What's your go to barrel cleaner? Pulled out my encore barrel today and it had the slightest amount of surface rust in it. One patch through it and it was clean and shiny again, but I want something to prevent it from rusting again. I usually clean with the thompson center cleaner and run a patch of hoppes down the barrel.

Ultra Bore Coat.

wife

The cleaning solvent will depend on the powder being used.



If you do a good job cleaning and drying it the first time any good synthetic oil works just fine at preventing rust during storage.

Ballistol, Eezox, Barricade, Slip2000...you name it. They all work well if its clean and dry before applying your oil. If you want to make sure its dry just give the bore a good shot of WD40, HEET or Brake Clean. They will displace water quickly.

Ultra Bore Coat which is now called Dyna-Tek is another layer of protection. It bonds to the metal kinda like Cerakote and helps seal it. Some people swear by it especially if using T7 powder. http://store.dyna-tek.com/Muzzleloader-Kit-p/gn-muzzleloader.htm

2 in 1 bore scrubber for deep cleaning when i shoot copper/lead/plastic.

I run Goex FFg and FFFg. No fouling problems; no corrosion problems.

I must be old school, but I like hot water and Dawn to clean. After is clean and dry I do barricade as a rust preventive.

I was replying to the OP. He asked 2 questions. One for a cleaner and one for prevention of future rusting.

I dont use the same cleaner for Swiss as i do for Blackhorn. Ultra Bore Coat is not a cleaner but can aid in prevention and protection after it is clean.

Any coating can wear off over time. Using a good synthetic oil after every cleaning is sound advice whether the bore is coated or not.

That is all ive used for ages when shooting real black or subs. Blackhorn209 is the exception. Its fouling should be cleaned just like any smokeless powder. Pick whatever CF cleaner you like. They all work but some work better than others. Montana Xtreme works great but the fumes are brutal.

Ballistol is one of the few solvents that can clean both. Its not perfect but it works and the fumes are not nearly as bad. I really like to use it after using soap and water when im away from home.

Cutting oil plus water 1-6 parts!

I'm using Blackhorn 209 powder so it's a lot cleaner. I'm wondering if I just didn't get enough oil in the barrel to protect the bare metal.

Hot soapy water, dry, and oil with Breakfree. Then again I have never in my life used anything other than Holy Black...

Water and sweet oil.

CLEAN
Water ... room temp, NEVER warmer to hot!

SOLVENT
If I need to use a solvent, Butch's 'Bore Shine' for black powdah is phenomenal, best I have ever used!

STORAGE
Short-term: Ballistol.

Long-term: Birchwood Casey's 'Barricade' product.

Ultra-Long-term: RIG grease.

^^^^^
This is probably the best advice if using Blackhorn.

When you first start to clean the fouling push a dry patch all the way through the bore a couple times. That will remove most of the loose fouling. Then start using a solvent.

For Blackhorn, I was using 2 in 1 Birchwood-Casey Bore Scrubber and Slip 2000EWL for protectant.

That +1

Ballistol cleans my "stainless" H&R's very well.

Omega/Triple 7/Soap & water
Omega/BH209/Butch's
SML/H4198/Butch's

I oil the barrels in the off season, never during season as it significantly changes my POI on the first shot. I will swab my barrels if they go from below freezing to above freezing.

Hawkeye

Amsoil powerfoam, plug bore and foam it up. By far the best stuff i've found. Its made to remove carbon from engines.

" I must be old school, but I like hot water and Dawn to clean."

Then I dry with plenty of patches and then I season with Bore Butter. Been doing this since 1985. Still have a clean bore today.

Ken

Sure you do. I get a chuckle every time i hear someone say they seasoned a bore....too funny.

????????
huh
clean a muzzleloader?????

At the range I use car windshield washer fluid with a splash of dawn. At home I use dawn and hot water followed up by dry patches then rem oil. My 54 flintlock is 35 years old, and I really try to shoot 100 balls every year before the post Christmas season. The barrel is cherry after decades, and thousands of rounds. I never let it dirty overnight. This year I am switching to a 50 caliber RMC carbine. I'll probably use that foamy sabot cleaner stuff to ge plastic out of the rifling.

6 patch cleaning routine
involves butches black powder bore shine and remoil
and a boresnake for 2 final passes

i discharge my gun at the end of each day and hunt with a clean barrel and breech plugand fresh load

takes about 20 minutes to clean it my way, the same way, each time........

A half naked hot french maid.

My wife tolerates my gun obsession, but I highly doubt I would still be married if I used this type of cleaner.

I thought I was the only one to use powerfoam on a gun.
It isn't cheap but if you're a mechanic and have a can around (I buy it by the case) it works great.
It will also strip the plastic fowling left from wads in a shotgun barrel better than anything I have tried.

I do this and I use black powder.

Master gun maker Steve Zihn made a flintlock for me. I asked him what to clean it with, he told me a mixture of Hydrogen Peroxide, rubbing Alcohol, and Murphy's soap.
He said he could clean his muzzleloader quicker then he could clean his AR15.
He was right, it astonished me how quick I got a clean patch. I always go back after it has dried with (Another tip he gave me) best gun oil ever Mobil 1 Synthetic 5W.

dogs- what is the "recipe" for the three ingredients- if you wouldn't mind. Thanks

It has been awhile. I know the alcohol to peroxide is 1 part to 1 not sure if I can remember how much murphy's.
May have to contact Steve to get that. His number is on the net.

I may have it wrote down somewhere will have to get back to ya

I found one recipe that called for equal parts of all 3.
You do not leave in long, plug one your nipple or flash hole with a tooth pick pour about half full, hold your thumb over the other end, turn your barrel up and down about 3 times. Let drain and run a couple of patches through it.

Windex with vinegar.


BCPR's get Ballistol, muzzle loaders get bore butter.

Thanks- I'll have to try that!

^^^This^^^

Hydrogen Peroxide is an oxidizer that is why you do not leave it in long. As long as you run patches until you get a dry patch and then go back with a good lube

guncleaner

I have used this for years with no problems in both a Hawkins and an inline. miles

I use Shooters choice after using bh209. I follow it up with a really good gun oil . When i used FFG or Pyrodex I just used Hot water and Dawn .

Dawn and hot water to clean it up.

My kid bought me some Frog Lube, which I've been using on all my guns this year.

Not sure if Frog Lube works any better than the others, but it sure smells better.

Being primarily plant-based oil, be aware that the bore may get sticky between shots, unless you remove all of it prior to your first shot.

My buddy left traces of Frog Lube in the bore and struggled mightily trying to load sabot/bullets at the range.

HSW

Simple Green to clean then coat with Fluid Film

When ever I used to use dawn and water to clean my barrel. Seemed like I could run patches till the cows come home and never get a completely clean one.
Not so with Hydrogen Peroxide, Alcohol, and Murphy's soap mix.

Use 91% isopropyl for that mix. It works better because it's cleaner (less impurities).

Also, if you get a really crudded up bore from a trade or something, try PB Blaster. Just blast it down the bore and let it sit a while. Hit it with a brush and you will be amazed at all the crap that comes out. Regular Butch's Bore Shine does pretty good for that as well, but the PB Blaster stuff is incredible.

That said, if y'all can get a bore down to bare metal, use Dyna-Bore Coat on it once it is to bare metal. After that, cleaning is so easy it will astonish you. Nothing sticks; everything pushes right out.