Cleaning and Seasoning Shiloh Barrels
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USMarineShilohShooter
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Cleaning and Seasoning Shiloh Barrels
I am about to put the first rounds down my 45-110 Shiloh barrel and I was wondering what is the recommended cleaners and oils to be used. Also, I have heard of seasoning barrels before shooting through them. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thank you in advance. Thanks to all who helped with the reloading.
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Tasmanian Rebel
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You can talk to 10 different BP shooters and likely will get 10 different answers to this question(s). Most people use either plain water or something "watered" down to clean the barrel. Black powder is water soluable and contrary to popular belief, fairly easily removable with a water soaked rag. As far as seasoning a barrel, there seems to be two schools of thought- one says it is good and the other says it is hogwash. My personal belief is that there is something to seasoning the barrel. Some well informed shooters say that hydrocarbon based cleaning oils like Kroil do TOO good of a job in cleaning the barrel and keeps the "pores" of the steel open. I'm not sure what may be exactly going on here but I used Kroil for a while but would get a lot of rust on about the third wet patch down the bore. I'm now using plain water to clean the bore of all black powder fouling then run a dry patch down followed by some stuff called Bore Butter made by Thompson Center. I've seen reports where some people got some corrosion with this stuff but I make sure my barrel is really clean before I run a butter soaked rag down the bore. Some have also reported some tar-like deposits but I have yet to see this after many thousands of rounds. Folks are having success also with stuff called Ballistol, Crisco, 3 in 1 oil among other things. I clean my barrel always before I leave the range and if it is going to sit in the rack for several weeks I make sure to run a patch down it after a week or so just to check on things.
You're are going to get a lot of different suggestions here probably and the funny thing is they all probably will work fine.
You're are going to get a lot of different suggestions here probably and the funny thing is they all probably will work fine.
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powderburner
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I live in a real dry and dusty area I clean with ballistol and water and run dry patches thru than leave in a canvas sack dry but I dont have any humidity worries at all except there isnt any the canvas lets the gun breath but keeps the dust out
Dean Becker
only one gun and they are 74 s
3rd asst. flunky,high desert chapter F.E.S.
MYWEIGH scale merchant
reclining member of O-G-A-N-T
only one gun and they are 74 s
3rd asst. flunky,high desert chapter F.E.S.
MYWEIGH scale merchant
reclining member of O-G-A-N-T
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Ray Newman
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Jim Watson
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- Location: Alabama, USA
Badger even recommends breaking in a BP or cast bullet barrel with jacketed, to hasten the process. They are the only ones I know who do.
I learned to shoot, blow tube, shoot, etc; with no need to clean during a MS match of 40 critters plus sighters.
At the end of the day blow tube some more and push the worst of the crud out with a dry patch. Then wipe with Windex (or about anything containing water to dissolve the potassium sulfate and some sort of detergent to penetrate the deposits), dry patch, wet wipe, dry patch. More cycles if you are still bringing out fouling. Then oil with Ballistol (or whatever.) Be sure to clean the muzzle and anyplace else you see soot.
Reclean at home. I use M-Pro 7 and a brush, it brings out a lot of soot the Windex didn't get. Then oil up til the next time. Likely best to patch the oil out of the barrel before shooting.
There are a lot of variations, most will work as long as they involve getting some water down the barrel to dissolve the K2SO4 that is the main component of black powder fouling, then dry the water out and oil to protect. I have even seen one guy with a garden sprayer full of water and cutting oil to flush the bore with.
I dunno about "seasoning" a new barrel. I think mine has gotten pretty well seasoned since 1899.
I learned to shoot, blow tube, shoot, etc; with no need to clean during a MS match of 40 critters plus sighters.
At the end of the day blow tube some more and push the worst of the crud out with a dry patch. Then wipe with Windex (or about anything containing water to dissolve the potassium sulfate and some sort of detergent to penetrate the deposits), dry patch, wet wipe, dry patch. More cycles if you are still bringing out fouling. Then oil with Ballistol (or whatever.) Be sure to clean the muzzle and anyplace else you see soot.
