Fairly new to muzzleloader's - Having loading issues - Help appreciated

[THREEDFLYER]

UPDATE:
I took the advise that has been given and I am pleased to report good results!
Reduced the load down to 25 grains of FFFg and applied a little spit to the pre-lubed patches and was able to load several times with no issues between shots.....the little .36 is a good little shooter and pretty darn accurate too boot!
Thanks all!
Tom

 

[Ed C.]

UPDATE:
I took the advise that has been given and I am pleased to report good results!
Reduced the load down to 25 grains of FFFg and applied a little spit to the pre-lubed patches and was able to load several times with no issues between shots.....the little .36 is a good little shooter and pretty darn accurate too boot!
Thanks all!
Tom

Very good! Thanks for the update.

 

[Firewalker]

Always wash new pillow ticking before spit patching. The sizing taste terrible. From experience. Lol

 

[French Colonial]

UPDATE:
I took the advise that has been given and I am pleased to report good results!
Reduced the load down to 25 grains of FFFg and applied a little spit to the pre-lubed patches and was able to load several times with no issues between shots.....the little .36 is a good little shooter and pretty darn accurate too boot!
Thanks all!
Tom

Great!!!

I am sure you are not sticking those prelubed patches in your mouth, but spit is a great lubricant.

If you run out of spit try spritzing the prelubed patches with water with a little Dawn detergent or water soluable oil (10-1). You can get little travel size spray bottles and they work great.

When you run out of prelubed patches try just plain old spit by putting clean patches in your mouth while loading powder, people want to make this complicated but really it is not.

Glad your having success.

 

[Grenadier1758]

As @French Colonial says, use the unlubricated patching material. Spit does work as a patch lubricant and fouling softener. So does a mix of Dawn (or any other degreasing dishwashing detergent) and water. I use a mix of 1 part water soluble oil and 7 parts of water to dampen my patching. The fouling is softened and the bore condition is consistent from shot to shot.

 

[Frontstuffer3491]

Is it just me? I am by no means any expert but that seems a little tight. 0.36" (bore) - .35" (ball) = 0.10" gap but the patch runs around *both* sides of the ball (0.10" + 0.10" = 0.20") so you are trying to squish 0.37" into a 0.36" hole. You're compressing your patch to 50%. I'd be inclined to compress it a little less (25%) with a .005" smaller ball. I know from EMI gasketing that compressive force goes up exponentially to asymptote about 50% but then I'm no expert on patching compressability. I'd be interested as to what others say here.

I also see great merit in ormond tony's post (Dualist & micro burrs).

You’re correct on the arithmetic of the ball and patch but neither ball or patch are incompressible. Has anyone ever measured how much the ball and patch may be compressed. The barrel itself is not incompressible. Well all this boils down to just overthinking the situation - so just omit worrying about the theory and get with doing the experiment finding the combination that works, I guess. Isn’t that part of the intrigue of black powder.
All the best to you in your quest.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Hello, am fairly new to muzzle loading weapons and I own two percussion rifles and with my Pedersoli .36 Caliber I am having a difficult time loading consecutive loads after the first shot of the day with a clean bore.

I am using 40 grains of Goex FFFg powder with a lubed patch and standard lead round ball.
When I am ramming consecutive loads it becomes extremely difficult to get the ball/patch down the barrel......it seems to be worse from the muzzle to the middle of the barrel, then becomes slightly easier....but by the 3rd loading it's just about impossible without cleaning the bore.

What am I doing wrong?? Would I have better results with Pyrodex??

I cannot imagine having to clean the gun between shots, but maybe there's no other option?

Your help/guidance is greatly appreciated.

If you want to shoot 'traditional' and not wipe between shots, you'll need to adjust the size of the ball or thickness of the Patch, plus use a damp (or damp er) Patch that will soften the fouling.