Hi names Mike, I am not new to muzzle loading but , I do have a question,During any firing of my rifle,{after the first shot} ,If I dont swab and bore butter the bore I cant load another charge without needing to ram the last few inches ,I am always worried about crushing the pellets . When in the feild I usually dont have the time to lube and swab on a follow up shot Is there any tricks of the trade ? to prevent this ? I am aware it is because of the fouling from the charge , I am using trip 7 , possibly a different powder ?

That would be the infamous Triple 7 crud ring. I haven't shot that powder so I can't be much help to you as for how to minimize it, but there are some here that don't have the problem as bad. I know for one I would probably try loose powder over pellets. I'm sure those with more knowledge about it will chime in.

Vince
P.S. Welcome aboard. Be careful how much time you spend here. There's been a weird bug floating around the last couple months that appears to be highly contagious and costly to treat. If you insist on being here, might as well start making room in the gun safe.

try changing from butter to oil yet?

Welcome to the forum mike.
If you would tell us what rifle and what powder you are shooting it would help, I can think of several possibilities you may be creating the problem with what you are using if its a traditional. If its an inline and you are using 777 the best answer to bad crud ring is to switch to Blackhorn or pyrodex. If yo have a high quality inline with a well designed breach plug like a TC you can shoot 10 or 12 shots then clean the carbon out of the breach plug with a 1/8 inch drill and go right on shooting. If that's the case we can tell you a mod that will let you shoot all after noon with out doing anything but loading and shooting. Some brands require the mod just to fire Blackhorn consistently.

I think its a combination of the bore butter and the Triple 7. I suggest you try a different powder like Pyrodex. Then clean with a good black powder/substitute cleaner and finish by drying the bore with an alcohol patch followed by a light coating of gun oil or Montana Xtreme Bore Conditioner.
Just remember to swab the bore before you begin shooting.

People still use bore butter? post up what rifle,powder ETC you are using and there is help lol. Ray

hey thanks fer all the info guys , the rifles a t/c omega, 50 cal , i have been pondering the thought about buckhorn 209 , as a next step , ,i really dont have to much problem with the breach plug fire hole plugging up , and as well , i am not sure if its a bore butter , but trip 7 sells it and its blue stuff ?, just worried one day the load dosnt go all the way down ,and some kind of catastrophic failure occurs , things that go boom sometimes do ! thanks fer the welkies lee

I use bore butter on my sidelocks, but no reason for my inlines. I haven't had any issues with the butter and my accuarcy has stayed the same.

There are a ton of things that you would need to answers to be able to get directly to the problem... but basically I believe you have ran into the what has been named by another forum member as the T7 'crud ring'.

The 'crud ring' can be beat and/or nearly eliminated but it does takes some persistance. The easiest way to beat it is to switch to BH-209, it is a more expensive powder but if you do not shoot a lot it really can be the way to go.

Bore Butter is not normally the problem, depending on how you apply it, because Bore Butter is not a petroleum based product. From what I am reading here you might be using in between shots as a bore/bullet lubricant... that could lead to problems.

One of the biggest complaints in the world about T7 is that you have to run a patch after shooting... really doesn't bother me that much but to others it is a real pain. In the hunting situation it surely might be a problem, but normally with the right bore care I can shoot 4-6 shots without the 'crud ring' becoming a problem.

If you want to shoot T7 make yourself some regular Windex patches to patch the barrel with after each shot. Do not lube the sabot or the bore between shots... Here is a pictorial how to make the windex patches....



I believe a lot of the effect of the 'crud ring' is a reaction between what is in the T7 powder, the heat it creates, and the chemicals that might be in your bore. I would suggest not to use a petroleum based bore oil, or any oil with teflon in it. I believe it is a lot better to use a synthetic oil, such as Montana Xtreme Bore Condition, Slip 2000 bore oil, or Eazzox. Even the new form of BB, T17 on blue patches or Wonder Lube 1000 plus blue patches would be better that would be far better than bulk Bore Butter.

Just some thoughts as you are going to get a ton of different thoughts, so many it will be hard to work through them all.

Good luck...

Actually Ray I still do use a form of BB on all of my rifles but I apply it to a very hot bore and let it do its' thing. It is very good for helping reduce the effects of crud in the bore.

The newer versions of BB butter are a lot easier to handle and do not gum things up like bulk Bore Butter. The new form T17 Blue Patches or Wonderlube 1000 Plus Blue Patches are great for getting an even application.

The correct application of BB has gotten a bad rap since Randy Wakeman, decided it was non-sense.