She (or is it a he?) was given to me by my grandpa just last week. My first muzzle loader and I must say, I really like it. It's this one from Cabela's in 50 caliber, and he gave me some lead balls and Pyrodex to start me off. Already shot it a bit, trigger pull sucks, it's pretty heavy, and produces a big ass cloud of smoke. What more could I ask for It keeps the girlfriend away from this one too, therefore giving me more time to play with it. Also it is surprisingly accurate (soda cans at 35 yards easily).

Finished cleaning the barrel after shooting and decided that the whole thing could use a cleaning, so I got some brass polish and polished all the brass and go some re-finishing stuff for the wood. Made a HUGE difference in how it looks (brass could use more shine though, but hey it's supposedly around 20 now...).

Anyway, was wondering if anyone had any advice for a novice. Any tips are very appreciated.

Also, some of the jags and stuff that come with it to attach to the rod are rusted, do you think that Cabela's would replace these?

Also, when I take the barrel off to clean it it is only open at one end (duh...). My question is can the other end be opened to help run rods through it?

when I take the barrel off to clean it it is only open at one end (duh...). My question is can the other end be opened to help run rods through it?
NO it is installed permanently Appears to be a Hawkins , I have one from T/C.
Increase your range to 50 then 100 yards , will do easy.
Lots of things for it if you look around on net. I suggest a ball starter and a fiberglass or some dowels from the hardware store to save the original ramrod (it will break)

I am assuming it is a hooked breech, so remove the barrel and the nipple. Put the breech end in a bucket of water. Use a wet patch on the rod and it will push and pull water through the barrel. I punch a hole in a corner of the cleaning patch and screw the jag through the hole so the patch doesn't come off. After the patch comes out clean use an alcohol patch to completely dry the bore then lube the bore. Do not use gun oil for modern firearms. It causes the powder fouling to turn into a tough goo. There are lubes specific for muzzleloaders. Cabela's will have them and there are online sources for good stuff.
What were you using for patch lube?
Were you using a roundball?

If your accessories are rusty they are not bress. Replace them with brass jags, etc. Be sure you have a patch worm and a ball puller along with the cleaning jag and ball starter.

When, not if, you "dryball" you will also see the need for a CO2 discharger.

Remember the ball must be all the way down on the powder. Most make a mark on the rod to make sure. If the ball isn't seated on the powder you have a hand grenade.

Look around on the muzzleloader forums. There is a lot of good info on them, and muzzleloaders have very different things to watch for than modern firearms.

Jim

a small variation on the above;
After you have taken off the barrel take a toothpick or something similar and stick it into the nipple hole.
Boil a small pan of water on the stove and with a small funnel pour it down into the bore.  Let it sit for a few minutes. The hot water should dissolve all the powder residue in the bore.
Pull out the tooth pick and let it drain down the sink.  
Fill the sink with hot water and do as described above.
What this does is to heat up the entire barrel (you may have to wear gloves).  When its as clean as it can be run a dry patch down the bore to soak up any remaining water.  Wipe off the outside, too.  Because the barrel is hot all the rest of the water should evaporate quickly. Using this method will negate the need for alc.
Take out the nipple and clean that up as much as possible.
Lube with bore butter, inside and out, and reassemble.

Recently there has been a lot of discussion about using very hot water to clean. The consensus is that not only is it not necessary to use very hot water- cool water cleans just as well, but hot to boiling water leads to flash rust. Using a patch to pump water through the barrel is the best way to clean a hooked breech barrel. A barrel like on my Jack Garner Tennessee flintlock needs to be cleaned the way you describe.

Jim

To be the contrary voice here, I will say that I no longer use water to clean my TC Renegade flinter.  I remove the barrel, spray some vinegar Windex down the bore, and clean with windex patches.  Works every bit as good, no flash rust problems, and less mess and hassle.

I second the Windex with VINEGAR. I clean all my BP revolvers with it & no rust ever. Just lube them up after cleaning.

Do you mix vinegar with Windex or can you buy it with it mixed in?

Gabe

Water has been used for hundreds of years. You need to wash the powder residue and fouling out of the bore and breech. It seems to me that you would need a lot of Windex to do that. It isn't like using Windex with ammonia to eliminate corrosive salts from corrosive milsurp ammo. The powder residue and fouling just needs to be washed out of the barrel. I think some people, in a search for better methods, end up making simple things harder.
I am not trying to argue with the 2 guys who use Windex, but this is a pretty simple procedure.

Jim

You by the windex already with the vinegar in it. The thing with the windex is, when you go home from the range you don`t have to get a bucket & mix soap with hot water & scrub & rince & dri you  just break your gun down spray it scrub it  spray it again, let dri & lube & put away until next range day. I`ve  have a Colt Navy 1851 44 & a ROA 45 shoot (at least 36-42 rounds)  them every couple of weeks for the last 3 years & clean them like I said. No rust & no problems. When you use water, you have to dri them. The windex dries by itself.

Water is simple in theory, but I can have my rifle cleaned in half the time with windex.  Usually takes 5 patches soaked to dripping in Windex, with a squirt or two down the barrel first.  Then dry patch, then a CLP patch.  Wipe down the outside and you're done.  Haven't had a problem and been doing it a couple years now.