What/how to clean guns

[Matthew Duncan]

I've shot a few one matches using black powder substitutes. I've just clean the guns when I've gotten home using Hoppes.

 

Next month is my first 2-day (10 stage) match using the real heathen black powder.

 

Original Colt clones in 45 Colt.

 

Can I wait until Sunday afternoon to clean them?

 

Should I clean them after the first day?

 

Spray them down with something between stages?

 

What are y'all recommendations?

[Guest diablo slim shootist]

Repeat after me ...Ballistol,Ballistol,Ballistol.

[South Devon Cattleman, SASS #59003]

Forget the Ballistol. The rest depends on your guns, they will most likely get gummy before the match is over. I would just spray the action with Windex with viniger or plain water then apply a little breakfree. It also depends what you are useing for bullets and bullet lube. I you have BP lube and a bullet that carries a lot of lube, the bores will be fine, otherwise you will have to run a wet patch through you barrels every couple of stages.

[Smithy]

Ballistol,Ballistol,Ballistol

defiantly between stages and to keep you going throughout the match, but I would also like to suggest a thorough cleaning at the end of the first day (or one matches equivalent). To not do so is putting too much risk on the second day and too much hope in the benefits of Ballistol. I had a 2 stage night shoot leading into the following day's main shoot that almost pushed the envelope once that I swore to never repeat without a complete cleaning in between. And for that I use HOT water and Dawn detergent followed up with WD40 (or the preferred Ballistol as a lubricant). Works like a champ every time. I was also shooting 45 LC, Rugers in my case, but much the same as far as fowling is concerned. Best of luck to you in you BP shooting endeavors! Smithy.

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

Since you don't know whether your guns will run 10 stages without binding I recommend cleaning the revolvers and rifle after a day of shooting. However, be prepared to clean the base bin and cylinder faces on your revolvers sooner than that (I clean mine during lunch). You could let a double barrel shotgun go ten stages without concern. I use mix of 1/3 Murphys oil soap, 1/3 rubbing alcohol and 1/3 water as my cleaner for 777. This evaporates quickly. Warm water works too. I lube after drying with Ballistol.

 

I clean off Pyrodex fouling quickly. Guns fouled with 777 or APP get cleaned when I get home and have time since these subs are sulfur-free.

 

Enjoy your shoot!

[Rex M Rugers #6621]

Plus 1 what E.R.S. Canby said. And if you feel your shooters getting a little sticky or sluggish , be ready to give them a squirt of your chosen fluid on the cylinder face and the front of the base-pin between stages.

All six-guns are not equal , some handle it better than others. Rifles , too.

Good luck , and keep 'em smokin. Rex

[Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L]

Since I use real BP (Goex FFg) the cleaning is a snap. I use hot water and wipe 'em down. After they are dried, also using air gun - I spray and wipe off excess Ballistol - that's it - easy peezy.

 

During a match the Vaquero's and Marlin function perfectly. The one thing I 'might' do in a single day 10 stage match would be to wipe the bore of the Marlin after the 5th stage and lightly spray and wipe the mechanism on the Marlin..the Vaquero's have no issue

 

I will also be at that match MD - look forward to seein' you there. Since it is a two 5 staged per day match match. I will clean the guns after the 1st day so they will be rearin' to go happily for the next day.

 

That's what works for me..

 

GG ~

[Singin' Sue 71615]

Plus 1 what E.R.S. Canby said. And if you feel your shooters getting a little sticky or sluggish , be ready to give them a squirt of your chosen fluid on the cylinder face and the front of the base-pin between stages.

All six-guns are not equal , some handle it better than others. Rifles , too.

Good luck , and keep 'em smokin. Rex

Yep, I just started with blackpowder subs, but some seem to get gummy, so I have my little bottle of baristol 50/50 in the cart, and a quick mist mid way works great!!! I do clean each night, and my pistols are stainless so I just soak them in hot,hot dawn water while I clean the rest. It was suggested to me to get rid of my wire brushes and go for the coiled brushes, since we clean more often. Enjoy!!!

[Aunt Jen]

I've shot a few one matches using black powder substitutes. I've just clean the guns when I've gotten home using Hoppes.

 

Next month is my first 2-day (10 stage) match using the real heathen black powder.

 

Original Colt clones in 45 Colt.

 

Can I wait until Sunday afternoon to clean them?

 

Should I clean them after the first day?

 

Spray them down with something between stages?

 

What are y'all recommendations?

