after my first shooting outing i have a question now...what do i do before hunting? im shooting a tc 50cal flintlock hawken...i ran a patch with bore butter once down and back in my barrel a few weeks before i went shooting yesterday...my first shot was high and to the right....then i put 2 almost in the same hole..they were touching about 6-8 inches down and about 4 or 5 inches to the left..all the rest of my shots were consistant on that side and low so thats where it was shooting...was it the bore butter that made my first shot fly? i didnt clean the bore while shooting but did zero it in a 50 yards shooting a prelubed .10 patch and hornady round ball with 90grs of goex 2fg black powder...i plan on sighting it in again and cleaning between shoots with powerbelts but still i dont want my first shot to fly when im hunting..that wont be too good...will running a few dry patches through the bore solve the problem? or do i need to shoot a fouling shot? also if i do need to shoot a fouling shot what is the process of doing so?? thanx alot...

You' re on the right track mauser.

Shoot with a dry barrel. Dry patch out any bore butter or lube that' s in the bore before shooting that 1st shot...........that will bring it MUCH closer to the rest of the group. It might be off a " little" - but still close enough to hunt.

If you can take a full practice shot early in the AM or the day before without spooking the game that helps tremendously. If not, prime your flinter and put about 10gr of powder in the bore, hold it at a 45deg angle up and fire it.............this should create sufficient fouling for any subsequent shots for the next couple of days.

Mark' s advice is right on. The only thing I could add, and there will be a lot of people who disagree, but I suggest " deep sixing" that Bore Butter! I have given it about an 18-month trial, and I will never let any of it darken my bore again!!