[sgtb]

What cleaning products should I use to clean my barrel? I use pyrodex and Triple 7 pellets and the gun is stainless. Thanks

[Bartkowski]

You have three of these posted, but warm water works, some use rubbing alcohol.

[Whitman31]

Remove the barrel, stick one end in the toilet (preferably a clean one), run a patch up and down a number of times, pulling the patch up draws the water up into the barrel. Push patch all the way through, remove barrel and flush...

Obviously dry well and call it a day...

Now I know this doesn't sound typical, but I've been doing it for years with my encore and I've got my dad doing it with his Omega. Both our guns are stainless, you didn't mention if your was or not. It's been my experience that the Thompson stainless barrels clean extremely easily. You need to be careful not to knock the sights around, but the porcelain doesn't leave a mark on the stainless...

[sgtb]

Can you use normal cleaning solvents like Hoppes #9?

[Bartkowski]

Can you use normal cleaning solvents like Hoppes #9?

You can use them, but water is cheaper why not just use that?

[mykeal]

Can you use normal cleaning solvents like Hoppes #9?

Nope.

Well, yes, but....

Hoppe's No. 9 will remove bp fouling and clean the bore. However, it will leave behind, intentionally, as a rust preventative, a petroleum distillate. If not removed that residue will, over time, react with subsequent black powder fouling to create a black, sticky tar that is a real pain to remove.

How to get rid of the No. 9 residue? Hot soap and water, exactly the same thing you should use to clean the bp fouling in the first place.

Hoppe's does make a No. 9 Plus that is supposed to be compatible with black powder. I've never used it,
water is cheaper why not just use that?

[Pulp]

I've used the toilet method for my T/C Hawken for years. Followed by boiling hot water poured down the barrel to heat it up for drying, and to melt the Bore Butter during final rubdown.

[J.T. Gerrity]

Hoppes #9 plus works wonders and keeps you away from water. Highly recommended. "Hot soap and water" has never touched my guns and never will. Especially useful for cleaning in the field. This is what the old timers would have used if they had had it...

[arcticap]

TC makes a Triple 7 solvent just for 777. And the Hoppe's #9 Plus Black Powder Solvent & Patch Lube also works very good removing both.
There's other products too, and sometimes a 1-2 punch works best when one shoots with several different powders.
You can buy a small jug of Rusty Duck Black Off BP Solvent at some Walmarts for about $5, and it also works fairly well on various powder residues.
While solvents can sometimes require using some extra elbow grease, I've never had any tar develop after using regular Hoppes either. It doesn't really dissolve the tough residue, but it's good enough to initially wipe it down with, maybe even better than 70% alcohol which can contain water IMHO.

[Mule]

Windex with Vinegar - not ammonia - Vinegar.
Cheap and cleans thing up nicely. I usually shoot Black and it really cuts through the fouling.

To remove plastic fouling from sabots, plug the nipple/flash hole, stand the barrel up in a corner, fill with carb cleaner and let stand for one hour.
Pour out the cleaner, patch dry, preserve, and reassemble.

[alsaqr]

"Windex with Vinegar - not ammonia - Vinegar.
Cheap and cleans thing up nicely. I usually shoot Black and it really cuts through the fouling."

Bingo, Mule. Excellent post.

This is the only way to clean a black powder gun. It is recommended by Mike Venturino, a serious black powder shooter and handgun editor. Windex with vinegar works equally well on black powder, 777, Pyrodex, Black Mag and Clean Shot. The breech plugs of my inlines are clean in about one minute.

The CVA bolt action muzzleloaders get the curddiest of any gun i have ever used. In five minutes mine are spiffy clean using Windex with vinegar. It is also very good when swabbing the barrel between shots.

[mykeal]

I'm really missing something.

Hoppes's No. 9 Plus
Windex with vinegar
T/C's special 777 solvent
Rusty Duck

I just don't get it. What's wrong with hot water and soap? It's worked for me for 40 years; it worked for people a hundred years ago (or more), and it's cheaper than any of those other things.

I admit I haven't tried them. But why should I? I'm not saying any of them are bad, or don't work, but I don't see spending more money on something else when what I've got, works, well enough.

[arcticap]

Every gun, powder and situation is different.
It's easier to wash a revolver than it is to wash a rifle or an inline.
Plus why risk getting the trigger mechanism or stock wet, or making a mess in the house just to save maybe 10 or 15 cents on solvent?
No one needs to use solvents for cleaning if they are comfortable using soap & water. But new shooters still need to be made aware that soap & water isn't the only way to clean, and that they have a range of options.
Some people swab with water & water containing products when they are at the range, but others think solvents are simply more convenient. And since some solvents like Rusty Duck evaporate very quickly, then they may not run as much risk of contaminating their powder compared to using water, especially if it gets deep down into the breech or flash channel of the gun. And Hoppe's 9 Plus claims to not interfere with ignition if some is left behind where a dry patch won't reach, or if it gets absorbed by the powder residue that remains down inside there.
It's all just boils down to personal preference.
I'd rather not have to mess with preparing the water inside my house and granted, I may have to compensate by using more elbow grease. But for me it's not about the money, but it's more about convenience and certain other advantages.
Everything has it's advantages and disadvantages and we each follow what we feel more comfortable doing. :)

[Kimber1911_06238]

My pryodex/777/black powder cleaning solution came from an elderly guy that made me a custon hawken style rifle...he knows tons about blackpowder firearms.

1/3 murphy's oil soap
1/3 hydrogen peroxide
1/3 rubbing alcohol

Works wonders and doesn't require much scrubbing