Cleaning up Pyrodex

[mgmorden]

Hey guys - quick question - I've always used Triple 7 in my cap-n-ball revolvers. I always cleaned those up with soap and tap water.

I had a jug of Pyrodex RS however and recently got an in-line muzzleloader (a CVA Wolf) to try out. Shot it over the weekend and when I got home did the same - soap and water, dried thoroughly, and then oiled the gun.

Knowing though that Pyrodex is a bit more corrosive than Triple 7 I went to looking around and a lot of sites seem to be stressing using HOT water (some even saying to boil it). Another guy mentioned needing to add vinegar to the mix for Pyrodex specifically.

Simple question: does the water temperature matter too much? If I cleaned with room temperature soapy water is it significant enough that I should reclean the gun with very hot soapy water or can it wait until next time out?

And basically the same thing regarding the vinegar.

Thanks!

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I have always cleaned my muzzle loaders with hot soapy water mostly because with hot water the barrel comes out hot and dries much better. I have a pan and immerse the barrel and let it soak a bit before swabbing it with a bore mop, leaving the breech end submerged so the water is pumped in and out through the ignition hole. To me Pyrodex cleans up as easily as black powder. I shot them both yesterday and had no trouble with either.

 

[Ifishsum]

I clean up with warm/hot water and a little dish soap; whether Pyrodex, real black or 777. It will clean fine with lukewarm or even cold water I think; the real reason for hot water is not to get the gun cleaner but rather to heat the steel so it dries easier/more completely. I get flash rust when I rinse with boiling water that doesn't seem to happen when I simply rinse with hot tap water. I then run a dry patch or two and set the barrel in the sun (summer) or on the heater (winter) to accelerate drying, then apply bore butter to the hot bore and barrel. Never heard of using vinegar myself and I have no rust in or on any of my guns, so it's apparently not a necessity.

 

[J-Bar]

From Hodgdon's loading data for Pyrodex; they mention a quick vinegar rinse for brass cartridge cases, but not for barrels. They make the stuff, so they should know.

"Pyrodex does produce a corrosive residue from combustion. Even though this fouling is softer than the fouling produced by blackpowder, firearms should be cleaned after each use. Hodgdon Powder Co. recommends the use of natural cleaning solvents.
Cartridge cases that have been fired using Pyrodex require special care. As soon as possible after firing, cases should be de-primed and immersed in 50% water and white vinegar. The acidity of the vinegar will neutralize the corrosive residues remaining in the case. Care should be taken to limit the soaking time of the cases in the vinegar to 10 minutes. Soaking for a longer time may cause etching of the brass case resulting in shortened case life. Rinse cases with clear water, dry and polish in a tumbler with corncob or walnut shell media."

 

[alsaqr]

i don't use water to clean my muzzleloaders. Before leaving the range the bore is swabbed with a patch wet with Windex With Vinegar: Now called Windex Multi Surface Cleaner. At home the bore is swabbed with clean patches. Then the bore is swabbed with another patch moist with Windex followed by dry patches. The bore is then swabbed with a patch moist with Hoppe's #9 followed by one dry patch. If the gun will be used within a week or two nothing else is done at this time.

If the gun will be stored for a longer period the bore is swabbed with a patch moist with gun oil or Militec 1.

Nothing cleans an inline breech plug like Windex With Vinegar. The crud left from firing BP and the BP substitutes is a base. You can see it fizz on contact with the Windex With Vinegar. i use an old tooth brush to remove the crud neutralized and loosened by the Windex.

Before the gun is fired again the bore is swabbed with a patch saturated with alcohol followed by a dry patch. This cuts down on misifres and reduces the 777 crud ring.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I think hot water is used to heat the barrel, promoting evaporation afterward.

 

[mgmorden]

Thanks guys - I think I'll be ok. I actually tend to use a hair drier to help dry the gun after the soap/water so that its as dry as possible before I oil it. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something crucial that would be left behind if the water wasn't hot when cleaning.

I'll probably switch over to the hot water next time though.

 

[frontiergander]

No need to go and use vinegar.

Warm soapy water, dry patch the bore, alcohol soaked patch or 2 to remove any moisture and then a patch lightly sprayed down with Barricade.

 

[BCRider]

I shoot Pyrodex loads in cowboy action when I'm shooting in the Frontiersman category. The lever rifle is such a PITA to fully strip down that I simply sit the rifle upside down in the cleaning rack (the upside down thing was a great hint from someone here on THR) and run a wet nylon bristle bore brush a few times with a squirt of soapy water from a little squeeze bottle. That breaks up the fouling without undue force. I then switch to a round jag and patches going with wet patches until they come out clean then a Ballistol patch to displace the water and follow with a couple of dry patches and when THOSE come out dry I re-oil and dry patch with Ballistol.

The whole thing takes about 10 minutes and usually around 10 to 12 patches.

The point of this is that you don't need to turn your barrel into a water pump if you don't want to. However for my muzzle loading rifles I simply do so as it's the easiest way to go.

For my revolvers I use the same sort of nylon bristle brushes. In fact it's the same one since it's flexible enough to jump from .357 to .45. I've got an old drywall mud bucket or similar that I fill with hot tap water and a squirt of laundry detergent to aid in cutting the oils. The bucket is just deep enough that when the barrels rest on the natural angle that the bores are fully immersed. This works great for both my early open top Colt clones as well as my Uberti Remingtons. Again, nylon brush then a round jag and patches. Doing the revolver barrels takes even LESS time. The cylinders on the other hand.....

 

[Noz]

Go back and check your Pyrodexed guns before you put them away. It has a tendency to cause some wild corrosion if not monitored.

 

[alsaqr]

Go back and check your Pyrodexed guns before you put them away. It has a tendency to cause some wild corrosion if not monitored.

Pyrodex is very corrosive. i've seen numerous guns ruined by failure to properly clean them after firing Pyrodex. One was a formerly pristine antique 1876 Winchester.

Pyrodex is especially hard on the old steel of guns made before about 1900. Much of that old steel has granular impurities that make it vulnerable to pitting by BP and Pyrodex residue.

i use Windex with vinegar to neutralize the BP and Pyrodex residue.

 

[frontiergander]

pyrodex doesnt ruin guns, the owner"s" do from P-poor cleaning IMO.