Hunting - Need your clean/cold bore 1st shot to hit w/ the rest of the shots?

Try this! This is a tip I learned from Eric Cortina, THE National Champion F-Class, 1000-yard shooter, using modern centerfire rifles, as when not shooting MZL’drs, I shoot sub-F-Class out to 600-yards. But I applied it to black powder rifles, and it works!

Many MZL rifles or muskets will NOT shoot the 1st shot from a clean/cold bore to the same impact spot as the rest of the shots fired that day. I have had some BP arms shoot to the same spot, but not all.

Anyways, after the bore is clean and dry - Eric’s trick is to push a few swabs of ‘Lock-Ease’ solution on a clean patch - and swab the barrel. It is a colloidal graphite in liquid solution product. He believes this pre-conditions the bore, as a fouled bore from any firearm will have graphite in the bore, as modern and even black powder are coated with graphite.

I’ve experimented, and for application to our BP realm, after doing the ‘Lock-Ease’ patched, I will then put 1 patch down the bore using the Track of the Wolf mink oil lube that I use as a hunting lube.

I have tested this now, 3-shots from a cleaned/cold bore, every WED for the last 3-weeks. It works! Yes, I need to tap the front sight to the left a bit to move the group to the right, on my 54-cal hunting rifle, but that is 3-shots @ 50-yards, where the 1st shot was from a clean/cold bore, but one treated with ‘Lock-Ease’ and then my ‘paste’ form lube.

Note, I am not sure this would work with a liquid patch lube …

nice

All mine appear to land the first shot in the same group as the next 4. At least I've never noticed a stray first shot.

hanshi said:

All mine appear to land the first shot in the same group as the next 4. At least I've never noticed a stray first shot.

Click to expand...

I know ... as you and I have discussed this before on posts and via PMs. I recall even messaging you one time asking, "How the heck are you managing that?"

But sometimes it works for me and sometimes not, less variation on rifles of course. Anyways ... it works for me so I'm happy!

I’m definitely trying this.

I will have to try this. I have never had a rifle that the first shot from a clean bore would group, Have had a couple that were close enough to hunt with but not quiet there in the group. As a match shooter you never fire the first shot from a clean bore for score but hunting is always from a clean bore.

Thank you for the tip

I've never found it to make much difference when you're talking about hunting accuracy, competition yes it does. I shoot F-class also.

I have always just fouled the bore with a small charge, no ball, followed by a dry patch

I probably haven't shot as many different M.L. rifles as some of you but I have had several top on the line M.L. and have shot others that I was working on. The one thing that all of them had in common was the first shot went high on a clean barrel but after a fouling shot they grouped well. All my .54 cal. rifles were six inches high on the first shot at a hundred yards!

Flint62Smoothie said:

I know ... as you and I have discussed this before on posts and via PMs. I recall even messaging you one time asking, "How the heck are you managing that?"

But sometimes it works for me and sometimes not, less variation on rifles of course. Anyways ... it works for me so I'm happy!

Click to expand...

I can't shoot - or even see, for that matter - like I once could. But if a cold barrel shot strayed several inches from the group then I could tell of course. But if the shot was 1/2" or 1" out of a group I just chalk it up to my usual lousy marksmanship. I've never entered matches with my muzzleloading rifle so I guess I belong in that group of shooters who are satisfied with "hunting accuracy".

Not only does my first shot stray, but my second and third also.

For hunting, I sight in for the first shot on a cold clean barrel. Never worried if a second shot might be a few inches off because I've never needed a second shot when hunting.

flatcreek said:

Not only does my first shot stray, but my second and third also.

Click to expand...

You can be asured your shots arn't the only ones! LOL!

hanshi said:

I can't shoot - or even see, for that matter - like I once could. But if a cold barrel shot strayed several inches from the group then I could tell of course. But if the shot was 1/2" or 1" out of a group I just chalk it up to my usual lousy marksmanship. I've never entered matches with my muzzleloading rifle so I guess I belong in that group of shooters who are satisfied with "hunting accuracy".

Click to expand...

I believe that most people really don't recognize how much a rifle changes from first shot to the second? Like I said my .54 cal. rifles are six inches high on a clean barrel at a hundred yards but at fifty yards that is only three inches? How many people can shoot a three inch group at fifty yards? I don't know about everybody else but just casually shooting a three inch group at fifty yards is pretty good shooting to me!

This target is the first shots from a flintlock I made a couple years ago. The first shot was 2" low which would have been OK if Deer hunting. Then the next 3 shots were a nice group. Filed a little off the front sight and gave it a couple taps right and a couple light taps left on the rear sight right on target. The high shot was a hang fire. Had to be the easiest rifle I have ever sighted in.

ronaldrothb49 said:

This target is the first shots from a flintlock I made a couple years ago. The first shot was 2" low which would have been OK if Deer hunting. Then the next 3 shots were a nice group. Filed a little off the front sight and gave it a couple taps right and a couple light taps left on the rear sight right on target. The high shot was a hang fire. Had to be the easiest rifle I have ever sighted in.

Click to expand...

What distance wre you shooting?

LME said:

What distance wre you shooting?

Click to expand...

That was about 40 yards, I was shooting behind my garage and that is about as far as I can go without risking the balls going over the top of the hill and leaving my property. I would expect at 50 yards the group would be slightly higher and as the barrel got broke in the group would tighten up. That was the only time I got to shoot it and I don't think the new owner has ever shot it. One of the few rifles I have made that I wish I had kept but it was promised before it was finished.

Flint62Smoothie said:

Try this! This is a tip I learned from Eric Cortina, THE National Champion F-Class, 1000-yard shooter, using modern centerfire rifles, as when not shooting MZL’drs, I shoot sub-F-Class out to 600-yards. But I applied it to black powder rifles, and it works!

Many MZL rifles or muskets will NOT shoot the 1st shot from a clean/cold bore to the same impact spot as the rest of the shots fired that day. I have had some BP arms shoot to the same spot, but not all.

Anyways, after the bore is clean and dry - Eric’s trick is to push a few swabs of ‘Lock-Ease’ solution on a clean patch - and swab the barrel. It is a colloidal graphite in liquid solution product. He believes this pre-conditions the bore, as a fouled bore from any firearm will have graphite in the bore, as modern and even black powder are coated with graphite.

I’ve experimented, and for application to our BP realm, after doing the ‘Lock-Ease’ patched, I will then put 1 patch down the bore using the Track of the Wolf mink oil lube that I use as a hunting lube.

I have tested this now, 3-shots from a cleaned/cold bore, every WED for the last 3-weeks. It works! Yes, I need to tap the front sight to the left a bit to move the group to the right, on my 54-cal hunting rifle, but that is 3-shots @ 50-yards, where the 1st shot was from a clean/cold bore, but one treated with ‘Lock-Ease’ and then my ‘paste’ form lube.

Note, I am not sure this would work with a liquid patch lube …

View attachment 355728


View attachment 355729

Click to expand...

After you swab the bore with Lock-ease, you run a patch with your hunting lube. Do you then run a patched ball on top of thelubed patch (double patching) or did you just use the one with a ball? I have read that double patching can improve grouping but have not tried it. Thanks!

Whiteoak15 said:

After you swab the bore with Lock-ease, you run a patch with your hunting lube. Do you then run a patched ball on top of thelubed patch (double patching) or did you just use the one with a ball? I have read that double patching can improve grouping but have not tried it. Thanks!

Click to expand...

I woud like to try the Lock-ease method! I believe anything that will dirty the bore will keep your group together. I will have to learn not to compensate on my first shot!