Black Powder Sport Shooting is a very involved hobby, and one of the things that keeps new people from entering the hobby is that unlike other forms of sport shooting, you must clean your firearms after each use. It can seem daunting at first with the overwhelming amount of information online, and if you ask 10 different people you will likely get 10 different answers. So, while there is no "Right Way" to clean your smoke poles, there are a few things that MUST be avoided.
First, we should ask why cleaning is so important. This is because the fouling that is produced when black powder burns is "Hydrophilic". This means that the fouling absorbs and attracts water, the moisture in the fouling if left in the barrel for too long will begin to cause the barrel to begin to rust. The length of time that you can "safely" let your gun sit between shooting it and cleaning it can vary based on the environment, but I suggest cleaning it as soon as possible afterwards. The longer it sits, the worse the rust in the barrel can get. Minor issues such as surface rust inside a barrel can be treated and still used but leave it longer and it will lead to pitting that can make loading harder and in the worst case, damage the barrel and make it unsafe to shoot.
Best Practices:Required Items:A Dirty Muzzleloader/BP Cartridge Rifle
A coffee can, bucket or vessel that can hold dirty water.
An appropriate length cleaning rodAn appropriately sized cleaning jag for your rifle/copper brushSomething to hold your barrel.
Water (Hot is best, but cold will work)Cleaning Patches (natural fiber or paper towels)A Non-Petroleum based lube. (LPS No. 2, Balistol, Bore Butter)
Suggested Items:A toothpick
Leather Gloves (Barrel can get hot)
A Breech Fouling Scraper
Dish Soap (at a bare minimum with the hot water) ORA Black Powder solvent OR
Simple Green Cleaner
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The best practice for cleaning your muzzleloader is to clean it as soon as possible after shooting. If you can remove the barrel from your rifle's stock (common in Hawken style rifles), this will also help you keep moisture from getting to places you do not want it to sit for too long. When you go to clean your barrel, it is best practice to use hot (boiling if possible) water. Take your barrel and prop it up on something (or clamp it in a soft jaw vice) with the breach end sitting in a container that will catch the dirty water. Some people like to plug the flash hole/nipple with a toothpick to allow the fouling to soak for a short period of time, this is recommended but not required if you are in a time crunch. No cleaning solution is a requirement but using the right compound can make your life a lot easier. Again, depending on who you ask you will get a vast different number of answers to what you can use. The biggest thing that you must take away from this guide is that you MUST AVOID USING PETROLIUM BASED ITEMS. There are commercially made, ready-to-use products on the market such as Hoppies No. 9, however, these again aren't a requirement. Hot water and Dawn dish soap works very well, though the author suggests the product "Simple Green Cleaner" that has been diluted down a little bit. You can add a bit of any of these to the inital soak. After the soak, remove the toothpick. The water that runs out should be dirty. After this, the process is simple. Scrub the bore until it is clean. The author likes to alternate between scrubbing lightly with the copper brush and using the cleaning jag with a cleaning patch on it. You want to ensure there is water in the barrel during the process, but you can drain the water and rinse. The end goal is to run patches through the barrel and have them come out clean. After you get clean patches, you need to ensure that the bore of the barrel is dry and free of water (this is why hot water is best as it heats the steel of the barrel up and helps drive off the moisture) Once free of water, it is best practice to season the bore with your oil of choice. Again, it cannot be stressed enough how bad using a petroleum-based lubricant is. WD40 is a NO. Use a patch and wipe a product such as LPS No. 2, Bore Butter or Bailistol. (There are others, these are just some of the most common) Be sure to also clean your lock and remove the nipple (clean out the flash hole!) using the same methods above and don’t forget to give your entire firearm (including stock) a wipe down with a light oil. Think of your barrel as a cast iron pan and after cleaning it, you need to re-season it. As for the bore, you cannot put too much oil down it. Overdoing it is better than underdoing it, too little oil may allow rust to attack the barrel whereas too much oil may only require a few extra caps to clean it out before firing. (Capping off a few extra times) If you choose to use cold water and no oil, be very sure that your barrel is dry afterwards. The cold water method can be used if you are away from your cleaning supplies after shooting for a period, but it is suggested to follow up with hot water and a cleaner. Why can't I use a petroleum-based lubricant?Any petroleum-based lube will keep your gun safe until you fire it. Black Powder fouling will mix with these and create a very hard substance in your barrel that will make cleaning it nearly impossible. If you plan to store a black powder firearm for an extended period, you can use these but be sure to give them a very good cleaning before doing any type of shooting. It should be noted that the safe lubricants mentioned above will do just as good a job preserving your firearms in the long run.
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