Barrel in rifle cleaning

[Dennis Glazener]

I am a bit surprised that no one has mentioned the all mighty "TOOTH PICK" in this cleaning discussion!

The only time barrel removal is needed is like many have mentioned above under special circumstances.

Well I will mention the lowly toothpick. I bought a box of the round toothpicks and keep them in my shooting box. When I finish shooting for the day I, being a cheapskate, break one of the double ended toothpicks in half and insert the pointed end into the flash hole. I then completely fill the bore with water and sit the gun upright against a something i.e. tree, truck while I gather up the rest of my junk and packing them in the truck. Then I slowly start a cleaning patch in the bore then lay the rifle on something so the flash hole is pointing toward the ground. I then remove the toothpick from the flash hole and quickly ram the patch down the bore blowing the junk out of the flash hole. I then scrub the bore with a few wet patches, put the toothpick back and then more clean water in the bore and flush that thru the flash hole. Then I clean the bore with wet/damp patches until it looks clean. I then wipe the bore with wd40 until dry and put it in the truck and head for home. When I get home I run some more WD40 in the barrel and make sure its clean. Seems to work for me. (oh I do clean the lock with toothbrush/patches and WD40)
Dennis

[axelp]

I do the same thing! K

[WadePatton]

Count me in the Toothpick

and

Tow
Worm
Water

camps.   

[nosrettap1958]

I go through a lot of WD40 also. I believe its 'peace of mind' so to speak because using all the water to clean the firearm its good to know that something is getting in between all that water and the metal. Plus WD40  smells good and its for sale virtually everywhere unlike Ballistol.

[Daryl]

I am a bit surprised that no one has mentioned the all mighty "TOOTH PICK" in this cleaning discussion!

The only time barrel removal is needed is like many have mentioned above under special circumstances.

Well I will mention the lowly toothpick. I bought a box of the round toothpicks and keep them in my shooting box. When I finish shooting for the day I, being a cheapskate, break one of the double ended toothpicks in half and insert the pointed end into the flash hole. I then completely fill the bore with water and sit the gun upright against a something i.e. tree, truck while I gather up the rest of my junk and packing them in the truck. Then I slowly start a cleaning patch in the bore then lay the rifle on something so the flash hole is pointing toward the ground. I then remove the toothpick from the flash hole and quickly ram the patch down the bore blowing the junk out of the flash hole. I then scrub the bore with a few wet patches, put the toothpick back and then more clean water in the bore and flush that thru the flash hole. Then I clean the bore with wet/damp patches until it looks clean. I then wipe the bore with wd40 until dry and put it in the truck and head for home. When I get home I run some more WD40 in the barrel and make sure its clean. Seems to work for me. (oh I do clean the lock with toothbrush/patches and WD40)
Dennis

If you don't want to take the barrel off, or the tang is a VERY fragile tang like on the kibler rifle, do indeed clean like Dennis or Kerry - both systems will work. None of my guns have such fragile tangs so I remove EVERY one of them for cleaning and although I've been called many things in the past 66 years, nuts isn't one of them.
In addition, if cleaning like Dennis or Kerry, I would however, make @!*% sure the bottom of my barrel had a thin skim of "RIG" on it & the bottom of the barrel would be inspected and cleaned, at least once a year.
Barbie showed us pictures some time ago, of a ML barrel that had always been cleaned on the rifle and never removed! It was quite badly rusted and deeply pitted, too.

[nosrettap1958]

Taylor,

I have used hot water on C&B revolvers, but I literally dry and oil them immediately.  In reality, I don't think there's a lot of advantage in really hot water.   Ballistol, patches, jag and scraper seem to be doing just fine.

Bones if you clean black powder revolvers that makes you the expert. Cleaning a rifle ain't nothing compared to cleaning a revolver.

[David R. Pennington]

I always clean in the field, barrel in stock. Plain ole water. Alchohol if it's freezing weather. I take off the lock and lay rifle on side with vent down. I scrub lock with a little water and a chip brush and lay it in the sun or by the fire to dry. Scrub out bore with water and patches till clean then dry and oil. I like bear oil. I use a couple drops of good gun oil on lock internals as the bear oil thickens up in cold weather.  I never liked the standing water, tooth pick thing. If the toothpick leaks you got this black goo running down eating off the stock finish.
I found if I don't clean in the field, there will always be some grave emergancy awaiting me at home that requires my immediate attention, so rifle is cleaned before I go home.

