US Civil War Rifle-Musket Field Cleaning
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- The alchemists of the internet and secret blackpowder societies have concocted weird and esoteric solutions to cleaning their historic black powder guns. Many of these methods work very well...if you're at home, comfortable, and in your controlled & clean workspace.
The armies of the US Civil War, whether or Union or Confederate, more often had to deal with and maintain their equipment in austere conditions. In this video I demonstrate the proper field method for cleaning a rifled-musket.
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"Men just make sure you don't forget to say whale when you ask ask the supply sergeant for sperm oil... you might not get what you're expecting..." Nice video Karl.
could get really confusing if one also forgot to say "oil"
@@zloychechen5150 "That's a giant gun you have there sir. It must be tough to clean."
"Nah" (Truck backs in with an aquarium on the back)
19th C. Quartermaster SGT’s were notorious pervs.
No wonder they started using rapeseed oil.
“Sir I’m sorry I meant sperm whale oil not sperm oil.”
*me, a surprised and very tired supply sergeant* “Son… do you know how long it took me to get you that can of sperm oil?”
“Sperm oil” certainly puts a new spin on “I was cleaning it and it went off”.
It was clean 15 minutes ago....🤔
lol XD
Yes. It's good that he clarified where the sperm oil came(?...!) from.
"Can I borrow your Playboy? I gotta clean my rifle".
😂😂😂
At 7:40 you can hear the giggles of a thousand twelve-year-olds
*thousand twelve-year-olds of all ages* Fixed
When you get your Rifle and your gun mixed up.
I'll have you know I'm actually 31, not 12.
*huffs dismissively*
@@elwayfan01 that's called getting younger in reverse.
Oh no my cover is blown ABORT THE MISSION
Two things come to mind.
1. NEVER do this in your shower/tub, it is extremely difficult to scrub the stain out of the no skid, don't ask how I know.
2. Differences in volume of fire and expectations. Back in the day how often were these guns really fired, and how many rounds were expected to go through them between overhauls? Today people expect something like this to last a lifetime of occasional use, and for that more intensive, nuke it from orbit cleaning (stronger solvents or the bucket of hot water) may be warranted to ensure the barrel is kept entirely free of anything corossive.
Thats a nice Pedersoli 1853. I just got one of their 2-band 1858 Enfields and I can't wait to try it out with some Pritchett paper cartridges.
Thank you. I've watched half a dozen vids on how to clean my muzzle loader, and most of them left me thinking 1) I don't want to spend more time cleaning it than I do shooting it and 2) there is no way a Civil War soldier would have had the time / equipment to do it this way. I'll still use some of the more intensive cleaning methods, but now I'm confident I can use those methods two or three times a year, not after every time I shoot.
I'm glad I'm not the only one using Ballistol on my black powder guns.
Heck no! I almost exclusively use Ballistol on everything. I only own one other brand of gun oil and Ballistol is the only chemical I use on some of my guns (not counting oil and wax for the stocks).
Smells really bad and makes the wife complain, but it does a great job.
Ballistol is basically the only thing german hunters use on any gun. And knives. And sometimes their dogs...
Very interesting stuff. Really do enjoy the videos that you guys make.
Really enjoying your musket content, thank you for doing these videos and I hope to see more.
InRange doing musket videos coincided nicely with me marathoning Sharpe again
A beautiful bit of kit Karl, some specs would be appreciated.
Me rolling into my local gun store. "Where you keep your sperm oil?"
Good video though. Its something I really hadn't considered before.
I've recently become really interested in the Civil War. Thanks for these videos, Karl. I'll be supporting on Patreon at the end of the month.
That's awesome you referred to the cone by its proper name.
Thank you for the cool video Karl
thank you for this. this is i havent seen black powder channels do, how to clean your gun when you in the middle of the wood on a 3 day hunting trip or backwoods shootout.
Thank you! Very informative
I have the same enfield rifle at home. I clean the barrel with Ballistol and some cleaning patches . On the rear where all the gunk from the fiering mechanism comes out i use a combination of alcohol and (schmierseife) it works really well. I dont know what schmierseife is in English translated from german its lubricating soap (its an old kind of greasy soap thats kind of brown) Nice video love this Gun !
