Muzzle loader cleaning.

[Marktattoo]

Scalded myself a few times with boiling water down the barrel, got a hand held steamer to try as was told they are very effective

[ozone]

.

Just out of interest how did they originally clean the guns?
Or is the reason why there are so few of them left proof
that cleaning them was not as good then as it is today?

ozone

.

[FredB]

They used a mixture of alcohol and water, followed by a protective coating of light oil---often whale oil in those days. Bill Curtis, venerable founder member of the MLAGB suggested to me---about 25 years ago---that a good modern equivalent solvent was windscreen wiper fluid. I have used it ever since. I have two 1830s period muzzle loaders, one 1850s and a Snider, a Mauser 71/84 and various Rook rifles, all with mint bores and all of which have been shot a lot.
I don't shoot flintlock: my percussion rifles have plugs made to replace the nipple---these plugs are fitted with leather sealing washers. Windscreen wiper fluid is poured down the bore and agitated with a patched jag. With my P53, a very old shotgun wire brush is used to give the lower breech area a good scrape. The WS fluid--now good and black--is poured out and the bore dried out with a couple of patches. I then use an aerosol spray called "Pocket Rocket" which is like a diluted form of WD40 and a fraction of the price. The first PR patch comes out black as the water based solvents do not remove microscopic particles of carbon, but the PR does.
The day after cleaning, I soak a patch in Pocket Rocket and wipe out the bore. There is always a faint trace of rust on the patch, despite the bore being apparently shiny clean and oiled.
Fred

[dromia]

Fred are you sure that the "faint trace" is rust?

I used to get that with water and additions method you use, after using my current method I don't get it and have been inclined to think that it is actually the fixed carbon from the primer fouling. It comes out as a brown colour with a reddish tint. The water based BP cleaning is very good at the BP fouling but not so good at the primer fouling. When I first used the C2R on my "clean" M/Ls this was what I got out, that prompted me to think that the second day "rust" was in fact primer fouling, the usual cleaning methods left some of this in the barrel and it was coming out in its own good time and the second day clean was picking this up and I was interpreting it as rust.

With my current method there is no second day rust once i have the bore fully cleaned.

[FredB]

No---not sure what it is, but I don't like it and so do the second oily patch wipe out the next day.
Fred