Mythe busting.

[Smellydog]

Black powder rots guns.
Nope, it doesn't all with a couple of simple steps.
Use veg or animal fat lube and keep the fouled gun dry. Don't use oil and seal the vent/s when not in use.

This gun today hasn't been cleaned since last used over 5 weeks ago. I shot 4 shots today for two crows, one pigeon and magpie.

And no, I'm not cleaning again.

 

[Apthorpe]

Do you ever use a flintlock?

 

[Nickb]

What's with the handbag

 

[Smellydog]

Do you ever use a flintlock?

Yes.

 

[moeggesit]

Interesting thought but how do you keep it dry when black powder fouling attracts moisture and turns into that lovely acidic paste? Within minutes it’s usually visibly wet?

I agree, oil does not help and animal or vegetable lube does wonders both for shooting and cleaning.

 

[Smellydog]

Interesting thought but how do you keep it dry when black powder fouling attracts moisture and turns into that lovely acidic paste? Within minutes it’s usually visibly wet?

I agree, oil does not help and animal or vegetable lube does wonders both for shooting and cleaning.

Firstly it's not acidic when wet, just caustic, equally bad.
It's caustic via the salts produced upon combustion.
The beauty of vegetable and animal fats is their ability to absorb the salts!
I shoot with a blob of lube between the thin cards I use as a wad. It gets injected onto the barrel wall on firing.

I have a light bulb in the cabinet that vapes the water off leaving a dry fouling and fats deposits behind that become quite inert.

In winter I'm keen to clean more frequently.

 

[moeggesit]

Fair point about it being caustic, I’m not a chemist and never tested it, assumed the sulphur would trump salpeter.

On a dry day, i.e low humidity, and no fluctuations, yes.
High humidity it absorbs moisture very quickly.

I imagine covering all the metalwork in fats would work quite well, especially if it acts as neutraliser. Even after cleaning it’s a good preserve and might give it a try.

Oil is a waste of time unless it’s squeaky clean and then works as well as on any other gun/rifle.

Other disadvantage of oil is that it kills the powder and first few shots are a bit hit and miss, even after capping off and fouling. Not the same with fats.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Bouncingoffthelocks]

Boiling water mixed with a slug of balistol plunged down the barrels, works a treat, water evaporates off the metallic surfaces leaving a protective film behind. Agree that a smeer of tallow / beeswax mix between 2 card wads self manages any carbon build up to a degree. I still give the barrels a clean like any normal shotgun after use (minus hydrocarbon based oils) and any fouling wipes straight off.

I have a similar o/u and the only issue i find is after multiple shots the bottom barrel doesn't want to fire. I run a copper wire through the nipple (ouch!) but it dosnt have much effect. I understand the flash path to the bottom barrel is not direct and keeping it clear from carbon build up is the problem. Thoughts are to perhaps use a finer powder (faster burning??) but I think its a design flaw that you end up living with. If anyone has a cure I'm all ears.

 

[Smellydog]

Boiling water mixed with a slug of balistol plunged down the barrels, works a treat, water evaporates off the metallic surfaces leaving a protective film behind. Agree that a smeer of tallow / beeswax mix between 2 card wads self manages any carbon build up to a degree. I still give the barrels a clean like any normal shotgun after use (minus hydrocarbon based oils) and any fouling wipes straight off.

I have a similar o/u and the only issue i find is after multiple shots the bottom barrel doesn't want to fire. I run a copper wire through the nipple (ouch!) but it dosnt have much effect. I understand the flash path to the bottom barrel is not direct and keeping it clear from carbon build up is the problem. Thoughts are to perhaps use a finer powder (faster burning??) but I think its a design flaw that you end up living with. If anyone has a cure I'm all ears.

First thing to check is if you are getting flame cutting to the wood inletting where the flash channel screw is closest to the stock. If there is evidence of powder burn the flash channel is leaking and will cause misfires. The screw must be indexed perfectly and if loose when aligned a form of seal must be achieved. I used a copper washer. There should be marks that index alignment.
Also, any residue of oil down there will cause misfires.
I use the finest grade I can get in my shotguns. It's more economical and more potent.