Temp Cleaning BP

[TomADC]

I want to shoot my trapdoor Tuesday, Goex BP 45-70 loads but my cleaning supplies won't be here until Thursday (ordered on line) so what should I do as a temp measure until the correct stuff show's up.
Also should I soak the fired cases in hot soaky water?

 

[Hawkeye748]

Best BP cleaning solution is equal parts Murphy's Oil Soap, Alcohol, and Hydrogen Peroxide. Gives a good clean bore. Follow up with a good gun oil and you are good to go. No fancy solutions necessary. All available at the local Wally World.

Good for cleaning cases also. Just don't let them sit. Soak the cases in the solution and then after agitation, rinse in water. If you brush before rinsing, they will be very clean.

 

[TomADC]

So a 1/3 cup of each? Which alcohol rubbing?

 

[Ginormous]

Hawkeye, what function does the hydrogen peroxide provide in this mix?

 

[scrat]

Soapy warm water is all most people including myself use. You will find thats all you need. Then bore butter inside the bore of the gun and all parts. thats it. your cleaning supply may just be a solution that says used to clean black powder. Thats a crock. you think that solution was around in the civil war. soapy warm water is all you need. then run some patches down the barrel thats it. nothing scientific on 1800's technology.

Heck in most cases warm water would do. Heck for that matter a warm beer poured down your barrel with some patches. then dried out and lubed would work too. its not rocket science. rockets were not around 300 years ago. Yet in the 1700's the gun after shooting ran some kind of water and material down the barrel and poured it out and done it till it was clean. Then just left it like that till he was ready to shoot again.

 

[TomADC]

Scrat that sounds easy enough! Should I think about a wet patch down the barrel after X number of shots? I'm only bringing 20 rounds may not even shoot that.
BTW newguy with BP here.

 

[Hawkeye748]

Usually, I just buy a pint bottle of each and then use the empty bottles to store it in. Rubbing alcohol is fine, it is what I use. Once I did use a bit of straight Moonshine to the the mix. It worked just as well.

Ginormous,

I don't know how it works. Just that it does. Those that "season" their barrels hate it because it strips down to the metal, cutting their seaoning way. I have always thought water instead of HP might be just as good, but haven't gotten a chance to try it out. (H2-0 = water, HP = H2-02)

I used it in my original guns and all of my reppros for over 15 years. No harm and it really cuts fouling. It will not however cut lead build up. Just make sure you oil it up after because there will be nothing but bare metal left. I prefer Breakfree or RemOil.

Scrat,

This stuff is better than hot soapy water. Does it much quicker. Granted, the best available in the years gone by was hot, soapy water. But if there is something better now, why not use it. I agree it is not rocket science.

FYI, Rockets were around 300 years ago. They were used in China I think around 1st century. The first documented military use was in China in the 1200's. In 1700's in the European Wars, including our revolution, they were used mainly as a terror weapon.

 

[Smokin_Gun]

I use Scaldin' hot soapy water(which also unseasons the barrel) when I get home and has worked great for 28 years in Muzzleloaders, Revs, and 45/70 Rifles usin' BP.
At the range I use soapy water to clean after I'm done with the max 30ea(all my shoulder wants to take with the light 6lb or so H&R) .45/70's and 63.7gr fffg or ffg of the Holy Black out of my 1874 H&R Buffalo Classic and a 405/459gr bullet lubed with my Dang I'm Broke Lube Pill recipe. Mooses Milk is also something I have always used...1/8 water soluable Machining oil and Water per pint or to your liking...

Swab every 5 shots for optimal accuracy.

 

[fyrfyter43]

Lukewarm water...soap's optional. All the soap does is make the water "wetter". In other words, it breaks the surface tension of the water, allowing it to penetrate the fouling and work its way into small crevices better. I don't use hot water because it tends to cause flash rust in the bore.

At the range I use 91% isopropyl to swab between shots and for a quick clean-up before I head home, especially on humid days or if I won't be able to clean the guns up right away when I get home. The reason I use alcohol to swab between shots is because it dries almost instantly.

