Hesitated to post this cause no matter how I word it, it will come out sounding dumb. I hear folks talking about running a spit patch down the barrel and then reversing the patch.Here's the dumb part..... do you just stick 1, 2 or ?? patches thru the slotted tip or do you somehow thread the patches over the tip so you also reach the face of the breech plug?

Told ya it would......

Many ways to do something, but I just use the caliber sizecleaning jag for the rifle which pinches/holds the patch in place during it's trip down and back up the bore;

To clean down into the tapered chamber of my patent breeches, I keep a separate rifle rod set up with a .30cal bore brush, anduse it to patch down into the breech...the brush bristles grip the patch so it doesn't come off...I do the same thing with lubed patches after cleaning/drying the rifle.

A simple cleaning and loading jag like this on the end of your ramrod will hold a patch in place as you swab the barrel. There is nothing to poke through or anything like that. Lay the patch over the end of the muzzle and push this cleaning jag which is the caliber of the rifle you are using, against the patch into the bore. The jag will grip the patch.

Work the patch is short strokes starting from the muzzle and increasing the length of the strokes until you reach the breech. Then pull that patch back up, turn it over and repeat the procedure.... The a couple dry patches after the wet one, and you have a swabbed barrel ready for the next load.

That is the same thing I use. And we are serious about going slow and using short strokes to begin with. If you just push the thing down to the bottom on the first try you may never get it back out.

Not a dumb question at all by the way.

Paul

Randy, the term came from actually spitting on the patch to wet it.

If you want some excellent cheap cotton patches, cut upyour old white cottonsocks that have holes in them. They make an excellent patch and it is a good way to get rid of the old socks. When I first started cutting up old socks, I even saved the patches, put them in an old nylon stocking and sent them through the washing machine on cold water cycle. Then I would dry them on the line by hanging the stocking outside in the air. If the patches were still damp when I shot my rifle, all the better for swabbing I figured. I would then reuse them until they were nothing but tatters. I finally got tired of that and I buy cheap cotton patches at Wal Mart for $2.00 for a large bag of them. Then I just throw them away.....

Never ever let your wife thow out anything made of cotton. The best cleaning material ever made. I use the jag that Cayugad showed with a 2" square of shirt material.

Thanks guys - now I know why I see patch pullers in catalogues. The "slotted tip" I referred to is the one that was in the .50 cleaning kit I had picked up. You know the kind - 3 piece cleaning rod with handle, plastic jag with slot, bore cleaner/solvent/ rust preventative, patches. Sounds like your method takes away any doubt as to getting a snug fit when swabbing the bore.

Your post with the picture of the brass cleaning jag made me smile. I have a cardboard target around here somewhere with hole in it that is an exact sihouette of that jag. Long story, but no one got hurt . . . [8D]

Please Roskoe we all want to hear that.....

You could save a life if it's something we could all do by mistake.