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Kentucky Afield Outdoors: End-of-season muzzleloader cleaning
12/14/07
Frankfort, Kentucky - I've heard the story many times: So-and-so had a great muzzleloader once upon a time, but lent it to somebody who didn't clean it. Now the barrel is pitted, the firing mechanism jammed and the nipple rusted shut. So-and-so is mad and minus one fine muzzleloader.
As late muzzleloader deer season winds down this weekend, don't let your gun become the subject of one of those stories. Clean and store your muzzleloader properly and it will serve you next season and for many seasons after. Cut corners and you may end up with a firearm that doesn't fire at all.
There are several ways to do the job right. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources' longest-serving Hunter Training Officer and 30-year employee George Mountjoy teaches gun safety to thousands of new hunters every year. For a thorough muzzleloader cleaning, he still prefers good old-fashioned soap and water.
"Like most things, there are about four or five ways to go about it," says Mountjoy. "But I'm still shooting muzzleloaders I was issued 20 years ago, so this method works pretty well."
The soap and water method requires that you remove your gun's barrel from the stock - an easy task on some muzzleloaders, but more complicated on newer inline models. For a thorough once-a-year cleaning, however, the hassle is worth it.
To get started, you'll need a pot and stove to boil water, Bore Butter, gun oil if desired, gun cleaning patches cut to fit your gun's barrel, a cleaning jag that fits on the end of your ramrod or cleaning rod, and whichever tools you need to disassemble and reassemble your particular firearm. A patch-puller is useful for fishing stuck patches out of the gun barrel easily. You should have the owner's manual for your gun handy in case you need it for reference.
Before you start, use your ramrod to make absolutely sure your gun is unloaded. Now remove the barrel from the gunstock. Fill a pot with hot tap water and put the barrel in breech-first. Take a wet patch with dishwashing soap on it and run it up and down the barrel with a jag - either attached to your gun's ramrod or to a separate cleaning rod. Running the patch up and down will form a seal and pump water into the nipple hole and up through the barrel.
"Keep pumping until the water is relatively clear," says Mountjoy. "Then pull the rod with the patch out and upend your barrel to drain it."
Next, fill the pot about ¾ full with water and put it on the stove to boil. Mountjoy uses an old coffee pot with a spout for convenience. While the water is heating up, remove the muzzleloader's nipple. On most side hammer guns, the lock can be removed with a screwdriver, while on some inline models, the breech plug can be removed fairly easily with a fitted wrench. If the owner's manual says you can remove a part, consider doing so to get the most thorough cleaning. Clean the fouling off these removed parts with soap and water or a commercial gun cleaner. You can put a little Bore Butter or grease on the threads of the nipple and breech plug to lubricate them.
When the water on the stove comes to a boil, get ready to pour the water down your gun barrel. Wrap a towel or cloth around the gun's barrel and wear gloves to protect your hands. Take the water and barrel outside or put a container under the barrel to catch the water. Now carefully pour the boiling water down the barrel. Upend the barrel again to drain the water. Run dry patches through the barrel until they come out relatively clean. Follow those with a patch with Bore Butter on it. Be careful when handling the gun, as the barrel will still be very hot.
"The heat will quickly melt the Bore Butter," says Mountjoy. "It'll melt down into all the grooves and condition the inside of the barrel."
You can then use that same Bore Butter patch to go over the outside of the barrel. Next, use a little gun oil on the internal moving parts of the gun's lock if desired. Just be sure to keep petroleum-based lubricant clear of any parts that come into contact with propellant: the bore of the barrel, the nipple, and the pan and surface of the frizzen (striker) if you have a flintlock rifle. Reassemble your firearm and it's ready to store.
Clean your muzzleloader thoroughly at the end of the season, no matter what type of propellant you use. Even black powder substitutes like Pyrodex and Triple 7 can foul up your gun. Finally, it's a good idea not to store your muzzleloader muzzle-up, particularly if you've used petroleum-based gun oil. Either lay the gun flat or point the muzzle downward. This will prevent the lubricant from gravitating down to those parts that could jam up.
Take your muzzleloader out of storage in the spring or summer to check it for rust. Better yet, shoot it during the off-season to make sure the gun is still in working order.
Attention to detail now will pay dividends in the long-run. "If you cut corners, the gun can fail to work or you'll have to spend 15 minutes gunsmithing it before it will fire," says Mountjoy. "But I've almost never had a properly maintained gun not fire the first time."
Hayley Lynch is an award-winning writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She is an avid hunter and shotgun shooter.
