Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

You know me, guys - I just gotta` experiment. Today I tried a swabbing experimentwith the Great Plains flintlock. I used the same load for four fifty-yard 5-shot groups, but different swabbing techniques for each group.

First Group: First shot from a clean barrel, then four more shots wiping with both sides of a dry patch between shots.

Second Group: First shot from a clean barrel, then wiping with both sides of a damp patch andthen both sides of a dry patch between shots.

Third Group: All shots from a dirty barrel - no swabbing at all.

Fourth Group: Fully cleaned barrel for each shot - then wiped bore before each loading with a lightly oiled patch followed by one dry patch.

Here are the pictures of each target. WHADAYATHINK?

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

Semi - I think the second target, damp, damp, dry, dry is the worst...... and that's the technique I use!! :(

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

Any of them I think is pretty good from a flintlock... it is fun to play though.

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

The thing is yoeman - ya` never know. That just might be the best technique for your gun. In my Mustang I get better groups with damp,damp,dry,dry than I do with a dirty barrel. Also, keep in mind this is only one group with each technique and I could have screwed any of those groups up myself. Now, if I repeated the experiment and got the same results I would be more confident in ranking the techniques for this gun.

I did learn two things that I wanted to know.

1. The gun shoots darn well on a dirty barrel, and does not become difficult loading (at least for five shots).
2. A clean - oiled barrel shoots to the same point of aim each time. That's good for me because I like to hunt with a clean oiled barrel and leave the load in the gun if I don't shoot it that day.

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

Yeah, they're pretty good - but the quest for one hole groups must go on! :DBesides that, I'm embarrassed to show you my one attempt at75 yards today (Ok, I will - see it below). Heck, I've been shooting only 95 grain loadswith balls. Haven't even tried 90, 85, 80, or 100. Got a lot of shooting ahead of me.

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

Semi - when you say on the 4th target "clean barrel every shot", do you mean damp/damp/dry/dry/load/oiled ??

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

No, Yoeman, I mean a fully cleaned barrel between every shot - something like wet,wet - new patch - damp,damp - new patch - damp,damp - new patch - dry,dry, - oiled patch - dry patch - loadbetween each shot. I can tell you, my ramrod arm was TIRED by the end of that five-shot string.

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

Kinda like you were 14 all over again

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

Yeah! Way more stroking than is good for you. :D:D (Oh man - this thread is gonna` take a left turn.)

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

FG, you need to get your mind out of gutter. sheesh.

could you have put it between the 2 that are close together.

try switching hands. works on other things for me. same motion sorry.

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

Corey, I'd like to think the fifth shot is right there with those two together. Heck, I'msure it is. There, I feel better already. :)

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

it is possible, I was looking at it and notice how torn up between them they where.

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

Side note on this range session: I started with a new Tom Fuller flint from Track of the Wolf. I fired 30 rounds during the range session with that flint and it still looks good. To the GP's credit, I did not have even one flash in the pan. I did have failure to spark severaltimes, twiceit turned out that the flint was a little loose and the jawscrew needed about a half turn to tighten it up. Otherwise, if it failed to spark I justwiped the fouling from the flint and it sparked fine. Gotta` remember to wipe that flint after every two or three shots and check the jaw screw after about six or seven shots.

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

Semi - looks like you're rifle shoots best with a dirty barrel. I have a couple like that too. But I also have some that shoot 1st shot dead nuts. Those are the ones I usually hunt with - simply because I don't want that corrosive black powder fouling in my bore for too long.

RE: Swabbing Experiment With The Great Plains Flintlock
 

I hunt with a fully clean barrel also bronco. That's why I was pleased with the fourth target. After I get a little more range time with this gun I'll be setting the sights for dead on at 75 yards with a clean barrel. If the first and second targets are any indication, a second shot with a fouled barrel will be on 1 & 1/2 to 2" lower than the clean barrel shot.