To leave seasoned or not!

[BP Tess]

I have read in other forums that some shooters of BP treat their guns as an iron skillet...never use soap on them or anything to remove the seasoning in the gun. Any of you feel this way? Is this authentic? Maybe just the barrels or what? Teresa

 

[Beartracker]

Hi Teresa, Good to see you back in here. Some people like to season there barrels or bore like the old fashioned way of seasoning a cast Iron kettle or pot. They heat the barrel with a blow dryer or other means and cure with bore butter or some form of Lube or good old Crisco.
As far as how well it works I really can't say even though I do it too I remember my mother saying that she never really washed her skillets without rubbing them again with Crisco and baking the pan in the oven again. So she really re-seasoned after every cleaning. The biggest reason for it in the first place was to keep the old skillets from rusting more than anything else.
Many people still clean there guns with hot soapy water and a hot water rinse, then oil and lube well right away so I don't see how the seasoning would last through that or the black powder and hot lead going down the barrel.
Season if you like, nothing wrong with that , I do it several times a year but my revolvers don't sit for more than a day or two without shooting at least one of them and then they are cleaned between each cylinder shot unless I shoot all day and then they are just cleaned by wiping a wet and dry patch through the bore and the nipples and cylinders cleaned until the end of the shooting day. Mike

 

[Manyirons]

One of the best (If not THE best) reports on 'seasoning' and waterless cleaning systems is published by 'Dutch Schoultz'.

http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/wcs.html

Great guy, i bought his report for the information contained and is WELL worth the 15.00!

I had noted the same effects as did he with porosities in metals, in particular the 'self lubricating bronze bearings'. Seriously, if i can not have my FIRST choice (My M58 Remmies/Old Armies the ones i actually use are ALL stainless) then i season WELL&CORRECTLY the blued models.

Another thing, when ya got time and an extra revolver, REBLUE but with Plinkington's RUST BLUE available from Brownell's. Super durable and as its a controlled corrosion itself, MUCH better than hot dip bluing. (Not to mention BEAUTIFUL if ya do a good job on prep!)

 

[BP Tess]

Thanks for your info and opinions, just wondered if one was better than the tuther! Now could ya tell me whats in MOOSE MILK? I ain't chasin' down a mamma cow an askin'...got milk? ! Little help please Teresa

 

[eastwood44mag]

I scour with peroxide to clean it out, use WD-40 to get the water and oxygen out, then rub bore butter throughout.

I do it every time, and my accuracy with BP is phenomenal (and I can't hit with modern ammunition, so this should tell you something).

 

[sundance44s]

sundance44s

Tess here`s whats in the moose milk by TC its called number 13 bore cleaner .. Polydimethylsiloxane..in aqueous solution..Food grade Rated .. ( guess thats why we call it moose milk )..can`t even say it other wise , and it looks like moose milk , might even tast like moose milk i wouldn`t know ..lol
and the question you had about seasoning the bore of your guns ... it does work i`ve been doing it fer years , i know some have other things they use some real home brews , but i only use windex to clean my bores , it won`t take away the seasoning .. soap does .. ( i`m a every weekend shooter with many guns all bp .. i clean at the range with the windex and by the time i get home a swab with wd40 .. and thats it ... i do a tear down about once every month , and never find a speck of rust anywhere . when me and the wife started shooting everyweekend , i knew i had to find a better way of cleaning .. and i don`t clean house and she don`t clean guns ..

 

[Father Knows Best]

Around here, Moose Milk is any mix of Ballistol and water. The exact ratio varies depending on who you ask. I've heard 7:1 water to Ballistol, 5:1, even 1:1. Some people mix in some Murphy's Oil Soap, too. It's called Moose Milk because it looks like milk -- it has a milky white color.

I carry a spray bottle full of Moose Milk when I'm shooting black powder. My mix is just Ballistol and water, and I've never measured the ratios precisely. It seems to work just fine regardless.

 

[Beartracker]

You can also stop in just about any auto parts store and tell them you want some Marvel oil or Machinist oil . They will both mix with water. About 4 tbs of oil to quart of water and some people like to ad a dash of dish soap. This stuff was a favorite of the old timers with the front loaders. It cleans and lubes at the same time. Make sure you run a few dry patches down the bore after cleaning . Mike

PS Forgot to ad. This is not for a long term storage lube. It's great for cleaning at the range or while hunting. Sooner or later you will want to take down the gun and lube proper.

 

[sundance44s]

sundance44s

The only problem with the marvel oil is the word OIL any thing made from petroleum products when mixed with black powder turns into sticky ... food grade oil is always the best mix for black powder it eases fouling without the sticky ... i do use wd40 for my storage cleaning but i swab it out of the barrel with alcohol before heading to a shootin match ..at the range nothing but food grade crisco , moose milk , olive oil , spit .. yep spit works well too and its cheap ...except on a real hot day .

 

[BP Tess]

Whew! No moose involved! Great help here. You can never know too much about these fine firearms. Oh how I enjoy this type of shooting. By this fall, with much practice, I hope to do some deer hunting with mine. I'm gonna try the MOOSE MILK idea. I do the windex and try to shoot every few days. No storage for me yet! Thanks! Teresa

 

[sundance44s]

sundance44s

Tess i guess you had a mental pic of someone milking a moose scarey job fer sure .. i don`t know how the word moose came to be with it .. it looks like milk .. probally taste really strange though ..