I've been BP shooting for about 2 years. Use a Pedersoli Kentucky Flintlock .50 cal., Goex FFg, Ox-Lube pre-lubed patches, Buffalo Balls round balls. Had no problem getting 3 shots per barrel cleaning, then a couple of patches and back in business. Missed about a year of shooting due to a move. Now, after 1 shot (same load) I have to clean the barrel. I mean it takes 4-5 patches just to get to the breech (3"-6" at a time). If I ram a patch down it gets stuck & I'm tearing the gun down and using vise grips to get the rod out. The patches seem to be waxy and VERY dirty. What gives? Powder absorbed moisture and leaves more residue? Not cleaning the barrel well enough in-between shoots? I'm at a loss. The powder is stored in it's original can with desicant gel stored in the same box. This has SERIOUSLY taken the fun out of my flint. Hope some of you can help with some ideas. Thanks.
Cleaning?
- Thread starter 65ragtop
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My first guess would be that the humidity where you used to live was much different than where you now live. Humidity will play a large factor in the fouling and how easy it is to load after a shot. I don't have a lot of experience with this as I shoot a smoothbore and can shoot all day without swabbing between shots, but that is my first guess. Others more knowledgable than I will surely provide better answers.
Leonredbeard
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Ragtop65,
It sounds to me like you had some rust occur in your barrel during the year of storage. Long term storage often requires a couple of repeat cleanings and lubing inside a couple of weeks after the last shooting to ensure that all is clean and preserved for longer term storage. Take some fine steel wool, wrap it around your jag and ram it a few times, then rinse, ram some more fresh wool until you can run a lubed patch down smoothly. Then try shooting again and see if you are getting more shots between cleaning. In a fifty you could also switch to 3fg black for cleaner burning.
By the way, welcome to the forum. We have a fun time here.
God bless.
volatpluvia
It sounds to me like you had some rust occur in your barrel during the year of storage. Long term storage often requires a couple of repeat cleanings and lubing inside a couple of weeks after the last shooting to ensure that all is clean and preserved for longer term storage. Take some fine steel wool, wrap it around your jag and ram it a few times, then rinse, ram some more fresh wool until you can run a lubed patch down smoothly. Then try shooting again and see if you are getting more shots between cleaning. In a fifty you could also switch to 3fg black for cleaner burning.
By the way, welcome to the forum. We have a fun time here.
God bless.
volatpluvia
Not haveing the same gun,I can only offer a suggestion.I move back and forth between West Texas,a very dry high desert area,to Florida,a "very" wet area.I have found the prelubed patches work fine in Tx. but cause problems here in Fla.A short time ago I switched to the dry patch system promoted by Dutch Scholtz.This seems to work well in both areas.Most of the time I wipe between each shot,but have shot two or three without extreme problems.My suggestion would be to experiment with a couple of different lubes to see if it improves the problem.Be sure to scrub the bore between lubes. :results:
Sounds to me like you are using Elephant powder?
Rebel, please say a little more about Elephant powder. I just started using a can of Elephant after years with Goex. I shoot 3F in two fifty flinters and a 20 gauge fusil fin. I have noticed that after only one or two shots the balls are difficult to put down, even with wet spit patches, and that cleanup seems much more extensive. At first I was doubting my own perception, but your cryptic comment makes me wonder.... Is Elephant dirtier? (BTW, it seems consistent, although shoots to a lower POI) Thanks for advice, Ron in Venice, FL (Humid home of the wet pan)
When i got my first flinter i got a case of Elephant,(not knowing any better), and tried using it. I had hangfire after hangfire. I enlarged the vent hole and no improvement. Also i couldn't load more than 2 or 3 shots before the bore was so fouled that i couldn't seat a ball without pounding it down with a solid brass ramrod. And the fouling was really dirty, crusty stuff. I almost gave up on flinters, thinking it was the way they were and not knowing any better. But i got another flinter and bought some Goex, and low and behold, i got ignition, and could shoot a bunch of shots without wiping the bore. Also, cleanup afterwards was a lot easier too. I know of quite a few others here that have had the same experience with Pachyderm poop. Maybe some of them will chime in on how they feel about it. Elephant does make pretty good lawn fertilizer though. ::
Rocky Johnson
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Elephant power works OK in my cap lock shootgun but my flint lock rifles are hard to load after only a shot or two. Got some Swiss I hope to try today Iam told it will make a lot of differance :winking: Rocky
It won't make a LOT of difference, it will make a WORLD of difference.
mikee51848
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Swiss :thumbsup: And I only use 60 grs in my .50 with great groupings. :imo:
I am in eastern North Carolina and the humidity is horrible here. I do not encounter the difficulties mentioned. I suspect that the rust diagnosis is correct. Try removing that as recommended and that should take care of the problem. You haven't oiled the bore have you? :imo:
Hey ronrryan,
Elephant is a particularly nasty fouling BP. I was at a Winter Biathlon near Manchester, Vermont in February this year and among the door prizes were three cans of Elephant powder. They gave them away separately and each time they said that was going to the next ticket drawn, you could almost hear people saying, "please not my ticket for this one". There were a lot of great prizes given out including a fair amount of Jas. Townsend stuff. Nobody wanted the Elephant powder.
After you try the steel wool on your barrel, make up some of Stumpy's Moose Snot and use it on your patches. You'll be able to shoot at least 10 shots before wiping. If you have to wipe more often than that, you're not using enough moose snot on your patch. Use the search function to find it. Stumpy's given the formula for both that and his "Moose Milk" a number of times. It's great stuff.
Thanks everyone! I clean very thoroly and never show rust on patches after cleaning. Never had any such problems with Goex, usually shoot 25-30 shots without cleaning other than spit patch as I load. I think the elephant needs to go back to the jungle, or wherever. Ron in Venice, FL
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