I have no direct experience with black-powder arms but have always been fascinated by them... from a distance. Descriptions of how "High-Maintenance" BP arms were have kinda scared me off but I really like bits like these kinda de-mystifying aspects of firearms of all kinds like this.
Today we take clean water for granted but during the Civil War it was often hard to find. It is instructive to remember that more soldiers died from dysentery than bullets. Campaigning in the brutal summer sun, wearing a wool coat, marching dressed and covered, and competing with tens of thousands of other men and horses for clean water must have been a nightmare. I spent two weeks as a reenactor making the movie '"Gettysburg" and it was disconcerting how quickly that tiny canteen went dry. Kipling got it right; "but when it comes to slaughter you'll do your work on water and kiss the blooming boots of him what's got it."
I would like to suggest the soldiers of that era p-robably used whatever lubricant they had. Whale oil was sometimes available but lamp oil (coal oil) was ubiquitous. Something like primitive kerosine.
Nice! Thanks Karl.
Rich.
Let it be put on record: the internet now has audio of Karl saying "sperm." 1:55 Prepare to reap what you sow, Karl von Internet!!
Hey Karl, what reproduction/maker enfield is that? I've been interested in getting one. Great video by the way, one thing I never looked into was how soldiers cleaned their guns in the civil war. Thank you.
I did enjoy this, thank you Karl!
Good useful information.
Been a CAS/SASS shooter for years, I have always competed in a black powder category. My method for cleaning is very similar, just plain old water to clean rifle, pistols and shotgun. Then lightly oiled with Ballistol. Never had any issues with rust in 12 years of real black powder shooting (no subs). Some of the worst/complicated cleaning methods and myths about black powder come from fellow SASS shooters that have little or no experience with actually shooting bp.
Did I really just watch a video of Karl polishing his rod?
Great vid
Dope 2600 shirt!
I read troopers used to take the wooden grips off their revolvers in the field and just boil them!
Kind of like CAS shooters taking their Ruger Old Armys apart and putting them in the dishwasher (when their wives were away, no doubt). Unfortunately I guess those Troopers didn't have access to some of the labor saving devices currently available.
On the esoteric side, I found Mike Venturino's prescription of simple _Windex with Vinegar_ cut through the crud on my revolver.
Ballistol- solvent of the gods
3:44 I almost laughed at your pajamas :)
BTW: don't let all your team do this cleaning at the same time, you are defenceless !! even if they first laugh at your pajamas for 15 minutes....
Thank you for this video. As a many year student and shooter. I have long wondered how the soldiers cleaned their rifles in the field. Perhaps you can answer another question I have had maybe in a future video. I have read many accounts where civil war soldiers fired off all of their ammo in an engagement. I have fired repro rifle muskets with minie balls and have noticed how bad the fouling gets after several shots. There lies the question. How did they fire 40 or more shots without cleaning? Thanks again for the video.
Interesting. I wonder how more modern lubricants/protectors would work in this application. I used to use Hoppes Slick Lube for all my guns at one time then a local gun shop turned me onto the Slip 2000 gun oil which I started using and noticed I dont have to service my guns as often as I used to when they were just simply sitting. The Hoppes I noticed would eventually need to be reapplied as it would stop preventing rust but the Slip 2000, I have a .45 I put it on some 6 years ago when I last fired the gun and to this day no more applications and it still hasnt started to form rust on it from sitting.
I also noticed all my guns were easier to clean with the Slip 2000. So with that said I am really curious how it would work in a black powder firearm such as theses. I have been eyeing a reproduction 1862 CS Richmond rifled musket for my personal collection along with a reproduction 1851 colt navy replica and a few others. So I stumbled across this video when browsing for videos on the CS Richmond to see the quality for the price it sells for and now I am curious about this Ballistol which I never heard of before till now. Also has me curious how that stands up to Slip 2000 which is last time I checked milspec, at least thats what my old bottle says on it.
I assume the civil war Era replica firearms videos are forthcoming?