 

I really think it's wrong to clean guns. I think the dish washing detergent is bad for them and can cause rust, and the water is trouble to deal with. You can't get a towel in there to all the parts, and putting anything larger than a revolver in the dryer seems to beat up the dryer. They just weren't made for that.

 

All that being said, if you do feel you have to clean your guns, I think it's best to just hold them under the faucet and put some soap on a sponge---rather than immerse them to let them soak. I think less water gets inside, that way.

 

Aunt Jen

[John Boy]

I've shot a few one matches using black powder substitutes

Matthew, it really depends on the substitute powder you shoot ... please identify

The subs on the market are all made with different ingredients

And in the meantime, go to the manufacturers website. They normally recommend how to clean

[The Shoer 27979]

here is my 2 cents worth Matthew

 

I only shoot BP, I have shot 6 monthly matches over 3 months and purposely never cleaned my guns and they ran fine. I was going to try 8 matches over 4 months but I got to feeling guilty about it so I had to cleaned them. I have used ever thing to clean my guns and it all works use what you want to, to clean. Now for your lube, make sure you have a good bullet lube. The last batch of lube I made I put to much beeswax in so it was stickier and the elevator in my 73 would stick every other stage, a little splash of water and it ran fine again.

 

 

SO make sure you have a good bullet lube and plenty of it, big lube bullets are also a good choice

[Cowboy Rick, SASS #49739L]

Matthew

 

Good advice here about remeidal cleaning between stages. I clean mine after each day of shooting. The biggest deal is getting all the smokeless lube and residue out before you shoot real BP. Oil with a BP friendly lube ( I like Ballistol). Cleanup: BP shooters will be happy to bend your ear and let you try their concoctions. I have landed on the Murphy's mix for match site cleanup. 1/3 Murphy's oil soap, 1/3 Hydrogen peroxide, 1/3 denatured alchohol, in a spray bottle. Wipe down and lube with ballistol. Make sure to get the grips wiped clean, as a little rain will slippery up the Ballisto residue like nobody's business. Wiping the face of the cylinders and base pin a time or two during the match will head off potential binding. Unless you have a lot of time to work things out before the match, a little maintenance between stages is the best insurance policy for a smooth match.

 

When it's all over, clean them at home with really hot water, blow dry, and re-lube with your favorite brew. Ballistol does work well with smokeless as well, FYI

 

CR

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Forget the Ballistol. The rest depends on your guns, they will most likely get gummy before the match is over. I would just spray the action with Windex with viniger or plain water then apply a little breakfree. It also depends what you are useing for bullets and bullet lube. I you have BP lube and a bullet that carries a lot of lube, the bores will be fine, otherwise you will have to run a wet patch through you barrels every couple of stages.

 

Don't use the BF. It's dino oil and syn.

Get a tube of "Bore-Butter" and life will be good.

Cheers,

LG

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

The BP subs. all have one thing in common....They are sugar based

Cheers,

LG

[The Shoer 27979]

The BP subs. all have one thing in common....They are sugar based

Cheers,

LG

Lumpy that is the first time I heard that

[Utah Bob #35998]

Windex to clean. Ballistol to lubricate.

Some guns need a wipe down during a match some don't. If they get fussy after 3 stages or so wipe the cylinder face with a damp rag and clean the base pin.

[Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655]

For big time cleaning at home I use boiling water and liquid dish detergent. With the water way hot the steel heats up and the parts dry too quickly to rust.

I follow up with some oil, balistol works fine. If you have a rifle that you can clean from the chamber end, just stick the muzzle in the hot soapy water and run the rod with patchs or a bore mop up and down the barrel. This will pump the water in and out. Follow up with a few patches to check out how clean the bore is. Then run an oiled patch thru. I squirt a balistol based moose milk into the action. Does not hurt to blow out action with compressed air. Finish with a little balistol squirted in.

[Griff]

It is really very gun dependent. Metals and finishes vary from one manufacturer to the next. Hardness of the steel and depth of the finish often determine how fouling might affect the operation and how long you wait to clean. So to your climate. I shoot real Colts... SAAs when I'm lazy and 1851 Belt Models when I feel finer'n frog hair. Goex Cartridge and my little 185 grain WFN boolit and SPG for lube in the SAAs. My Colt 1851s get fed .375 Rbs, a lubed Wonder Wad™ pushed by FFFg. Both can last thru two days of shooting without them having fouling issues. My 1873 rifle in .45 Colt can go exactly 13 stages of 10 rounds apiece for about a day and a half before it needs some help getting the fouling off the lifter. My 1860 Henry can sometimes last a whole stage before it needs that same help.

