Until this year, I had never heard of firing a squib load prior to a range session or hunting. Is there really a huge accuracy difference when shooting from a clean barrel as opposed to one that's got a few shots through it? If you do fire a squib before going hunting does that mean you clean your barrel after every hunt? If I choose to hunt with a clean barrel will I have to clean the barrel spotless between each range shot?

I havn't experienced any difference between clean barrel or after firing American Pioneer, Jim Shockey select loose powder. If you're using black powder or Pyrodex, I wouldn't reccomend it due to the corrosive qualities of these powders.

The standard for calibers doesn't seem to be as exact . i have 50 cal. muzzleloaders that vary by a couple of 1000's. Some a 50 cal sabot are almost impossible to push down while there are some that the same sabot is almost loose. The tight fit is important for accuracy. A loose fitting sabot allows gases to blow by and reduces accuracy. A squib shot is only necessary if your sabot doesn't fit tight in the bore. Most modern muzzleloaders seem to be getting tighter tolerances so a squib shot usually isn't necessary, all depends on the gun and what you are trying to shoot

I take the other replies into consideration when i say this. Practice the way you will hunt. iN OTHER WORDS IF YOU ARE HUNTING W/ A CLEAN BORE thenswab your bore between every practice shot so there is consistency. If you are hunting a squib or dirty bore thenswab as often as needed between practice shots.

On my White rifle I always shot a squib load thru it before loading, White reccomends doing this. My other ML's I do not, but I do pop a couple of caps thru them before loading.

This is really hard to pin down, it changes depending on how you clean your gun and what products you use and what metal preseverative or oil you use, also one of the key factors can be what powder you use.
I personally don't like squib loads or fouling shots so I tried different things till I found a way to avoid them and had to do it all over again when I switched most of my inlines to BH209. Its a personal preference. Lee