We continue with our presentation of accessories for muzzle-loading shooting by examining one of the structurally simplest, yet most important items in terms of their function for maintenance and cleaning. Not for nothing we define it in three ways: simple, versatile and indispensable.
- Simple because it is a small clear tube that is very easy to use.
- Versatile because it can be used with a wide range of gun models and because of its very small size.
- Indispensable in order to safeguard, in the long term, the solidity of assembly of guns without a detachable barrel, the correct maintenance of which requires the adoption of simple but fundamental measures.
It must be said that the use of muzzle-loading firearms requires modest technical resources and equally modest material resources, but both must be correctly used by shooters, who must pay attention to details that differ from those of more advanced guns due to the different ammunition used and its mechanical design.
Cleaning, in particular, is a very simple affair: it involves removing residues from the combustion of the propellant, simple hunting black powder, which are mostly carbonaceous and saline in nature.
Davide Pedersoli offers a specific solvent for this, but in general, the main element of cleaning is water.
There are many ways to wash gun barrels, and one of the most practical, which does not require disassembly, involves the tube we are writing about, the end of which must be inserted into a container filled with water and detergent.
The other end, fitted with a special connector, fits into the nipple and uses the action of the hammer to hold it in place.
Using a piece of cloth and the cleaning rod to make a plunger, the water is sucked inside the barrel and, little by little, removed until the bore is completely clean.
After thorough drying, the application of a reasonable and not excessive quantity of anti-oxidation metal protector is sufficient to ensure optimum preservation of the gun.
Low expenditure, much return! Pedersoli's cleaning tube can be purchased directly from the company's virtual shop at a price of 26.60 euro.
The author: gun and muzzle loading expert, Gabriele Tansella is one of the instructors of the Pedersoli Shooting Academy.
