Rust in black powder barrel

[O'Brien]

I have a .50 kentucky rifle I built and after a day of shooting I cleaned it and ran the "rust prevention" patches though the barrel. Well today I check the barrel and sure enough there is rust down the barrel. The patches I used were from bass pro shop and were made by the company CVA and is a barrel blaster product. I followed the instructions and still it rusted. Is there something else better? Can I use my Hoppe's gun oil I used for my modern rifles? Thanks

[Tom-ADC]

Hot soap & water I use liquid dish soap, good scrubbing then dry and run a couple of patches using bore butter to store. I stay away from petroleum based products with BP. I find using hot hot water it drys fast.
Balistol works good also.

[Capt.Dunsel]

you could use hoppes but, it will/can contaminate your next shots.

Better to use a good amount of bore butter for storage.

Clean it real good with hot soapy water and run patches with bore butter after rinse with boiling water and a good dry, before the barrel cools and before putting it away for the night.

[O'Brien]

I also have heard mineral oil is rust preventative when storing it for a while. Is that true?

[0321jarhead]

I also have heard mineral oil is rust preventative when storing it for a while. Is that true?

You just answered your own question. Like any gun, a lite coat of oil in the barrel when finished cleaning.

[steamerjames]

Soap and water are the only cleaning agents you can depend on-did you use Pyrodex-? it works well but will rust almost any gun, unless you use water to dissolve the salts left in the barrel. Real BP is better but is hard to get in some areas. Good luck, oh I forgot if you happen to have any soiuble oil mix with water 10-1 and it works well on most corrosive ww2 ammo, too.

[6mmintl]

listen to Tom-adc

[O'Brien]

Soap and water are the only cleaning agents you can depend on-did you use Pyrodex-? it works well but will rust almost any gun, unless you use water to dissolve the salts left in the barrel. Real BP is better but is hard to get in some areas. Good luck, oh I forgot if you happen to have any soiuble oil mix with water 10-1 and it works well on most corrosive ww2 ammo, too.

I used pyrodex, but a guy we were shooting with had real black powder so I got a chance to use that.

[arnie19]

I always use hot soapy water .I have a nipple for cap locks that's bored out and a plastic tube over it setting in a pot of water .The up and down motion of the cleaning patch will draw the water in and out of the barrel . Then dry and oil well .Then go back the next day and oil again just to make sure .Keep a patch over your nipple ,hammer down to catch any oil seepage . For flintlocks there is a c clamp looking piece that clamps over the touch hole to get the same results . Arnie

[Red96ta]

Never had the problems with my BP revolvers, but the longrifle is another story. After getting rust in the rifle after using the boiling water and soap only method followed by patching until it was dry, I changed my cleaning method a bit.

After flushing it with boiling water with soap, I immediately grab my can of break-free and quirt it into the barrel until it it running out of the nipple...this pushes any residual water out of the barrel. After that, it's a matter of running patches through it until they're clean.

No rust since...

[hylander]

All that is needed is a couple wet patches of water followed by a couple dry patches and then a patch of oil.
Been doing this for over 20 years and never have had any rust.

[Tom-ADC]

From another forum: Just a note of caution straight vinegar will remove bluing!!

Here's what I use straight from Mike himself, make sure you get the right windex.

"Maven: I just dump a jug of "Windex With Vinegar" into a gallon milk jug and then fill the remaining space with water. Such a jug should last for a couple of years even with a very avid shooter/competitor. (Like me.)

As for muzzle loaders, yes that solution works fine too. I cover the nipple with a patch and put the hammer down on it. Then I fill the barrel with the solution and let it set for a couple of minutes. Then I upend the rifle and let the fouled solution run out on the ground. After that a couple of patches should clean up everything else.

That certain variety of Windex is hard to find, so when I do come across it I tend to stock up. I've probably got a lifetime's worth stored away now considering I'm 60.

Good luck to you. I've been absent here for several months. Work projects and the silhouette shooting season have kept me busy.
Mike V.

[O'Brien]

I've got the cleaning part no problem. Its more of what is the best oil, or oil type of product to coat the inside of the barrel. That's why I asked about the straight mineral oil. I understand that with any oil that it is best to clean it out before shooting.

[Old Scribe]

Simple is good.

Hot water works ok, but I don't like to put water on/in any of my black powder guns! BP has a salt residue and water will agrivate the rust process. I've been using Simple Green for 20 some years and It cleans the BP residue fast.
Squirt some down the barrel, some on a clean patch (old flannel shirts work quite well) and run patches until they come out clean. I then use Burchwood Casey Barricade on a patch to protect the bore as well as the exterior of the gun. I have used this method on my custom built flintlocks for years and never have had a rust problem.

[0321jarhead]

I've got the cleaning part no problem. Its more of what is the best oil, or oil type of product to coat the inside of the barrel. That's why I asked about the straight mineral oil. I understand that with any oil that it is best to clean it out before shooting.

Any type of gun cleaning oil. Just be sure to put a dry patch through the barrel before you take the rifle out to go shooting.