mauser06
i dont rush straight to the cleaning patch after the shot....i usually walk downrange and check the target...tinker around...then clean...then load
THAT is a completely different situation - no-one has suggested that they walk away from the gun for awhile then IPA patch - for me that changes the math in the equation completely...
It sort is like the old shooter that instructedme to blow down the barrel - he said "swallow the air in your mouth then exhale into the barrel" - never really knew why he specified that order except he said to do it that way. I wish I could say that i always did it in that order. In their day when they were loading real BP one shot after the next that might have been a real important thing to do before sticking the powder horn down the muzzle. Since I have found, in my case, i really do not have to do it at all.
And as cayugad suggested I have never used straight IPA as a swab between shots - I am still stuck on regular spit or pre-dampened old fashion windex patches and again in cayugad's words "so far" I have not not had a problem with hang fires or mis-fires, and I am knocking on wood at this point... The sound of the air escaping out the nipple lets me know if things are clear and/or damp and I can not describe the sound but I know it when I hear it - both bad and good.
alcohol cleansreally well....drys almost imediatly...and leaves no residue or anything...quick and easy
I agree with all those points - but for me windex/ammonia does the same thing - 2 wipes with a windex patch and a coupleof wipes with a dry patch is the norm... the dry wipes dry the barrel and force an accelerated amount of air through the breech and nipple causing accelerated evaporation of the ammonia which carries water vapor with it. Now you guys probably do not even have to dry wipe - so that is certainly an advantage I might need to consider. One thing I should mention all of this is sugar based powders - I can't say what works best with real BP.
maybe ill contact Myth Busters and let them test it for us...that would be neat.....
That would be cool, I watch that all the time - they are really characters, but their information is great. Then if they could so some research on "in the old days how many powder horns were ignited or did it happen?"
I watch those re-enactors during the war for independence, shoot their Besses, reach in the side pouch pull out a paper charge, tear the charge in their teeth, drop it in the barrel, stuff the paper down with the ram rod, and fire again - round after round - how many of them have gone off as they are pouring powder down a
really hot barrel. Of course none of this concerned me before i started shooting ML's.
but is is great and I love it.