Muzzleloaders ruined?

[Mowgli Terry]

Bore Butter: I found some on Amazon at a good price. They had the old time yellow and green pine scented.

 

[Snidely70431]

I did an image search for the rifle, and there really is no excuse for not cleaning it each day after it is fired, if this is the rifle in question.

 

[alsaqr]

Except the evidence shown in the tests shows otherwise...

Your preferred evidence "shows otherwise". i've conducted my own test and they show black powder and Pyrodex to be equally corrosive.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

Pyrodex will rust the guts out of a muzzleloader or any firearm where the stuff is used. That is, if not cleaned. Use all the goop you want....it's your rifle. Also, you really want to wreck a rifle use Hoppe's #9 on Pyrodex fouling. Try soapy water to clean your rifle. Works great and is readily available and cheap. I've cleaned on of those muzzle loaders in the picture. The breech plug can be unscrewed with the fingers. Cleaning is not complicated. I've had no problems using Balistol to store BP firearms making sure it stays in the barrel. Keep it simple.

 

[MEHavey]

Bottom Line for All Concerned:

- Both (real) BP and BP substitutes leave fouling salts that attract attract moisture. Humidity is your enemy
- Moisturized fouling of either type will initiate rust after several hours/overnight.
- Hot water w/ just a dash of dish soap will wash all such fouling out . . . in minutes.
- Cleaned bores are left so bare that they should be protected immediately with standard CLP products and or gun oils like REM oil.*
- Don't EVER believe "Bore Butter" will protect ANYthing. It won't.
- Don't EVER believe that there is ANYthing like "seasoning." There isn't.



* Merely run a dry patch through before next shooting session.

.

 

[rodwha]

Your preferred evidence "shows otherwise". i've conducted my own test and they show black powder and Pyrodex to be equally corrosive.

Ok. But what that fellow did is the only side by side equal comparison I’ve seen conducted. And his results in his apples to apples comparison showed Pyrodex was certainly worse as his pics show. It could well be that a gun that has some form of oil, as we all generally do for storage, changes how the fouling behaves. And maybe the atmosphere where you are compared to him changes things, though I’d venture to guess his humidity levels aren’t much different than it is in OK (he’s in MO I believe).

To have left guns for some amount of time uncleaned at differing times and for differing circumstances wouldn’t really be an apples to apples comparison, right? Or did you conduct a test similar to his?

 

[alsaqr]

Or did you conduct a test similar to his?

Just like that, multiple times. There was no difference in the corrosive effects of Goex FF black powder and Pyrodex RS.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

It's your rifle. You can rub it down with bad guano if you want to. This is American you can do a you please-it's your gun. You have been told. Have at it...do it your way. Who is responsible in the end?

 

[rodwha]

Just like that, multiple times. There was no difference in the corrosive effects of Goex FF black powder and Pyrodex RS.

There you have it then. Guess it all depends on circumstances.

For me it makes no difference as I learned the hard way not to take suggestions that it’s ok to leave a BP gun for days even. If I can’t thoroughly clean it/them when I get home hey get a healthy amount of Ballistol, which I found will indeed preserve them for at least a couple of days that I tried.

 

[Gator Weiss]

Black powder guns require maintenance to prevent them from becoming scrap metal. You shoot, you clean the gun the same day you shoot it in order to protect the gun. You store, you get it out monthly to inspect it . You keep it coated inside and out with adequate protecorant while it is stored or the metal dies. You inspect even though it's coated because caps and powders and moisture leave large and small corrosive particles that eat guns every minute of every day. Not all corrosive particles are visible. Corrosion becomes visible and sometimes occurs without having fired the gun. You must control rust / corrosion.

 

[Gator Weiss]

Acetone removes plastic fouling. Patched round balls fired after sabots will also remove some plastic fouling.

 

[Snidely70431]

Track of the Wolf sells barrel liners for muzzle-loaders. Their catalog page can be found here:
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/638/1

 

[robhof]

pellets come in an unsealed box. Once you pop the plastic, they tend to suck up moisture from the air and fade out. I had 4 boxes, just a bit over a year old. None of them shot good. Had to throw them all out. That is why I said to throw them out and start fresh. Powder is cheap, bullets are not.

I used a vacuum sealer after opening, when I used pellets, now only use powder.

 

[Catcar67]

All my BP guns get a thorough cleaning with hot soapy water, a bronze brush and plenty of patches followed with an oiled patch. I've used both Pyrodex and black powder and all the final patches come out clean.

 

[donparadowski]

Bottom line: Shoot a gun. Clean a gun.