Hoi Karl.Das ist ja mal eine geniale Hose! What kind of camouflage trouser do you wear? Its pretty cool!In the german Army we had chains-something like chains...but nobody wanted to use them ;-) because of the damage they did to the G3
I'm note sure, but I think Karl is wearing some kind of Ruski camo pants. Russia collusion!
NEAT!!!! I'm gonna' try this BP hunting guns. It's easier than what I do now.
You can get quicker results using hot water and dish soap, and scrubbing with a patch or nylon brush instead of just letting it soak. It takes me 5-10 minutes to clean and oil my Parker-Hale (including the nipple and vent), depending on how involved I am.
Why not just simple mineral oil? Been around a long time (unsure if available in 1860-1865 though) and is used in all kinds of 'concoctions' nowadays. I'm just curious considering the simplicity & effectiveness of mineral oil. Thanks, Madd-Matt
I always just take my drisket double barrel in the shower with me. Not exactly something you can do in war times, but my shotgun is spotless clean every time.
I'm glad I can have an adjutant clean my pistol for me.
Is this musket original? Are there reproductions of old muskets like this?
Probably a really dumb question, but I cant tell from the footage: What keeps the cleaning pad from getting stuck down the barrel? It looks like you just place the pad on top of the rod and push it through, so what allows the rod to pull it back out?
SanguisDiabolus the jib (piece attached to rod) has slots cut in it that are angled backwards.
The edge on these slots grabs the patch when being pulled out. Hope that helps
@@justacatwalkingonakeyboard4454 Thanks. I was also wondering what kind of witchcraft was keeping the patch on the rod.
@@justacatwalkingonakeyboard4454 that makes sense, I see the notches now.
kinda like cleaning a bong haha 😂
ballistol is the way to go for blackpowder. my great-great-grandfather (born in 1865) would use lye soap, some shitty smelling "train grease" (if you know what that means please tell me, I have been wondering since the 1980's) and then put the rifle in a flapped leather scabbard according to his son, my great granduncle Earl.
@@woodrowcall3158 I dont think it was whale oil. from the lazy description Uncle Earl gave us, this was early 1900's. like before WW1, but after 1905.
On a side note hot water was always preferable even during the war they tried to boil some hot water to let the guys clean there rifles
How many shots can you get off before the rifle is so fouled you can't load it anymore?
With Minnie balls 10-15. With Maxi balls maybe 5-8.
I have a snider what would be good to seal the barrel
Also, NEVER run patches with the enfield ramrod. At reenactments i have seen guys get their ramrods so badly wedged into a barrel while trying to run a patch with it that they had to heat the barrel in a campfire and have three guys tugging on the barrel, and three guys tugging on the ramrod to get it out. That cannot have been good for the weapon. I suspect that the ramrods were kept the same size as the .58 cal barrels, when most repros are .54.
I like the 2600 shirt, I take it you read the magazine?
Of course!
Did troops use boiling or hot water when they had time to build a fire?
The lack of hot water in the field is what got me using Ballistol on BP in the first place. Water/Ballistol mix at 4 parts water to one part Ballistol does the job without hot water or detergent.
I use ballistol as well on everything except polymer guns.was just curious because iv heard a lot of old timers say the troops in the civil war used boiling water
What cleaning rod and end are you using?
LoL, I've been using ProShot patches for more than 30 years
How often was this done?
You probably have to remove the lock occasionally and scrub it down with some hot soapy water
Wash, rinse, repeat.
Ayup.
For April fools next year you guys should do a mud test on a nerf gun.
Dig the Shirt.
Sperm oil was $35 a gallon in the mid 19th century. Sperm oil (in 19th century parlance) was specifically the light, fine oil drawn from a cavity in the head of sperm whales. Whale oil (also called train oil) is what they would have used. Whale oil is the heavier oil made by melting the blubber of whales of all types.
Yup, sperm oil was way too expensive for gun cleaning. It never goes rancid or otherwise bad, so it was used extensively for clocks and other fine instruments or machinery. Good stuff for lubing and protecting the lockwork on guns, but way too expensive for use as a cleaning solvent.
