Alcohol swab issue?

[MSK]

I tried using alcohol swabs on a jag to clean the bore of my flint rifle between shots. It appears that each time I did,the gun flashed in the pan multiple times before firing. Once I stopped using the swabs, the gun fired without issue. Is it possible the swabs were leaving too much moisture in the breech and affecting the powder charge?

Thanks, Smollett

 

[Stumpkiller]

Are you using 91% alcohol (9% water) on a cleaning patch or a medical cleansing wipe (70% alcohol/30% water), or one of the pre-packaged baby wipe types (who knows what)?

I use the first one to clean the old storage oils out before loading; but just a spit damp patch maybe every 5 to 10 shots thereafter (if it starts to get hard to seat the ball).

 

[coloradoclyde]

Where you putting alcohol on a swab or where you using those little packets/ handy wipes?

I'm not a fan of those little packets....many contain fragrances and lotions and very little alcohol.

Maybe you were using to much alcohol and it didn't have time to flash off.

Also when I swab I follow with a dry patch.

 

[MSK]

These are injection-site swabs, not baby wipes; the small pre-packaged squares. I think Stumpkiller's on to something. I checked the box and I see that the swabs are 70% alcohol as opposed to the 91%. I'm wondering if the higher water content of the former is wetting the powder. Good idea indeed to follow up with a dry patch. I'll try that out and will also get some 91% swabs. I'll then tell my wife I bought her an almost full box of 70% swabs for makeup removal. Win-win?

Thanks, Smollett

 

[coloradoclyde]

I think there is more to it than just water content....
All fall I've been using equal parts of Murphy's, Heet and water without a single misfire. That puts my Alcohol content a 33%.
Heet is denatured ethanol....There are many different types of Alcohol and they all have different properties.
Do your wipes say what type of alcohol is in them?

 

[azmntman]

These are injection-site swabs, not baby wipes; the small pre-packaged squares. I think Stumpkiller's on to something. I checked the box and I see that the swabs are 70% alcohol as opposed to the 91%. I'm wondering if the higher water content of the former is wetting the powder. Good idea indeed to follow up with a dry patch. I'll try that out and will also get some 91% swabs. I'll then tell my wife I bought her an almost full box of 70% swabs for makeup removal. Win-win?

Thanks, Smollett

"honey thats really sweet but there several missing?" Gotta come up with an answer for the prize :rotf:

 

[MSK]

Isopropyl alcohol is what the packaging reads.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I use the 71% alcohol to wipe my rifle to remove the storage oils before shooting. Its also my wipe of choice between rounds. When I wipe the bore, I then go to the spotting scope to look at my target. That gives the alcohol some time to dry off before I load the next charge. Of course my patch is only slightly damp. No wet patches for me.

I'm thinking the patch that was used was too wet so flash in the pans are a likely result.

 

[coloradoclyde]

The less alcohol, the more time is needed for evaporation to occur.....following with a dry patch will increase the drying.......

 

[necchi]

Where do people get the idea that a wiping patch has to be that wet anyway's?
I use a spit patch, barely damp, pressed against the roof of my mouth,, once down and back,, then load,, never a problem.
All I want to do is wipe some of the fouling left from the previous shot,, not fully clean the barrel.
The idea is to leave the same amount of fouling in the bore shot to shot,, not allowing fouling to continue to build

 

[coloradoclyde]

I use a spit patch,

I do too, unless I'm doing a lot of shooting and then I get dry mouth.... :haha:
Or if the gun isn't going to be shot right away....then I use cleaning solution...

 

[Vaino]

This post has become "ridiculous". Percentage of alcohol? How did the many wars be fought and the people on the "frontier" get by w/ no alcohol? Don't know if the posters really read all this "picky stuff" and how it sounds to a "sane" person? I'm doubtful that a lot of good bourbon was wasted on swabbing the bbl...especially after every shot.

One "mystic" advantage of swabbing w/ alcohol after every shot.....no wars would have been waged because of the "time outs" for swabbing and the swabbers imbibing on the alcohol.....Fred

 

[coloradoclyde]

:rotf: .....Alcohol was part of a soldiers rations..... :haha:

 

[MSK]

Ridiculous it indeed might sound if one reads the post in a vacuum. My intention is in trying to figure out why the gun wasn't going off (vent cleared, btw).

Smollett

 

[necchi]

The answer has pretty much been ,
Too wet.

 

[coloradoclyde]

The answer has pretty much been ,
Too wet.

Yep!...sometimes you have to read between the lines.... :grin: