Re: MtMan-List: Patch Lube / BP Cleaner

[Roger Lahti <lahtirog@gte.net>]

Charlie;

You make some good points with ref: to using even cold water to clean a
dirty barrel. I live in eastern WA where it is so dry that even sasquatch
only pee once a month. I use hot water at home or in the field (in camp)
when available because I see treating the inside of the barrel as
comparable to how I believe cast iron skillets should be treated. Pour hot
water down the barrel and scrub with linen tow on a tow worm, dry with a
fresh ball of tow on the worm and liberally lube with grease as in rendered
animal fat. Perhaps because of our dry climate I have been lucky in not
having the oxidization that might occur in a damper climate if warmer than
ambient temp water is used. In any case thorough drying and thorough
lubrication is the key for me and is how I believe it was done in the
'era'.

No, I do not think that a frontiersman of old would have make a fire in
hostile country just to unfoul a fouled gun! He probably would have done as
John Kramer says he does and pull the load, (if possible) and just pee down
the barrel, wipe it dry and reload. I have never done that myself but I
would not hesitate to do so if the need were there. Urine is a lost less
corrosive than some of the chemicals that have been advocated for barrel
cleaning, (as long as it is not left in too long). I have been known to
spit down the barrel of a loaded but not primed gun when loading was
getting tough. I also put a lip lock on the barrel and blow through the
touch hole after each shot to eliminate sparks, reduce fouling and to
assure myself that the touch hole is clear. I know this is not permitted by
the NMLRA but that's OK cause there are a lot if things I and NMLRA don't
agree on. I also do not advocate any one copy my methods if they are not
comfortable with how I do things. And I do not care what any one else does
as long as they keep their gun pointed in a safe direction.

Hope that cleans things up a mite.

YMOS
Capt. Lahti

Charlie P. Webb wrote:

> I have some questions, and a few thoughts.
> Why do you use hot water to clean your firearm?
> Do you believe that every time a woodsman wanted
> to clean  his fire arm, he stopped built a fire and heated
> water?