#10MinuteTalk

Muzzleloaders inherently run a bit dirty. Learn how to clean yours to ensure it runs optimally for years. Take it form a guy who’s sacrificed a couple to the “corrosion gods”, a bit of care goes a very long ways….And it’s not that hard or time-intensive.
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[@johnstansak7867]

Best 17 minutes and 26 seconds I ever spent. I avoided muzzleloader because of the cleaning. (I use Triple Seven.) I don’t mind hard work, but I was to the point questioning if it was worth to shoot them and not get them clean as I like after all the work. Then I watched this. What a game changer. Isopropyl alcohol is the ticket. I swabbed a damp patch after every shot. I got accuracy and no carbon ring. I also cleaned it thoroughly with alcohol and ran Boretech Muzzle loader cleaner and pulled nothing but clean patches. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@timothyfanney7260]

BH209 is the best! Been shooting a smoke pole for decades and when I tried 209 when it came out, I never looked back. Closet thing to smokeless I have ever used. You can use regular gun cleaning products with it, which we all have on hand. The second thing I started using was Teflon tape around the breach plug threads. Keeps the threads clean and seals it.

[@jeffreyr.lapennas6069]

I’m really excited to see all these muzzleloading episodes right now! Great refresher, tips, and tricks before the NY season starts in a few weeks.

[@VortexNation]

Best of luck this season, Jeffrey!

[@SpotterVideo]

Watch the KZbin video on the new "Nitro-Breech MUzzleloader" (Harry M. Pope method) to see the first "self-cleaning" muzzleloader.

[@FVPS904]

These longer format ones with Ryan telling stories are the best

[@ronws2007]

Amen, twin brother from another mother. What a treasure, a resource for both Vortex and customers and for the rest of us interested in events and activities that are best suited for this information.

[@QuietLifeintheForest]

Dawn dish soap and hot water is the single best muzzle loader cleaner I’ve ever used. Follow that with a few alcohol patches and an oil patch and I’ve had zero issues for a decade.

[@tracy4050]

I’ve found the the Black Mag 3 to be the best. Very accurate , clean shooting, andeasy to clean. Unfortunately they attempted to do some new fangled stuff years ago (pellets attached to the rear of bullets) that didn’t work out and went out of business.

[@rik4369]

Great work Guys!!!

[@badbowtie71]

So glad I went to a smokeless muzzleloader about 10 years ago from a Knight inline. I hated cleaning it after a range session. Haven't touched my Knight since I got my Savage 10ML II.

[@stenjohnson6149]

Love the G96 products!

[@thrivealist9458]

I was in the field and dropped my plug in the dirt. All I had was some choke tube grease. It definitely got the job done and has been a constant item I keep with me. I’d love to see a vid on flintlock.

[@zlanderson3378]

Ryan, my grandfather taught me a way to clean my muzzleloader with boiling water and Murphy’s Oil Soap. Put some water with a dollop of Murphy’s Oil Soap on the oven and warm until boiling. Stick the muzzle in the boiling water. With a cotton patch on a brass jag start plunging the bore. In doing this a siphon will start to draw hot water and soap into the bore, allowing you to scrub bore with the plunging action. Do this until the barrel is to hot to hold onto. Let cool. Run a dry patch through it, then one with some bore butter, bore butter on the threads of the breach plug, and done

[@kencleg7721]

That’s basically what I’ve done dawn murphy Most powders I use today is pyrodex butter up done always a foul shot to begging the season with my rigs stainless I can keep it loaded

[@RustyJahnJohn]

After you fully clean your barrel and you run the alcohol through one last time to have a clean dry barrel, do you then shoot a couple caps right away, or do you leave it clean/dry until you go to use it next, then shoot a couple caps right before using it?

[@timbrady4072]

Good shout on blackhorn 209 is to weight your charges on a scale that weights grains. People may disagree but my powder measure charges weighed from 82gn to 110gn on a 100gn volume measurement. Its not inconsistencies in the powder it's bc you can't fill the powder measure identically the same every time. So you have variations. The first group I shot qhen I weighed 84gn out on a scale were in the same hole. I've never looked back. Even the weapon recoil feels like a centerfirr more so that pyrodex I think it's the faster ignition

[@makodra]

What are your thoughts on the T/C Encore muzzle loader barrels?

