Gunner's post prompted me to stop just lurking. I have an 1886 in 40-82. Ordered some black powder loads for it. It already has a darkish bore, and I'm a total BPCR rookie. Can somebody provide me with a comprehensive care and cleaning resource. Any tips that make your lives easier?

Dang Squared, I thought this thread may have been about offered advice on cleaning an '86, it's such a simple task I never opened your thread.

Get a good wiping stick [wood preferably] and some cotton patches of appropriate diameter for your 40 cal, you can use spit patches to keep you gunning in the field or on a day hunt, at the conclusion of your hunt/shoot give it another couple spit patches, a dry patch, then a wet patch with any plant based oil, olive, canola, or corn and your set for proper storage with a protected bore.

That 40-82 in an '86 Winchester repeater sounds like a real hammer, I'd check twist rate and shoot the heaviest grease groove bullet I could stabilize with a hefty charge of 3F Black Powder.

Good luck and good shooting,
Gunner

Also, at the conclusion of shooting/hunting, open the action, turn it 180 degrees and place that buttstock on a stump or table, grasping the end of the rifle barrel, have your wiping stick and patches laid out and ready, push a wet patch down the muzzle and the crud and dirty patch will simply fall to the ground out of the action, repeat with dry patching, then your oil patch and your done.

Easy Peasy Buddy.

And welcome to the 'Fire.

Thanks for helping the newbie. She's an old girl, and family heirlooom. Want to make sure I'm handling with kid gloves. Going to try to get a bear over bait this spring. Merry Christmas.

Good luck with her Squared, do hope you bust a bear with it this Spring, and Merry Christmas to You and Yours as well.

sounds like a neat project, hope you get a bear with it.

Just a question - bearing in mind I've never owned a BPCR lever gun - if shooting real black, could you maybe get a transmission funnel (one of those long skinny funnels) to pour water into the chamber, holding the gun upside down to let it run down & out the muzzle. Then use a patch wrapped around a loose fitting bore snake. Drop it into the chamber, pull out the muzzle, repeat with dry patches/bore snakes until clean. That's with pure black of course - you'd need a solvent if you mess with a black substitute.

Again, never have tried it but seems like that would keep more BP fouling out of the action.

Merry Christmas to all!

A plain boresnake of appropriate caliber kept in a ziplock bag cinched up tight in an old crown royal bag would right handy TEX, you could always go over and dip it in a creek to clean it up a bit and let it air dry back at camp, vegetable oil the last remaining few inches of the wick and you'd be set.