TC #13 Bore Cleaner Vs TC #17

[mecomk]

HI everyone,
I am new to Muzzle Loading and I would like to know what is the difference in the two bore cleaners. Is there any pros and cons on each?

[rem 700]

One's white, one's blue. I use both, like both, and trust both.

[airborne]

I have used TC#13 and I have not noticed any difference between using this and just plain soap and hot water. I have gone as far as to fill the barrel with #13 and let it set. After a good cleaning and coating with Bore butter, the barrel would still be rusty on the inside a month later when I would check it.

Now I just use hot soapy water, lots of bore butter and patches. When done, I coat the whole barrel with oil. Yes oil. Just make sure you wipe the outside dry and swab the barrel dry before use.

I know....oil and powder dont mix, but this has cured the rusting problem and has no affect on shooting if you clean it before hunting.

I think #13 is a waste of money, but this is just my opinion.

[turkeygunner]

I mainly use TC#13 to clean the hammer and lock area on the outside of my TC Hawken .50 caliber.
I also use it on my BP cartridge rifle 45/70 to clean the bore and breech area after shooting and it works extremely well for that. When shooting in the field, I keep a medicine bottle with patches soaked with #13 in case I need to do a bore clean to facilitate re-loading. I wouldn't really recommend oil on the inside of any blackpowder rifle whether cartridge or muzzleloader. I do clean my muzzle loader with hot water pumping it through the barrel and then use dry patches to soak up the excess water. This is followed by a thorough application of TC Bore Butter and then a dry patch to remove the excess. I've personally never had a rust problem using this method. I also use a very small amount of Bore Butter on the threads of the nipple before I re-insert it into the rifle. Pipe cleaners soaked with #13 will help keep the nipple clear of fouling. I use oil on the outside of the barrel to prevent rust. I use Bore Butter in my BP cartridge rifle as well to finish the job before I put it away....again, no rust problems seen so-far.

[bphunter]

I haven't found anything magic about any of the cleaners. I use plain old windex, windex mixed with auto washer fliud, windex mixed with alcohol, TC products, Butch's Bore shine. They all do the same job as far as I can tell. If you shoot sabots, you'll want something like CVA Barrel Blaster Foam to disolve plastic. I use plain old hot soapy water in a bucket after a range session. I use compressed air to blow all the moister out of the barrel, action, and trigger afterwards. Wipe it down with Break-Free and stick 'em back in the closet. You can't tell by looking that any of my (6) blackpowder guns have ever been fired!

[mecomk]

Thanks for the info