I've cleaned my old Thompson Center .58 caliber big bore muzzle loader
many times. I know close to zero about the BPCR world and I was wondering,
do you clean those with hot soapy water?

I generally do.
Muzzle down in a wash sink with about 2” of water in it. A snug patch will suck the water up and down the bore like a pump.
I think I read somewhere that BP residue is more soluble in cold water - not sure if that is true.
Some period accounts mention pouring boiling water through the bores. They do dry out quickly doing that.

Hot water or the vinegar-based Windex, dry well, then Ballistol.

Boiling water, followed by hot soapy water. Dry well, then oil using your favorite. Clean your brass (deprime first) in hot soapy water, let dry and tumble.

Water on the patch, followed by CLP.
Cases are best cleaned with vinegar.
It's not hard.
Don't be afraid of black powder. All the old rifles that have rotted out bores are because of the corrosive priming, far more than the powder fouling.

Thank you all, for sharing your information; it's much appreciated!

Good morning, Folks;

Y'all have fallen prey to a whole bunch of misinformation about cleaning a BREACH LOADING black powder rifle. I have fired many thousands of rounds of black powder ammo in Black Powder Cartridge Silhouette and cleaned many of them afterwards. I would rather clean one of these guns than a smokeless one.

When you have access to the breach, things change for the better. Forget all the hot soapy water crap.

When I'm ready to clean, I run one moderately tight dry patch through the bore. This removes most of the dry fouling and does not wet it. At this stage wetting makes a smeary mess.

Then run a fairly damp patch and then run damp patches through the bore until they come out clean. Watch color on the patch. It's easy to tell.

At this point, the bore is clean and unprotected. Use a good oil/preservative in the bore for protection. When you are ready to shoot again, run a couple of patches through to remove the oil. Then follow with a patch that is coated with bullet lube. I always keep a mop thinly coated with bullet lube to precondition the barrel so you're shooting a barrel conditioned with bullet lube.

Flavorful powder is NOT corrosive. It is hygroscopic ... that is, it's fouling draws moisture. It's fouling is also water soluble.

I have fired many tens of thousands of BP rifle cartridges at matches and have seen one hell of a bunch of shooters clean their rifles. I have NEVER seen ONE shooter pumping hot soapy water through a bore. NEVER!

I have one rifle that has always been cleaned just like this. It has fired around 20,000 times and cleaned (usually) every 20 rounds. The barrel is bright and shiney and the rifling is clean and sharp.

The last time I put it on paper it was shooting an easy minute and a half. It has never shot flavorless powder or anything but a cast lead bullet and it has always been cleaned like I said.

Black powder got its reputation because its fouling draws water and waaaay too many folks would shoot and neglect. Back then primers were corrosive and added to the problem ... especially after folks started shooting smokeless without fouling to dilute corrosive primer residue.

BPCR is a great game and it gets you closer to your gun and ammo ... and shooting conditions. Congrats for wanting to try it. Shiloh Sharps has a good forum and is a tremendous source of information for newbies.

Y'all be good;

horsefly

Good morning, Folks;

I just now noticed the mention of cartridge cases. Almost everyone I know takes a jar of water with a couple of drops of Dawn dish soap to a match. At the end of a relay, they usually deprime the brass and drop it in the water. Shake it once in a while.

When you get home, rinse the brass well and it is ready to use again. But cleaner is better.
Clean however you want. I wet tumble mine in ceramic medium. Looks better then factory new ... if you could get factory new.

Y'all be good;

horsefly

Horsefly, good stuff. Some of my BPCR friends swear by the "bore pigs." What do you think of these?

Best cleaner I have found for my Sharps rifle and my flintlocks is a cleaner called Spray Nine.

I have never had a gun as clean as quickly a thoroughly. A couple of passes with a soaked patch .

Thought I'd pass along

Breech.
I do NOT recommend just a dry patch. The Army has only one recommended BP bore cleaner; water, one gill, warm if available.
Soap is unnecessary. If you have hard fouling a dry patch will not dissolve it, and neither will oil.
Followed by oil. And I have done this thousands of times on many rifles too.
Of course, everyone is free to do whatever they want, whether it is the best, or most efficient, or not.

What horsefly said, except for the initial dry patch. I cleaned my rifles this way for 35 years, using Eezox synthetic oil for protection, and never had even a trace of corrosion.

I use a dash of soap to soak my cases, then tumble them in ceramic media with a compound designed especially for that purpose.

The only change is that many of us have begun to use bore pigs between shots, with M Pro 7 on the felts and a dry or slightly damp patch of M Pro or some other liquid behind the pig.
The M Pro is an effective solvent, and in addition to cleaning the bore, helps prevent carbon buildup just in front of the chamber.
A oouple of dry patches and then the
Eezox completes the process.

Clarence

Eezox. I bought a can of that 20-some years ago. It seemed pretty useful for cleaning and lubing surplus 20th-century firearms. Odd smell. I would not have thought of it for BPCRs.

I'm so relieved to know that I've being doing it all wrong for at least 25 years.
Who'd a thunk it ? I'm gonna be able to soundly sleep, what a relief !

Bill,

Eezox is the best all-around gun protectant I've ever used. It is a water displacer and a mild cup. In over 25 years living in humid south Louisiana, I never had even fingerprint rust if I coated a firearm with it. It leaves a dry film.

Clarence