Big Country's and Cayugad's comments got me to thinking about my shooting practices. I also swab between shots so maybe its this practice or the Black Mag3 not having a crud ring, or both. I called my brother-in-law and he doesn't swab between shots but he does swab "every so often". So I guess that is some of the reason for his "crud ring". He just says it is hard to clean near his breechplug and he thought it may be from the pellets or hotter 209 ignition. I think if he swabbed inbetween shots or just a little more often it wouldn't exist at all? Maybe Big Country has hit on something and this crud ring is just one of those muzzleloading myths someone started just to "stir the pot" and have a lot of fun out of these hunting forums. Since Triple 7 seems to be immensely popular both in powder and pellet form, maybe it was one of the other competitors that started this rumor? The one actual fact I do know from these forums is that Triple 7 and Black Mag3 do vary in their "felt recoil" with the Black Mag3 being easier on the shoulder. The Black Mag3 powder ignites better for me than the Triple 7 and I'm basing that on my using a #11 cap. I had to go to a musket cap to keep constant ignition from Triple 7 but have not had any misfires with Black Mag3 yet. The downside to Black Mag3 is that it is more expensive than any of the other black powder substitutes readily available in my area.