[@coreystoner4129]

I use black horn 209 in my inline and 90 grains of 2f goex black powder in my flintlock. The best thing that I have found for cleaning both my inline and flintlock is windex. Cleans the barrels nicely but one thing I do for both muzzleloaders if make the barrel dry then once I know it’s dry I simple run a patch of bore butter in both for long time storage. When I take either one to the range I keep bore butter in my flintlock but I do run several patches through the inline so it shoots correctly. Both my guns are over 10 years old and function perfectly

[@adarngoodjoe4043]

I've found G96 on the breech plug more than sufficient (on the outside, not the firing channel, although it can be a solvent in the firing channel) to keep it from seizing (whether shooting or in long term storage). That assumes that you clean it properly before you store it. I use a properly sized drill bit with hand pressure to clean out the build up in the firing channel from the 209 primer. Otherwise, I like the simplicity of the cleaning process presented here.

[@bryanshull372]

I have always heard and use warm soapy water for the solvent on muzzleloaders and surplus ammo that has salt as a preservative. Like the Mossin, SKS, AK47 and Tokarov weapons. I actually heard once that Russian soldiers used their own urin in the field to clean their Mossins.

[@psuspect1]

Where did you get that big bore guide and jag?

[@overlandtoshore]

Why can you not leave the breech plug out when you are storing it? Wouldnt this stop it from getting stuck?

[@carterthiessen2664]

BH 209 is the way Use regular 209 primers, not muzzleloader specific primers. I use magnum 209 primers and I've never had a misfire with blackhorn. Clean it after shooting, leave a light coat of oil in the barrel and put it away. Make sure to clean out the oil before loading it next time around. That's what I've done and my old cva rifling looks like it did when I bought the gun

[@stephenpowroznik6917]

Any comment to bore seasoning? ! would assume this method remove that? No bore paste? Thanks.

[@chadwallace3598]

Where did you get the little brass bore guide that you put on your ramrod?

[@cjackdive]

I shoot traditional muzzleloaders with real black powder. The best cleaner I have ever used is equal parts peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, and Murphy’s oil soap. Plug the nipple, let is soak a few minutes after tilting the barrel back and forth while plugging the muzzle with your thumb. Pour out the excess and start running patches until clean and dry. Then oil the barrel.

[@mojomike3913]

@Ryan Muckenhurn, can you use Blackhorn 209 in a traditional muzzleloader with musket caps or is it only for inlines with 209 priming?

[@samuelmoyer7862]

That would be determined by the maker of the gun I have a a flintlock that can shoot blackhorn and and a couple side-locks that can’t.

[@Blong243]

From what I've gathered it can be tough to ignight, some recommendations include shotgun 209 primers over muzzleloader 209s because they are a little hotter.

[@VortexNation]

From Ryan: "In short, maybe, but not likely. I have read accounts of shooters successfully igniting BH209 with a No.11 or a Musket cap, but more often than not, they lack the power to touch off those charges. In a sidelock gun, like a Hawken or a musket of some kind, I would recommend running real black powder, or something like Pyrodex."

[@ronws2007]

Totally off topic, just dropped into mention that Backfire is doing a review on the .300 WSM and why it is better than other rounds. Personally, I could see where it is a combination of the best things of .308 Win (and the .300 WSM is a fat .308 with attitude) and the .300 Win Mag and the .30-06 Sprg.

[@bennydw3]

Where can I find a bore cleaning rod like the one in the video?

[@Xerute]

Is there a link for the range rod?

[@SouthTexasDeadeye]

What does he mean snap two or three caps in the bore before hunting?

[@blackpressurecartridgesolu9028]

Low Pressure 50 Caliber Smokeless Loads in a 209 Factory Muzzleloader, 2 DVD set | eBay These 2 DVDs contain a demonstration of using Low Pressure Smokeless Loads in a 50 caliber factory muzzleloader.

[@kevinmcdonald8059]

Maybe a good idea to talk about straight pull bolt action rifles just because savage has one now !!!!!!

[@jean-francoisgagnon7274]

What is a snap caps?

[@ditchdigger93]

I have never understood why they can't come up with a black powder substitute that wasn't as corrosive as plumbers' lye to a rifle barrel. This unicorn called Blackhorn 209 is supposed to be close to non-corrosive, but it is like a myth where I live. Sort of like Big Foot with a stupid high price tag on it. The only place I've ever seen it at all has been on the internet, usually unavailable and fifty bucks for a ten ounce can of it if it is. Plus, HazMat to add insult to injury. So, I've got a choice between the super dirty Pyrodex powder or pellets and if you're lucky you may run into some Tripple 7 which is Much cleaner to shoot. I've found the Tripple 7 Firestar pellets to be the best thing I've ever used to date. They say right on them to never use more than three pellets for a 100-grain equivalent load. (Thirty-three grain pellets). Both of my inlines are magnum rated so I have used four a couple of times, but the recoil is brutal with four pellets. Elephants and Rhino are pretty rare in these parts so four is not necessary around here to get the job done. I've found clean up very easy using the Firestar pellets too and you can pretty much shoot all day without cleaning when using them which I like also.

