Rossi Rifleman

Hi :-)

I have been shooting black powder in revolvers, shotguns and single shot rifles. But never in my R92.
Knowing from the other guns, they need a lot of cleaning after shooting.
But how much disassemble and cleaning will the R92 need?

I thought that cleaning a blackpowder rifle meant pouring hot water through its barrel (from breach) and then running a patch with olive oil (think cast iron pans). How much exhaust should be blowing back into the hammer and the other parts?

You get some throw off from the spent case as it's extracted and ejected. I've not shot many in the 92 I used one of the bp solvents on the barrel and flushed the action out with non-ammonia generic "Windex" followed by distilled water and then spray lube to dripping wiped it down and repeated the next day (okay so I'm a little anal, the 40-65 Sharps and the 45-70 Wizard get the same treatment ).

Make smoke, lots of smoke,

Ohio has the most experience that i know of in the forum using BP, what he suggests i would go with, but prior to knowing this myself, the following had been my experience.

My first 92, i was loading a lot of rounds using pyrodex, at the time, i just could not find regular smokeless powder. It became quite a discussion here but as powder sources increased the discussion and my interest in shooting/using pyrodex decreased. I still have some 209 i havnt even tried. I say all that because cleaning was a pain. I did all the normal paranoid gunnowner things one should do to prevent rust and such but the best advice i came across was from a BP user who used Balistol. And even better then straight out of the can, per instruction, i sprayed some in a pump bottle,added a little water ( i know that sounds counter intuitive) and it makes it an emulsifying cleaner. You should be able to get that product as it is an originally made product in Germany (its what every foot soldier used during the war) and licenced to be sold here in the states. I can tell you it worked better then all the other options i tried. I got really good at quickly removing the bolt, so i didnt hesitate to do that after shooting the BP substitute and cleaning. But it does not mean i liked it. I do understand the hankering for shooting BP though, as Ohio3Wheels says "make smoke"

Well, actual Black Powder, Sulfur, Charcoal, Salt Peter,,,,,,,,,,etc I know how to deal with. GOEX,,,,etc
Them other,,,,poly formulated deals, like Pyrodex I got no idea.

I am die hard GOEX fan.

Bibletotingunslinger wrote:Well, actual Black Powder, Sulfur, Charcoal, Salt Peter,,,,,,,,,,etc I know how to deal with. GOEX,,,,etc
Them other,,,,poly formulated deals, like Pyrodex I got no idea.

I am die hard GOEX fan.

Yep, me too. I've got about 3/4 pound of Elephant left from years ago, still good it just doesn't shoot as well as the Goex. The only "substitute" I've used is Blackhorn 209. Needs cleaned up after, but you can use conventional gun cleaning solvents with it. I had started working with it when my chronograph quit on me and just haven't been back to it. Maybe some day .

Make smoke,

I have to travel for Goex, so I take a bank roll,,,,got case of fffg here 4 years ago, got 4 cans left.
I go through Goex like Hilary went through my retirement.
Time to save up and go to Wyoming again.

Cleaning black powder is easy. Turn the rifle up side down , in a vise, with the muzzle pointed slightly down. Get a good sized container of "hot soapy water" ( dish soap works good). Get some nice cotton patches soaked with the water, and pump the barrel out, it wont take much, and the patches will come out clean. when barrel is finished, spray the action down with "Ballistol". If you don't want the water to get into the stock, just remove it, you can also clean the action better this way. I follow all this with blowing out the action with a blast or two of air from my compressor, and oil it up with "Ballistol".
You will find that some of the black powder substitutes are more corrosive than black powder, so they should be cleaned asap. Pyrodex is one of them. I only use the holy black, and don't mind mail ordering it. Ive been shooting black for going on 40 yrs, and have never bought any commercial black powder cleaners, as water works best. At the range I always have a spray bottle of ballistol, mixed with water, and rubbing alchohol, to swab the barrel out once in a while.

barracudadave67

Try 3F. 2F was used in very few pistol cartridges. Even the "Express biggy" 50-95 was loaded with 3F.
3F ignites far faster and swells the brass to the chamber. I have no blowback in the caliber 41 and all through to 50-95. Some tough 357 brass still will blowback.
I do think our brass today is far stiffer/thicker than 120 year ago brass.
So anyway leave the 2F for the big bore muzzle loader and give 3F a try. Your Rossi will never know the pressure difference and your brass will not look like it fell into a smoky fire. Plus the receiver will not need a bath.
Mike in Peru