Cleaning between shots

[RodneyA]

50 cal cap and ball real black powder. How often do I need to clean the barrel while target shooting. And what is the best way to do it

I clean my in-line every shot using black horn 209 I don’t clean it like I do when I’m done but just a couple swabs of the barrel until fairly clean patch comes out

 

[cositrike]

That’ll depend on a lot of things, including the weather. I have one rifle I can shoot all day without needing to clean, except in dry warm weather. Then about every 10 shots. Had a little .32 that required scrubbing out every shot.
it’ll depend on the ball and patch combination. The type of powder you use and other imponderables as well.
in other words, start shooting it and you’ll soon find out.

 

[ohio ramrod]

As stated there are many varibles.Try it and see is the best option. Swabbing between shots is a good starting point. Most guns get harder to load before acuracy is affected.

 

[hanshi]

If loading starts getting difficult that'll tell you the bore needs wiping. As long as it loads with reasonable ramrod pressure just keep shooting, that's what I do. You don't want to break a rod while seating a prb; that could be dangerous for your hands.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

50 cal cap and ball real black powder. How often do I need to clean the barrel while target shooting. And what is the best way to do it

I clean my in-line every shot using black horn 209 I don’t clean it like I do when I’m done but just a couple swabs of the barrel until fairly clean patch comes out

With any of my BP Firearms, I swab the bore once loading starts to become difficult. You can feel fouling building up as more shots are fired…so pick a point at which you say, “Enough already…” and then swab the bore.

.32 calibre get swabbed after about every 4 to 6 shots. Humidity seems to have a significant effect.

.40 calibre…I have yet to have to swab the bore. Just got the gun last November. My other .40 calibre gas never needed to be swabbed

.45 calibre…hot humid days in summer, 8 to 10 shots, then swab.

.50 calibre…twice in my lifetime I’ve “Had” to swab the bore between shots. I have several .50’s and it’s Hot humid days when I needed to swab

.54 calibre…never gave I ever had to swabb the bore.

 

[Dances With Coyotes]

Alcohol patch

 

[DuncNZ]

Your rifle will let you know when you either cant ram a ball without a lot of pressure or your rifle starts to misbehave and throws shots all over the place . I had a .54 Uberti Hawken that didn't like patch lube so I used to put a cleaning patch moistened with isopropyl alcohol on the ramrod jag as I was pushing the ball down , it worked a treat .

 

[granth]

It depends on how your gun fouls up. If it becomes difficult to get the ball down, then yeah, you probably need to swab the bore. Fouling is also dictated by what type of patch lubricant you're using. Fouling will be much more prevalent with a dry lube as opposed to a wet lube. I use a 1:1:1 Murphy's Oil Soap, denatured alcohol and hydrogen peroxide, and I don't even notice fouling.

 

[SDSmlf]

50 cal cap and ball real black powder. How often do I need to clean the barrel while target shooting. And what is the best way to do it

It depends…. I have been able to shoot my 32s with accuracy pretty much as long as I want, no swabbing per say, but with the roundball wrapped in a fairly wet patch. With the 12 to 15 grain of 3F or 4F powder charges I typically use in my 32 caliber squirrel guns, I found that a wet patch will change things up if it sits on the small powder charge for even a short length of time. I have just learned to use a .375” diameter dry hard felt wad over the powder.

 

[tenngun]

In most instances I run a damp patch down between shots.I’ve fired twenty shots without swabbing useing paper cartridge in smooth.
Shooting a rifle out west, ten shots was a gimmie, in the humid Ozarks five starts outing a strain on loading.
I run just damp down and go between every shot.
Redcoats, Yankees and Blackfoot are not as common as they used to be, and I’ve no need to rush

 

[AZbpBurner]

Don't overlook excess lube coating the barrel as a factor contributing to fouling build-up. Bore butter and other patch goop can leave just enough of a fine coatig in the bore to attract powder residue to formc barrel fouling.
Several years ago Dutch Schoulz advocated using "dry" patches. he mixed Ballistol with water, soaked patches, then let them dry. The water evaporated and mineral oil in the Ballistol remains. There is sufficient lubricating oil in the patch to facilitate loading, but not enough to squeeze out & coat the barrel.
I've adapted the recipe, using a material better suited to lubrication at the higher temperatures of ignition: castor oil.
Simply dissolve 1 part castor oil into 5 parts of denatured alcohol, soak the patches and allow the DA to evaporate out. It will leave behind a fine coating of castor evenly distributed within the patch fibers.

