Can swabbing between shots encourage misfires?

[Bluegrass]

I recently noticed the fouling in the pan of my flintlock is just a bit moist. It always does that, but I just now started really thinking about it. If your fouling is moist from patch lube and you swab between every shot or every few shots, the fouling that doesn’t stick to the patch ends up packed against the breech plug. I know swabbing can help with accuracy and ease of loading, but has anybody noticed any relation between swabbing and ignition reliability? I’m a relatively green flintlock shooter so I’m trying to find the cause of my occasional misfires.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I recently noticed the fouling in the pan of my flintlock is just a bit moist. It always does that, but I just now started really thinking about it. If your fouling is moist from patch lube and you swab between every shot or every few shots, the fouling that doesn’t stick to the patch ends up packed against the breech plug. I know swabbing can help with accuracy and ease of loading, but has anybody noticed any relation between swabbing and ignition reliability? I’m a relatively green flintlock shooter so I’m trying to find the cause of my occasional misfires.

First of all fouling will be better or worse depending on humidity. In my experience swabbing between shots makes the loading smoother, but it shoves the fouling down against the breech plug and can really do a number on the TH. I personally stop my RR about 1'" from the BP, using a reference mark, when swabbing between shots.
Larry

 

[coloradoclyde]

If you swab incorrectly, infrequently, with the wrong lube or use too much lube, it can cause problems.
Dome people dry swab, some wet swab.
Humidity will also compound problems.
It's a delicate balance between components and methods to achieve the desired goal..
I find swabbing half the barrel then flipping the patch eliminates a lot of problems like misfires and stuck patches.

 

[user 34300]

Yes.......

The trick is to use a patch that is only slightly damp and to size it suchs that it slides down easy yet bunches up and tightens on the return stroke.

Tight wet patches will cause misfires. The push the fouling down to the breech and leave a goopy mess.

IMHO the misfire shenanigans are more dangerous than the chance of and ember lighting the charge. The ember that might cause a problem could be in the breech and not reachable by the patch. Therefore the swabbing is useless for that.

If your club requires swabbing between shots, then use a nearly dry patch on a jag. So, you comply but don't cause misfires.

For top accuracy I do swab between shots with the slightly damp patch. I can not get more than several shots between cleanings anyway.

 

[Britsmoothy]

This is a eureka moment!

Swabbing should be banned under international law!

 

[Bluegrass]

Hm. I like y’all’s recommendation to swab half or most of the bore then flip the patch and swab the full length. If I use a wet patch, I’ve either slightly dampened a cleaning patch with spit or used a scrap of greased patch material and follow with a dry patch.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I use homemade solvent that contains alcohol. It dries quickly in the bore versus just water based cleaners. I never swab between shots. Overkill IMO. I let the gun sit for a minute or two after swabbing to allow the alcohol to dry. Then load up and shoot.

 

[tenngun]

I swab but also blow down the barrel between shots. You need pay attention to your gun, listen for that whoosh of air going out the vent.
As I live in the Ozarks ( ozark is an old Indian word for “it’s hot and humid today ain’t it?) I mind the pan pretty close too. Wipe it with my pinky as soon as I shoot and when I prime

 

[ADK Bigfoot]

Shoot. Wipe the frizzen, flint, and pan with a barely damp cloth. (I keep a moistened strip from an old towel tied to my bag strap; one end damp, the other dry.) Swab the barrel with a barely damp patch: one stroke down, one stroke up. (If the patch/jag/bore fit is just right, you will get a great deal of the last shot's fouling out on the upstroke.) Swab the bore with a dry patch, counting to three at the bottom of the stroke before removing it. Load. Shoot. Repeat.

I spent four hours at the range this week on a 87 degree humid afternoon (just before the thunderstorm hit.) I shot 40 rounds without any issues with ignition (except a flint that wanted to be replaced after shot number 30.) Without wiping, the fouling on the pan, flint, and frizzen would have turned to soup. I had forgotten my vent pick on this outing, and all 40 shots went off fine without picking, which I almost always do as well.

We don't get Georgia hot/humid here, but the method has worked for me.

ADK Bigfoot

 

[Brokennock]

but has anybody noticed any relation between swabbing and ignition reliability?

Yes.

 

[Ian Straus]

I recently noticed the fouling in the pan of my flintlock is just a bit moist. ... but has anybody noticed any relation between swabbing and ignition reliability? ...

