How to Clean a Percussion Rifle The Easy Way -- Tip: How to never lose a barrel wedge again. 

instead of a jag and patch use a brass bristle brush a caliber smaller (.45 in a .50 barrel) with the patch wrapped around it covering all the bristles and never worry about losing a patch.

It's amazing how simple they designed those things. I would never have imagined there is only a simple wedge holding the whole thing together but I learn something new every day. Thank you for sharing your experience with us Mark and God bless you and your family brother.

I enjoy cleaning my black powder rifle as much as shooting it. It's a easy way to relax. Thanks for the video.

Water and a little WD-40 for me. I am always afraid there is a bit of water left in the barrel so the WD-40 will displace it and get it outta there. I agree with you though, 10 minutes after starting it's usually sitting back in it's spot looking almost brand new! Another good Video Mark, thank you!

I love your Personality. God bless you and keep up the good work. Greet´s from Germany.

Thank you Mark and everyone for the tips. I've only really handled and cleaned a percussion revolver up to this point. A long gun might be in my future. Also the wholesome humor is greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

Great video, watching you got me interested in muzzleloading firearms last year. I saw you on Facebook and decided to watch you here as well, you’re very educated and a great teacher when it comes to this kind of work!

Awesome video and funny too! I enjoy shooting and maintaining my firearms, both modern and BP, I start off using a scraper then I use that moose stuff for BP, water and Ballistic mix, works well, then I dry patch and when I finish with that stuff, I finish up with plain old Ballistol running patches through till they come out clean. Ballistol is good stuff and good for the wood too. Motor oil works well and I used to use that long ago but now I just use Hoppe's lubricating oil on the moving parts. I enjoyed the video and will be looking forward to the next BPMS shooting adventure 👍 John 3:16

Great video! I usually use a tub of HOT soapy water to clean my muzzleloaders. The hot water helps to evaporate all of the moisture out of the barrel before oiling.

good video as usual. I simply fill my bathtub halfway with scalding water and put the entire barrel in there to soak for a few minutes and then run the patch up and down the barrel, sucking the water in and blowing the water out until it comes clean. I don’t even remove the nipple because the water flows through the nipple and cleans the inside of the nipple as well. The advantage of this method is when the barrel comes out of the water it’s pretty hot from the hot water, so I just tilt it downward so the water evaporates out pretty quickly with the barrel being hot. I’ve had my percussion black powder rifle for 30 years and I’ve never cleaned the lock. Lol I guess I should do that one day but it seems to work fine. On the inside of the barrel, I never use any petroleum products whatsoever as I read once years ago that the black powder reacts with the petroleum and fouls the inside of the barrel, so I always use natural bear grease on the inside of the barrel and the outside of the rifle. My 50 caliber percussion rifle looks new and functions as new as well.

Thanks for such video! This week, I will get my first muzzleloader percusion rifle (Hawken in .45) so any tips for begginer are gold for me 😅 Thanks again, from Czech Republic 🇨🇿!

Both the wife and my daughter had a word with me about the shower idea. Great video! I'm new to black powder so easy-to-understand instructions are really helpful, Thanks!

I like your teaching style much respect..

Great tips! If you keep getting gray patches after you feel like the gun is clean, do not despair. Its probably just the graphite that the powder is coated with. That's why the powder says FFFg etc. Thanks for sharing your tips.

I have a side hammer percussion similar to the one demonstrated in the video and an inline percussion muzzleloader. I clean all my guns after shooting them at the range or hunting. They all take about the same amount of time to clean.

I love black powder rifles. When I clean mine I take the barrel off the stock (it's a Kentucky rifle) then I lay a towel in the bath tub and lay the barrel on it then put hot , hot water in the tub. Enough to cover the barrel then let it soak for 10 or 15 minutes. Then I run a barrel brush through the barrel to loosen up the fouling. Then I run patches through it till they're not dirty then take the barrel and dry it. I spray WD-40 down the barrel to displace any water then I run a patch through the barrel with a light coat of CVA Grease Patch on it. Then I put it back together. Before reassembling the rifle I coat the outside of the barrel with mineral oil.

I still like your show.

