Fouling shots

[ol_luke66]

Hey I was at the range the other day and met a guy shooting a modern muzzleloader and asked his thoughts on a fouling shot and his reloading process. He always fires a fouling shot and hunts with a dirty gun cleaning and reloading each day and refouling each day. He doesn't run a patch down between shots. Just curious to know what you do. I'm mainly interested in fouling shots and how your clean shot accuracy is and if you run a patch between shots.
Here's what I do. First, I've been hunting with a clean gun. Then, before each shot I run a dry patch down the barrel and the fire a cap hoping that this clears any gunk I may have pushed into the flame channel or nipple, then to check I blow down the barrel to make sure nothing is plugged. I don't touch my lips to the muzzle so I don't worry about ingesting anything I shouldn't. Anything I should change? Also. sinse I run a patch between each shot, should hunting with a clean gun matter much?

Thanks Guys, Good Luck hunting.

Luke

 

[gmww]

With my guns it varies. One gun will shoot the same on a clean cold barrel as it does on a dirty cold barrel. My other gun won't. I will leave it fouled during the hunt and clean it when I'm done. It might go a couple of days without cleaning. I have not seen any corrosion thus far. The longest it's gone without cleaning is 5 days. I will take some precautions such as limiting the humidity my fouled gun is exposed to.

 

[WV MZL HUNTER]

FIRST I never blow down the barrel! Could be some hot stuff left in it and you are putting O2 in it.
All my sidelocks I don't clean between shots.
Don't tell anyone but my "inline" I do clean between shots and it make a world of differents.

The sidelocks are more forgiving with the build up after several shots. BUT when I put my guns away even for a short time they are clean as if I am going to put them away for the winter.

 

[boar]

Luke Heres what I would.Load like you usually, Shot 25or50yrs,Then shot like the guy does, see what ones is best. I hot water clean,take nipple out, blow back thru barrel,dry good,light coat of oil. When I load I dry barrel good, load ready to go. I can leave loaded 3or4 days if weather is good. I will run a oiled patch down each day. If I think gun might not fire I pull nipple, add a little 4f . This is CVA Hawkins with hooked breach.54 Never had misfire With cap. Had a few with Flinters,Pan would go off, Had to reprime then it would go off. Dilly

 

[Stumpkiller]

I run an alcohol soaked patch, pop two caps, then a dry one, then a lubed one before I load my percussion m/l (same with flints - just no caps fired). The pre-lubing seems to get the first shot "in group" from a cold barrel. Makes loading easier thereafter, too.

I never, ever put a gun to my mouth. I can hear air hissing out the nipple or vent when I run a patch down just fine.

 

[mowolf]

My process, run dry patch down barrel to clean out lube. Fry 1-2 caps to ensure flash channel is clean, load 25-30 grns BP, cap and fire, checks that she fires. Let set for a bit, then load powder and prb, cap and you are ready to go whether hunting or range work. During hunting season my rifle only gets unloaded if I shoot a deer or at at the end of the season. I do unload and clean every day. I do leave the rifle outside and do not expose it temperature changes.

Waya

 

[swoter]

My process, run dry patch down barrel to clean out lube. Fry 1-2 caps to ensure flash channel is clean, load 25-30 grns BP, cap and fire, checks that she fires. Let set for a bit, then load powder and prb, cap and you are ready to go whether hunting or range work.

Thats how I do it also. Never had a problem with misfires after this.

 

[roundball]

IMO, after going to the effort that I do to keep my muzzleloaders in pristine showroom ready condition after every time I use them, the last thing in the world I would want to do is intentionally foul a bore, then go sit in the woods with it that way for hours on end.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but with the lube, patches, and balls that I use, I don't have this first shot / other shot phenomenon that some folks talk about with any of my rifles.

So FWIW, my suggestion would be to find out what it takes for you to have that shot to shot consistency without resorting to intentionally fouling a bore...unless you just like doing it of course, but it just isn't a necessary requirement of shooting muzzleloaders.
:v

 

[Ridge]

I always fire a fouling shot the Sunday before musket season. The gun then stays dirty until I am finished hunting for the week.

I blow down the barrel between shots. I just wait a minute or two for anything in there to extinguish, then I blow a long breath into the barrel.

 

[Runner]

I used to use a fouling shot. Now I am hunting around the banks of a lake where 9 out of ten mornings starts in a fog or mist. A fouled gun is not an option. I sight in and hunt from a clean barrel. I run both sides of a wet patch and both sides of a dry patch between shots when I am sighting the guns in. First clean shot goes to the same place the next one does. I fire my gun and clean it every day unless it is very dry conditions.

 

[Fran49829]

My hunting rifles are sighted in so the first shot out of a clean barrel goes in the bullseye. I sight my rifles in and then just to make sure I go out another day with a clean rifle and take 1 shot. I go out another day with a clean rifle and take 1 shot. I may have to adjust the sights to get this 1 shot in the bullseye. It has sometimes taken many trips to the range to take this 1 shot but eventually I have a rifle I know will hit the bullseye on the first shot.

Fran

 

[gmww]

My load development is simular. However, I'll shoot the clean barrel, clean it and let it cool while shooting something else. Then I'll come back to it and shoot and clean it again.

Limits my travel to and from the range....not by much though!

 

[strongarm]

Yeah, quit blowing down the barrel, you r are blowing moisture down there and it will come back to haunt you in a misfire. Fouling shots only help with Pyrodex and black powder by the way. They do nothing for clean burning substitutes.