Fouled Bore - Muzzle Loader Question

[JSoko]

First off let me say I hope fellow Muzzle Loaders have faired well this weekend; I have not seen any thing since 19 Sept.


OK, my neighbor produced a Markwell Arms .45 side lock that he has had since the '70's.
From the looks of the rust, soot & sugar in the bore it has not been cleaned in so many years.

I tried a stainless tornado brush dry and removed a lot of soot to finally reveal some rifling. I was able to force a un-patched round ball down on top of the powder (Pyrodex RS) and it fired

here is what has been suggested:
Add some sand along with the brush
Add some warm CLR & hot water and let it soak
Try the foam spray stuff.
Pour in Naval Jelly and mop the bore

Any ideas would be appreciated, slight of retiring the rifle to set for more years

 

[BHJ]

Pull it out of the stock and fill the bathtub with hot water. Put a towel in the bottom of the tub to keep from scratching up the tub. Put the rifle in the tub and give it a good soak. Then scrub the crud out of it with elbow grease, dishwashing soap and water as well as a good brush. Dry it out and lubricate it well, then give it a good dose of bore butter.

You might want to do this without women in the house as they tend to freak out when men working on projects place firearms into household appurtenances such as bathtubs, kitchen sinks, dishwashers, ovens, stoves, refrigerators etc. Or borrow things such as nail files, nail polish, blow dryers, washcloths etc. for such projects. LOL

 

[Old_School]

I've "restored" several bores with good results. They will always be pitted and foul easier than an unblemished bore, but they have maintained their accuracy. I've used Naval Jelly and Birchwood Casey Blue and Rust Remover with mixed success. I've used Brownell's Stainless Steel Sponge with pretty good results. Here's a good article: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=..._Cleaning_Clinic__Salvaging_A_Rusty_Smokepole

The next time I have a smoke pole to salvage, I'm planning on trying electrolysis in the bore using a steel rod, isolated from the bore with o-rings. I've also thought about pouring the bore full of EvapoRust and letting it sit for a few days. EvapoRust has been great for me in restoring old reloading dies and equipment.

 

[JSoko]

thanks for the info Men

I liked the Brownells link to the artical (this barrel is much, much worst than the one in the artical)
upon seeing the Stainless Steel Sponge; an old idea came back.
I had used tinfoil to clean old chrome parts,
I wrapped the brush with tinfoil and scrubbed and replaced the foil several times.
I can now see the lands & grooves.

NOTE: the foil would not stay on a bristle brush, and was extremely hard to start
the Tornado brush worked well with the foil
I crumpled up the foil when wrapping it on the brush for better scrubbing

will go out later for Naval Jelly or Rust Remover

 

[Old_School]

Be careful. Either of those chemicals will remove the bluing if you get them on the outside of the barrel. Try wrapping some #0 or #00 steel wool around a bore brush and scrub using some penetrating oil. You won't hurt the bore and it should remove more of the corrosion.

 

[JSoko]

It's now sitting with Naval Jelly, and another through cleaning; followed with an application of 'Young Country's 103'

thanks for the tip
the barrel outside looks like it has been 'Rust Browned" or Brown Blued (not sure of the proper term) & looks just a little better than the bore

I'm going to shoot a few patched round balls tomorrow, and see what it does

EDIT to add - I started using Young Country 103 about 25 years ago; its my choice over Ox/Yoke lube or TC Bore Butter to lube my patches when using round balls
PS: I stopped using spit on the patches when I found the Young Countrys

My mentor from the '60's would never use anything that contained a petroleum product, or soap for cleaning as it too contains oils.

 

[Old_School]

I'm with you on the oils, I've used Young Country, as well as Bore Butter. However, when I'm cleaning up a rusted bore, oil helps break down the rust. I always degrease the bore and treat with a non-petroleum lube before shooting. Good luck!

 

[JSoko]

he told me the oils take the 'season' out of the bore on a muzzle loader
that is if you properly seasoned your bore in the first place

 

[JSoko]

well after another through cleaning after the Naval Jelly,
and many passes with steel wool over a brush,
the bore looked no better than the very first couple of passes on the first day

test firing 12 rounds with 75 gr of Black Powder FF & 12 rounds with Pyrodex RS (same volume)
Patched Round Ball, shot from a bench at 65 yds yielded an astonishing group of 8-13 inches. This is with swabbing the bore after each shot, and a lubed patch.
Absolutely unacceptable for anything.

cleaned the rife thoroughly and handed it back to my neighbor with my condolences

as this 1970's muzzle loader was at the time an entry level at a price of about $95.00 - $125.00, I told him he got his moneys worth out of it and to
never shoot it again.
Which I don't think he will as he was scared of it in the first place.

case in point- if you shoot a muzzle loader regardless of the type of powder you use the rifle must be thoroughly cleaned after each session

Black Powder and all substitutes attract moisture and even more so after they have been ignited and left to sit in the barrel

 

[JSoko]

on a side note
I have alwaysed used Black Powder,
the Pyrodex produces about half the amount of smoke compared to Black Powder
The best advantage I can see with Pyrodex is the ability to better see through the cloud to see exactly which direction the Deer ran
typically after I shoot I duck low to see under the cloud

PS: I have never owned an in-line

Thanks again Men for the advice