One more question..
 

I see you talking about swabbing the barrel while shooting. I have never done this...I was always afraid it would just push gunk in the way of the spark and cause a misfire. Has anyone found this to be true or has it been much of a problem? Also are you using wet patch or dry patch. I have been using those T/C cleaning patches and they seem to do real well but thats cleaning it up after shooting. How and what do you guys use?

RE: One more question..
 

If your swabbing an inline rifle, dampen NOT WET the patch. Never push a dry patch down a dirty barrel. Work the damp patch in 3-4 inch stokes, working further down the barrel as you go. When you get to the bottom, you will feel the most crud. This is where you have to work the patch a little bit. Sometimes on a heavy fowled barrel a second damp patch is necessary. After that some dry patches are needed. As you swab, listen close and you will hear air moving through the nipple or primer breech. If you do not hear air pass through the primer hole, then you need to pop a cap to blow it clean.

On a traditional rifle, swab with pure alcohol and you will not have as many misfires or hang fires. Again, not a wet patch, just dampen the patch. And be sure to swab after with dry patches until a patch comes up dry.

RE: One more question..
 

Thanks a bunch. I knew there had to be a method to it. Have you ever thought about writing books on blackpowder shooting? LOL Not a doubt in my mind you could do it. Thanks again! Tomorrow is gonna be fun. I got enough different stuff to tryfor that 50 Hawken to shoot all day i think..lol.

RE: One more question..
 

I only swab between shots if it's needed or if I'm trying to get the tightest group I can. I usually use a spit patch which is just a dry patch that I touch to my tongue to get it damp on one side. I run this patch wet side first in short strokes down the bore then flip it over and do again. If the patch is too wet you need to run another dry patch to get the wetness out of the bore. I usually can just load after the 1 patch without problems.

In the case of my sidelocks, yes the swabbing can cause an accumilation of crud in the fire channel. Most of my sidelocks are used for patched round ball so I don't swab them (the patched ball takes care of that for me). If I do swab the SL's I will fire a cap through it before loading to make sure the fire channel is clear.

RE: One more question..
 

Well no matter how many times you shoot you should swab the bore or you will ultimately have a tight bore while loading. I was using the pre-moistened patches you can get from any of the major companies and stopped using them ever since I had a misfire while using a batch. The problem was I got to the bottom of the jar and the patches were loaded with moisture to a point where juice was running out of the breechplug when I swabbed. Then I loaded and proceeded to shoot and nothing so I took it all apart and noticed how wet the breech was and cleaned/dried it out and everything was fine. I now use a yellow patch that smells like Ben Gay made from Traditions called wonder lube and swab with this between every shot and have never misfired/hanged using this product. I think Cayugad has a mixture of isopropol alcohol and windshield washer fluid he uses on patches and says it's great. The main thing is run something in there, I know it seems logical that you are pushing it into the bore, but keep in mind the twist in the barrel and how the patch is "grooving" in the barrel to catch the particles which usually comes out black proving that you are cleaning it while shooting.

RE: One more question..
 

Cayugad pretty much summed it up, I myself use a wet patch (not dripping) but be SURE that the barrel is BONE DRY before loading or a misfire is likely and you will waste lots of time clearing out the load.Like caugad said, listen for the hissing air and make sure no liquid is spitting out either.the same applies if you use too much bore butter, it will build up in the breech plug and cause a misfire

RE: One more question..
 

DoeDumper...Another point...The jags for most traditional rifles are too big (diameter)...They push thefouling down the barrel as you mentioned...Chuck it up in a drill and file it to a smaller diameter, this way the damp patch rides over the fouling on the way down and pulls it up and out on the way up...

Also, I noticed in your other post you were using 85-90 grains of powder...With most button rifled 1-48 twists rifles you will do better if you drop the powder charge as mentioned, what most folks don't realize is that real black powder, leaves about 57% residue...So by reducing the charge, you also reduce fouling...So especially when target shooting and small game hunting, its fine to take the load down to 40-50 grains in a .50 caliber....

RE: One more question..
 

Some suggestions. Consistency is the key when loading your firearm, remember you will be shooting a clean barrel when you go hunting , so you want to duplicate the POI when shooting a clean barrel. So with that in mind when I get home from my range time I remove the breech plug clean as necessary, apply the anti sieze, clean the barrel very good, lightly oil, then run a dry patch or 2 down the barrel and try to remove a over abundace of oil. After this put a patch on your jag fire a primer and inspect the patch it should show a burn mark. Then you will be good to go. As previous said cleaning between shots is a must for accuracy that will match a clean barrel. Also you will hear the air rushing thru the nipple when using the dry patch, if not tear down and clean. One thing to keep in mind never saturate the patch, I use windex. The ammonia is the secret why windex works. I also bought some CVA plastic remover and to the best of my knowlege it really works, when used I let it sit for a period of time then run a wire brush several times followed by patches you will be surprise at how black the patches come out. I hunt in a shotgun only state so I use my ML'er. Just my @ cents. Lou

RE: One more question..
 

With my sidelock, swabbing has definitely improved consistancy. I have however noticed a distinct difference beyween my first "clean bore" shot and subsequent "swabed but still fouled bore" shots. My clean bore shots always fly several inches higher than subsequent rounds. I've not yet tried fouling my bore with a powder charge and patch but need to do this before next hunting season. I'm using Cayugad's recomended alcohol patch, putting it thru the slot of a standard patch tip(not a jag), sticking it down into the bottle, pull it out, wrap a dry patch or two arond it to wring it out, then down the barrel in short strokes, twist it slightly at the bottom, and pull it out. Follow with one dry patch, fire a cap, and reload. The slotted patch tip allows me to stick it down the throat of the bottle and when going down the barrel, it seems to loosen more than push, then at the bottom, the slight twist balls up the patch and seems to drag out most of the debris. The dry patches used to wring out the dipped one them become damp patches for following swabs. I'm not getting any dampness build up in the breech. Good luck and tell us what that Hawken likes to eat!

RE: One more question..
 

Thanks a ton guys! This is all appreciated. I always wondered one thing about these sidelocks and dont laugh too hard...but is that breech plug removable or have I been cleaning the hard way all thos eyears. I had never reallized I may have been overloading it until I started reading this board. People around here using 120-150 grains...lol...I never loaded more than 90 and that seems to be high on here so Im definitely gonna drop down...some old habits die hard.


I have been shooting a muzzleloader for prob 20 years or so but I am always open to better and easier ways so thanks again guys! It does look like I have learned some bad habits over the years.