Wondering what i need for cleaning and shooting a .50 caliber Renegade Hunter?

[isaacdavis1214]

Thanks everyone the very helpful replies.I am the only person i know personally that has a muzzleloader so buying 5lb's of powder myself would be a big hit in my wallet.From what i know the Wal Mart here sells BP,i am assuming they have loose powder instead of just pellets of powder for traditional muzzleloaders.When i get some money saved up i would like to get some real bp to shoot though,i hope the substitutes doesn't have any corrosive effects on my rifle.I am assuming since they have been around for so long if they did indeed mess with peoples rifles,whoever makes these substitutes would have changed the formula at some point ot correct the issue.

[Hawken50]

  Hey Isaac, ive used Pyrodex since 1985 when i first started muzzleloading.It works just fine.Ive shot my Thompson Center 50 cal hawken,1860 colt,and my Ardesa Pennsylvania rife with it.I prefer real black but cant always find eniugh because i also reload my cartridge guns with blackpowder.It'll work fine for ya,just remember that cleanliness is next to Godliness.Clean that rifle as soon as ya can after shooting and i guarntee that all will be well,the planets will realign ,trumpets will sound,and the sun willl shine down upon ya.

[isaacdavis1214]

Thanks Hawken50,i am assuming the substitute powders don't produce as much smoke as real bp?That's good to know that Pyrodex has worked well for you.I need to check with Wal-Mart to see what they have in the way of powder,i don't believe they are allowed to advertise such stuff on their website.I wasn't able to find any that way,i also have another question on round balls.I know i need .490 round balls and figured i'd go to trackofthewolf.com to buy some shooting supplies.Well i was looking at the .490 round balls they have and apparently they have two types for every caliber,they have: Hornady round balls that are ''die swaged from pure soft lead. Each ball is perfect, no shrinkage, no sprue, no wrinkles. Hornady round balls are made in the most popular calibers.''

And ''Hand cast round balls are cast from pure soft lead. Each ball has a tiny flat, where the sprue was removed. Place this flat spot on top, centered on your muzzle. Hand cast round balls are made in a variety of calibers.'' Which one should i get?The Hornady Round Balls for .490 are $11.99 and the Hand Cast Round Balls for .490 are $11.60 so not much difference in price,is it just preference?

Also do i need a Wedge Puller as shown in the T/C Manual in order to remove the wedge that holds my barrel on the stock?Or can you remove the wedge with just your hand?I haven't tried to remove it yet.

[Hawken50]

  Wellllll,I shoot both.At 50 yards i cant tell the differance,at 100 the swaged balls will print a little tighter group.As a matter of fact i just checked anf there's both in my ball bag.....lol Either ones fine as long as you load the hand cast sprue up.
Ive never needed a wedge puller on any of my Hawken styled rifles.Usually just tap em from the other side a mite with a soft hammer,short starter,convient screwdriver handle,etc.

[isaacdavis1214]

Thanks Hawken,i think i will buy the Hornady Balls as they don't have a sprue,this is more personal preference than anything though.Thanks for the tip on the wedge.

[isaacdavis1214]

I just got done taking the wedge pin out of my Renegade,which obviously removes the barrel from the stock.It was surprisingly VERY easy,as a matter of fact no tools were required to push it out.Just grab and pull,two things i was surprised about at first was the barrel only has ONE opening.Not two like a modern day rifle,which makes sense as it is a muzzleloader,and second i feel taking the barrel from the stock should be sufficient for cleaning 99.9% of the gun.As the only other metal parts on the rifle is the butt plate and hammer.It should be very easy to clean as well since the barrel only has one opening, i think the only part of the rifle that i will have to submerge in water will be the barell.The hammer and other parts i should be able to wipe down with hot soapy water and rub lube over after i am done cleaning it.