35$ in 1860 was worth a lot more than today
Whale oil was not always available in the Confederate army or at the end of a supply chain when the army was on campaign. I have heard stories of things like bacon grease or other meat greases being used instead. Not an ideal solution, but if you need to keep you shooting iron from rusting it will do. Also, the 53 Enfield also has brass furniture on it. Many officers, especially in the Union army, wanted the brass whitened. I've heard the urine could be used for this, but a more pleasant solution was to use ash from the fire mixed with spit and some elbow grease.
How much could they get out of a single sperm whales head?
@@sabertoothray www.mysticseaport.org/voyage/files/2015/05/Vogel_morgan.pdf here says that between 6-8 barrels from the head
and 45-50 all the whale
I use ballistol on anything - steel, wood, leather, plastic. Great stuff.
Ed walmsley not like wd40. Smells like LPS #2. Might be the same stuff as LPS #2, that’s not a fact though.
It's an old German oil meant to clean, lube, and protect a whole bunch of different materials while being non-toxic. You might have to order it online but I think it's available most anywhere. I highly recommend it for steel and leather care.
@Bill Dauterive It is petroleum-based, but very highly refined. It's mineral oil, which Wikipedia tells me is called "paraffinum perliquidum" in the UK, plus a few other additives.
From the MSDS - Ballistol contains
Mineral Oil
Potassium Oleate
Ammonium Oleate
Oleic Acid
Benzyl Alcohol
Amyl Alcohol
Isobutyl Alcohol
Benzyl Acetate
Anethole
You can even use it on yourself. It's antibacterial and was used by the German Army to treat wounds.
"This is what they would've done with sperm-oil..."
The fan-fiction practically writes itself ... :P
Infantryman: How do we maintain our rifles in the field?
NCO: Water, patches and some oil, now let's go die.
Infantryman: "But Sarge"-Yusha Thomas
Can't wait to see the long reply of someone explaining why the super long method is superior, completely missing the point of the video.
Solid video Karl, stay safe.
Honestly the only extra thing we'd do more during reenactments is we boiled the water sometimes, but this is really standard for what we did and I'm glad Karl made the video on it
Remember, that's sperm whale OIL. Not whale SPERM. Trust me, you do not want to make that mistake
Or do you?😁
I remember going to a Rev War reenactment one time. Afterwards I watched a participant take a part off the breach end. Then he held a hose to that end and had the muzzle down. When he turned the water on black mud came flowing out. I looked at him and said "Field maintenance?" and he laughed and said "Yes."
Me? I prefer the British army method; draw the hammer to full cock, lean the gun at a 45 degree angle with the barrel down. pour water (preferably hot water) down the barrel, pump the water through the barrel with a patch attached to the ramrod/cleaning rod. This forces the water through the bolster (cone seat) and cone, cleaning out any debris in there.
Yes that is the recommended cleaning method however you have to remember that the nipple was open bored and not reverse cone like a modern nipple so the fouling would wash straight through.
How anachronistic, using an ultra modern 1905 CLP for a Civil War design. BTW I was taught to use Ballistol over 50 years ago on BP guns.
It's "not modern by modern standards"
i see you are using Ballistol. Man i love this stuff
And then just finish the cleaning with a few prayers and annoint the weapon with holy oils.
And be sure to have Gun Jesus bless your weapon.
Litany of the ...Caplock? "And then we gonna spray the whole darn thing." Really!?
Seems like a mix between polishing grandma's silver and cleaning out a bong
So your G.ma's silver Bong then?
@@dragonsword7370 i guess so
Solid
Cleaning out the Quartermaster's bong, 1861 colorized
Great stuff Karl. Simple & concise.
5:53 onwards, Karl's signature dance move
Love the 2600hz phreaking shirt!
Feels like asmr when you were filling up the bore lmao
Could you please do a field cleaning video on cap and ball revolvers?
But for a really authentic cleaning, you need the whale oil. Considering it is in such short supply these days, this may be a great opportunity to do a demmo of a black powder actuated harpoon gun to provide yourself with the correct period solvent.
Just ask the Japanese. :) They would know where to get some.
Ideally it was preferred to use hot water as it dried easier
And dissolves salts easier
Ideally, yes. Soldiers are very often not in ideal situations.
