Cleaning compound?

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Newtire

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Can anybody tell me of any homemade bp cleaning juice I can make out of common household ingredients to take to the range with me and run down the bore and clear it out before I get home to give it a more thorough swamp out? Plain water just isn't getting it.
 
So far (I've been shooting muzzleloaders for about 55 years) and I've yet to find anything noticeably better than water. DGW's "Black Solve" is a great cleaner to take to the range for any pre-cleaning; I've used it for that purpose a long time.
 
I always give my bores a good scrub before I leave the range, and finish off things when I get home. I like to get the majority of fouling out while it is nice and fresh. My cleaning liquid is the same thing I use for patch lube and I keep it in a spray bottle that was something the wife saved for me....usually eyeglass cleaner or some similar small bottle. While you are scrubbing with a patch, you will notice a little foaming action and just run a few dry patches through the bore and head home. Easy stuff....
 
Like bobbythehunter, I use some dish washing detergent in water.
I've tried water, "Moose Milk", other home mixes and some commercial products, but did not get any better results than dish soap and water.
Note that milking a moose can be rather risky.

(Because the question frequently comes up:
One of many ways to make Moose Milk:
#1 4 ounces NAPA Auto Parts #765-1526 Soluble Cutting & Grinding Oil
1 ounce Murphy's Oil Soap
7 ounces 91% Isopropyl alcohol
16 ounces tap water

Another Way
Castor Oil 4 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.
Witch Hazel 4 oz.
Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) 8 oz.
Water (non-chlorinated) 16 oz. )

I still just use water and dish soap.
Ron
 
Don't go to formal shoots anymore, but in 70's did use moose milk 16/1. But now I just clean with what ever dish detergent is under the sink and HOT water. I then use my standard mix of beeswax, bear grease and sweet oil on metal and wood (and leather) I shoot 4 black powder cartridge rifles, and about as many flints and C&B's, and I use same method of cleaning on my SASS 1860 conversions and Win. 73 even though I use Trail Boss loads. Works for me.
 
Yeh, I also use a mild mixture of Windex in a big canteen (style points at events) to put my black powder cartridge cases and others in. While driving home, they kind of "wash" around in the canteen and I just rinse, don't even need to tumble.......
 
My at-home cleaning water usually contains a drop or two of Dawn; detergents/soaps simply make water "wetter". Auto WWF is a great thing to have access to when at the range. I always have a small bottle of it in my range kit.

And, just me, I don't think milking a moose is all that worse than squeezing a mink for that oil. :coffee:
 
Prior to leaving the range the bore is swabbed with a patch wet with Windex with vinegar. The Windex with vinegar attacks and neutralizes the fouling- base stuff. Sometimes you can see it fizz.
 
Vinegar will also remove barrel bluing and browning as well as and rust spots inside the barrel. Be careful it isn't leaking out the nipple or on the crown.
 
Vinegar will also remove barrel bluing and browning as well as and rust spots inside the barrel. Be careful it isn't leaking out the nipple or on the crown.
Roger that, I've used vinegar to "tone" down bluing to make certain firearms look a little more "old and used", for those that like the look of "old and used" and don't want to stick around long enough to "use it till it looks old." Hope I made sense here.........
 
When I first started my migration from modern rifles I found a simple recipe for Moose Milk on the 'net, and have used it ever since for patch lube at contests and practice. Also use it to "pre-clean" at the range. Several wet patches for the bore, and a couple damp ones for the lock area. If I will finish cleaning right away when I get home, I will leave the bore as sloppy wet as I can get it. If it may be a few hours, patch dry.

Recipe: 2 oz "water soluble" oil, 2 oz Murphy's Oil Soap, water to make up a quart or liter in a bottle, it's not critical. Add some rubbing alcohol for winter.

At home I remove the lock, soak and brush in warm water and Dawn, dry with a hair dryer and oil. Plug vent or nipple with a toothpick, fill bore with warm water and Dawn, let soak 15-30 minutes, patch really dry, including standing rifle upside down with patch and rod in place for a while.

When barrel is dry, I apply either BC's Barricade (preferred) or WD40. I like to run that patch up and down the bore a few times a couple of days later.

I carry a small bottle of denatured alcohol or can of lighter fluid in my kit to remove the anti-rust oil before shooting again. All this may seem overly obsessive, but the bore on the H & A underhammer bought when I was still in high school still looks pristine.
 
What isn't working with the water? It should dampen the fouling on its way down the bore, and then the patch bunches and pulls it out on the return.
Are you having to scrub the bore a lot to get it clean once you get home?
If that is the case, my next question is what patch lube are you using?
 
At the range I spray mist my patches with original Windex/91% Alcohol 50/50 mix.

At home I clean up with M.A.P. (Murphy's Oil Soap, 91% Alcohol, Peroxide) Equal mix of all three.
 

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