Advice Please

[john1964]

Good afternnoon,

I had a question regarding how frequently one should clean their rifle for best accuracy while target shooting.

Some have indicated to clean after every shot with a wet patch.

Others have indicated that you should use a "fouling shot" and then shoot 5 or so rounds for best accuracy.

I currently run a damp patch, then dry, after every shot.

What is the experience of those on this forum?

Thanks,
john

 

[chipper]

I shoot a .50 Getz barrel mounted on a Jim Chambers Issac Haynes.
I use a pillow ticking spit patch to load.
I shoot a fowling shot then wipe between each shot with a spit patch made of doubled over muslin.
I stick a vent pick in, when I load.
I use my wet thumb to clean the frizzen.
I use fff from my horn to prime and I filler up.

Works like a champ and shoots like a dream.

Regards
Wounded Knee

 

[Mike Brooks]

I've never had a gun I couldn't shoot all day with out cleaning. A high quality barrel, the right patch/lube/ball combo and the right amount of powder will dictate how often you clean.
All of my guns have shot better groups than I was capable of holding off hand with my methods.

 

[mike alexandre]

This is another "it depends". It depends on the gun your using and the condition of the bore,on the amount and type of powder, on the patch and or wad lube, on the temp and humidity of the day and lots more. I've got a gun that really dislikes being cleaned between shots, another that responds to cleaning with one cleaner/lube and wont group with another combo. You just have to work through the variations, keep notes and dont forget to try spit somewhere along the line.

 

[Slowpoke]

If you're shooting offhand don't worry about it. You'll never be able to tell the difference if you've done your time working up the correct combo ball/patch/lube.
Now if you're a bench shooter, you absolutely need to clean after every shot. You need to eliminate all variables: Weigh your balls, Teflon patches, weigh your powder, etc.

 

[CrackStock]

Try this -- shoot 2 rounds of targets so that at least 25 rounds are fired by each method. One swabbing after each shot fired and the other without. For me, there was no comparison.

All else is the experience of others, while you should learn what works for you.

CS

 

[Birddog6]

IMHO, the idea behind swabbing between shots is not to clean the bore, but rather to keep the bore with the same consistency of fouling from shot to shot.

Same amount of fouling
Same amount of powder & same powder
Same patch lube & amount of it
Same patch thickness
Same ball diameter & brand
Same pressure on the ball when loading against the charge
And the exact Same swabbing technique every time........

You find the Combo the rifle likes & stay with it. You change one thing in the above & usually a change in accuracy occurs........

That is why when you do find a load close & want to refine it, you change One thing at a time to find the optimum load. You change more than one at a time it usually means starting all over as you put too many variables in the formula.
:thumbsup:

Now when I shoot, none of this applies as I can't hit what I am shooting at anyway !! :rotf:

 

[Hoyt]

I can't tell the difference between the first shot and 25th in my .54cal. Rice barrel. Long as I got something slippery on my patched round ball, that's all I do is shoot and load. I feel just a little bump as the patched ball shoves the fouling loose just above the powder and that's it.

 

[RiverRat]

I agree with the others who said that they have no need to wipe or clean during a shooting session.

 

[DrTimboone]

Most i ever fired my rifle at one time was 30 rounds. No wiping between rounds. I had one misfire after about 20 so I picked the vent and it worked fine. So I continued to pick the vent aftr loading each time.

 

[54JNoll]

Experiment. Your gun will tell you what it likes.

I have some that shoot fine without swabbing and otehrs that require swabing with one patch and some like two patches. One rifle wanted to be swabbed after every shot with two spit patches plus it wanted a fouling shot beofre the first shot. That rifle was sold. It just got to be too much as it was really fussy. I have others that are less fussy and those that do not give a hoot one way or the other. Too fussy is not fun.

But seriously the only way to know what your gun will like is to experiment.

 

[john1964]

Thanks for the reponses everyone.

I will try swabbing and not swabbing as a starting point and then go from there.

The experimentation is what makes this fun.

Thanks again,
john

 

[Poor Boy]

You're question was answered very well.Every barrel is different.It's what ever works.The Muzzleloading Cap Lock Rifle by Ned Roberts is an excellent book. It will tell you just about everything about shooting a muzzleloading rifle.Dutch Schultz from St. Louis also has good info about muzzleloading.Because of the 2 above mentioned,my son was the the 2004 National Territorial Junior Champion. Olson