Cleaning after 50+ black powder shells

[charlie cleveland]

i m like you i always had a time cleaning up black powder s mess...charlie

[Mike of the Mountain]

Dave, when I clean by ML, I take the barrel in the shower with me. It's also only a couple shots at the most. Easy to clean. Besides, the barrel is stainless. The SxS after 50+ does get messy!!

[J. A. EARLY]

Edgar is correct, boiling water dissolves the black powder, which causes the barrels to be so hot the water evaporates immediately.

If you are worried that water has gotten somewhere it is not supposed to be, get a piece of 3" PVC from the hardware store/building supply and cut to 40", glue a cap on one end, buy the removable cap for the other end, buy a gallon of WD40 and nearly fill the pipe, and put your barrels with a wire attached in there. Leave a while, pull out, wipe, and let them drip. All water is displaced by the WD40 (water displacing oil). Water settles to the bottom of the pvc pipe. If the barrels have weep holes (like a Fox), you'll need air to force it all out otherwise it will drip a long time.

[edgarspencer]

I just use a funnel. When I say hot, I mean right off the boil. The barrels will get too hot to hold.