 

[Voodoochile]

I've used a bar of Ivory Soap floating in a bucket of warm water to just using warm water, the main thing to remember is that the residue that is left behind is just soot from the burning of the charcoal component of black powder with traces of sulfer & potasium nitrate but they are all natural ingredients is water soluable & all is really needed is water & some scrubbing of a cloth patch to clean it out, then dry with a few patches & oil the metal parts with a good rust preventive like olive oil "for short term storage" or Bore Butter or similar, you can even use a petrolium based oil as long as you wipe the bore & chambers of the weapon prior to loading to keep the reaction of the petrolium from making a really nasty mess when BP is fired in it.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Cleaning supplies? All you really need are patches (got old rags?). Hot soapy water (surely you must have those) and later oil to protect it from rust.

 

[Ginormous]

Electric arc furnace, melt steel, skim slag, recast steel parts, machine and finish as desired, assemble. Gooder than new. About as fast as some the cleaning processes I've seen around here too.

 

[TomADC]

So after reading all of these I agree don't need to be a rocket sciencist maybe either Mr. Clean or Merlin
The stuff I ordered is a cleaning kit brushes etc from Knight along with their solvent, but I'll go with hot water with a little Dawn, followed by a good drying and light oiling. Cases I'll soak in hot soapy water.
I'll be asking about loads for it soon.
Thanks for the tips if it goes well pictures of targets.

 

[TomADC]

Here's the rifle:

 

[Ratdog68]

Gorgeous... if'n ya rinse with "boiling" water... it'll "dry" much quicker and reduce the chances of flash rust.

 

[peacemaker45]

Half and half ballistol and water to clean, then straight ballistol to lube. Just cleaned 2 revolvers, a '73 rifle and a SxS shotgun in about 45 min. Appropriately sized boresnakes for all the holes, rag for all the flats, and a copper brush for the nooks and crannies around the cylinder window and ratchet for the revos.

~~~Mat

 

[4v50 Gary]

TomADC - what's the brass plaque on the rifle say?

 

[TomADC]

TomADC - what's the brass plaque on the rifle say?

Officers Model
Springfield Rifle
Harrington & Richardson Centennial
1871-1971

This model was a only for year 1971 for H & R has something to do with the little cap up front and a couple of other goodies.

 

[alemonkey]

Oooh, that's purty. You're going to have a blast, 45-70 loaded with BP is the most fun I've ever had with a gun. If you can find a club that shoots BPCR silhouettes you're in for a whole new world of fun.

One more vote for soapy water, you don't need anything else. I take a spray bottle filled with soapy water to the range. When I'm done shooting my Sharps I push a couple wet patches through to get most of the fouling out, then a few passes with a brush to break loose any lead fouling, followed by wet patches until they come clean. Then a dry patch to remove moisture, followed by a patch soaked in bore butter, and I'm good until next time. Takes maybe 5 minutes at most to clean, that's a lot quicker than getting copper out of my modern rifles.

One more tip - take a jug filled with soapy water to the range with you. If you can, deprime your cases after you shoot them, and drop them in the jug. That will help get the fouling off. You can buy special decapping tools for 45-70, but I use a Lee hand press with a Lee universal decapping die. It's cheaper, and you can use it for other calibers too.

 

[TomADC]

Since this is a test run I'm bringing 10 rounds of 350 gr and 10 405 gr to see if the rifle has one it likes better. I have the patches, water bottle, soap that should get me thru the morning will do a good cleaning when I get home.
I'm chomping at the bit to shoot this thing, my dad bought it new in 1971 and its unfired.
If it goes well pictures

 

[Ginormous]

Even if it doesn't, we still want pix. That's how just we roll.

 

[Ratdog68]

Yeah !!! What he said !!

 

[TomADC]

Okay I'll see if I can get my shooting buddy to snap one at touch off.
I'm wondering about recoil, I've never been shy about it and shoot just about every gage or caliber, but this will be my 1st 45-70 in anything and other then a 300 Winchester may be the most powerfull

 

[alemonkey]

I doubt if the 350 grain bullets will kick too bad, probably not the 405's either. I didn't notice much recoil until I jumped up to 540. That will get your attention shooting from prone.

 

[TomADC]

Gave it a good cleaning today, Dawn, rubbing alcohol & water, followed by dry patches and oiled patches, looks brand new down the barrel.
I think what helped, at the range after every 5 shots I ran a few soapy patches down the barrel then dry patches & when I left the range I did the same thing & followed with a few patches soaked in Breakfree.