[William]

Only submerge the breech end, two inches or so past the nipple hole for cleaning.  I use a cleaned out plastic container of margarine for this purpose.  Fill with warm water then add two drops of dish soap, pump out the dirty stuff with 2-3 patches, pour out dirty water and replace with fresh, pump clean with 2-3 patches and then wipe barrel with dry rag to remove as much water as you can, then set muzzle end down on the rag to let drain for a few minutes.  Oil and replace in stock.  You'll get the hand of it in no time.  You only need to wide the exterior parts with a damp rag or alcohol patch to remove dirt, soapy water isn't necessary.  A drop or two of oil on a patch is enough to wipe down the surface after cleaning.

[pilgrim]

       Concerning roundballs,  I have purchased Hornady  roundballs from Nicks Mountain House for approx $9.00 per 100 and no Sales tax.  But I cant get onto the page for current prices.     Currently I cast all rb and conicals.  TOW charges $11.99 per 100.  Thats a saving of $2.50-$3.00 per 100.   Hope you have better luck accessing the sight.

     http://www.nicksmountainhouse.com/Balls.htm

[flintboomer]

Only submerge the breech end, two inches or so past the nipple hole for cleaning.  I use a cleaned out plastic container of margarine for this purpose.  Fill with warm water then add two drops of dish soap, pump out the dirty stuff with 2-3 patches, pour out dirty water and replace with fresh, pump clean with 2-3 patches and then wipe barrel with dry rag to remove as much water as you can, then set muzzle end down on the rag to let drain for a few minutes.  Oil and replace in stock.  You'll get the hand of it in no time.  You only need to wide the exterior parts with a damp rag or alcohol patch to remove dirt, soapy water isn't necessary.  A drop or two of oil on a patch is enough to wipe down the surface after cleaning.

A cleaned up coffee can or something similar will also work nicely to hold the water. What you use to hold the cleaning water doesn't matter much, so you should have something on hand that will work fine.

Make sure the inside of the barrel is dry before you oil it. That usually only takes a couple of dry patches. Oil LIGHTLY, you just need to keep it from rusting and too much oil will create another set of problems.

Try to make a habit of checking the barrel with a dry patch the next day to be sure everything is done right.

[Red Badger]

I'll throw 2 cents worth in here also... When cleaning my rifles I use all the above techniques but I did learn very fast that extream hot water will equal an extremly hot barrel faster than I would have thought.  (yes I burnt my fingers)  In other words be ready for the barrel to get very warm while you are pumping the water through it and don't drop it because it will spill all that hot water all over the kitchen floor and then you get the pleasure of mopping the entire floor and listening to her snicker in the background....  

I now have an old kitchen mitt in the cleaning supplies for just that purpose.

[isaacdavis1214]

Thanks everyone,i was going to fill the bathtub up with water and clean the gun that way.But seeing how you can use a coffee can to clean the gun i'm not so sure that is the most convenient way to clean it lol.For lube does most people on here use Bore Butter?

[Dogshirt]

Depends on what you're lubing.
I only use spit-lubed patches for target, mink oil for hunting. I don't much like the "lubes" that are out there. I have
experianced bad fouling and difficult clean up with them.
I use Hoppe's elite gun oil for oiling and lubing moving parts after cleaning.

[mongrel]

I use plain white Crisco for patch lube when hunting, spit when shooting targets.

A note on cleaning -- Pyrodex isn't as bad as black powder in this regard, but cleaning is still a smelly and potentially very dirty process. A spilled container of used cleaning solution or accidentally lifting or angling the barrel in such a way that foul water spraying from the nipple hole clears the edge of the bucket, can, or tub, can lead to a lot more than just the snickers that Badger describes, if one's significant other lacks a sympathetic sense of humor about the whole mess. Best to get the hang of the process outside. I speak from painful experience.

[isaacdavis1214]

I believe i will try it outside now that i've read everyone's comments lol.So Crisco will work as a bore lube/outside lube for all the metal parts to protect them against rust?Please excuse me having not much gun experience.I have owned just .22 rifles and shot 9mm and .45's.

[Dogshirt]

I wouldn't use Crisco except on the patches. It has a tendency to turn sticky and nasty with age.
If you use it on your metal parts you could have a real mess.