 

I've used almost every commercial cleaner and most of the "home-brew" concoctions to clean. What I've found works best for me is simple hot water outta the tap, just a mite hotter than I like runnin' on my hands, but it does exactly what every other commercial and home-brew does... it flushes the fouling out. BP fouling disolves in H2O. Additives and the like serve other purposes. None of which have to do with "cleaning". The corners of the frame sometimes takes a little brushing while the hot water is running to get some of the buildup that occurs out of there. I've found that adding soap to the brush along with the water does exactly NOTHING to speed up this process. But, hey, if you like the idea of soap... who'm I to dispute YOUR results.

 

I run a brush thru all the chambers and the bore... then follow that with cotton patches till dry. I hand dry each part before reassembly and the lube the entire piece with light oil... similar to sewing machine oil. The Henry and 1873 have the lifters removed and scrubbed. Both being in .45 Colt they do need a might more attention, but once cleaned, and the mortise cleaned, they're ready to run again. My 1873 is 25 years old (1986 production Uberti), and while it don't look new anymore... it just looks like a rifle that's been used in this sport since day one when it was picked up from EMF.

 

Personally, I think you'll find a bit less problem with real BP than you'd find with the subs (excepting 777) if you make sure your lube is compatible with BP... I've found SPG works exceptionally well.

 

One last detail. Do NOT lube the lifter or mortise on a toggle link action rifle. The lube will act as an attractant and hold the fouling there and cause your lifter to "gum-up" far faster than it will if it is clean and dry when you start the day. Same goes for just leaving the fouling in place overnite. That's why the lifter on both my toggle links comes out and gets cleaned after each day of shooting, if it will be seeing use the next day.

 

BP fouling will attract and hold moisture. Your local climate will dictate how long you can let your guns sit before corrosion may set in. I've let my Colt SAAs sit a week or 10 days after a match before I stripped 'em down and cleaned. But, they've been indoors and both heating and a/c dry the air...

 

I ain't an expert by any stretch of the imagination. So use my methods at your own risk. As they say... YMMV.

[Gunnison Roadrunner, SASS 44383]

There you go Matthew,

19 replies and 19 opinions. Add 'em up and go for the average.

I don't clean mine. I leave 'em out in the rain and then blow 'em off with an air hose.

Kiddin'! Some good advice here.

GR

[Wyatt]

 

Original Colt clones in 45 Colt.

 

 

Matthew,

Since you brought up an oxymoron let KK the original Oxymoron clean them

 

Wyatt

 

PS: Sorry Karl couldn't help it

[Guest diablo slim shootist]

Mattew if you always clean your guns with Ballistol you can go back and forth between

smokless and black with out any problem-forget the Hoppes -black will not mix well

and make clean up a pain

[Captain Woodrow Cahill, SASS # 54363]

Howdy Matthew!

 

Give your base pins a coating of a good heavy grease before the match - white lithium or Mobil 1 synthetic. It'll form a barrier against fouling creeping down the pin. Light oils just allow it to flow in via capillary action. That's where most binding occurs.

 

Another cleaning solution recipe: windshield washer fluid. It already has cleaners and alcohol in it, so it'll clean up and evaporate off. If you're ambitious, add a squirt of dish soap to the jug. Keep a small jar of it handy to drop your brass into as well.

 

Pre-treat your bores too. I've had good results using good ol' WD40. I believe the waxes coat the bores and keep the fouling from sticking. It works especially well in keeping wad snot from building up in the shotgun.

[Woody Shootem, SASS # 24816]

I shoot .44-40 loaded with Goex FFFg and big lube bullets, and 12 gauge brass shotshells in a Stoeger. I can easily shoot 7 stages with absolutely no cleaning in-between stages except to swap the chambers on the double barrel to keep the shells from getting stuck. After the day's shooting, I use a mixture of equal parts alcohol, hydrogen peroxide and Murphy's oil soap to clean the guns. The rifle and shotgun both get patches down the bore, then wiped down with a rag. For the pistols, remove the cylinder, spray, run a nylon 20 gauge bore brush through the chambers and the barrel, scrub the forcing cone area, etc., with a nylon brush, wipe with a rag, then dry with another rag, then run a patch with Ballistol on it through the bore and cylinders, and a light coat of ballistol over the entire gun. A little dab of grease on the cylinder pin and I'm ready for the next match.

 

Then entire process takes me about 30 minutes.