[Daryl]

Taylor,

I have used hot water on C&B revolvers, but I literally dry and oil them immediately.  In reality, I don't think there's a lot of advantage in really hot water.   Ballistol, patches, jag and scraper seem to be doing just fine.

I use cool or cold water and have NEVER needed a scraper- what is that for?

Holland and Holland, the old time British Gun Maker, in a letter to a friend of mine, stated that boiling hot water can have a glazing effect on lumps of fouling, instead of dissolving them as cold water does. Maybe that is what the scraper is for- - breaking up the glazed lumps of fouling?  No such animals in ANY of my guns.

[bones92]

Bones if you clean black powder revolvers that makes you the expert. Cleaning a rifle ain't nothing compared to cleaning a revolver.

I am certainly no expert.  I agree that cleaning a long rifle is a bit of a different animal.  Even my approach  to C&B revolvers will probably evolve.  Boiling water just doesn't seem to be necessary.

I assumed everyone had a scraper to get the fouling out of the very bottom of the barrel, around the circumference of the bore.

It's always interesting to see how many approaches there are to cleaning BP firearms, most of which seem to work just fine.

[yardhunter]

I see no need in removing the barrel.
Too much trouble for me.
Here's what I do.
I'll say this up front…there are many different ways to clean a BP gun.
As long as you're cleaning it after every use, to each his own.
Using a pinned barrel, This works for me:

[Darkhorse]

Mostly I clean using the toothpick method. I also keep a heavy coat of wax on the bottom of the barrel and in the barrel mortice. I usually spread grease over that.
Every few cleanings I remove the barrel so's to wipe all the old water out from between the barrel and stock. I've been doing this for years and have yet to find a reliable method that doesn't end up with either a little or a lot of water getting between the barrel and wood. With little air circulation it often takes a long time for a little water to dry out.
I don't even try to fool myself about this happening anymore I just do what I think is neccessary to prevent or hold rusting of the bottom of the barrel to a minimum.

[Daryl]

Couple years back, Barbie (nee Chambers) posted pictures of a barrel that was never removed from the stock in order to 'save' the pin holes from damage.  The barrel was quite rotted with deep rust pits.

If you are going to clean the barrel on the rifle, please do as Darkhorse noted above and remove the barrel periodically to re-oil or grease the flats that are hidden by the wood.

[hanshi]

I agree with Daryl.  I never remove the barrel for regular cleaning but do remove it around once a year, give or take.  I don't go out in the rain any longer as I use to do; so my guns don't get wet.  That simplifies things for me meaning annual checks are all that's needed.

[bigsmoke]

I've been considering buying a hand-held steamer and adapting a hollow tube to reach all the way up into the breech area.  Then just plug the vent, decline the barrel and use hot steam to wash and rinse out the powder residue.  While the barrel is still heated from the steam, run dry patches up to absorb any water, then let it dry.   Then, lube with Ballistol, and be done.

Interestingly enough, the armorer on the set of "The Patriot" said he had to use that method due to the number of muskets he had to clean each day (actually night).  I thought that to be interesting, but never went so far as to try that.  He said he never saw any sign of a problem using that technique.

Years ago, CVA came out with a barrel flusher kit that employed a small submersible pump that ran cleaning solution up to the breech area and then it just drained down the bore back into the container that the barrel was submerged in.  That actually worked pretty good for me, but it was only for half stock rifles or for removable barrels.

[Hungry Horse]

 This sounds a lot like Dr. Fadala and his infamous vacuum bottle full of hot water. Just another way to complicate your life I suspect.

     Hungry Horse

[rfd]

for me, hooked breech barrels always get removed, ignition end dunked in a bucket of plain ol' tepid water, patched jag plunged 'til the spit out looks clean.  lock is tepid water scrubbed clean.  then the oiling begins.  too easy and quite fast.

pinned full stock barrels NEVER get removed just for cleaning. pull the lock, aim the touch hole down, plunge away.  also easy and probably faster than a hooked breech cleaning.

however ... whence new and just after staining but before clear coating, the barrel channel and lock mortises of all my trad ml stocks get a liberal dose of quality water thin CYA (hot stuff brand, to be exact).  this saturates the wood and seals/waterproofs it better than anything else (well, maybe save slow set epoxy).  after seconds of curing, the final protecting finish of choice goes on to all of the stock wood.

