How long till an uncleaned muzzleloader barrel is ruined?

I always cleaned the rifle after we got home--no more than 6/8 hrs.
So I can't tell you how long b/4 nasty////////////////////////

If you were to swab out the barrel with windex immed. after shooting you could probably go a day or two.

My oldest uses chinese corrosive ammo on the AK
He uses Hoppes # 9 solvent only---no problems////////////

Call your local gunshop--ask them///////////////

http://www.muzzleloadermag.com/HINTS%20(stoves)/gun_cleaning_page.htm#WINDEX_

Go in here & click on windex/////////////////////////

I have friends that shoot BP. They have always said that unless the gun is cleaned after firing it's a pain to clean 48 hours later. You've obviously gone beyond that or wouldn't be posting.

I'd be cleaning now.

Pyrodex is corrosive, just like the real thing is. You clean a front-stuffer after you shoot it. Not a week after, not a couple days after, but an hour or two after. Because if you don't, it'll be one ugly mother to scrub out come morning.

I had it drilled into my foot-thick skull when I was learning to shoot black-powder firearms that I had to clean it when we got home. That meaning, you walk the gear into the living room, put it down, collect the firearms you shot, and take them out back. With the cleaning stuff. Right now. Hot water and Dawn will be along shortly. If you don't clean 'em, you don't shoot 'em. Ever. They're too valuable to be treated like a 10-year-old's Hotwheels collection.

as stated,,it needs to be cleaned immediately,, stainless may be more resilient than blued steel but both can be ruined very quickly,,I see ML's walking the gun shows all the time,, 9 out of ten are junk because of this very issue,,and they bring junk prices,,your $350 ML is now $100 and thanks for coming,,

i dont own or shoot black powder, so i cant comment, but it makes me wonder. back in the day when everyone shot black powder (since it was the only option) i doubt they were cleaned as often as mentioned above. So were these guns subject to the same problems and were there reliability issues?

i dont mean to thread jack, i just dont know much about black powder rifles and that was the first thing that came to mind.

i dont own or shoot black powder, so i cant comment, but it makes me wonder. back in the day when everyone shot black powder (since it was the only option) i doubt they were cleaned as often as mentioned above. So were these guns subject to the same problems and were there reliability issues?

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I think the short answer is either they cleaned them quickly or the bores rotted, just like today.

How do you think all those 'sewer pipe' bored rifles came into being? Either black powder or chlorate primers will eat steel if the humidity is over 30% or so.


BSW

I

think the short answer is either they cleaned them quickly or the bores rotted, just like today.

How do you think all those 'sewer pipe' bored rifles came into being? Either black powder or chlorate primers will eat steel if the humidity is over 30% or so.

Click to expand...

Got it, thanks. i live near a lot of civil war battle fields and you never hear the guides talk about the troops cleaning thier weapons...i guess i'll have to bring it up on my next visit.

engineerbrian said:

I

Got it, thanks. i live near a lot of civil war battle fields and you never hear the guides talk about the troops cleaning thier weapons...i guess i'll have to bring it up on my next visit.

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You never heard any tell about troops sometimes having to piss in the barrel in the middle of a battle to clean out fouling?

That fouling holds moisture against the barrel. If the residue is as this site says:

Blackpowder residue consists of potassium carbonate, potassium sulfate, potassium sulfide, potassium thiosulfate, potassium thiocynate, carbon, and sulfur. All the potassium compounds are salts, considered corrosive.

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http://www.chuckhawks.com/blackpowder_pyrodex.htm

Do you really want electrolytic salts touching your steel barrel? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolyte

The real question is where do you live? If you live in dry Arizona, it will take longer for rust to form. If you live in the swamp lands, your barrel is already rusted.

My dad left a T/C Hawken uncleaned for just a little while, a week or so, and it was good and rusted up. Next hunting season it was pretty much ruined, and when I found it years later it was toast. Luckily in his case replacement barrels were available. Word to the wise. If it's going to sit a couple of days, at least take some Windex/patches/jag with you and run four or five wet and dry patches through it. Otherwise you're just asking for it.

jm

I've been shooting a lot of corrosive ammo lately, and since I live in western Oregon I've experienced high humidity when doing do.

The worst rust I've ever had was from running soapy water and drying, figuring I'd oil when I got home in about 45 minutes. I had several rusty spots on the surface of the metal.

Since then I've shot when it was raining, striped and cleaned the rifle in the rain, and oiled it in the rain as well. Two hours later, when I got home, the rifle had water beaded up on it, but there was no rust.

BSW