[Jefro, SASS#69420]

Howdy Matthew, clean up with Murphy's mix, spray and patch with Ballistol. DJ can explain the advantage of using Murphy's mix. After the first day just spray a little Ballistol down the pipes and wipe the guns down, they will be fine for the next day. Good Luck

 

Jefro

[Crazy Mingo]

Heeee Haaa Mathew.. Now here some Yankee advice: Tie the two pistols together with a long rope.. Throw them in the pond in front of the cabin..Leave them there over-night..Now first thing in the morning,drag them out.. dry them off, stick them in the holsters and your good ta go..

 

Heee Haaa Crazy Mingo

[Fairshake]

You are hearing some good and not so good advise. If you talk to a shooter who shoots the real BP and not the subs you will find a correct answer. The answers here show that most people answer without reading the entire posting. You posted that you were going to use the real BP and not a sub but received answers on how to clean a sub. You then will find pards who shoot smokeless in matches and yet give out info on BP. Ballistol is a product that has been made since the times of WW11. It was invented by the Germans. It contains a very highly processed type of mineral oil that is a top of the line cleaner and lube for BP. You mix what is referred to as Moose Milk. It is a mix of Ballistol and water in a spray bottle. Most will nsay in a 10-1 ratio but I use the 7-1 mix. In other words 7 parts of water to one part Ballistol. 2 oz of Ballistol and 14 oz of water makes a pint. When you use straight water to clean BP you have nothing left to protect the gun. When the water evaporates you have the oil in Ballistol left.Most BP revolvers will bind if you have too small of cylinder gap between the front of cylinder and rear of barrel. Long Hunter sets up his guns with at least a .007 of clearence. A lot of stock guns will have as little as .004 and will bind on your first rounds. You will have to keep this clean to shoot and the Ballistol works perfect. If you have USFA,Colts or some other revolver that has removeable cylinder bushings then don't forget to remove them and coat them with the Mobil 1 sythenic grease. You also after putting it back into the cylinder coat the base pins in the same manner before putting them into the revolver. Have a rag or paper towel as you will have extra that will come out onto the gun. The 45 Colt will have blow back because it is a straight sided hull. This may be reduced in two ways. Use a strong load or anneal the case necks before loading. This will help a great deal and keep things running smooth. You can use the 45 Schofield round loaded with a 200 grain bullet in the revolvers to reduce recoil. Use bullets that are lubed for BP. A pard by the name of Springfield Slim sells them on his web site at Marks Leather Works. I wish you the best. PS Don't use the Break Free as advised earlier as it is not for BP use and will cause a gum ball.

[South Devon Cattleman, SASS #59003]

PS Don't use the Break Free as advised earlier as it is not for BP use and will cause a gum ball.

 

Have you ever tried Break Free with Black Powder? I think that you have not. That is what I use for lubing my firearms, and I do shoot Black Powder and I have had much better results with Break Free than with Balistol. Break Free is a better lubricant. As far as Cleaning, water is what does the cleaning not the Balistol. I usually clean with the clear windex or else hot water and a touch of dish soap. Then I lube everything with Break free, is does not gum up with black powder.

[The Shoer 27979]

PS Don't use the Break Free as advised earlier as it is not for BP use and will cause a gum ball.

 

Have you ever tried Break Free with Black Powder? I think that you have not. That is what I use for lubing my firearms, and I do shoot Black Powder and I have had much better results with Break Free than with Balistol. Break Free is a better lubricant. As far as Cleaning, water is what does the cleaning not the Balistol. I usually clean with the clear windex or else hot water and a touch of dish soap. Then I lube everything with Break free, is does not gum up with black powder.

 

 

I agree with south Devon I use breakfree on everything even non gun items.

[Rafe Conager SASS #56958]

Windex to clean, spray gun down run a bore snake through each cylinder and down the barrel, last few inches lube with clp and your done. During matches I use Windex wipes they come in a canister then keep a rag with your favorite lube I again use clp lube the base pin your good to go. been doing this for 5-6 years and have never had an issue during a match or any rust on my guns.

Rafe

[Cofachique Dick]

Well, I guess I will add my 2 cents worth, also.

 

I shoot real black and 777. I have tried all the cleaners and lubes listed in this thread and more.

 

I finally settled on Murphy's mix to clean and Breakfree to lube. Both work great with black or subs.

 

One thing I have found that makes clean up faster and easier and also makes my guns run all day without binding up at all is muzzle loading patch lube.

 

I use a little Wonder Lube 1000 on the base pin, the front of the cylinders and smear a thin coat all over the inside of the cylinder frame opening.

 

I think patch lube helps A LOT.

[Utah Bob #35998]

PS Don't use the Break Free as advised earlier as it is not for BP use and will cause a gum ball.

