How to Care for an Antique Musket
If you're lucky enough to come across an antique musket, you need to learn how to care for it properly. They can rust without proper care, resulting in damage and loss of value. Follow these steps so learn how to take care of your antique musket.
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Instructions
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Keep your antique musket clean as a first step in proper care. If dirt and dust is allowed to build up on your musket, it can cause rust and cause it to function improperly. Dismantle the musket, flush it out with hydrogen peroxide and hot water, scrub it out with a solvent then oil it and reassemble.
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Store your antique musket in a gun cabinet. This will prevent it from collecting dust and being mishandled. Dust can result in rust developing on your musket.
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Coat your antique musket in oil. It doesn't need to be soaked but just have a slight oily coating. This will prevent the development of rust which can lower the value of your musket.
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Re-blue your musket if it is blue. Take it to a gunsmith to have it re-blued using a hot process. Do not re-blue it yourself because you risk damaging and devaluing your musket.
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Register your antique musket with the National Rifle Association (NRA) so you don't have it seized. You can't care for your musket if you no longer own it.
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Tips & Warnings
Always keep your musket out of reach of children. This is true even if you have never fired your antique musket nor ever intend to. Children's curiosity can get the best of them resulting in an unintended disaster.
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Comments
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WARNING - ERRORS IN "How to care for an antique musket" on howto.com. I'm very glad to see this topic addressed on ehow, but there are some problems with page. Points 1 & 2 are fine. Point 3 is marginal - as dennis 13 points out, microcrystalline wax is better to use than oil. Point 4 is wrong - Rebluing an antique musket will destroy it's historical value and will generally reduce its monetary value. In addition, very few antique muskets were actually blued, the vast majority were browned or left in the white. Point 5 is wrong. - The NRA does not have any registry of firearms. What the NRA does is fight to protect the 2nd Amendment, the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Individuals concerned with preserving this right would do well to join the NRA to help in this effort. Thanks. Jim Supica. Director. NRA National Firearms Museum.
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dennis13
Sep 19, 2007
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dennis13
Sep 19, 2007
Renaissance wax/polish is the #1 choice for the preservation of precious pieces throughout the world; clean, protect, restore, refresh, define & enhance your furniture, fine art, all metals & precious metals (engraving), jewelry, ivory (scrimshaw), all woods (wood carving), antiques, knives, swords, automobiles, high-end hardware (copper sinks, etc.), tools, machinery, furniture, sculptor (bronze, etc.), stone (granite, marble, etc., ie; countertops, statues), firearms, musical instruments, leather (& exotic skins), saddles & tack (equestrian),coins, pens, paper, memorabilia, valuables, armor, collectibles and so much more! Renaissance micro-crystalline wax/polish is an enormously diversified product, used indoors and out (from paper to metal and everything in between). It is appreciated and enjoyed by All. Please contact me for further information along with my wholesale price l