[Nate McKenzie]

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=24312.0
Click on this. Ive been doing it for years and my barrels and stocks look brand new.

[hatman]

I'm still relatively new to flintlocks, but for the ones I have I've been cleaning the barrel with BP solvent, pouring a small amount down the barrel (with a toothpick in the touch hole), waiting 30 min and then cleaning with patches.  Followed by an oiled patch.
Is this in any way wrong?

[rfd]

I'm still relatively new to flintlocks, but for the ones I have I've been cleaning the barrel with BP solvent, pouring a small amount down the barrel (with a toothpick in the touch hole), waiting 30 min and then cleaning with patches.  Followed by an oiled patch.
Is this in any way wrong?

ain't "wrong", just a waste of solvent.  bp readily dissolves in plain ol' water.

[elk killer]

Been at this 45 plus years now,always shot flintlocks,
never takin a barrel out of the stock to clean  it..
always used the tooth pick and cold water to clean,

the other day I took the barrel out of my full stock Leman,
had not been out of the stock in well over 10 years,

found a slight bit of rust, but not anything to worry over...
I also have always put a  good coat of soft bees wax in
barrel channel, always worked for me...

but never knew any different

[rfd]

bp almost instantly dissolves and cleans up with tepid water.  plain and simple, there is no need for solvents, who's use is perpetuated by marketeers wanting to make a buck and users who just don't know better.  to those folks, now ya know and you can save yer money for better things!  like good flints 'n' such!   

[WadePatton]

Remember when we were kids and one of the "punishments for our mischief" in school was

write-offs? 

The words we writ-off usually made some declaration of better behavior and the act of writing them over and over was supposed to burn them into our gray matter (or in my case, just keep me from stirring the pot for a while.)

Sometimes on the board (which was black/green, with dust) and sometimes on our three-ring-binder paper-front and back of course.  Hands would get tired, you'd start writing vertically and diagonally yet keeping the proper sentence structure. You might try your left/other hand for a while, but teach would get all mad if he/she couldn't read the words.

Well, the quote below bears repeating because it simply doesn't appear to penetrate the brains of those who are all too eager to pay good money for products that do nothing better than simpler/cheaper methods.

Enjoy!

bp almost instantly dissolves and cleans up with tepid water.  plain and simple, there is no need for solvents, who's use is perpetuated by marketeers wanting to make a buck and users who just don't know better.  to those folks, now ya know and you can save yer money for better things!  like good flints 'n' such!   

bp almost instantly dissolves and cleans up with tepid water.  plain and simple, there is no need for solvents, who's use is perpetuated by marketeers wanting to make a buck and users who just don't know better.  to those folks, now ya know and you can save yer money for better things!  like good flints 'n' such!   

bp almost instantly dissolves and cleans up with tepid water.  plain and simple, there is no need for solvents, who's use is perpetuated by marketeers wanting to make a buck and users who just don't know better.  to those folks, now ya know and you can save yer money for better things!  like good flints 'n' such!   

bp almost instantly dissolves and cleans up with tepid water.  plain and simple, there is no need for solvents, who's use is perpetuated by marketeers wanting to make a buck and users who just don't know better.  to those folks, now ya know and you can save yer money for better things!  like good flints 'n' such!   

emphasis added

mods find this too much-please delete-np.

[hanshi]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, I think, is coating the wood in the barrel channel and lock mortise.  'Bout all of mine have those two areas brushed with a couple coats of True-Oil or something similar.  I wrap the breech area with a paper towel and stuff some into the mortise in case the toothpick "weeps".  It takes me longer to clean a rifle than it takes the majority of you to do it.  Partly because I'm OCD but mostly because I'm simply flat-out slow.

The best use of a scraper (I've found) is to push a patch down the bore and use a scraper to turn and twist it around the breech face.  It helps clean into the threads.

[rfd]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, I think, is coating the wood in the barrel channel and lock mortise. ...

as i posted, i use CYA for both the barrel channel and lock mortise.