Thanks for the laugh at the end . I usually use hot water in the bucket and leave the nipple in so it gets a good cleaning though the flash hole . I also use an old tooth brush on the lock and the stock to remove powder residue . I have yet to use hot water on the Sharps 1859 I recently got at all just using plenty of the NMLRA cleaner in a spray bottle and have had no issues with rust . Cleaner is a bit of Murphy's oil soap (tablespoon) then fill spray battle half full with 3% hydrogen peroxide and the other have alcohol. It needs to be in a dark bottle or sunlight will kill the Hydrogen Peroxide .

Great video Mark, thanks. I use the same method as you do. Just water and then gun oil.

Thank you.

Make sure it has a hook breach if you’re going to take the barrel out like he showed after removing the wedge(s). If it doesn’t have hook breach and you don’t first remove the tang screw(s), you will bend or break the tang.

Great video, I like to use air compressor to dry things off. Thanks again.

I have a Flintlock and I put a toothpick in the flash hole I pour soapy hot water down the barrel and let it sit for a bit, then I rented out with soapy water and then clean water and fan run enough patches till it's dry but I do got a lock the same way you do unless I haven't done it in a good while then I'm a soaking little bit in hot soapy water after that everything's back together and she ready to go for the next time doesn't take too long. Thanks Mark there's a lot of people that needed to know this. May God bless. Keep ye powder dry!

Mark another instructing video. I've taken a lot of things in the shower but never a bp barrel. we learn every day. Tell Mrs. BPMS your using it as a back brush, I'll have to try it. My wife hates it when I clean pistons in the dish washer. God bless Mark, Bruce

Hot water and soap is needed to dissolve the salt in the residue, also hot water evaporates quickly so less drying is needed. Hawken rifle barrel wedges were inserted left to right. It was a Hawken brothers trademark of sorts, because they were the only ones that did it left to right. T/C didn't care.

My little CVA I got back in the 80's works the same way. I usually do the first cleaning method, but have a second clean water bucket next to it I'll run the first patch then switch to the brush jag and the do another patch. I have used brake parts cleaner on the lock gets all the carbon and grease out of it then a little oil. Like the never seize idea I have to get some. Since I have so much of the cleaning wipes from the COVID era I seeing how they clean all that crud out they sure do a number on that fowling.

I like your Video it is funny and helpfully. Greetings from Germany

Hello, and thanks for your Videos ! Watching from France and have allmost the same gun, but with a stretcher. I love it. Yes, Jesus allways loves us ! God bless and happy New Year !

Howdy! Great video as usual. I have a Traditions Kentucky flintlock and one guy told me I didn't have to remove the forestock wood on the barrel each time I clean it. It has made the job a whole lot easier because the little pins holding the forestock on were a pain, and I ended up cracking my forestock a little because the wood is so thin, and I was hammering on the pins to try to get them in. I repaired the forestock crack with JB weld. Now I just remove the barrel from the main stock with one tang screw removal. I shoot a few times a week and use the shower method, ha ha...I just keep a plastic container in the shower that I use like you are using your bucket. Luckily my wife has her own bathroom.

Nice I prefer heating my water to dang near boiling bot not quite boiling, Using the bucket ramrod - undersized bore brush - wrapped in a patch(no lost patches), Mean Green as I finish with each piece saturate in WD-40 when finished cleaning reassemble wiping OFF the WD-40 (which is only used to displace the water) Using my favorite gun lube of the month as I go along.

I addressed the missing wedge pin issue on my WHAT WOULD ASHLEY DO build idea video. I believe I sent you a link on your last video. Oh getting the wife sturd over cleaning in the bath tub is half the fun Mountain man🎉

It’s all part of the fun of shooting BP👍

Great video,man. Just took out my first muzzle loader this weekend ....a Hawkin like this one . I was always wondering how you would get a patch out of the barrel if one fell in....cool little trick.

😂🤣😅 Mark you are a barrel of fun ! Yup water is cheap, it works and hot water works great to dry afterwards.

Nice 😁

Ball puller jag would work well for patch recovery

I've been using 70% ISO Alcohol mixed with a hint of Sal-Suds as a bore cleaner. Works well for me

I never "wash" mine I use TC 13 bore cleaning with a patch and a brass brush, than I coat the bore with bore butter and, the metal parts including the stock. Never a problem

Yah bless

Thanks Mark! Great vid!!

