Cleaning Patent Breeches

[Craig Wilcox]

On those firearms with a round-bottomed hole drilled into the breech plug, and the touch-hole being drilled into that somewhere along the side, just how is that area cleaned?  Does one use a common patch tip on a cleaning rod, as for a more modern barrel?
This "Plains Rifle" I am building has such an arrangement at the breech, and the flint TH drilled into it about 3/16" above the bottom.  .50 cal barrel, and the breech has a 0.375 x 0.75" hole drilled into it.
Been wracking my brain, thought a more educated person might have the answer.

[redheart]

Craig,
I don't know how everyone else does it, but I just found a fouling scraper that would fit down in the smaller than bore size of the patent breech and filed the corners to a round shape, so it would go all the way to the bottom and scrape all of the fouling out.

[OldMtnMan]

I use this still bristle brush. It conforms perfectly with the hole by the bristles peeling back that are too big in diameter. You then have a brush made for exactly your gun. It will scrape off the most stubborn fouling as long as you use all the time. Don't let it build up and harden.

http://www.octobercountry.com/msm-breech-brush/

[Craig Wilcox]

Thank you both for your splendid suggestions.  Both are easy and simple, and effective!

[Standing Bear]

Does the gun/barrel have a hooked breech?

[Craig Wilcox]

Yes, Standing Bear, it does.  The plug portion is about 1.25" long, with the threads sticking out of that.
Should be interesting when it comes to shooting time - that 15/16", 36" long barrel weighs 5 lb 3 oz.  Gives a lot of stability.  Late English flint lock.  Most all the furniture is steel, first time I have worked very much with that medium.

[Herb]

Here is a .58 flint fullstock Hawken I built.  The flint chamber was about 3/8" in diameter and powder bridged at its mouth.  With Swiss 1 1/2F it flashed in the pan about 35 of 50 hammer falls.  I drilled the chamber out to 7/16" and radiused the mouth and polished the chamber.  It then was reliable.  This smoked dowel shows the size of the powder chamber before enlarging (I think).

I drilled and tapped the .58 cleaning jag face to take a .40 caliber cleaning jag.  With a long patch on it (like a band-aid), that cleaned the chamber.  The patch was also held on the .58 jag so it didn't stick in the powder chamber.

To drill the jag, I chucked a bit in my drill, pushed it down into the vice jaws, clamped it, released the chuck, clamped a jag in my chuck and drilled and then tapped for the smaller jag.  Worked fine.

If the patch did come off, this ball puller got it out.

[smokinbuck]

Craig. I take a breech scraper and re shape it to fit into the breech chamber.
Mark

[Pukka Bundook]

The old way to clean a barrel with a patent breech, (as they usually had a break-off (hooked breech) for easy dismounting of the barrel)  was to dismount barrel, and pump it out with a rod in a bucket of water, until water spurts clean from the touchhole, then do it with hot to help it dry.
After that, dry and oil as usual.

Best regards,

Meself.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I'm with Pukka!  I remove the barrels from all my guns and immerse them in tepid water in a vessel, and with a jag just tight enough to carry two flannelette cotton patches, hydraulic water up and down the barrel.  This effectively removes all fouling from the barrel and breech, no matter it's form.  I know many of you are aghast at removing your barrels, for whatever reasons, but this is the only sure method of which I know to get them clean...really clean.  A hooked breech is a snap and was likely designed just for this cleaning system.

[Standing Bear]

Pukka and Taylor beat me to it.  A great way to clean a barrel with an anti chamber.
TC

[hanshi]

There's only one rifle in my stable with a patent breech, a percussion.  Although I've never had any problems with it, a brush and/or a small bore mop clean it sharp as a whistle.  I usually poke around in there sometimes with a pipe cleaner.

[Dave Marsh]

I'm with the others.  If it has a hooked breech it comes out of the gun and into a bucket and water pumped through it until she is clean. 

Dave

[OldMtnMan]

I can't agree. I always remove the barrel and pump it out. I've experimented pumping it out and drying it. Then run a scraper or brush like I posted and always got fouling from the breech. That's what they make scrapers and bristle brushes to clean them.

The fouling in the breech seems to be more stubborn to clean.

[45-110]

i just use a "slotted"  .243 or .30 cal. jag, or what ever fits the chamber, feed the corner of the square patch through the slot and fold the rest over the top and shove in barrel. when in the chamber just give it a few turns to wipe it clean.....works fine after pumping the water in and out as mentioned by others. when clean and dry oil another patch and do same.

[Craig Wilcox]

I have long thought that the hooked breech and wedges were designed to make it quick and easy to dismount the barrel for cleaning.
When I started shooting BP in 1960, our NSSA team would take all the rifle barrels into a bathtub filled with very hot water, and scrub, scrub, scrub.
The cavity in the plug should be easy to clean with a brush about like a .38 would use, patch likewise.
Interesting discussion and I have picked up quite a few helpful tips.
Thank you all!

[smokinbuck]

Although I do use the shaped breech scraper, I also flush my barrels. Even at the range I carry a plastic jar with water & dawn and a piece of aquarium tubing that fits tightly over the nipple, flints are a different story, and flush as part of my regimen before I pack up.
Mark