Cleaning 777

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  • jef955

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 26, 2011
    758
    Maryland
    Hello MDS Brain trust !

    I'm not new to guns, but new to muzzleloaders.. I bought a CVA Wolf earlier this year in stainless steel, and have been using Triple 7 pellets to get the "feel" of muzzleloading. I'm shooting 44 Cal Hornady XTP 300gr bullets in Harvester Crush Rib sabots and Winchester/777 muzzleloader primers. Seems to be a good combination, with a 50 yard zero, I can get cloverleaf groups when I do my part.. I swab between shots using dollar store Windex - no problems there.

    I notice after several days, it seems the barrel will start kind of 'sweating' a little rust ???? I attached a photo which I hope comes through. I can't see any crap in the barrel. I've shot it a total of 3 occasions, and the same thing happens every time. When I get home, I'll pass more windex, dry patches, then go over with usually Breakthrough solvent, then dry patches, then Mineral oil for storage. When I shoot - I'll Windex then dry patch.

    I have NOT tried hot water/soap which seems to be popular also, but may be my next step.

    Is this common - I know muzzleloaders need to be cleaned diffenently from regular smokeless guns.

    Or is the "operator" experiencing a phenomenon called "error" and should I just not worry about it. Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice ! :thumbsup:
     

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    Bountied

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2012
    6,893
    Pasadena
    Hello MDS Brain trust !

    I'm not new to guns, but new to muzzleloaders.. I bought a CVA Wolf earlier this year in stainless steel, and have been using Triple 7 pellets to get the "feel" of muzzleloading. I'm shooting 44 Cal Hornady XTP 300gr bullets in Harvester Crush Rib sabots and Winchester/777 muzzleloader primers. Seems to be a good combination, with a 50 yard zero, I can get cloverleaf groups when I do my part.. I swab between shots using dollar store Windex - no problems there.

    I notice after several days, it seems the barrel will start kind of 'sweating' a little rust ???? I attached a photo which I hope comes through. I can't see any crap in the barrel. I've shot it a total of 3 occasions, and the same thing happens every time. When I get home, I'll pass more windex, dry patches, then go over with usually Breakthrough solvent, then dry patches, then Mineral oil for storage. When I shoot - I'll Windex then dry patch.

    I have NOT tried hot water/soap which seems to be popular also, but may be my next step.

    Is this common - I know muzzleloaders need to be cleaned diffenently from regular smokeless guns.

    Or is the "operator" experiencing a phenomenon called "error" and should I just not worry about it. Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice ! :thumbsup:

    Why are you using Windex? Ammonia is not good for steel. Just use regular Hoppes or Remoil to clean. Mineral oil isn't particularly helpful as a long term rust inhibitor either. I use Balistol to clean, then dry patches, then wet patch with Remoil. My barrel is still not rusty after 4 years of not shooting. Where are you storing it? Is it dry?
     

    SavageShooter

    Active Member
    Jan 10, 2014
    644
    Arbutus, MD
    I have used Hodgdon 777 and only had to use warm water to clean out the barrel. Then I always put a light coat of oil inside the barrel with a patch for rust protection. Then dry patch it before I load it. Never had any light rust show up on the inside of the barrel.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    I have used Hodgdon 777 and only had to use warm water to clean out the barrel. Then I always put a light coat of oil inside the barrel with a patch for rust protection. Then dry patch it before I load it. Never had any light rust show up on the inside of the barrel.

    ^^^This is the correct answer. :thumbsup:
     

    Mini14tac

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    May 14, 2013
    2,146
    North County
    I use the hot soapy water method on my older style cap locks where I can easily remove the barrel and submerge the breech in a bucket and run a patch up and down the bore to draw the water through the nipple hole. Then blow it dry with the air compressor followed by a hair dryer heat the metal to finish drying. Then run a seasoning patch down the bore for storage. For my inline, I use the TC T17 bore cleaner with a nylon brush then finish up with dry patches until clean. Then the same with a seasoning patch for storage. Both styles get the presoaked cleaning patches followed by dry patches between shots. The T17 works really well. No oil ever gets introduced into the barrels of my front stuffers.
     

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    jef955

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 26, 2011
    758
    Maryland
    Thanks for the replies everyone, I think I'm going to try the hot water cleaning next and see where that gets me. I might try some sort of muzzleloader cleaner as well, and see what works better..
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    Thanks for the replies everyone, I think I'm going to try the hot water cleaning next and see where that gets me. I might try some sort of muzzleloader cleaner as well, and see what works better..

    Butch's bore shine works well as a field expedient method.
    I use boiling hot water to thoroughly clean my muzzle-loading rifles.
    I also oil them well immediately after cleaning when the pores of the steel are open from being hot.
    Even when using them the next day.
     

    jef955

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 26, 2011
    758
    Maryland
    Why are you using Windex? Ammonia is not good for steel. Just use regular Hoppes or Remoil to clean. Mineral oil isn't particularly helpful as a long term rust inhibitor either. I use Balistol to clean, then dry patches, then wet patch with Remoil. My barrel is still not rusty after 4 years of not shooting. Where are you storing it? Is it dry?

    I store it in a safe with a Goldenrod with other rifles. I have a substantial collection, so mineral oil is an economical alternative to some of the commercial gun specific oils, especially buying by the gallon. So far I've had no problems with rust, or lubrication using it with the rest of my guns. As for the windex, it seems popular with a lot of muzzleloader shooters to use in the field, which it seems to work well for. Rubbing alcohol also seems to be popular, along with plain water, or a spit patch. I'll use something out of a bottle, since I drown half of everything I eat in Tabasco :D

    When I get th rifle home for final cleaning - everything will come out clean. I wasn't finding any sort of rust looking residue for several days afterwards, so obviously what I'm doing now isn't working for getting everything out of the metal. I'll figure it out - I better. Down to a week before Muzzleloader season opens !
     

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