Breech Plug

[Larryjk]

buckhunter, I would try less dangerous methods first. (Dangerous if I had to tell my wife what I ran through the dishwasher). Try a good penetrating oil and it will really loosen all of the crud. Acetone won't do any good because it evaporates too fast. After a penetrating oil gets the crud loosened up the acetone will take it right off.

[Okie Hog]

Many years ago I ran into Mike Venturino who was the black powder editor for Shooting Times magazine. He told me that he used Windex with vinegar to clean all his blackpowder guns, including his revolvers. This is the clear Windex that is now called Windex Multi Task.

Been cleaning the bores and breech plugs of all my muzzleloaders since that time with Windex with vinegar. Just spray it on the breech plug, hit it lightly with a toothbrush and rinse the crud off.

When shooting at the range I use Windex with vinegar to swab the barrel between shots then follow up with two dry patches. Before leaving the range I run a wet patch down the bore. The breechplug comes out a lot easier when I get home. Bore cleaning is easy with Windex with vinegar. Be sure to run a lubed patch through the bore after cleaning.

This works well with black powder and all the BP substitutes. The acid in the vinegar dissolves the base in the powder residue. The vinegar content is like 6 percent.