mondoman86

I have been using triple 7 pellets for a few years now, and have been having this problem since then. I just decided I was gonna ask and see if this was normal, or if I had some kinda problem. They shoot great out of my gun, no hang fires, or misfires. The thing is I can only shoot one shot without cleaning, because there is so much crud built up in the very bottom of the barrel where the pellets sit.
I swab the barrel between every shot. First using one of the blue cleaning patches...sometimes it is very tough to get it to pass the crud ring (which I call it), and pull it back out. Then I use a dry patch to dry the cleaner up.
I was shooting with a buddy, and he told me that my gun would probably be more accurate than it was if I could shoot 2-3 shots without cleaning. He said his gun was more accurate with 3 shots of not cleaning compared to cleaning every shot. Don't get me wrong my gun is very accuarte. At 50 yards bullets holes are passing through the same holes in groupings, and at 100 yards its keeping 1 1/2 to 3 inch groups. It did get me thinking though. What if I miss a deer by chance, and I only have a few seconds for another chance. I'd like to not have to swab the barrel with 2 patches before reloading.
I was wondering is there something going on causeing it to do this "CRUD RING"? I use 2 50grain pellets, I'm using triple 7 primers, and shooting a hornady 240 grain xtp bullet with a harvester crushed rib sabot. It left the same crud when using a shockwave, and a t/c break away sabot also.
Does anyone have a remedy for this, or know how to stop it? Thanks for any and all help.

rdpettit

old story...did you try a search on "crud ring"?

ronlaughlin

To minimize the crud ring some use the vari-flame adapters, and others use a breech plug modified to use 25 acp brass, or since 25 brass are hard to come by, 32 acp brass.

cantremembermyid

loose powder instead of the pellets.

I have used Triple 7 FFFG loose powder. I still get the crud ring but it is not too bad so far.

With real BP, you need to swab (or at least should) swab after each shot. So, it doesn't bother me to swab after each shot.

lemoyne

Crud-ring is typical of 777 I had it with pellets and loose both. Now I switched to Blackhorn I don't even take swabbing and cleaning stuff to the range and I shoot all day some times. Blackhorn is more expensive but in my opinion the 15% less pressure for the same velocity and it being the most accurate without any cleaning so I only need to clean when I get home is well worth it.

flounder33

For me the crud ring is not a big deal. At the range I always swab between shots anyway. I could see where there could be a potential problem if you needed a quick follow up shop when hunting but I have not had this come up. Every powder out there has its good points and bad, with 777 I get good accuracy at a reasonable price so I continue to use it as well as other powders. As mentioned the use of less powerful primers and loose powder will lessen the crud ring.

Breechplug

I tried some T7 years ago and did'nt like it because of the Crud Ring, so I stayed with Pyro RS Powder. Im shooting the same Bullet as you, 240gr XTP, T7 or Win W209 Primers and the Harvester MMP HPH 24 Sabots. No Problems without Patching between shots if need be.
I have yet to try BH but if your looking for a Powder that needs little to no Maintenance, BH is the way to go.
Also there should be no need to have a quick second shot with your MLer, the first shot should have been on the money. A Hurried second shot at a aleart animal is going to be worse than the first one if you can even get one off that's a good one. And Im not talking about a second follow up shot to do what the first shot should have done.
Best of Luck and get some BH and your Crud Ring will be no more.
(BP)

rafsob

Yes to all the above and more. Get rid of 777 and go to another powder. I don't care which one, but I ended up using BH209 for my inline guns. For mycaplock and flintlock guns I use the real deal (BP).

Now as to the BH209. You must have a closed breach plug for this powder. I shoot a Knight Vision and NEF Sidekick with an upgraded bp and it works wonderfully. I have shot this powder at the range for 25 continuous shots without cleaning the barrel. I only stopped and ran a wet patch and dry patch to see what was in the barrel. It was hardly dirty. I also pulled the BP and found a light dusting of carbon dust and no hard carbon on the bp face. This impressed me quit a bit and I now use it faithfully. Oh yeah, it along with my bullet combos hard tack drivers. I am using a 300 gr. XTP sabot in the Sidekick and Harnady 350 gr. FPB in the Vision.

Hope this info helps pal. Good shooting.

cayugad

It is unfortunate but as great a powder as Triple Seven is, some rifles get a crud ring. Mine do. When you swab and reach that crud ring...SLOW DOWN! Take very small stabs at that crud with that damp patch until you can scrub your way through it. Then work that area over real good. This way you patch will not get stuck.

When I pull that first damp patch out of a Triple Seven barrel, I flip it over and do the same swab routine again. The second time is much easier. Then a dry one or two.

Lots of people claim that if you can shoot a couple shots without swabbing, that you get better accuracy. Well that is not true with all powders.

BlackHorn 209 I believe shot better the more I shot the powder. And it was a great powder. No crud ring. But you had to use solvent to clean it. And where I live, there is none, anyway. Even the sporting good stores never heard of it. I mean, don't they keep up on what's on the market and what is selling. Even Gander Mountain did not know about it.

Take APP for example. You can shoot and shoot and the accuracy stays about the same. Sometimes you get a crud ring near the muzzle. A white hard crust can form there and I then just scrub the first couple inches of the barrel.

Pyrodex RS does produce a crud ring of sorts, but it is much softer then Triple Seven. And normally you can shoot a second shot with out swabbing. This is handy of course in the field should a fast second shot be needed, but I find I can do the same with Triple Seven most of the time. It just might be a little off of the first hit. But if its a follow up shot, then it is more of a coup de grāce then a more accurate first shot.

Pinnacle was one powder that I really loved. No crud ring. I could shoot and shoot. Same accuracy as the first shot. Easy to clean. Just a nice powder. Then they stopped making it or it is near impossible to find.

Strange as it might sound, Goex Black Powder I find, I can shoot up to three shots easy, with excellent accuracy, before I have to swab a barrel. Granted the fouling in the barrel is there, but again, it is soft and easy to remove. This is one of my favorite powders. It is very cost effective, and if a powder is going to go off, this is the powder that will fire in all kinds of weather and conditions. Just a great powder IMO. Also the myth of cleaning a rifle after shooting black powder.. I find them no harder to clean. But yes, if you shoot, you do need to clean the barrel.

So it is all a matter of choice. If you get great accuracy with Triple Seven, then you have to put up with the crud ring. It is a cost effective powder, powerful, and easy to clean at the end of the day. I like the powder. The crud ring is just part of the game to me.

oldsmellhound

I noticed that when I switched from T7 pellets to loose T7 FFFG, the crud ring problem got much better. I'm using T7 primers. I still get a little bit of a crud ring, but I can shoot 3-4 shots without swabbing. However, I get the best accuracy swabbing between shots. Your results may vary...