing I noticed about their website is that it has not been updated for quite a while.

[axelp]

I spoke to Patrick one of the owners of the biz and conversed with him via email off and on last week as I was testing their product. ---Seems like a nice guy. He confirmed and repeated the claims made on their website.

All I can say is, after using their product and following their prescribed regimen, I did NOT acheive the results the "hundreds of other satisfied customers" have gotten over the past "30 years." But in fairness, I had to conclude the testing earlier than the 10 sessions, or the 100+ shots, due to the lack of the product to keep rust out of my bore.

[Daryl]

Daryl - I may have missed it, but is your rifle a full stock with pins?

Hi Bill - my .45/.40 (interchangable barrels) used to have a full stock with pins. Now, it's a .45 1/2 stock with a single barrel wedge.  The .40 barrel I shortened and put it on a 1/2 stocked English designed stock, then sold it last spring. My squirrel rifle is full stocked and has pins. Some of Taylor's full stocks have pins, others wedges. Those barrels and locks ALL come off for cleaning, just as I noted above.

[Bill Ladd]

That is awesome news Daryl.

I now have two nice fullstock rifles and I've been afraid to pull the barrels for cleaning.  With my little CVA half-stock it was a cinch to pull the barrel and dunk the breech end in a bucket.  I was able to clean that one in a flash whereas with my full stocks I struggle.

I'm working on a punch with a dished tip to keep from marring the stock.

[axelp]

I remove my pins and barrel about once a year--or after a particular wet outing--whichever comes first. I suspect most of Daryl's outings are pretty wet and snowy being in Canada?

[moleeyes36]

Daryl - I may have missed it, but is your rifle a full stock with pins?

Hi Bill - my .45/.40 (interchangable barrels) used to have a full stock with pins. Now, it's a .45 1/2 stock with a single barrel wedge.  The .40 barrel I shortened and put it on a 1/2 stocked English designed stock, then sold it last spring. My squirrel rifle is full stocked and has pins. Some of Taylor's full stocks have pins, others wedges. Those barrels and locks ALL come off for cleaning, just as I noted above.

Daryl,

How do you and Taylor manage to repeatedly remove and re-install the pins each time you clean the gun without damaging the stock or at least enlarging the holes for the pins?   Do you just use a standard pin punch with a flat face or do you have something else you use to drive the pin?  Thanks.

Mole Eyes

[retired fella]

Daryl,

I agree with you.  Soap and water flush and copious amounts of WD40.  In addition , I generally leave a WD40 patch in the bore for a couple of days before putting the gun away.  Works for me.

[Daryl]

We don't use soap as it is not needed. I recall DPhar noting that most soaps contain salts or as mildly acidic - something like that. I find soaps are not necessary at all.

I always dry the bore well before flushing/spraying the WD40 down the bore until it runs out the vent or nipple seat. Thus, the last dry patch (which was dry) is now used to blast excess WD40 out the vent or nipple seat, then used to wipe down the outside of the gun.  I've never left any sort of a patch inside the bore - I cannot see a reason or purpose for that. I store all freshly cleaned guns muzzle-down so any excess lube there might be, drains.  Before loading - if next day or only a couple, I'll run a dry patch down the bore to remove any excess lube and to hear the blast of air out the vent, proving the vent is clean and the bore is ready for loading. If the gun was cleaned a week or two before, I do not run a patch down as the bore is dry due to the evapouration of the carriers in the thin film of WD40 protecting the bore.

If you are careful, removing and replacing the pins does no damage.  One end of the pin is rounded - that goes in first and against the rounded end, the flat punch pin is used to push it out again. Always push the pins in & out the same side of the stock. I use the right side - east to remember.

Warning, do not do this when inebriated.

[moleeyes36]

If you are careful, removing and replacing the pins does no damage.  One end of the pin is rounded - that goes in first and against the rounded end, the flat punch pin is used to push it out again. Always push the pins in & out the same side of the stock. I use the right side - east to remember.

Warning, do not do this when inebriated.

Daryl,

Thanks, that's the way I do it also but I guess I don't have quite as steady of a hand as you do.  As for not doing it when inebriated, there're a lot of things (i.e., alligator wrestling, tight rope walking, sky diving, considering getting married) that are best done cold stone sober 

Mole Eyes

[axelp]

I do not use any soap either, and the water is tepid. And I also apply liberal amounts of WD40 to the bore after it is clean and dry.

K

[Dphariss]

with your process, how many patches on the average does it take to get your bore clean and oiled?

just curious

K

I don't even use the soap using soap means the bore needs to be flushed with clear water since soap is corrosive. I flush the bore with water. Either in a bucket if a hooked breech or by plugging the vent.  No hooked breech: Dump in a couple of ounces of water (in a 50-54 cal) slosh it back a forth 2-3 times (muzzle covered with a thumb) dump, wet patch up and down the bore 2-3 times, pour in more water and repeat. Do this 2-3 times ( time or 2 more if really fouled). The same patch can be used. Wet patch 2-3 times using clean patches until they come out clean. Use a fairly LOOSE JAG and a large patch so the patch will slid over any fouling then bunch as its pulled out and bring fouling with it.  Then dry. Then oil. Takes more patches to dry than to clean. Never counted them. Number of patches is irrelevant if the barrel cost what the barrel on my heavy rifle did. If you wish use a worm like this  to twist a wet patch in the breech if its not cleaned by the flushing. Once the bore starts to dry pull the vent plug to let more drying air into the bore.
DRY PATCHES will sometimes show black. This in not fouling if the WET patches are clean. Its iron oxide rubbed of the bore. Set one aside to dry and it will turn rust colored not black or grey as powder fouling would.
Oil with a good protective MODERN rust preventative.  Stand muzzle down over night to keep oil out of the wood.

Dan

[bgf]

...
DRY PATCHES will sometimes show black. This in not fouling if the WET patches are clean. Its iron oxide rubbed of the bore. Set one aside to dry and it will turn rust colored not black or grey as powder fouling would.
Oil with a good protective MODERN rust preventative.  Stand muzzle down over night to keep oil out of the wood.

Dan

That is good to know.  I often see this happen, but started ignoring it long ago.  I just dry and oil rather than go through another 50 patches!  I flush with either one or two buckets of water and use only water on shooting patches, so the fouling is long gone.  A little stain on dry patches never caused any problems.

[axelp]

I figure I use too many patches and swab too many times, but I sleep well at night (most times anyway) knowing my guns are clean and ready.