A few people have asked me how Iprepare my bore patches. Well, I needed to make some tonight so I thought I would snap a few pics...

For me it is really important to prepare these patches so they are not to wet and not to dry. When I pass the patch down the barrel - I really do not want it to leave any moisture/fluids in the bare at all and I want it to dry fast. Because most of us damp patch with the barrel in a verticle position any moister left behind will run to the breech plug and nipple - get ready hang fires or no fire at all.

Another thing that I do is open the bolt or hammer so that air can pass directly thru the breech plug and nipple. As I am pushing and pulling the jag up and down in the barrel - I listen for the sound of that air to be forced out of the nipple. I listen for a CLEAR rush of air without any sound of moisture. If I prepare my patches correctly - I never have this problem.

I also may use one patch for several shots as long as it remains moist, believe me when it drys you will know - it gets brittle and stiff. Again because I am cheap I do not use a new patch each shot. but I am not so cheap that I wash them and re-use them

Here is a pictorial of my prep process for anyone that might be interested...