# Is My Muzzleloader Toast?



## WasatchOutdoors (Sep 26, 2007)

Ok so here's the dilemma. I loaned my inline to a friend last year, and he has had it since. I got it back last night and went to clean it, and when I removed the breech plug the thing was loaded. I wasn't sure how to properly unload one after that long, so I removed the barrel, gave it a quick soak in a tub full of warm water and rammed the load out. There is all kinds of rust at the base of the barrel. Is this gun a goner or is there a chance it's salvageable?


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## lone hunter (Jan 23, 2008)

Ouch! I am not an expert, but I would say it is a goner. You may be able to buy a new barrel. You might try asking some one on this forum, Modern Muzzleloader.com. They have some ML fanatics that can answer about anything.


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## FC2Tuber (Oct 26, 2007)

WasatchOutdoors said:


> Ok so here's the dilemma. I loaned my inline to a friend last year, and he has had it since. I got it back last night and went to clean it, and when I removed the breech plug the thing was loaded. I wasn't sure how to properly unload one after that long, so I removed the barrel, gave it a quick soak in a tub full of warm water and rammed the load out. There is all kinds of rust at the base of the barrel. Is this gun a goner or is there a chance it's salvageable?


Is there a bunch of rust or pitting IN the barrel??


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## bigbr (Oct 24, 2007)

*That's what friends are for.....*

Okay,

If this were your 300 win mag in a high dollar action, I would tell you that you may want to re-barrel, however this is a muzzle loader that reaches speeds of maybe at best 2100 feet per second and small pitting may not hurt the accuracy of this weapon, at least in the short term.

You need to assess the severity of the pitting and where the most destructive pitting is in the barrel. If you still are getting rust out on your patch. Use some abrasive detergent on a patch, like Comet Cleanser, and scrub. If this doesn't cut it, move up to Brasso and if you are still not getting it out use 000 steel wool over your patch and go to work. Remember that you are trying everything before you junk the gun. If the pitting is located in the breach area, you may still be Okay if you have good lands and grooves in the last third of your barrel. After you get it cleaned out, go shoot it and see if you can still get a respectable grouping, if not tell your friend he or she, just bought you a new gun.

Good luck, Bigbr


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## Bears Butt (Sep 12, 2007)

Wasatch, it's not a gonner. I'd be careful using abrasive substances to clean it. I'd first off clean it like you normally would using warm water and maybe some dish soap. Then dry it and run a lightly oiled patch through it. THEN, go shoot it. You'll find the rust will be gone completely after a couple of shots and it will shoot as straight as it did when you last used it.
Next, I'd go kick your buddies rear end.


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