what was commonly used in the old west for cleaning their weapons. boiling water/ kerosene. any ideas

For military weapons, the TMs of the 19th century say to use water, one gill, warm if available, followed by sperm oil.
For weapons in the hands of civilians, I have never seen any period reference to it.

In the British Army in WWII the rifle was pulled through (thats a type of old time Bore Snake) daily. Water on active service if none was available except in a man's water bottle was too precious for pouring down rifle barrels.

Have read anecdotal reports of the old buffalo hunters urinating down their barrels.......hey, warm (mostly) water down the bore

Probably what was available. We're spoiled now.

Dave

Redstone, I have read the very same thing. Easy to do, too, thanks to that handy fluid applicator!

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Redstone, I have read the very same thing. Easy to do, too, thanks to that handy fluid applicator!

and it came in various sizes too!

Even today their is no better bore cleaner than hot soapy water with a boiling hot rinse..then oil the bore when dry and drying time is only a few minutes with hot boiling water and the metal is hot and "pores open" so they tell me...

The buffalo hunter pissed on the bores or barrels to cool them off not clean them, a bore could get pretty hot shoot buff by the hundreds at one stand.Can you imagine the smell of burning piss, its bad..

quote:

Even today their is no better bore cleaner than hot soapy water with a boiling hot rinse..then oil the bore when dry and drying time is only a few minutes with hot boiling water and the metal is hot and "pores open" so they tell me...

That's how I clean my black powder rifles.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Redstone, I have read the very same thing. Easy to do, too, thanks to that handy fluid applicator!

According to Karamojo Bell or was it J A Hunter, that handy applicator and fluid worked very well for flushing eyes of a spitting cobra's venom. The bush pygmies used it, the original pissing match no doubt.

A coffee can of hot scalding soapy water, stick the barrel down in the water and using a rod with a snug patch pull the water up and down in the boore and can and will it ever get gunky...patch dry and then do the same with clean scalding water to get the soap out of the bore, hot water dries almost immediately, and be carefull as the barrel gets hotter n hell, then run a dry patch a time or two and oil the bore, works great on black powder guns as well as smokeless powder and copper wash, it cleans it all..Its as good or better than any product, a whole lot cheaper and a whole lot more trouble also..

quote:

Originally posted by Redstone:
Have read anecdotal reports of the old buffalo hunters urinating down their barrels.......hey, warm (mostly) water down the bore

Do you suppose some one was implying that the buff hunters were member of the"Needle Dick Bug Fugger"club?

I wonder if any of the old buffalo hunters ever had accidental discharge while pissing down the barrel.
Boom... oops.

No joke, if finned by a fish, piss on it---the finned part, not the fish, and you have instant relief. It works.

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
No joke, if finned by a fish, piss on it---the finned part, not the fish, and you have instant relief. It works.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...gums%2C%20with%20one's%20own%20urine.

I would think peeing down the bore of a firearm to clean it would be about the worst thing you could do.
Urine contains urea, chloride and potassium ions. Highly corrosive. Why do you think public restrooms look like they do.

Sorry Bobster your mistaken, thats the recipe for a Tequilla Almendrado..

There was a crack German mountain unit in WW2 that were almost executed. Their barrels were in better shape then the usual soldiers corroded barrels. They had to show how they pissed down the barrels to counter the corrosive ammo, and clean them.

That rumer has nada to do with cleaning is was too cool red hot barrels that fired before the action got closed so they pissed on the outside mostly but some down the barrel, the old timers cleaned with grays or handmade soap and water each evening..Those old buff hunters smelled pretty rank Im bett'en..like frying piss or cooking bull elk in the rut, they too smell damn nasty..