When I first began shooting them the cleaning process was set in stone and passed down shooter to shooter:
- HOT water poured down the bore
- Pump the hot water thru the bore with pillow tick patch
- Scrub a bit with a bore brush
- Wipe the bore with numerous swipes of pillow tick patches.
- Let the firearm sit till it cooled down a bit.
- Scrub the lock and outside with hot water and wipe dry.
- Lube with your favorite thick goo to protect the bore.
This seemed to be a good idea even as it affected the stock and sometimes left surface rust on the bore but it was No Bueno!
The guns would be readied for shooting later by wiping the goo off and "shooting" several caps to clear the bore of obstructions. Sometimes, several attempts to reload were needed due to the goo that was not quite taken off. The process kept the firearm rust free (usually) and intact. It was also is a good one for the Atlantic coast or a high humidity area. It is overkill for most desert guns.
Windex and Ballistol:
A better idea!
The better process for me was:
- No hot water needed
- Spray several sprays of Windex inside and outside the firearm's bore and action.
- Run a bore brush down several times.
- Let the Windex sit for a few minutes
- Remove it soon you do not want the cleaner to sit in the bore long term.
- Spray a bit more Windex outside and scrub the outside.
- Run pillow tick patches thru the bore till they come out clean.
- wipe down the outside
- Put some Ballistol in the bore with pillow tick patches several times
- put Ballistol on the outside surfaces and wipe down.
The firearm can be readied by simply wiping down a bit and "firing" several caps down the bore.
Unusual supplies (cheap too):
Patches
For shooting and cleaning I went to Walmart and bought blue striped pillow ticking. I took it home and washed it in the washer one cycle to get the sizing out. I cut it into strips or rags or patches as I wished. I always bought round balls of a size that allowed me to use the pillow ticking as patches. Pillow ticking comes in .018 thickness so if you use it get a bullet mold or bullet that is compatible with that thickness. Weirdly, only Walmart seems to stock this old time fabric.
Ballistol:
The German army used corrosive ammunition all through their history and in 1904 they came up with a water soluble oil a lubricant/gun cleaner/wound dressing/wood dressing/leather dressing.
Ballistol can be used without the Windex to clean corrosives out of a firearm. But I found the economic choice was Windex followed by Ballistol to protect the firearm. It takes me a long time to use up a can of Ballistol.
Windex of course I bought at my local store while assuring it contained ammonia.
For those who hate cleaning black power or corrosive powder off firearms the above process is the best I have found.
