[Jeff Higgins]

I actually find cleaning my cap lock muzzle loaders to be far easier than cleaning any other sort of firearm. My process is to remove the barrel and place the breach end into a small bucket full of hot soapy water. I then place a wet patch on the cleaning jag and it run it down the bore, then slowly draw it up so that water gets sucked into the barrel. I then push the cleaning rod back down, forcefully expelling the water through the nipple. After a couple of strokes like this, with the nipple still screwed on, I remove it and repeat the process.

After that, I dump out the soapy water and refill the small bucket (I use a cut off Clorox bottle) with hot water. I pour this down the muzzle, letting it also run down the outside of the barrel, rinsing everything off and heating up the barrel. I then dry it with a couple of patches. While still hot, I hose it down liberally with WD-40, inside and out, running a patch soaked with WD-40 up and down the bore as well.

When that's done, I just lightly wipe down the outside, reassemble, and I'm finished. That's it, that's all. It takes all of five minutes. I do it outside on the deck or in the driveway, because water splashes everywhere. It really is that easy.

As far as Pyrodex, it is indeed every bit as corrosive as black powder. Its only "advantage" is that its fouling does not continue to increase with every shot, so it can be used without wiping the bore as often when shooting. With a proper load, and the right lube on the patches, however, black powder can be fired all day without wiping as well. At least with patched round balls.

Conical bullets, however, are another story. Regardless of how much lube they carry, the bore will foul out and become difficult to load after two or three shots. The only solution is to wipe it. I use one damp patch, running it down once, flipping it over, and running it down again. I don't bother to run a dry patch after that - if the wiping patch is only "damp", you shouldn't need a dry one. Pyrodex will help mitigate this requirement, but it won't entirely eliminate it.

I have no experience with other "black powder substitutes". There are a number of them on the market today. I have no interest in them. I have found original black powder to be more accurate, more consistent, and really no trouble at all to deal with.

In addition to muzzle loaders, I use it in a number of cartridges, such as the .45-70, .45-90, .45-100, .40-70 Sharps Straight, and the .45 Colt. It works very, very well in these large cases that were originally designed to use it. Granted, I do have to clean the cases just as thoroughly as the firearms, but I have worked out a pretty hassle-free way to do that as well.