TRADITIONAL RIFLE….
Make sure the rifle is clean and empty. So take a patch, lightly apply some isopropyl alcohol and swab the bore of the rifle. When you swab, put the patch over the end of the barrel and push the ramrod with the cleaning/loading jag into the patch. As you work the patch down the bore, work the patch in short strokes. Work from the muzzle to the breech. This is done in the beginning to remove any gun oils in the barrel. After the damp patch, then work two dry patches through the bore. With a dry patch pushed down to the breech, put a #11 cap or musket cap, which ever one your rifle takes, and pop that cap. Now pull that dry patch and check for burn marks on the patch. If you see none, do it again. Once you see the burn mark, I like to pop one more cap. Now you are ready to load the rifle.
Measure out the amount of powder you wish to shoot in your rifle. You can pour the powder from the jug into a powder measure, but never pour from the jug into the barrel of the rifle. So now you have a measured charge of powder down the barrel. Take a patch and if it is not pre lubed, apply the lube to it. Set that over the muzzle of the bore. Now put a round ball onto the patch. With the short starter, knock that ball under the crown. Now with the long nose of the short starter, push the patch and ball as deep as you can, into the barrel. Finish seating the ball and patch with the ramrod.
If you are shooting conical bullets, after you have dumped the powder, put the lubed conical (if the conical requires lube) and with the short starter, drive that conical as deep as you can into the bore. Now finish seating the conical onto the powder charge. Make sure you do so firmly.
Now c o c k the hammer of the rifle back. And place a cap or musket cap onto the nipple. Carefully lower the hammer down to half c o c k. Once you c o c k that rifle it is ready to fire.
If you want to swab between shots the alcohol makes a good swab solution or just about anything other then solid lubes. Just be sure to seat the projectile firmly on the powder.