Cowboy cleaning gear

[Trader Dan]

Howdy y'all.

I am just wonderin' what real Cowboys used in the 1800s to clean their rifles. Gear I mean. They did not have stainless, coated, fiberglass, carbon fiber or steel cleaning rods. What did they use? It would be bery cool to use period cleaning rods and gear to clean my Cowboay rifle, shotgun and revolvers. What kind of solvents did they use and what did they use for grease and oil? Whale oil?   

[Cliff Fendley]

If a Winchester I would assume the rods that came in the buttstock of the rifle to clean them. There were steel cleaning rods around because some rifles came with them. They didn't need solvent, black powder cleans up with water and then probably just whatever oil or grease they had on hand to keep them from rusting.

You can still buy reproduction Winchester cleaning rods so you can buy a set, shoot black powder and clean them just like the old days. Some of the earlier reproductions even have the space in the buttstock for storage.

[St. George]

Brush and thong - just like the vast bulk of the Army did during the war - and 'wiping rods' - small-diameter wooden rods with a patch wrapped around the tip.

If you have 'any' manual skills at all, you can make your own.

'Very' few rifles were equipped with butt traps at that time.

For the 'Cowboy Era' - meaning the use of better rifles and 'civilization' - you need to go to the 'Public Library', and find copies of both the 'Sears, Roebuck & Co.' and 'Montgomery Ward & Co.' reprint catalogs.

They should have the full-sized ones that show better detail than the paperback-sized ones, but for your purpose, either's good.

Those are period catalogs of exactly what was available 'during that time'.

Now that said, you'll get a far cleaner weapon by using modern gear - just like GGG Grandpa did.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Trader Dan]

Thanks guys. I was not aware that some of the rifles had buttstock storage holes.

I Just think it might be fun to replicate the "old" way of doing things. I have a very definate way of clean all of my guns and I do not vary from that. Guess you could say I am anal about keep my shootin' irons spotless.

Using a "pull through" on a pistol caliber rifle would be a bit of a problem would it not? The action opening is pretty small. I would be very hesitant to use a pull through backwards. In other words, pull it form the breech end.

Keep the comments coming.  

[Coffinmaker]

Most Cowboys cleaned up pretty good with a little soap and some water.  Although, after a trail drive, some took a little more soap. 

Coffinmaker 

[St. George]

In using the thong and brush - did you 'not' think you'd first have to remove the cylinder?

Scouts Out!

[wildman1]

In using the thong and brush - did you 'not' think you'd first have to remove the cylinder?

Scouts Out!

How do you remove the cylinder on a pistol caliber rifle? wM1

[cpt dan blodgett]

On a remington carbine pull the cylinder pin and push to the right

[wildman1]

I have two of the revolving carbines C&B. wM1

Thanks guys. I was not aware that some of the rifles had buttstock storage holes.

I Just think it might be fun to replicate the "old" way of doing things. I have a very definate way of clean all of my guns and I do not vary from that. Guess you could say I am anal about keep my shootin' irons spotless.

Using a "pull through" on a pistol caliber rifle would be a bit of a problem would it not? The action open is pretty small. I woild be very hesitant to use a pull through backwards. In other words, pull it form the breech end.

Keep the comment coming.   

I am thinkin he was not referin to one of those. wM1

[Trader Dan]

OK how about this? The small open for the cartridges to exit throiugh when you push the lever to the bottom of it's travel on the rifle? Y'know a pistol caliber lever action rifle.

[River City John]

OK how about this? The small open for the cartridges to exit throiugh when you push the lever to the bottom of it's travel on the rifle? Y'know a pistol caliber lever action rifle.

The carrier bottoms out before the firing pin/extractor rod pulls the spent cartridge case back out of the chamber and it angles up and out of the receiver. There is no small opening for the cartridge to exit through. It has the full width of the interior of the receiver to exit from.

I keep some 3 1/2" square patches for shotgun cleaning and fold the square into a triangle, then clip the top points between a spring clothespin or around a handy stick, in order to reach down into the carrier while at the low cycle and scrub a bit dampened with moose milk.


RCJ

p.s. Besides, didn't they all just urinate down the barrel? Hopefully making sure it's unloaded first, of course . . .

[Reverend P. Babcock Chase]

Howdy Fellas,

I'm not real picky about gun cleaning, but I refuse to wear a thong just to be authentic.

Reverend Chase

[Trader Dan]

The carrier bottoms out before the firing pin/extractor rod pulls the spent cartridge case back out of the chamber and it angles up and out of the receiver. There is no small opening for the cartridge to exit through. It has the full width of the interior of the receiver to exit from.

I keep some 3 1/2" square patches for shotgun cleaning and fold the square into a triangle, then clip the top points between a spring clothespin or around a handy stick, in order to reach down into the carrier while at the low cycle and scrub a bit dampened with moose milk.


RCJ
p.s. Besides, didn't they all just urinate down the barrel? Hopefully making sure it's unloaded first, of course . . .

OK compared to a full size rifle ejection port the pistol ejection port is small. And the space in the lifer for an 1866 rifle is just barely larger than the case. Jeez, you guys are tough.

[Cliff Fendley]

Just turn the rifle upside down so any cleaning fluid runs out without going in around the action and clean from the muzzle end using a bore guide. That's the simplest way I've found. With black powder I run a few swipes with water or moose milk followed by a couple patches soaked with Ballistol. Done.

[wildman1]

If you open the lever partway and then push the carrier down you will have a little more room for cleaning. What I usually do is put an empty case into the chamber and use a regular cleaning rod with a bore guide to clean the barrel, this puts any junk or debris from the bbl into the mt case instead of the action. wM1

[Coffinmaker]

I know there isn't much space in saddle bags, but a cowboy should tote a back brush.  To really properly clean a cowboy, there should be a
back brush.  Unless of course, he has a real good partner to scrub it for him 

Coffinmaker

My Gawd, but a cowboy using a thong is frightening thought.  That's a picture my mind just doesn't want to "see."  Scrub-a-dub-dub
dnotcha know