Media Contact:
Hayley Lynch (800) 852-0942 ext 424
12/14/07
Frankfort, Kentucky - I've heard the story many times: So-and-so had a great muzzleloader once upon a time, but lent it to somebody who didn't clean it. Now the barrel is pitted, the firing mechanism jammed and the nipple rusted shut. So-and-so is mad and minus one fine muzzleloader.
As late muzzleloader deer season winds down this weekend, don't let your gun become the subject of one of those stories. Clean and store your muzzleloader properly and it will serve you next season and for many seasons after. Cut corners and you may end up with a firearm that doesn't fire at all.
There are several ways to do the job right. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources' longest-serving Hunter Training Officer and 30-year employee George Mountjoy teaches gun safety to thousands of new hunters every year. For a thorough muzzleloader cleaning, he still prefers good old-fashioned soap and water.
"Like most things, there are about four or five ways to go about it," says Mountjoy. "But I'm still shooting muzzleloaders I was issued 20 years ago, so this method works pretty well."
The soap and water method requires that you remove your gun's barrel from the stock - an easy task on some muzzleloaders, but more complicated on newer inline models. For a thorough once-a-year cleaning, however, the hassle is worth it.
To get started, you'll need a pot and stove to boil water, Bore Butter, gun oil if desired, gun cleaning patches cut to fit your gun's barrel, a cleaning jag that fits on the end of your ramrod or cleaning rod, and whichever tools you need to disassemble and reassemble your particular firearm. A patch-puller is useful for fishing stuck patches out of the gun barrel easily. You should have the owner's manual for your gun handy in case you need it for reference.
Before you start, use your ramrod to make absolutely sure your gun is unloaded. Now remove the barrel from the gunstock. Fill a pot with hot tap water and put the barrel in breech-first. Take a wet patch with dishwashing soap on it and run it up and down the barrel with a jag - either attached to your gun's ramrod or to a separate cleaning rod. Running the patch up and down will form a seal and pump water into the nipple hole and up through the barrel.
"Keep pumping until the water is relatively clear," says Mountjoy. "Then pull the rod with the patch out and upend your barrel to drain it."
Next, fill the pot about ¾ full with water and put it on the stove to boil. Mountjoy uses an old coffee pot with a spout for convenience. While the water is heating up, remove the muzzleloader's nipple. On most side hammer guns, the lock can be removed with a screwdriver, while on some inline models, the breech plug can be removed fairly easily with a fitted wrench. If the owner's manual says you can remove a part, consider doing so to get the most thorough cleaning. Clean the fouling off these removed parts with soap and water or a commercial gun cleaner. You can put a little Bore Butter or grease on the threads of the nipple and breech plug to lubricate them.
When the water on the stove comes to a boil, get ready to pour the water down your gun barrel. Wrap a towel or cloth around the gun's barrel and wear gloves to protect your hands. Take the water and barrel outside or put a container under the barrel to catch the water. Now carefully pour the boiling water down the barrel. Upend the barrel again to drain the water. Run dry patches through the barrel until they come out relatively clean. Follow those with a patch with Bore Butter on it. Be careful when handling the gun, as the barrel will still be very hot.
"The heat will quickly melt the Bore Butter," says Mountjoy. "It'll melt down into all the grooves and condition the inside of the barrel."
You can then use that same Bore Butter patch to go over the outside of the barrel. Next, use a little gun oil on the internal moving parts of the gun's lock if desired. Just be sure to keep petroleum-based lubricant clear of any parts that come into contact with propellant: the bore of the barrel, the nipple, and the pan and surface of the frizzen (striker) if you have a flintlock rifle. Reassemble your firearm and it's ready to store.
Clean your muzzleloader thoroughly at the end of the season, no matter what type of propellant you use. Even black powder substitutes like Pyrodex and Triple 7 can foul up your gun. Finally, it's a good idea not to store your muzzleloader muzzle-up, particularly if you've used petroleum-based gun oil. Either lay the gun flat or point the muzzle downward. This will prevent the lubricant from gravitating down to those parts that could jam up.
Take your muzzleloader out of storage in the spring or summer to check it for rust. Better yet, shoot it during the off-season to make sure the gun is still in working order.
Attention to detail now will pay dividends in the long-run. "If you cut corners, the gun can fail to work or you'll have to spend 15 minutes gunsmithing it before it will fire," says Mountjoy. "But I've almost never had a properly maintained gun not fire the first time."
Hayley Lynch is an award-winning writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She is an avid hunter and shotgun shooter.
Media Contact:
Hayley Lynch (800) 852-0942 ext 424