I have thought for a long time that when my cleaning patch is too wet, my cap lock rifle is more likely to misfire.
The trick is defining where 'too wet' begins. But sopping is definitely too wet.

If I clean after every shot, then I'm not afraid of pushing much fouling down to the touch hole - because there isn't much, it hasn't built up. (Is your touch hole right on top of your breech plug? That may be a reason your mileage might vary.)

When in doubt as to whether your vent is open, push a wire into that touch hole.

But I like to clean all the way to the bottom for safety reasons: I have been there when someone else's gun flashed on loading, and he was burned. Not just burned a little, $400 hospital bill.

 

[andy52]

I guess the short answer is yes. I only swab every 3rd round with a slightly wet patch follow by a dry patch. I've had too many dry patches get stuck in the barrel not to use a little lube first.

 

[Grenadier1758]

And do use a vent pick or touch hole pick to make sure the touch hole is clear to the powder charge. A dental flossing pick works well as does the paint nozzle brushes available from Harbor Freight.

The packing of fouling in a rifle with a chambered breech is very likely. It is probably better to do the wiping of the bore with a damp patched ball so the fouling is wiped down on top of the powder. In this case, there may be a build up of a crust ring. If you feel the crunch of a crust ring, then a wipe of the bore with a damp patch is necessary. Often one can shoot a long time before cleaning of the bore becomes necessary.

 

[Rifleman1776]

You have two issues at work in your question.
First: in a humid environment the pan will always get muddy.
Second: if you swab between shots (I do) a too wet patch will create problems. I just dampen mind with saliva. I swab twice with same patch but flip over after first run. If my pan is muddy I will use same patch to wipe it out before repriming.
A possible third source of trouble may be the jag is too large. The patch does the cleaning by bunching up behind the jag on the trip back up the bore. A too large jag can cause you to shove gunk down to the breech on the first push down.

 

[BadDaditood]

I’ve had fewer problems since going to a thick denim patch (.022”)
Even a wet cleaning patch on top of a fresh load comes up clean.
Of course I still have all the other fun adventures with pan soup, fouled frizzens and finicky flints.
Although it’s probably a combination of thicker patches, barrel polished by use and diminishing operator error.

 

[stephenprops1]

At at Rendezvous in West Virginia last August we had to shoot 10 shots on one stage. I swabbed a spit-patch down the barrel after every shot. After the third shot I started havng misfires. Earlier this year I participated in another Rendezvous where we had to fire 10 rounds. I shot 5 rounds and then ran a dry patch down the barrel. I finished up with 5 more shots and did not have one misfire. The gun was an older Pedersoli, .45 caliber, percussion, Kentucky carbine.

 

[Art Caputo]

I generally try to avoid swabbing at all costs, finding my best accuracy/precision comes from an un-swabbed bore, but, with volume shooting it’s not always possible, and dependent on the humidity/temperature. I determine when to swab based upon the feel(resistance) of each successive shot. This can vary based on the particular rifle/barrel/load, and can range from 6-20+ shots. When I do swab, it’s with a dampened spit patch or tow with a stroke or two to just beyond the carbon ring area and deemed sufficient when resistance is no longer felt at the carbon ring. Patch lube makes a big difference. My greatest number of accurate shots between swabbing is when I use TOTW Mink Oil, the least, spit patch or a dry lube. Misfires are rare using this approach if I keep an eye on the flash hole and flint/pan/frizzen residue.

 

[flntlokr]

I recently noticed the fouling in the pan of my flintlock is just a bit moist. It always does that, but I just now started really thinking about it. If your fouling is moist from patch lube and you swab between every shot or every few shots, the fouling that doesn’t stick to the patch ends up packed against the breech plug. I know swabbing can help with accuracy and ease of loading, but has anybody noticed any relation between swabbing and ignition reliability? I’m a relatively green flintlock shooter so I’m trying to find the cause of my occasional misfires.

Use water-based lube. Your barrel then gets swabbed as you load every shot, and the crud gets shot away with the patch.

 

[bang]

Use a loop jag so patch slides in loosely and out snug.

 

[maillemaker]

If there is any cleaning solution left in the breech, yes, it can cause ignition problems. In N-SSA competition, most people clean between courses of fire. At the start of every course of fire we "snap caps" to blast the fire channel clear. Of course with a flintlock this is not possible. So it's important to make sure you carefully dry everything out with the dry patch and get some good "piston action" on the down stroke to blow out the fire channel.