“Moose Milk” is a popular muzzleloader cleaner among NMLRA members. You can purchase it from many of our favorite vendors at an NMLRA National event, but if you are at home and want to try it for yourself, here are some recipes from our Facebook group that will help you get started.

Russel S - 1 pint of cutting oil, 1 cup Murphy's Soap, 1 liter of water or rubbing alcohol 

Lars L - 1 pint of cutting oil, 1 cup Murphy's Soap, 1 liter of water or rubbing alcohol

Marc S - Moose Milk: 1/2 Cup Ballistol, 1 Ounce Murphy's Oil Soap, 2 Cups water - I use distilled

In cold weather use a bit of 91% Rubbing Alcohol to prevent freezing

Moisten your patches with it as a patch lube and cleaner as you shoot.

After shooting plug off your vent hole or nipple and pour several ounces down the barrel. Hold a patch over the muzzle to seal it and flip the rifle upside down and back a few times to cleanse the full length. Set it down and let it soak a few minutes while you put away your shooting supplies and pick up your targets. After leaving it soak a while pour the moose milk out the muzzle end on the ground - it's fine it's organic. Then start running patches down your barrel as you normally would to wipe it out. I use the patch I use to plug the muzzle while flipping the riffle as the first patch because it's already wet with moose milk. Follow it with damp or dry patches, which ever you think is necessary to finish the job. Then run a liberally lubed patch of just Ballistol to finish. Wipe down the exterior of the rifle with moose milk and a Ballistol patch and your good to go.

I do this at the range before coming home. When I get home I will usually pull the nipple off my percussion rifles to clean, oil and reinstall to prevent corrosion of the threads. 

I have no problem leaving my rifles in this state for weeks - they are clean and lubed.

Tim H - Water soluble machine oil and water, blend to your needs. If you have any bottles of Ballistol lying around it works fine too.

Neal P - 16oz water, 2oz Murphys soap, 2oz oil

If you get the chance to try any of these Moose Milk Recipes, let us know, we’d love to see how it works for you! Until then, happy muzzleloading!