Pre Hunt Inspection Traditions .50 Cal Hawken

Question:
Are you shooting pyrodex?

Yep. That stuff leaves some nasty deposits.
I know it is easier to get than real black, but it is certainly more corrosive and harder to clean up after.

I use a lot of pyrodex just clean with hot soappy water like normal, but just clean as soon as possible. I clean mine in the bath tubb.

Try Black MZ, lot less hassle, burns cleaner not as energetic as 777, gets the job done.

I have found two ways to clean the inside of nipples. Number one, I use small brushes used for cleaning spray guns. I get them at Harbor Freight. They come in a pack of several sizes. Use them like a bottle brush to clean the nipples. My latest way is to remove the nipple and put it in my ultra-sonic cleaner while I am cleaning the rest of the gun. By the time I am done with cleaning the barrel, lock and outside of the gun the nipple is clean. Run a pipe cleaner to remove the solution, then blow it out with the compressor. Put some anti-seize on the treads and replace the nippel on the barrel. As stated, the BP substitutes leave some tough fouling, real BP not so much.

Cap guns either get the barrel removed if they are hook breeches and stuck in a bucket or aquarium tubing fit onto the nipple and the tubing stuck into a bucket if the barrels are pinned. Water is poured into the bucket and down the barrel and a tight fitting jag/patch combination is used to push and draw water through the breech and nipple at high pressure. Change the water when it gets dirty and when there is no longer any black coming out when you push the water out the barrel run dry patches until you get the bore dried. The air being pushed down the barrel with the dry patches will dry the drum/bolster and nipple. Run a patch saturated with RIG down the barrel and you should be good to go. Just remember to run a patch down the barrel and bust a few caps before you load it next time.

Armored farmer said:

Yep. That stuff leaves some nasty deposits.
I know it is easier to get than real black, but it is certainly more corrosive and harder to clean up after.

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I use real black for target shooting and 777 for hunting. Pyrodex is the pits.
Funny how you called it based on the fouling.

AlabamaIllinoisHunter said:

I purchased a cheap Endoscope from Amazon a while back and used it to inspect the barrel and nipple (Musket size) on my 20 year old Traditions Hawken Caplock.

Does a regular pipe cleaner work to clean out the powder residue like this? It was pretty much caked on.

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I wonder if the larger flash hole of the musket nipple contributed to an extra amount of crud accumulation.
I've haven't noticed that problem with regular #11 nipples.
I usually soak the nipple in alcohol, cheap gun solvent or black powder solvent.
Then use a round toothpick to wipe out the inside of the cone.
Just try not to let the crude build up by soaking the nipple for a while.
I've used pipe cleaners too, but sometimes the fuzz comes off or makes it difficult to insert because of them being extra thick ones.
Whenever I've inspected a nipple by holding it up to the light after cleaning, they always appear to be smooth inside and the flash hole clear.
I think that soaking helps to dissolve the crude before it gets too hard since a toothpick can usually draw out some liquified black remains.
The musket nipple must also leave more fouling residue inside of the hammer cup.
That seems to always be a tough place to polish clean.

Bfh_auto said:

I use real black for target shooting and 777 for hunting. Pyrodex is the pits.
Funny how you called it based on the fouling.

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I Used pyrodex for a while when I was starting out. Those hard grayish deposits looked familiar, like mortar.
Those problems go away with black.

AlabamaIllinoisHunter said:

“I use small brushes used for cleaning spray guns. I get them at Harbor Freight. They come in a pack of several sizes. Use them like a bottle brush to clean the nipples”

Great tip! Thanks. Am planning a Harbor Freight visit. Cheaper than driving in search of BP. Seems most hunting /firearms stores carry pellets or pyrodex nowadays.

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Since real black powder is considered an explosive there are more restrictive rules for storage. Pyrodex, and other BP replacements, are considered a propellant so they are regulated like smokeless powders.

troy fairweather said:

I clean mine in the bath tubb.

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I could have done without that picture in my head

AlabamaIllinoisHunter said:

Read also about someone using alcohol wipes as a patch to swab the barrel. Ever tried that?

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They work well for swabbing the bore between shots to remove fouling.
Torch tip cleaners a handy for cleaning nipples.

Simple solution. Get a flintlock.

IronHand

i shoot a ton of pyrodex and never had an issue like that. Get you a knight red hot #11 nipple or the musket nipple if you prefer them.

New nipples are cheap.

Replace the bad one and take better care of the new one.

AlabamaIllinoisHunter said:

“I use small brushes used for cleaning spray guns. I get them at Harbor Freight. They come in a pack of several sizes. Use them like a bottle brush to clean the nipples”

Great tip! Thanks. Am planning a Harbor Freight visit. Cheaper than driving in search of BP. Seems most hunting /firearms stores carry pellets or pyrodex nowadays.

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Black powder source as long as you not a felon https://www.grafs.com