Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders The smokeless rabbit hole

Of a mind that new style of smokeless ML guns revolves around the legend of how "hard" it is to keep a BP gun clean after shooting. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have several old school ML guns that are so easy to clean it's stupid. JMO

Had a friend that went down the "smokeless" rabbit hole a few years ago. Thought he didn't have to clean it and that misunderstanding left him with the worst corrosion I've seen in a ML barrel.

Another legend has it that "smokeless" is more accurate than BP. Perhaps some guns are more accurate than others, but I'm of a mind that the powder isn't a barrier to success. Billy Dixon would likely agree with that.

My own experience with BP ML's and cartridge rifles?

100 yards, elbow rest with a tang sight .45-70. It takes 3 patches to clean the bore, a 4th to oil it.


50 yards, offhand with a .45 cal flintlock. I typically use around 5 patches to clean it. Been shooting it for about 10 years and it doesn't have the first fleck of rust in the bore.


200 yards, bag rest, .40 caliber shooting a 300 grain conical. Wind was 15G25, full value L-R. 3 patches and it's spotless.


100 yards, offhand, .38-55 Win. Guess how many patches...