Fouling Shot

[harryo]

By itself, there is nothing wrong with doing it this way. BUT allow condensation into the barrel at the same time or bring it in from the cold or out to the cold and you can set yourself up for trouble.

Sidelocks will always shoot better with a fouling shot. But what is the difference? With my GPR it is three inches high and to the left. Is it worth it.

Bringing a cold rifle into a warm environment can certainly cause condensation and I have experienced it firsthand, however, I have never experienced or heard of anyone having problems taking a warm rifle into the cold. The barrel cools slow enough that condensation just doesn't occur.

I agree with sighting in for a clean barrel. When using a patched round ball and a liquid or paste lube, I haven't seen enough difference in the POI, after reloading, to worry about in a hunting situation.

 

[CrackStock]

Opie,

Have you done the range work to learn the difference between a shot from a clean barrel and a fouled barrel? (Hint -- elevation is a concern as it changes)

You should do this often so that you learn from it. It should be second nature to you. I hunt with a clean bore so as not to damage my borevfrom BP fouling. I clean my deer rifle very well after each shot, because I figure that I am only going to get and need one shot when I am hunting. That gun is not a target rifle in my view.

I also have been known to properly secure my gun and leave it charged for a few days during a hunting season.

YMHS,
CrackStock

 

[OTHERN]

Here's another way to avoid corrosion and etc. First clean your rifle with alcohol on your patches and then let sit for a few minutes to let any left to evaporate. Use enough to get some to come out the nipple. This will remove any oil. Put in the powder. Next seat a double layer of aluminum foil on top of the powder. This will keep any lube from the patch away from the powder. Next seat patch and ball. If it is wet and you are worred about your barrel rusting then you can put a piece of tape over the end of the barrel or run a patch with oil down the barrel. Next before you cap, for you precussion guys, put a piece of saran wrap over the nipple, then the cap. The saran wrap will seal everything up very nicely. I have friends who have hunted for 10 days in wet weather and the rifle fired nicely when it was time to go home. I use a flint so use other stuff in the pan.

 

[RussB]

Is there any reason to be worried about corrosion from the caps popped?

Yes, years and years ago when the percussion caps were using a mercury mixture...

Modern percussion caps should not pose the corrosion woes of yesterdays gone by...

FYI...I've seen a lot of used TC Hawkens with corrosion all around the nipple area where residue was not cleaned off...

I have one particular rifle that is about five years old that already has a "pitting" of sorts, around the nipple and on top of the breech....This rifle is a .54 cal Investarm, and is notoriously hard on nipples. I have gotten fewer than 100 shots from a nipple. Somewhere around 200 is about normal for this gun. I realize that's a lot, but it's the most accurate .54 I own, and produces 100 to 150 fps more velocity than my other .54's with the same powder charge.

I consider myself something of a fanatic when it comes to cleaning after shooting, but this leads me to think the percussion caps of today can cause corrosion as well as the old ones.

I discovered this "manure" about a year or so ago....since that time the area around the nipple gets a lot of attention when cleaning, and even when shooting.

I've tried to identify a percussion cap that may be "worse' than others when it comes to this...no luck so far. I do think we have a darn good cap in about every brand I've tried lately.....that was not the case 30 years ago. Some brands were shunned like the plague.

Russ

 

[Rat]

I would just suggest, and this is just a guesstimate, that if you use enough alcohol that it comes out the nipple, it might pay off to remove the nipple, after the main charge and ball is seated, and just take a look at the nipple and flash channel to make sure no dried globs of cap fouling or anything remain, which there shouldn't be but it would not hurt to double check. Run a dry pipe cleaner through the nipple again.

Just a thought.

Rat

 

[evil_opie]

Crack,
No I haven't done enough shooting to determine which method gives the best results, but will definately practice it for the follow up shot. My feelings are, I am going to remain very paranoid of corrosion and keep a meticulously clean everything, and do all my sighting with a clean barrel to simualate a hunting situation. Although I can see the advantage of the ramrod/patch method of de-oiling, and will for sure try it. But, I will also remove the nipple and clean it, and also alchol and dry patch prior to loading. I also will be leaving the weapon in the garage loaded during our 2 week season. I do really like the plastic wrap idea of weather proofing. This is a great sight. Tons of knowledge for the sharing. eace:
Op

 

[Stumpkiller]

. . . the area around the nipple gets a lot of attention when cleaning, and even when shooting.

There is always some blow-back of fire up the nipple and off the nose of the hammer. The weaker the hammerspring, the more blowback. Some combinations of load, nipple wear and hammer seal will allow enough backwash to set the hammer back on half-cock.

All the residue around the breech might not be from the nipple.

 

[RussB]

. . . the area around the nipple gets a lot of attention when cleaning, and even when shooting.

There is always some blow-back of fire up the nipple and off the nose of the hammer. The weaker the hammerspring, the more blowback. Some combinations of load, nipple wear and hammer seal will allow enough backwash to set the hammer back on half-cock.

All the residue around the breech might not be from the nipple.

I have suspected the hammer spring, although it "feels" right.

When you say "All the residue around the breech might not be from the nipple", what are you suggesting?

I've always suspected the little grren monster inside the cap to be the culprit. There are times, when the light is just right, I can see "something" that appears to be very small white specks that wipe right off...that does occur most often with Magnum RWS #55 caps..I think. Although I've seen it with others as well. Can you see Mercury Fulmate, or whatever it is that the "caps" are loaded with, once the cap has been fired???

Just a bit of trivia...It seems the percussion cap has experienced the shortest life of any the ignition systems.
Designed around 1805 / 1807 (depending on who are reading) by the Rev. John Forsyth, it did not come into acceptance until around 1829/1830 with the flintlock being the "major" ignition system due to the many problems encountered in the manufacturing of percussion caps.
Then about the time they get the problems all ironed out, a new invention came along. The end of the percussion era is said to be about 1864, giving the percussion cap a life span of about 30+ useful years.

I honestly feel that MORE percussion caps are being manufactured, and sold today than ever in history. :hmm:

Simply because of economics.

Do you think our early frontiersman fired a cap, or two, prior to loading and shooting? I don't.

Russ

 

[Stumpkiller]

Do you think our early frontiersman fired a cap, or two, prior to loading and shooting? I don't.

I doubt it, but mostly because I don't think the original rifles spent much time unloaded. Certainly nothing like ours are. I think they were reloaded immediately upon being fired and kept at the ready.

I'm not sure when they were cleaned and cared for, but I'd be a dollar they spent more time loaded than unloaded when they were the primary weapon of defense.

 

[wtilenw]

Lube is a great compromize between accuracy, protection, convenience of use and ease of loading.

AMEN! :agree:

 

[Old40Rod]

I use an alcohol swab to the breech and then use a toot or two :shocking: from my C02 ball discharger to make sure the nipple is clear before I shoot. Toot Toot. :imo:

 

[jim gray]

I bet those old shotguns that seemed to hang above every fireplace weren't exactly hung there for decoration. I suppose if there was time the guns may have gotten a quick swabbing before reloading and then got wiped down.

 

[momsworry]

I shoot a fouling load in both barrels of my 12 ga SxS before hunting with it. I shoot 777 FFG in that gun and I find that the mild fouling with that powder, seems to make the wads seal better. I also, if hunting for a day or two,don't worry about cleaning with that powder until the end of a two or three day hunt. I've had no problems doing that. With my .54 percussion and .58 flinlock however, I prefer Goex FFG, and clean thoroughly after shooting and I start hunting with them clean. I do leave them loaded through the course of a two or three week season if not shot. I've had no problems doing this either.