Ease of use by caliber

[leadhoarder]

I only have experience with .54 riffles and a .45 pistol.

I read a post on here the other day where the poster mentioned that a large caliber like .54 or .58 fouled easily so that the bore needed to be wiped often. Did they mean that smaller calibers .32 .36 etc can be fired more without fouling? I would have assumed that they fouled quicker.

Also I would imagine that the force required to seat a tight fitting PRB would be much less in a smaller caliber than with a larger caliber. I hope to buy a flintlock within a year or so and I wanted to stick with .54 but I may reconsider and go with a smaller bore if it means I can shoot a high round count much more easily.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I think you have it backwards, the small calibers tend to foul with fewer shots, or so they say. So much of it depends on the lube too.

 

[EC121]

All calibers foul to some degree depending on the powder, patch, load, lube, humidity,etc. It is hard to make a blanket statement about one caliber being better than another. I recently tried Swiss in one of my .54s. I noticed a lot less fouling than Goex.

 

[Phil Coffins]

The easiest muzzleloader to clean that I have is a 1-3/4” cannon. But then I don’t shoot a lot of shots at a time, generally six to eight in a day. That’s four thousand grains and eight pounds of lead. You can’t go wrong with a 54 calibre rifle.

 

[Thomas.bill92]

I use regular mink oil as a patch lube and shoot upwards of 50 rounds with my .36 rifle and could keep going if I wanted. I also have a couple of .58 Enfield's that I could do the same with using a beeswax and crisco lube.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

My experience has been that fouling decreases as calibre increases.

.32 calibre is the worst, my .54’s are the least…usually don’t foul.

Smoothbores are a different beast entirely

 

[andy52]

I don't even count the loads, just shoot until the ball gets hard to seat, then swab.

 

[hanshi]

I load fairly tight prb in all my rifles. My .32 and .36 don't foul any more than my .50 & .54. I don't swab between shots with any of them and they all load about the same regardless of caliber. There are several factors relating to the amount of fouling in any size rifle bore. Chief among them are: the lube one is using and the thickness of the patch. Liquid lubes (spit, DGW Black Solve, Hoppes BP Lube and many others) keep the bore the cleanest and make the prb the easiest to seat. I also have used a lot of TOW mink oil with the same results. I shoot more .32 and .36 than other calibers with no more effort or fouling than the larger bores. It may take a bit of attention to the smoothness of the crown and maybe even a bit of attention to bore condition; but a good lube and good patches work wonders.

 

[deermanok]

I have 45, 50 & 54 caliber rifles.
I don't notice any difference in any of them.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I have 45, 50 & 54 caliber rifles.
I don't notice any difference in any of them.

Yeah, I don’t usually have fouling issues in those calibre either.

 

[Urban Coyote]

I once avoided .32 caliber in favor of the .36 having the notion the smaller would foul more quickly. I even shared my opinion with a gunmaker who politely shrugged me off. Experience can be a cruel teacher and after owning and shooting .32 through .58 I can't really say one fouls more quickly than the others, at least how I load. It has since clicked with me why that gunbuilder didn't offer comment on my opinion. This being said, if I were to load anyone of these calibers disproportionately I'm sure I could make it foul more rapidly than another.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

EC121 hit it right on. No caliber itself determines fouling. It is a factor of load, patch-ball combination, humidity, barrel length etc. Even rifling can play a part. Larger calibers tend to burn the powder more completely within the bore. (Larger meaning 54 and up) Before the ball and patch leave the muzzle. But that is a matter of load. A 32 can be just as clean but for the Pop-Eye syndrome of using "buffalo loads in a small caliber. I had a 32 CVA squirrel rifle that was just fine in the short barrel with 15 grains of 3fg. Some folks use 30 grains and that would most likely cause a fouling problem in that short of a barrel.

 

[dave951]

I read a post on here the other day where the poster mentioned that a large caliber like .54 or .58 fouled easily so that the bore needed to be wiped often.

And that person would be wrong or inexperienced. Generally a larger caliber fouls less, especially when using a finer grade powder like 3f. Wiping the bore is a round ball thing for accuracy. Get it right with a minie and you won't be wiping.

Did they mean that smaller calibers .32 .36 etc can be fired more without fouling? I would have assumed that they fouled quicker.

No, in general, smaller calibers suffer more from fouling. My personal theory is that there is less surface area in contact with bullet and powder gases and that means fouling will build up quicker and be more of a problem. In the 36s I've shot, fouling was most definately an issue and wiping was mandatory for ease of loading and to maintain accuracy.

All that being said, fouling in any caliber can be a problem if no load development is done. Get the wrong powder, powder charge, lube, etc and it can get really bad really quick regardless of caliber. That said, large charges in small calibers are not needed. Keep the charge level down and use Swiss with a good lube and you may well not experience any issues in a small caliber.

 

[Col. Batguano]

They all coat the bore at the same thickness of fouling (same pressure and powder). The difference is the percentage of total bore area to fouling thickness will decrease as you go up in caliber. E.g.; a .22 ML'er will have a greater percentage of the bore diameter taken up than a 50 will, resulting in harder loading for subsequent shots.

 

[smoothshooter]

I only have experience with .54 riffles and a .45 pistol.

I read a post on here the other day where the poster mentioned that a large caliber like .54 or .58 fouled easily so that the bore needed to be wiped often. Did they mean that smaller calibers .32 .36 etc can be fired more without fouling? I would have assumed that they fouled quicker.

Also I would imagine that the force required to seat a tight fitting PRB would be much less in a smaller caliber than with a larger caliber. I hope to buy a flintlock within a year or so and I wanted to stick with .54 but I may reconsider and go with a smaller bore if it means I can shoot a high round count much more easily.

The smoothness of the bore and lube has as much to do with it as anything.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

Used the same stuff in the 54 as the 45. Both had little fouling due to the patches are all
dampened in Number 13 cleaning solution.

 

[hinamanra]

I shoot .32 to .62 rifles and just about everything in between and haven't noticed much difference in the fouling or effort to load. I used to swab about every 5 or so shots but since I switched to TOW's mink oil I haven't found the need to swab anymore. The fouling stays nice and soft and easy to load through and cleans well too. In my smoothbores it ballistol soaked wads with the same results.