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I am a big believer in cleaning my firearms immediately after each use. In fact, I get some ribbing from my shooting buddies for insisting that everything, even .22 long rifles, gets the full spa treatment after each use, although occasionally I do forget. Lately I've taken to doing all of my cleaning at the range before returning home, knowing my inclination to "nap" as soon as I get in the door.
When it comes to muzzle loaders, cleaning after use is part of the shooting experience. It suffices to say that the residue is extremely hydroscopic (attracts water). So if you want to keep your barrel in shootin' shape, you'll clean early and often. I understand that Pyrodex is just as bad in this respect.
Soft Rod Or Hard Rod? How you clean is as important as when you clean. There seems to be two camps on this subject. Some prefer to use a hard rod, either steel or brass, while others prefer a soft rod (Delrin or wood). There are reasons why some shooters prefer one material over the other, and it all has to do with muzzle wear. In either case, the common concern is grit, and how it might become and abrasive agent and samage the crown of the barrel.
The Soft Rod contingent can claim that if any grit gets on a soft rod, it may embed itself into the rod's surface, but will never be able to exert enough force on the crown to actually scratch the crown. Then too, muzzle loaders were traditionally cleaned using the wipestick, and as some say, if it was good enough for great-great-great-great-grandpa, it was, and it is, good enough for me. Fair enough.
The Hard Rod contingent are usually shooters for whom tradition plays a lesser role. For them, they protect their bores by using a cleaning rod made from stainless steel, believing that if any grit finds its way into the barrel, it is more likely to embed itself in the bore and abrade the rod. Interesting hypothesis.
If you opt to use a steel, or coated steel rod, you'll need to look elsewhere. Stainless steel rods are usually offered in two diameters: one for .22-.26 calibers (nominally .202"), and the other for .27 and up (nominally 240"). The overall diameter of the guides themselves tends to be smaller than those designed specifically for muzzle loaders. Think about it: A .45 caliber center fire cartridge is considered BIG. For a black powder shooter, it's a squirrel gun.
Make Your Own Rod Guide: If you have a lot of time on your hands, you can make your own rod guide using discarded brass cartridge cases.
- .45 caliber: 30/30 Winchester cut to suitable length
- .50 caliber: .45 Long Colt
- .54 caliber: 45/70 Government cut to suitable length*
Once you've secure the desired cartridge case, it's a simple matter to drill out the primer pocket hole. Just measure your metal cleaning rod's diameter, select a suitably-sized twist drill, and go for it.
Here is the muzzle of my .50 caliber Lyman Great Plains rifle with (1) an unprimed .45 Long Colt case, (2) drilled, and (3) protecting the crown of the muzzle.
Caring for your barrel, especially the crown, is important to insure long and accurate barrel life. There's no reason why a properly cared for barrel cannot last your lifetime.
Don't forget that his applies to smaller caliber pistols and revolvers with bore diameters less than .45. In these cases, the commercial rod guide will do just fine.
* If you shoot an 1803 Harpers Ferry "Lewis and Clark" rifled musket, you'd do well to make a guide as soon as possible. The first rod guide I ever made was for my 1803, and it's worked very well.
