I had some time today and went to the range and fired my CVA sidelock about 20 times.
I made the Windex WetPatches and left my bolt open to hear the air as Sabotloader advised. The Windex really gets a ton of soot out. I wet patched after each shot and followed the wet patch with a dry. IS THAT THE BEST PROCEDURE?
run dry patches until you are sure the barrel is dry.. before loading. Especially with a sidelock. You can get hang fires and mis fires otherwise.
Our range is only 50 yards. I'm not a great shot, the rifle is scoped. My first 7 or 8 shootsgrouped at 3". But I ran out of Pyrodex and switched over to some Triple 7 I purchased. My next 5-6 shots didn't group as well. Maybe 5"? CAN A CHANGE IN POWDER MAKE THAT BIG OF AN EFFECT? I noticed the Triple 7 pellets looked smaller in diamter than the Pyrodex?
yes changing a powder brand, even a new jar of the same powder brand can make an effect. How much is hard to say. But your results do not surprise me.
Before shooting today, I notice little specks in my barrel. IS THIS RUST? After shooting last time, I used the copper brush, wet patched with Ed'd Red Bore Cleaner and laid up with wet patches of CLP.
Some powders when they burn can leave a red looking finish on the metal. It is not rust. Especially in flintlocks. Normally a good gun oil will remove it. Then again, in your case it might be rust. Clean the area with a good solvent. And then oil it all back up at the end of the day.
Today.....I took everybody's advice and used the Plunger with hot soapy water followed by all the above. I'd hate to have rust in my barrel but this is a used ML and may have been there before? I couldn't for the life of me get those specks out.
A bore brush with solvent inside the barrel, a brass tooth brush with solvent outside the barrel will normally scrub those rust spots out.