Reclean at home. I use M-Pro 7 and a brush, it brings out a lot of soot the Windex didn't get. Then oil up til the next time. Likely best to patch the oil out of the barrel before shooting.
There are a lot of variations, most will work as long as they involve getting some water down the barrel to dissolve the K2SO4 that is the main component of black powder fouling, then dry the water out and oil to protect. I have even seen one guy with a garden sprayer full of water and cutting oil to flush the bore with.
I dunno about "seasoning" a new barrel. I think mine has gotten pretty well seasoned since 1899.
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JAGG
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Kenny Wasserburger
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Shiloh Barrels are button rifled.
Having said that, the bore has a 3 micron finish on if from the passage of the Titanium button.
No Sharp edges to worry about and a finish that no one can attain by firing the gravel coated bullets that some use to fire lap in the chamber and the barrel.
As for seasoning a barrel? There was often mentioned merrit to this process, in times past, I used TC bore butter for that very reason. I had one friend that pretty much gunked up his Shiloh Barrel to the point it would no longer shoot very well. I took to cleaning mine till the rusty orange no longer was on the patches and then never used this hoodoo stuff ever again. I have alot of tubes of the stuff laying around.
A good quality oil or grease like rig to protect from Rust is all thats needed. Wipe with a dry patch before firing, on really hot dry days I may coat the barrel with a light film of bullet lube on a patch before I start shooting a string.
One of the biggest problems with leading and such is junk lead as jagg mentioned, or getting the rifle to hot and then your lube quits and no amount of blowing will help as the moisture never makes it up the barrel.
Just load the dang thing and Shoot it. ALOT!
Kenny Wasserburger
Having said that, the bore has a 3 micron finish on if from the passage of the Titanium button.
No Sharp edges to worry about and a finish that no one can attain by firing the gravel coated bullets that some use to fire lap in the chamber and the barrel.
As for seasoning a barrel? There was often mentioned merrit to this process, in times past, I used TC bore butter for that very reason. I had one friend that pretty much gunked up his Shiloh Barrel to the point it would no longer shoot very well. I took to cleaning mine till the rusty orange no longer was on the patches and then never used this hoodoo stuff ever again. I have alot of tubes of the stuff laying around.
A good quality oil or grease like rig to protect from Rust is all thats needed. Wipe with a dry patch before firing, on really hot dry days I may coat the barrel with a light film of bullet lube on a patch before I start shooting a string.
One of the biggest problems with leading and such is junk lead as jagg mentioned, or getting the rifle to hot and then your lube quits and no amount of blowing will help as the moisture never makes it up the barrel.
Just load the dang thing and Shoot it. ALOT!
Kenny Wasserburger
We'll raise up our Glasses against Evil Forces, Singing, Whiskey for my men, Beer for my horses.
Wyoming Territory Sharps Shooter
Wyoming Territory Sharps Shooter
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Tasmanian Rebel
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wwben47
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deerhuntsheatmeup
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KW Thanks
KW, Thanks for the info on the 3 micron finish and I was wondering how the barrel got so slick and you explained it. I have looked at my bore through a borescope and it is flawless. Why anyone would ever say a button rifled barrel is inferior to other processes is beyond me. Of course the pretty shiney bore is only a good thing if the rifle will shoot. And mine will, thank you Kirk.
As for seasoning the bore, I got this Shiloh(my first) Thanksgiving 2003 and have shot her more than 2500 rounds using the same process for cleaning the barrel. Moose Milk til clean, 1 dry patch, and then 1 oiled patch twice down the barrel. So far so good, even with the problems I had in the humidity on the exterior of the gun, the bore remained in great shape. As a side note, when I run out of Ballistol, I will start using straight water to clean with as that is what the big dogs seem to be using.
Later, David Barfield
As for seasoning the bore, I got this Shiloh(my first) Thanksgiving 2003 and have shot her more than 2500 rounds using the same process for cleaning the barrel. Moose Milk til clean, 1 dry patch, and then 1 oiled patch twice down the barrel. So far so good, even with the problems I had in the humidity on the exterior of the gun, the bore remained in great shape. As a side note, when I run out of Ballistol, I will start using straight water to clean with as that is what the big dogs seem to be using.
Later, David Barfield