muzzleloader barrel help

[cammogunner]

Hey guys i figured since this is a bp question i could stick it here so if it needs moved feel free to do so.now to the question about 2 months ago i was shooting my cva wolf and it shot fine but when i broke it down to clean it all i did was swab the barrel once with hot water and then got distracted with the smaller parts and forgot the barrel still needed swabed and i put it back together and sat it in my safe and two days ago got it out and looked down the bore as routine check and found it a mess i quickly took it to my cleaning bench and scrubed it good with hoppes 9 twice and was left with some very minor pitting right where the bullet sits. it looks like all it did was just take a little shine of the surface how do you think this will affect my accuracy?

 

[Loyalist Dave]

No I don't think so. If the bullet is sitting on the problem when loaded, the round will pass beyond the area, and engage the rifling.

You should scrub the bore with a small piece of 3M "green scrubbie" to be sure you took out all of the rust. Then apply an oil. Hoppe's 9 solvents are not really for rust prevention, nor removal of barrel rust.

LD

 

[D. Buck Stopshere]

Be sure you're using Hoppes #9 PLUS, designed for black powder residues, not the regular Hoppes #9, which is geared for smokeless powder residues.

Rust forming over two days is probably surface rust instead of pitted rust. The best product I know for removing rust is a product produced by Brownells, called "Rust Release". Catalog #082-000-013WB

The disadvantage is it only comes in a gallon jug. The advantage is it DOES remove rust in about 15 minutes.

The attached photos are of an original lock made in 19th century. After disassembling, I bathed parts in "Rust-Resolve" and about fifteen minutes later I wiped the parts down, oiled them and reassembled the lock.

 

[DD4lifeusmc]

Hard lesson to learn the hardway.
Most inline barrels are a bit harder than traditional ones.
Don't use hoppes #9 to clean BP
And stop using water. As you noticed if not thoroughly dried and lubed afterwards, it causes problems.
Hoppes makes a #9 plus for Bp.
But you can use (I have for 35 years) plain old rubbing alcohol.
It cuts the crud and one or two dry swabs and it is basically dry as it evaporates faster than water ever will.

But do not leave parts soaking in it over night, it will attract moisture in the air.
soak maybe 10 or 15 minutes tops, wipe dry.

You can also use specialty solvents for BP but the alcohol works just fine.

Accuracy? probably negligible. is it actually a pit or just discoloration?
If only where the bullet sits and rest of bore is good. Probably no adverse impact. As rest of bore will do it's job aligning the bullet and imparting spin.

 

[MEHavey]

As far as pitting right where the ball/patch sits when loaded, no big deal. In fact it will semi-polish itself over time with repeated use/firing.

As far as soap & water cleaning solutions go, it is still the best/most effective for scrubbing out the barrel and cleaning BP residue.
Nor is it hard to dry out. Coupla' dry patches & a CLP patch and you are done. (Don't forget the nipple/threads/channel !)

A flintlock's 'lock' does require cleaning after shooting since the BP will blow down through/into the barrel/plate gap.
Again, soapy water and a toothbrush makes this a 60-sec operation, and if you use hot water it will dry itself in a minute or two.
I do put the exposed lock in either the hot sun for 10-15 min or a warm oven for 5, and I always wipe down the innards
with CLP before reassembling. Other than that, no big deal.

FWIW: In the field I carry a sqeeze bottle of water/cutting-oil/simple-green solution (8oz/1oz/teasp)

 

[cammogunner]

Thanks guys i think i will try rubbing alcohol from now on.and d buck it was left 2 months not two days sorry should have cleared that up

 

[robhof]

robhof

A few years ago I bought a real deal ROA, only to find that there was serious pitting about 2" back from the end of the barrel, apparently a squib had been left for an extended time. The gun otherwise looked practically new. Decided to try it before getting a new barrel, well it shot as well as my other ROA that is in truly pristine condition, the groups and POI were very close. I still replaced the barrel, just because I could.

 

[4v50 Gary]

The muzzle is more critical than down where the bullet is seated in the barrel.

D Buck Stopshere - Didn't know about RustResolve. It certainly removed the rust.

 

[tark]

A few months ago I bought a Thompson Center Hawken that I discovered later was loaded!! I got the charge out and discovered the barrel had light pitting its entire length that was not visible in the dim light of the gun show building. (Take a bore light, stupid)

Long story short, I scrubbed and cleaned and started shooting it, and it now shoots beautifully. It is still very lightly pitted but the patches look normal and it shoots fine with round ball or conical.

You should be fine. Sounds like you caught the problem before it got out of hand.

 

[MEHavey]

Didn't know about RustResolve...

Another product of that nature is EvapoRust. Incredible stuff.
See: http://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4607573&postcount=2

10-15minutes for 98% of all uses.
Soak overnight if a total disaster.

 

[M-Cameron]

honestly i think people are a little over concerned about light rusting/ pitting in muzzle loaders.....

i mean, most muzzle loaders are not high precision match rifles...they are used for hunting but mostly for having fun at the range.

that and the fact that you have a nice lubed patch sitting between the barrel and the ball....

obviously try to keep your gun clean and rust free......but dont worry yourself if some light rust or pitting appear.

 

[Hookeye]

Reg BP or T7, I use hot tap water and just a little dish soap.

The old bucket and plunger method, barrels of my TC sidehammers would get too hot to touch.

They dried fast due to the heat buildup, plus I sat them over the heat register during deer season cleanups.

No rust problems.

When done, and if stored, did swab with light coat of Remoil.

One TC was a PITA (Hawken Silver Elite). That thing was super picky, you couldn't have any trace of oil in that bore. Gunscrubber before hitting the range would ensure no flyers.

 

[Hookeye]

Did have one Renegade and a New Englander that after being broke in, shot scary good.

Cloverleafs at 100 using reg BP, #11 and .495" swaged balls and thick cotton patch (from a bench, iron sighted).

Popped a doe quartering away at 178 yards with that Renegade. Got it cheap because my bud missed a cow elk with it (he had tang peep sight). Drunk at TC assembled it, was sloppy fit, screws run on TG and other. Ended up having to bed the barrel (and epoxy screw holes, re drill).

Thing shot fantastic after that (using orig barrel sights).

The NE I had, all i did was shoot it. Cheap gun, after about 75 shots it quit stringing vert (like most old TC's did) and it laid 'em on top of each other.

Sold it to get a single trigger Renegade and never did.