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?

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

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.

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

Yeah, they're pretty good - but the quest for one hole groups must go on! Besides 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.

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

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.

Kinda like you were 14 all over again

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

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.