 

Have you ever tried Break Free with Black Powder? I think that you have not. That is what I use for lubing my firearms, and I do shoot Black Powder and I have had much better results with Break Free than with Balistol. Break Free is a better lubricant. As far as Cleaning, water is what does the cleaning not the Balistol. I usually clean with the clear windex or else hot water and a touch of dish soap. Then I lube everything with Break free, is does not gum up with black powder.

 

I've used Break Free to lube on occasion and have not noticed any problems with gunk.

[George Rodgers]

Leave them on your hot water heater for a few days after cleaning. My heater is in a closet and is a good place for the guns to stay warm and dry.

[Crazy Mingo]

Heee Haaa Mathew.. All Jokeing aside, I have ONLY shot FFg Goex..Cleaning is real ez. I use ballisol 7 to 1 mix in a spray bottle..My pistols are stainless so I don't know this will work on blued guns.. I take the grips off ,the cyl and pin out ,Spray the guns ,cyl and pins.Let set a few min.then put them in a bucket of hot water. Then brush the bore and chambers. also brush the inside of the frame.. rince with HOT water, towel dry run a patch thru the barrel and cyl. lube with streight ballisol. lots of lub on cyl. pin

 

The browning gets taken down ,inside of barrel gets sprayed heavy alittle on the outside.with a piece of tee shirt rag over a 12ga. bore mop I push the plastic snot out of each barrel wipe the rest of the gun down.. Lube with ballisol..

 

I shoot 44-40 73's Just spray a patch run thru the bore afew dry patches and your good to go..

 

Heee Haaa Crazy Mingo

[Seldom Seen #16162]

Forget the Ballistol. The rest depends on your guns, they will most likely get gummy before the match is over. I would just spray the action with Windex with viniger or plain water then apply a little breakfree. It also depends what you are useing for bullets and bullet lube. I you have BP lube and a bullet that carries a lot of lube, the bores will be fine, otherwise you will have to run a wet patch through you barrels every couple of stages.

 

BULLHOCKEY! or is HORSEPUCKY?

 

I have shot the Holy Black through my Ruger Vaqueros exclusively for the last three years. I regularly shoot two day matches without needing to clean or wipe my guns to keep them running. To accomplish this I did the following things:

 

1. I had a gunsmith open the barrel cylinder gap from .001 and .003 to .008 and .010. I think this is a very important step. .008" is merely the thickness of a business card and is what I set the b/c my cab and ball pistols at.

 

2. I completely degreased them of all modern oil and lube.

 

3. Somebody already said it better than me; Ballistol, ballistol, ballistol.

 

4. Blackpowder lube will season your barrel like a used cast iron skillet. I normally use three wet patches followed by two dry ones to clean. A few wet patches to clean the window frame along with a toothpick to reach the hard to get places. Squirt some ballistol in the action along with wiping everything down.

 

5. This winter I swapped the hammers on my Vaqueros with Super Blackhawk hammers. The internals show no signs of rust and what crud that was in action was very soft.

 

If you follow these simple tips your guns will be trouble free.

[South Devon Cattleman, SASS #59003]

BULLHOCKEY! or is HORSEPUCKY?

 

Then you go on to agree with most of what I said. He is shooting 1 match, it dosn't pay for him to open up his cylinder gap for one match. He also said that he is shooting 45 colt so he will get some blow back in his rifle, which might gum up his action before the second day is over. I did say that if he uses a good black powder lube the the bores will not be a problem, if not they could cause a problem.

I shoot 45's in my 73 and 38 special's in my ruger NMV. I went from smokeless to black powder with out any problems. I just did a standard quick clean on my guns and went to Black Powder with no problems.

When I clean my firearms, I first spray windex down the barrels the I go to the other guns. I take a the cylinder out of a revolver and spray down with windex I run a patch down the barrel and through each chamber. Then I run a dry patch through everything. I then take a patch with break free on it and run down the barrel and through each chamber. I then put one drop of break free in the center hole of the cylinder to lubricate the base pin and put it back together. Repeat on the second revolver.

I them move on to the 73. I spray the carrier and down the barrel with windex. I run a patch down the barrel and blow everything off with the air compressor. run a dry patch down the barrel and then one with break free. I then apply some break free to the carrier and bolt blow it off with air and wipe down with a dry patch.

I then take a bore brush with a patch over it down the shotgun barrels. I then take a clean patch with break free on it down both barrels. Wipe everthing down with a patch with break free on it. For a 2 day match I might have to spray down the carrier on the 73 with windex and apply some more break free and wipe it off again. The whole process takes less time to do then it does to write about it.