Cleaning and lubricating your smokepole?

[vonb]

How do you guys clean your muzzleloader? Old-timers use hot water in a tub and newer to the sport use modern chemicals. I have tried both and water definitely works while cleaning up 777 powder residue. As for lubrication, I have always (up until this year) used Bore Butter in my bore.

However, I was a little upset last week when I got finished cleaning my smokepole (Knight MK-85) (shooting it the 1st time in 9 months). I noticed that I had some small specks in the the bottom of my rifling closest to the breech. There were maybe 15 specs in there that looked like rust. I'm now starting to debate my cleaning methods in the past and what works for corrosion prevention...I used CLP in the bore this time around as I know it will stop rust but also know this doesn't jive with blackpowder rigs. Give me your thoughts...

 

[FULLDRAWXX75]

I use hot water and liquid dish soap, as hot as you can stand it.

use a brass brush and a patch jig, when it is completely clean I pour boiling hot water down the barrel and let air dry, after an spell, I dry patch it with the brush and a few patches just to make sure all is clean if not, I will run a patch with some #13 or Rusty Duck/Black Off and then a few dry ones until cleaned.

At the end of the season it gets a good thorough cleaning and lubed up with bore butter and left.
The bore butter will leach into the pours of the metal and help protect the barrel from rusting with use and cleaning.

It's like seasoning a cast iron frying pan.

FDXX75

 

[MRUTVOL]

Well I have not cleaned mine in about 3 years but it still shoots fine! Come to think of it mine does not smoke either! It's a SAVAGE SMOKLESS . :grin:

 

[Trapper John]

Freakin' hot water until the bore is clean. Let it dry. Maybe help it along with a hair dryer.

Follow that with a light coat of RemOil in the bore and on the accessories such as the spring and around the breech plug.

Anti-seize lube on the threads of the breech plug.

Every 2 or 3 trips to the range I use something to remove any trace amounts of plastic from the sabots.

 

[skynimrod]

I start out with your regular black powder wet patch cleaner back and forth with a dry patch until patches are clean.
Then to really clean I use Montana's Copper Cream. Its the cats meow for all my cleaning, then follow up with a padded 12 ga. tip that i always use for my 50 cal (until dirty, then through away) with clp oil. Clean all my parts with clp, greese the plug, Run a dry patch before I load, ready to go
Tips
Buy bulk 12 Ga shotgun patches (cheaper)
When in storage run another pass with oil every 2-3 months
btw I shoot loose pyrodex, and some times real black powder
I like to get real dirty sometimes