I like to imagine Karl was just standing there, in frame, in his camo pajama pants for the entire 10 minutes of letting the water sit
I'd love to see more videos on field cleaning weapons. I think that we take for granted the amount of cleaning supplies and items we have these days, and it is nice to see how soldiers would have done this type of thing in the field. Have you thought about doing a video on field cleaning weapons that use corrosive ammo like the AK? I know standard practice is to douse it in water (usually with a hose) before just cleaning normally, but what about in proper field conditions? I'd imagine that soldiers don't always have access to hoses and barrels of water, so how would soldiers clean their weapons if only a limited amount of water (perhaps just what is in their canteens) was available?
Thanks for the video!
Dunk in a creek, run the bolt 10 times, dry and oil.
Instructions unclear, now my musket shoots bubbles ...
I like ARs too but this type of content is why I started watching your channel.
That's how we do it at re-enactments. Hot water, patches, oil.
Karl, I want to see more of this content. Love the history content too. There is so much contradictory information out there, it’s good to hear it from someone who is a realist, and I respect. Keep up the good work.
what happens if your patch gets loose off the cleaning rod and is stuck in the rifle?
You get the ball extractor, which is like a ram rod with a pair of heavy gauge steel wires at the end used to bite into the lead and pull it out, it’ll grab onto the cloth significantly easier.
Or, hopefully you can just blow it out by blowing through the nipple.
Swap it for someone’s else’s when they are not looking
For black powder guns, you can get a "patch puller." This is like a cleaning
jag and screws on to the end of the ramrod. It has two spiral twisted tines
that poke into the patch and once you hook the patch just pull the ramrod
out straight. Poke around the internet ( Dixie Gun Works, Track of the Wolf,
etc. ) to buy one. They are not expensive.
Finally, we see Karl shaking it.
fill wait for the next 2 cups of water boil or 10 min, make 1 cup of coffe or tea use rest of HOT water for second rinse
Sperm whale oil was quite common in the 19th century. Sperm oil on the other hand was quite difficult to obtain, mostly due to the expense of equipping a ship's worth of men with tiny harpoons.
Lol I hope guys weren’t using sperm as a field lubricant lol 😆
I am so glad my old school trade rifle has the quick detach barrel - drive out the wedge and it's off. I can slop water everywhere while cleaning the barrel and not worry about the stock or lock getting wet.
I like your pajama bottoms
Cracking video. Pretty much how I clean my Martini. Boiling water helps, but cold works fine. Then oiled patches. Works fine.
Well done Sir! Thank you!
Thank you Karl. A picture really is worth a thousand words. Please consider doing a similar video on your WWSD AR.
Your videos have been great lately Karl.
I got out of black powder shooting a while ago, but it is a very fun, unique experience. I used to own 3 of these Enfields, a 2 band Musketoon, a 3 band infantry musket like the one in the video and a 3 band Zouave (spelling?) Model. They are awesome shooting muskets, I used to deer hunt with the musketoon.
The other simple cleaning method I was taught was to mix water, dawn dish detergent and hydrogen peroxide. Take the nipple out, put the butt end down on the ground or in a bath tub and spray a bunch of the mixture into the bore until mostly clear or clear. Then run patches down until dry, then run bore butter down the bore. Ballistol is different but most gun oils will cause a massive mess in black powder guns.
Keep up the awesome content!
Someone’s definitely going to piss Karl off in the comments section of this video
Well... PBS minus federal tax dollars
cool video, Karl.
thanks for loading it
Isn't it funny that to own a brand new rifled musket such as this in the UK I would need;
- A Firearms license with the same difficulty to obtain as a centre fire bolt action rifle
- An approved application form for the exact calibre of rifled musket that I wish to buy
- A government approved reason to own it
- A proper firearms safe properly checked by the local police
- An explosives license
- At least two independent references, preferably with preexisting membership of a local range
In the US you can order a cap and ball revolver by MAIL.
we are really cucked by our goverment here.
I can't help but think .....if Ian was there, they may have gone to that fine French field cleaning tradition of pissing down the barrel....
Man, this fucking myth needs to die already. Did it happen now and then? Sure. Was it ever SOP, or even widespread? Hard no.