[@JRTRAPP1]

I actually think the traditional muzzloaders with a hooked breech using old school gunpowder is easier to clean that the subs in an inline. Remove the wedge then the barrel and put the breech in a bucket of water. Plunge a patch back and forth through the barrel a few times and change the patch. After about 3 patches the bore is squeaky clean. It is actually easier to remove than smokeless powder using Hoppes. If using a patched ball there is no lead or plastic buildup in the bore so only the power residue and the lube needs to be removed and because the powder dissolves in water so readily it is a simple task.

[@brian1110]

Yep. I always used a bucket of warm water and some dawn dish soap to clean my flintlock in no time

[@stuartrockowitz3845]

Can you use a boresnake??

[@philpayne5313]

Works great for range session but I still do a thorough cleaning after or at the end of season

[@SpotterVideo]

I have developed a new cartridge for muzzleloading rifles which is loaded from the muzzle but ejects itself from the barrel after use and is non-corrosive. This product sets a new standard in safety and reliability for muzzleloader ammunition in the same way shotgun shells are standardized for use in shotguns. Shotshells have a load of shot and powder which produce a safe pressure in shotguns manufactured by many different companies. The pressure produced by this cartridge can be designed to work safely in the muzzleloaders produced by the various manufacturers. It would also greatly help new muzzleloader shooters with safety, and it would also give them a product which will not destroy the barrel of their muzzleloader due to corrosive residue. Those who say smokeless powder cannot be used in a muzzleloader may not know “Blackhorn 209” is 83% smokeless powder, based on the MSD sheet for the product. Therefore, the claim that smokeless powder cannot be used safely in a muzzleloader falls apart very quickly. This cartridge could also be loaded with BH209 or a similar formulation in states which do not allow "smokeless" powder during muzzleloader season, in the same way the breechloading "Firestick" cartridge is now used in the "Nitrofire" muzzleloader. This would be a "Muzzlestick" cartridge which would work in thousands of other modern muzzleloaders, which cannot use the "Firestick" cartridge. This cartridge can also be removed from inline muzzleloaders by removing the breechplug. I am now looking for a company willing to mass produce this new cartridge for the market. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pass this information along to those you know who may be interested in this new product. A link is found below which demonstrates this new product. KZbin video: “Self-Ejecting Muzzleloader Safety Cartridge: Product Debut (short version)”

[@ILoveMuzzleloading]

I knew Bore Butter would get into the discussion! Good talk guys.

[@VortexNation]

Thanks for tuning in!

[@jaybrown3924]

When wurst turns to wurst a small like 6 inch pipe wrench and a good hard knock with a hammer will take out most if not all stuck breach plugs . It will be ugly when your done but it will most likely come out .

[@noralow8222]

They have antisieze in a gluestick type format

[@dgambrel9241]

Imr whitehot, because I don't like carrying a powder measurer anymore

[@scotteger6271]

I also switched to the white hots…I was already using pellets but I found the white hots were very clean overall.

[@raysheppard8040]

I prefer degreaser, detergent and hot water more prep time, the alcohol requires More brush passes.

[@lorenzotelleria1858]

Why not keep the breachplug off the gun when you are not using it!!!

[@donnawells2442]

Use breechplug grease. Lot cleaner. SHOOT SAFE!!!!!!!

[@mikecross2435]

Thanks guys. You just convinced me to not buy one. I am way too abusive to my guns.

[@leifhoklin2681]

Lol. No muzzleloading season for you.

[@tylermason3741]

6 ARC talk when?

[@VortexNation]

Maybe soon? ;)

[@Bigfoot903Outdoors]

Ed's red

[@jacobwilbert1018]

Muzzleloading for people that dont want to muzzleload or know about it. Its really not that complicated

[@kentgoldings]

Typically, I’ll swab the barrel with a pre-moistened patch between shots when shooting at the range. So, I’m normally I’m not worried about the false seat. However, I missed by first shot at a deer this morning. But, miraculously, the deer stuck around for a second shot. Luckily, I remembered your warning of the false seat and seated the bullets completely. I even flicked the rod. Thankfully, the second shot was true.

[@kyletyson8129]

I'll be honest I have let a perfectly good gun go to hell due to ignorance 😢

[@loganchappell6272]

I have never understood modern muzzleloaders. What"s the point? You aren't even using real black powder. I think the entire point of muzzloaders should be to gain an understanding of the technologies that those who came before us had to deal with. The guns that Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Jedediah Smith, and John Colter used.

[@devatwell334]

Muzzleloading has a separate hunting season and its a longer season in most places is why most people get into it