A Question for Muzzleloader Experts

[DennisCA]

I have watched a couple of youtube vid's on the cleaning and maintenance of muzzleloaders. One vid I wathced recommended:
Thompson/Center Arms Natural Lube 1000 (AKA Bore Butter)

So is this (or something like this) worth getting or is it a complete waste of money?

Serious comments appericated

[CSACANNONEER]

I tend to spit lube patches and clean with hot soapy water. However, commercial lubes work too. It really depends on what you want to do.

[0321jarhead]

After the barrel is clean and dry, I lube it well. Some folks use WD-40. I've done it and found that it does just fine. But, today I use Tetra Gun in the barrel.

Also, I just wet my patches with good'ol spit.

[mls343]

Good old hot water still works for me. I oil it up after (of course), but for cleaning, just hot water. I, sometimes, put cylinders in the dishwasher, but only when the Mrs is away.

[Gutter]

What these guys said. My father-in-law showed me how to clean it using boiling water and an empty Folgers can followed by Hoppe's for black powder if it still wasn't clean enough.

[0321jarhead]

What these guys said. My father-in-law showed me how to clean it using boiling water and an empty Folgers can followed by Hoppe's for black powder if it still wasn't clean enough.

You bet, it works great. I use a 5 gallon bucket with HOT mild dish soap water. The hot water tends to heat up the barrel, causing it to dry out.

[Eljay]

I think some of the replies are missing the point. Bore Butter's a lube, it's not for the cleaning part, it's for after.

And the answer is... it's handy, but some people seem to think it's magic but it's not. Ignore the claims about seasoning a barrel but it's a good all purpose black powder safe lube and it's good on the wood too. After cleaning I tend to pretty much slater the whole gun in the stuff.

It's just beeswax and oil - in fact you can buy beeswax and olive oil and mix them together 50/50 in the microwave and get something similar. Maybe a little more olive oil, you'll have to play with it to get the consistency you want. This is actually what I use to protect the bore after cleaning versus the bore butter just because I mix it up a bit thicker and I can get a good coat on there.

[Tom-ADC]

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.

[ChrisC]

I've been using regular Hopps for as long as I can remember and have never had a problem. I have been shooting black powder for close to 25 years now. And I shoot a lot of black powder when I shoot SASS events, both cartridge and non-cartridge. Plus I use GOEX which is one of the dirtiest black powders out there.

[6mmintl]

Get bore butter (bore coating after cleaning and patch lube) and Balistol for outside coating of steel, or bore coat after cleaning.

Find out what thread size is on your nipple and make/buy a threaded tube 1" long with nut and o-ring to screw into bolster, attach a clear rubber tube 12-16" long to use to flush out barrel.

[Divernhunter]

I use and like the bore butter. I found I could shoot many rounds without the BP built-up making seating the projectal hard.

I also clean with hot soapy water in a bucket. Then hot water then use the bore butter. If shooting a round ball it works well on the patches. Using a maxi-ball or conical it works well as a lube on them. With a sabot I just use it on the bore with a patch. also when storing the firearm I use it on the bore.

[THBailey]

Another Natural Lube 1000 user here. I use it for lube on Maxi Balls and also put a light coat in my barrels after cleaning with hot soapy water.

[fuegoboy]

Once you get home from the range do the following:

1. Break apart the rifle, pistol, shotgun
2. Have a bucket ready with hot water.
3. Take each piece, remove the barrel from the stock (revolvers-remove the cylinder from the frame) emerse the cylinder in the hot water; for rifle or shotgun barrels hold upright and spray Simple Green into the barrel or each cylinder. Rinse with water at least three times. Use a copper bore brush to scub the barrel and/or the barrels of the cylinder.
- remove the nipple or nipples and siphon the cleaning brush without the nipple in barrel.
4. Rinse well, scrub again using Simple Green.
5. Dry the barrel and/or cylinders; let them sit for about an hour. Lubricate with WD-40 or CLP
6. Lube the nipples before replacing and insert into the barrel or cylinder.

Continue to scrub and clean with hot water until the barrel run clear water. This may take four to six passes, depending on whether you use black powder or a synthetic.

Just keep scrubbing and rinsing until the water is clear.
End of Story. Let the pieces breath and then run an oil-patch a few days later.

[0321jarhead]

You could'nt have said it any better.

[Flintlock Tom]

Bore Butter is excellent as a patch lube. I've used it for years at rendezvous.
I usually shoot all day then clean in the evening. This last meet-up I ran out of my Bore Butter lubed patches so I used some patches with some other commercial lube on them. With-in three shots my barrel was too fouled to push a load in.
I don't know what the "spit-patch" guys do about fouling.