I was thinking about this, over a glass of very old scotch; about how these techniques change over time. Back when I first started muzzleloader hunting, we used to swab the barrel with bore butter to store the gun - and swab with bore butter in between shots - using lead conicals. Later, when I got my first in-line (Knight Disc rifle), I talked to Randy Brooks at Barnes bullets - and he advised to go afield with a fouled gun. Reported that accuracy was best from the third to seventh shot, using Pyrodex pellets and their Barnes Expander MZ bullet. No swabbing or cleaning between shots. I didn't like the idea of leaving the house with a dirty gun, but the technique nonetheless produced some good groups.

Later, when I got on this board, there was a poster named "Preacher" who talked about swabbing the barrel in between shots. The idea was to try to create a more consistent condition from shot to shot in the barrel. This worked really well with Pyrodex pellets and various sabot loads. And it provided for a point of impact that was pretty consistent from the first shot out of a clean barrel to subsequent shots. Cayugad came up with the perfect swabbing solution - windshield washer fluid and iso alcohol mixed 50/50. I could now go afield with a squeaky clean gun.

And now, once again, things appear to have changed . . . . . .