Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Best cleaners..opinions??

Shooting Muzzle loaders is a hoot!<BR>Lots of ritual involved,and one feels more responsible for the shot.<BR>The ugly side of this,is the vile,foul smelling stench,when it's time to scrub the gorp out and off.<BR>For years I was a hot soapy water kind of guy.I tried all the latest stuff that came out and several versions of "Mouse milk" in an effort to save my marriage.<BR>Then I was forced to clean a customers filthy T/C that had come in with a stuck ball.The plumbing was on the fritz,and it couldn't wait.<BR>I grabbed a sample of Pyrodex EZ clean that was sent for us to try by the good folks at Hodgdon.WHOA!The stuff MELTED the black powder and patches were coming out grey in 5 or 6 runs!I then tried the stuff on my Black Diamond and it was a revelation!A squirt on the breech plug and it wiped clean with a rag!Now I swear by the stuff,but insist that the whole rifle be wiped down with it,then a good coat of bore butter in the tube,and a good coat of preservative/oil be applied to the exterior when a customer asks.<BR>Who else has a "Saved my marriage" story concerning muzzleloader cleaning?<BR>Thanks!<BR>Pat<P>------------------<BR>Life is too short for inaccurate rifles,ugly women,and the webdoofus at shooters.com

I am currently "saving my marriage" by useing the hot soapy water treatment followed by 3 or 4 patches soaked with breakfree. Then coated with bore butter. We have an ample supply of window cleaner and I heard that it works really well too. Next range session I will try to clean with that and see how it does. Lots of NSSA members swear by it.

My wife is allergic to sulfer a component of that fowl gorp that remains after a day a the range. I would have been divorced 23 years ago if it had not been for a product called Goop, yea! that stuff that mechanics use. Take 2 or 3 patches soaked in the stuff and run them down the bore. Fill a qt. can with water, place lock-end down and churn butter, change water, do it again. Run a patch down the barrel to see if it's clean, if not, change water and do it again.<BR>Once you have a clean patch pour as hot a water as you can stand down the muzzel, follow it with a dry patch. Turn barrel muzzel down and clean smaller parts. Finish by coating all parts with the butter in the tube and wait till the next day at the range. Works for me.<BR>Wall

Wall,<BR>I gotta hand it to ya bud,I never heard of anyone using "Goop" for anything but greasy hands and laundry.<BR>Have ya tried the ez-clean yet???<BR>I'm gonna remember the goop trick some day,and try it.I have tried windex and wasn't impressed much,but goop....now that's innovative and has Lanolin to keep those hands soft!(Grin!)<BR>Cheers!<BR>E4E

E4E<BR>I will be forever greatful to you for suggesting Pyrodex EZ Clean. Hodgdon had sent a sample supply to our local gun shop. They allowed me to borrow some. This stuff works and the gun passed the second day test. Works for me!<BR>Wall

E4E,<P>I've been using Go-Jo hand cleaner(no pumis) for years in my cap n ball revolvers. It has lanolin in it and leaves an slight "oily" film, works good. I've also used windex, T/C#13,plain water, all work OK at the range. When I get home it's hot water and dish soap, followed by bore butter.<P>D

Has anyone tried GoJo or Goop as a patch lube? Just a thought, but it seems it might soften that buildup of gradoo in the barrel after the first dozen shots or so. Maybe I need to try this. It'd be good for getting that black stuff off your hands too. What a concept!<BR>Talker<BR>

For my T/C Renegade I use hot soapy water followed by bore butter for storage. For my Encore I use a concoction that a guy at the range told me about. It's consist of 1/3 Murphy's Oil Soap, 1/3 Rubbing Alcohol and 1/3 water. This solution cleans the Encore in no time flat. I also use this at the range to clean both while shooting. <P>Dryfire

Dryfire<BR>Man, I plum' forgot about "moose milk" except we made ours with peroxide instead of alcohol. I've swabbed that custom 45 of mine so many time between shots I thought I would wear the barrell out. That was before TC came out with their "milk". Now I don't have to make the stuff up, find a container to put it in. Just pick up the squeeze bottle and head for the range or the field. And now that E4E has put me on that Pyrodex Easy Clean, man I'm in gray smoke heaven.<P>Wall

I am the soapy bath type but my TC Newenglander get a special treatment of, of , of, of crisco shortening. Real cheap and can't see where anything works any better.<P>------------------<BR>Beware the one-gun man.

I use the hot soapy water treatment on my T/C Hawken. With the barrel off, and nipple out, I stick the breech end in the bucket of water and use a tight fitting patch to pump water in and out through the nipple hole. This way I KNOW that I'm getting every little crevice inside that breech flushed out good. If the water is hot enough (near boiling), the barrel will dry out nicely by evaporation. A good coat of gun oil or Bore Butter after and you're all set.

Hey guys, how does that new EZ clean work on black powder. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge. I shoot Pyro and my dad shoots FFF. He is really finicky when it comes to what he puts in his barrel. Ryan