 

[rp77469]

How often to clean is rifle dependent. I have had an inexpensive CVA MR .50 for decades that has been fired thousands of times that can still be shot all day without cleaning. Most of my rifles have shown similar tolerance to dirty bores but some do need a damp patch now and then.

I have a custom .45 percussion with a Douglas barrel that demands a perfectly clean bore for every shot. If cleaned each shot I can completely cover three shots with a nickle. If it is not cleaned the group (the group roughly aligned with 12 and 6, Shot at 6 is 1 shot dirty, 2:30 is 2shots dirty, 12 is 3 shots dirty) opens to 2.5-3 inch by the third shot: 50 yards, sandbagged, open sites. Obviously cleaning between shots makes a big difference at times. This target was shot the 6th or 7th trip to the range when I finally found an accurate load. +/- 5 grains and it opens up to 3 inch groups. Change patch lube from bear grease and it opens up. The rifle is picky, but with a clean bore and the right fixin's it shoots purty good even with my 71 yo eyes.

 

[LME]

If you want a rifle to be as accurate as possible it pays to wipe the bore before each shot. A shot changes as the barrel changes. The word cleaning is a bit extreme as I only use a patch with nothing on it to wipe the bore. The shooters back in the black powder era knew that consistancy was of the utmost importance when lookin for accuracy. With that said a B.P. rifle will shoot fairly well without a wipe of the barrel but to get the very best out of a B.P.rifle I think it pays to wipe after shooting?
I left out the fact that when hunting and shots will be at reasonal distance wipeing the barrel is not needed.

 

[Rod Man]

Pretty much the same as others, when developing loads or tweaking sights I'll swab between shots. Once I get all that squared away then I'll shoot till I get some resistance while running the ball down.

RM

 

[Rock Home Isle]

With experience, you get a feeling when that next shot is going to be a hard-load. Then I swab the bore. There’s a rhythm to it…and certain calibres need to be swabbed more often.

Hot muggy days of summer, high humidity…on those days, yeah you’re going to be swabbing the bore…even on larger calibre guns, that usually don’t need it

 

[dave951]

Lots of guys here talking about lube but the type and brand of powder has a huge effect as well. Not all powders are created equal but here's the generalities. Use 2 or 3f for 50cal and up. Some powders are definitely better than others in fouling. Swiss is about as good as it gets. You'll have to experiment but change only one variable at the time and enjoy the journey.

 

[Buckskinquin]

50 cal cap and ball real black powder. How often do I need to clean the barrel while target shooting. And what is the best way to do it

I clean my in-line every shot using black horn 209 I don’t clean it like I do when I’m done but just a couple swabs of the barrel until fairly clean patch comes out

Shot next to a guy who put a damp patch on his jag to seat his patched round ball every shot. His logic, the powder poured in shouldn’t take any fouling to the breech. The PRB seated with a damp patch pushes some fouling down atop of the fresh powder and damp patch used for seating removes some fouling as it’s withdrawn. Claims he hasn’t fouled since starting this practice.

 

[Ben Meyer]

I swab between every shot. Why? I use dry lubed patches for one. But really, it's for bore consistency. More foulng=tighter bore=inconsistency I can correct. I have a little spritz bottle(small fine mist spray, like a perfume bottle) with homemade moosenilk in it. Couple squirts on a patch just dampening it, once down and back up, that's it.

I use MrFlintlocks patch lube when I can't swab between shots. It takes 6 shots or so before loading gets tight.

 

[user 34300]

There is no universal answer. It depends on your accuracy expectations. Tight loads will require swabbing with a damp patch between shots for maximum accuracy. On the other hand loose loads with moose milk lube and thick patches can be somewhat self cleaning. The trade off is you will not get the best possible accuracy. You may not need maximum accuracy so it may be worth experimenting.