Crud rings and seized breechplugs are why I moved off 777. I now use real blackpowder FFF and easy to clean, being both of my hunting MLs are inlines and not of the plunger/bolt action varieties.

I would do a couple things - scrub the bore down really well - make sure there is no oil or residue in there. Use a copper bore brush and really work it for awhile.

Second, try different primers. I've found that 777 primers give less of a crud ring (more expensive, though) with some of my rifles.

Having said that, IME some rifles just produce more of a crud ring than others, for whatever reason. I have an old .45 CVA that doesn't get the crud ring at all - I can shoot many, many times without swabbing. I have a Knight that I have to swab between every shot because of the bad crud ring, regardless of what I do.

You may just need to switch to another powder....

I had cleaned this pistol with a wire brush and Hoppes..This morning I went and got some ethanol,came home n scrubbed the barrel down real good.Got some crud like grease on my patches.After cleaning it.I went and shot it again.50 grains of triple 7, 3 f,250 grain Thompson center shock wave bullet in their yellow sabot and this time for primers,I used vari flame 209 adapter with a cci small rifle primer.I got 4 shots off with the bullets seating on the powder and on the mark of the ramrod.I was pleased,I might not have to use the vari flame,just a weaker 209 primer.I usually swab between shots,cause the first shot on game is usually taken with a clean rifle,but sometimes a quick second shot is needed..Personally I like triple seven,,it shoots well in most of my rifles,but I do have a 45 knight that is very picky with powder and bullets.Only gripe I have against Traditions is they need a little better customer service.Someone maybe more knowledgeable,who would have asked what primers I was using,but I guess the blame is on me for not cleaning the pistol better.Thats why we live and learn.I am a new guy on this site and would like to thank everyone for their ideas and help.

I have a range in my back yard.So after firing the pistol 4 times I bought it in and cleaned it.When I ran the patch down the barrel ,,I couldn't feel a crude ring.So I am a happy camper..I hunt with different rifles and for the most part,I hunt with white rifles.I have never had much of a crud ring with them,shooting musket caps.I am going to break down one day and buy some Blackhorn 209 and try it.I stared at it the other day at the local gun shop,,I was thinking to myself,that sure is a small bottle,,but I also noticed there was a lot of dust on the triple 7 and pyrodex.

From what I hear, Blackhorn 209 just puts their crud ring in a different place..... inside the breechplug. Every blackpowder substitute out there has it's own sets of pros and cons.

I cleaned the pistol up,grabbed some more bullets and sighted it in.I am no pistol man,once I had the pistol sighted in,I shot 11 times.I had about a 4 inch group,wiping between shots at 40 yards ,,no crud ring with the small rifle primers,some of my shots touched and I had one flyer,I think it was owner operator error.Next time I am out,going to pick up some low power shotgun primers and give them another try.

Make sure when you clean your breech plug you are using a small 3mm drill bit turned by hand to clean out the 'flash channel' directly under the primer. The small hole in the end of the BP is the 'flash hole" you should not need to do anything with it. the less you stick something through it the better.



I use a 'drill bit on a stick' for the job...

Some good information you have given me sabotloader.I will try a drill bit on my breach plug.Never cleaned any of my breach plugs like that before..

If everyone had the problems with crud-ring I did no one would use 777. The only thing I eve found that really made it useable in AR temperature and humidity is switching to pistol primers in a shortened cartridge case. Since that is one of the few things that's illegal here it does not work for hunting.
Swiss black Pyrodex or Blackhorn are soo much nicer and on top of that in this area 777 cost me just as much as Blackhorn and its getting to the point where its harder to find. I still use Pyrodex in my traditional rifles I tried using 777 and it eats patches so bad I had to use wads to protect them and that's somewhere between ridicules and self-defeating.

Can I use that stick for my corndogs too?