I have a viewer on my channel tell me about a very interesting way to clean your gun. There are these steamers you can buy at walmart for $30. It works really good. its extremely fast way to clean the gun plus it dries instantly. To use it down the barrel buy some car metal break lines. Drilling out one of the nozzle attachments then after fitting the brake line it works really really good. Its become my favorite way to clean my guns fast. Twice a year I take my guns completely apart and use ultrasonic machine to do very deep cleaning as well.

You have the best video on black power guns I Personally have ever seen ! Thank You by the way . Do You ( or Anyone else ) have any recommendations for a first ( and hopefully only) black power rifle ? You can put $10 with what I know about them , and buy a cup of joe at Starbucks ( maybe ) !!!! I might squirrel hunt with it ( most likely just shoot paper though ) .

I definitely need to try method #2 🤣👍🏻

Just got me a new 54cal. Traditions love shooting it. Believe it or not my wife got on me for cleaning gun in tub 😂

Do you just use dry patches to get the motor oil out of the barrel before shooting next time? How about the fire channel from the cap to the main powder charge? Thanks!

It's a bit harder if the gun doesn't use wedges. I like to get hot from a coffee maker, just water no coffee. It's good and hot and dries fast. I use a rubber glove to handle the barrel as it will be hot. I also have good luck with Ballistol to lube and protect the metal and wood. Thanks for the video.

The shower method gets my vote.

Kentucky percussion traditions has two screws holding the barrel. Can I keep the barrel on, like your previous flintlock cleaning video 6 years back? Or will water leak through the breech plug?

I have an old hawken, real hawken, the hole from the nipple to the chamber is plugged, it was given to me and not taken care of, any advice on how to get that cleaned out? The channel that the flash travels through is not a straight shot, so I cant get a cleaning tool in there to clear it out.

Hey maniac, it looks like you have a few good looking guns. Which one is your favorite? Thanks and god bless America 💪🇺🇸

Yeah do that,then wait about two weeks then take your cleaning jag and run a clean patch down the barrel see how dirty it is

Much easier to give your barrel wedge a slight bend in it.

I've used the shower method for years😊

Yes cleaning is part of blackpowder shooting but also any kind of Guns you use thanks for the video hope you survive the cleaning of the shower 😂😅

Back in the old days, a buddy who served before me told me when it's my turn showering with an M-14 was the best way to clean her.

IMHO anytime water is used to clean a barrel, you need to heat up the barrel and throughly dry the water out of the barrel! The barrel will absorb water into the pores of the metal, and will rust up very ugly, ( more so if it’s going to be in storage for a while) oil only covers the water, it does not remove the water, and tight patches will not get the water out! I stopped using water over 20 years ago, all I use is Ballistol, in a quart container with sealed lid, I do the same as you do in the bucket, just filled with ballistol, you can clean several times this way before you need to throw away the dirty liquid. I know this is not cheap, but neither is a barrel! I’ve had guns cleaned this way set for several years, and they still were preserved very well. If you shoot a gun every other day, then water is a good way to clean, even then I used Moose Milk to clean them, heavy on the water soluble oil!

You’re Funny! Also funny is all the spendy cleaning formulas and special lubes marketed to bp shooters when Dawn and automotive products are all we ever need. Old toothbrushes are good for scrubbing locks, the nipple, the stock and around the bolster. Whenever cleaning, let us remember the men pinned down overnight, with empty canteens, at the Battle of Belmont who were forced to employ oui oui to clean out their very fouled barrels and be grateful for God’s Peace. And Dawn. And garden hoses.

In the next video, we will see Mark with a few lumps on his head! Lol!

soap and water and 10 minutes of your time is all you need. You do it about the same as I . The only difference is to dry my barrel I lay my barrel across two burners on my wifes cooking stove. It only take a minute and I am ready to oil and put up my rifle. I noticed you didn't show how you clean the nipple. I use a tooth brush.

Next up a video on how to properly clean a shower.

You got off lucky, I'd be wearing a frying pan....

Mark what you doing with that barrel in the shower?! Never mind I don't want to know!! ROFLMBO !

My man is that fidget spinner on your hat?

Mrs BPMS is hard on the Maniac. No sense of humor at all. I use Eezox instead of the 10w30. Works great. True its more expensive but I like it better.

Does not hunt with any of these guns?do not do this .blackpowder weapons get you close because of the scent.allways use butter.