The great thing about us muzzle loader guys is we all get to be right and we all get to be wrong - often at the same time.

I always hunt with a squeaky clean barrel. The Renegade I shot the doe with on December 27th. was loaded on November 20th. with GOEX. No, I don't pop a cap before loading. I want nothing in the bore but clean dry powder and the bullet because the gun might remain loaded for two months or more if I don't shoot something with it (there are three guns loaded with GOEX in my truck right now).

At least half of my MLs will shoot the same size group with every shot on a fully cleaned barrel as they will with a fouled bore. The others will group slightly larger on a clean bore, but not enough to take them out of the "hunting accuracy" category.

Now understand what I have said - the clean bore guns will shoot as good a group as the fouled bore guns, but not in the same place. A five-shot clean bore group may shoot in a different spot on the target than a five-shot fouled bore group. The two groups may be two, three or four inches apart, depending on the gun. That's why I always set my sights for a clean bore shot. Of course, the disadvantage of doing so is that you have to do a lot of shooting while fully cleaning the bore between each shot.