Giving your barrel a blow?

[HardBall]

In older ML books, I've read that it was a good idea to blow down the barrel after firing a shot to smoother any remaining embers and to help keep the fouling soft.

Now I read that that's a no-no. Other than the obviously bad idea of stuffing the muzzle of a firearm in your mouth, what harm could come from blowing down the barrel of a ML AFTER firing a shot and BEFORE pouring a new powder charge down bore?

 

[BS]

I have always done it, too make sure the nipple is clear, after firing a cap, when cleaning between shots. I like to watch the smoke pour out thru the nipple. ::

 

[roundball]

".....Other than the obviously bad idea of stuffing the muzzle of a firearm in your mouth....."

I think that about sums it up...my personal belief from my personal experience is that it would be very, very safe.
However, I also know that $%@#& happens, and the results would be so terminal as to make me live by the commandment of not aiming a rifle at anything I didn't intend to shoot...which includes my head.
eace:

 

[mglampson]

I have always blown down the barrel of my cap lock rifles. After firing I blow just hard enough to see the smoke coming out of the nipple. If the smoke can get out then the fire from the cap can get in on the next shot, helps prevent misfires. If you smoke doesn't come out easily then you need to pop a cap to clear the channel.
With the new flint lock I don't know that this is needed anymore. Just as fast and easy to use a vent pick to clear the touch hole.

Britches

 

[LRB]

Your breath down the barrel will eliminate any embers left smoldering and it definately softens the fouling for a follow up shot. I blow 8 to 10 breaths before I reload.

 

[robinghewitt]

I blow, but it's kind of expected around here, everyone does it.

Seems odd to get a positive response to a blowing thread, maybe all the safety experts have demised after pouring powder into unblown barrels :crackup:

 

[Maestro]

Seems odd to get a positive response to a blowing thread, maybe all the safety experts have demised after pouring powder into unblown barrels :crackup:

:haha:
We're just lurking, waiting for the opportunity to strike! :haha:
I tried blowing down my barrel when starting out with ML's last year and, although I wouldn't consider myself an expert, it just don't "feel" right - sticking the muzzle of a gun in my mouth. Hey - call me a sissy but it just doesn't sit right for me to violate the first rule of gun safety. :results: I don't want my kids seein' it either & thinkin' it's okay to do.

Just :m2c: :imo: & as always, :results:

 

[Runner]

Wrap your hand around the end of the barrel and blow into your hand, not the barrel.

 

[Maestro]

Wrap your hand around the end of the barrel and blow into your hand, not the barrel.

I think i did do that - so's not to burn my lips! :haha:

 

Some seem to think that if all the powder didn't ignite from the shot that blowing down the barrel will stoke up any embers and re-ignite the rest of the powder thus burning your face off , remember this is NOT my theory :hmm:, however I do know that some black powder clubs will not let you blow down the barrel at their shoots :nono:, so sorry I don't know if it's good or bad I only know that I will not do it at a shoot for fear of getting yelled at by the range master. :yakyak:


TheGunCellar

 

[TexiKan]

Now I read that that's a no-no.

Yes, that was brought up on the other thread regarding range rules. And you are correct........it was considered the standard practice in the past. For some reason, personally, I don't have the fear others might have on this. I KNEW the gun went off and the charge had cleared the barrel. And like others, I found that in past occasions, once in a while the nipple would be plugged and it would not likely fire the next time. (Back then, the foil lining of the Remingtom caps would occasionally get lodged in the nipple.) So, do I make sure the barrel is clear or when the subesequent load fails to fire, and after many attempts, stand in front of the muzzle with a ball puller and try to get the ball out? (Did I dry load or is there powder down there?)

Yes, I am aware of the various and numerous methods to dislodge and not stand in front of the muzzle to remove a ball. As a Range Master, I have seen too many cases of someone eventually getting a stuck ball out, thinking they dry loaded, and then pouring black powder out the muzzle!

Now the NMLRA states the habit is not acceptable. From other "certified" Range Masters, I heard of what I consider the old wives tale of "somone blowing his head off when he blew down the barrel." If this had actually happened, who was it and when and where did it happen? Like others have said, putting ones head in front of the muzzle does not feel safe, but when I know the gun has discharged, the liklihood of a sufficient charge in the barrel to do me bodily harm seems remote.

In cleaning my gun, I have a flex tube on the nipple with the water solution being swabbed into the barrel. When I am finished, I would often blow down the water filled barrel to blow out any remaining water in the breech. If I didn't do this, no matter how many patches I ran down the barrel, some moisture would remain until the next time. OK, send the Range Nazi after me.....

The recommended method to blow down the barrel is to use a "blow tube." Haven't seen anyone use one, but that is the official recommendation.

Be advised, if you are used to the practice of blowing down the barrel and you go to a range where the practice is prohibited, be prepared to have your head chewed off! (I know, I know, some Range Masters believe in being nasty and justify it in the name of safety sake.) :curse:

Since the NMLRA discourages it, it is best to break the habit.

TexiKan
__________________

If you continue to do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always got.

 

[Cruzatte]

In older ML books, I've read that it was a good idea to blow down the barrel after firing a shot to smoother any remaining embers and to help keep the fouling soft.

Now I read that that's a no-no. Other than the obviously bad idea of stuffing the muzzle of a firearm in your mouth, what harm could come from blowing down the barrel of a ML AFTER firing a shot and BEFORE pouring a new powder charge down bore?

Oh I'm sure it does no harm after you've taken the shot, but on the other hand I have my doubts that it does any good, either. I figure putting embers out is what a moistened cleaning patch is good for.

Cruzatte

 

[dodgecity]

After the rifle or musket has been discharged, there is no lurking unexploded powder waiting to detonate when you blow down the barrel before pouring the next charge. Of course, I wouldn't recommend pouring the next charge and then blowing down the barrel. I blow down the barrel after firing, not to make sure the nipple or touchhole is unplugged (I use a wire for that), but to allow the moisture from my breath to soften the residue. It's the same reason that black powder cartridge shooters use a breathing tube. There's nothing unsafe about it, but, to the uninitiated, it appears to be unsafe.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, it's an unnecessary thing to do and it sits a very bad example for any kids who watch it being done.

It can convince the average kid that his old man is dumber than a post when he says "Don't point a gun at anything you don't want to kill" and then proceeds to stick his gun barrel into his mouth. ::

It isn't hard for me to imagine a young kid watching this kind of thing and then showing his friends how it's done by using dads Python in the bedroom where it's "hidden".
"Hay Billy. This is how dad does it!"

As for "glowing embers", the possibility of those is the reason I don't load directly from a flask or powder horn. I also don't allow any part of me except the palm of my hand to get in line with the muzzle while I'm ramming the ball home.
In 35 years of muzzleloading, I've never had an accident from "glowing embers" but I still don't trust a loaded or semi loaded gun. I also wouldn't trust the same loaded or semi loaded gun if I blew down the barrel tell the cows come home.

 

[dodgecity]

Yup, I agree with you for the most part Zonie. I don't load from a flask or horn either, and I don't put my palm or any other part of me in front of the muzzle when I load. I also have the utmost respect for a partially loaded or fully loaded firearm. I was addressing the issue of huffing down a just discharged, unloaded barrel to introduce moisture (embers have nothing to do with it). Been doing it for 40 years, probably ain't going to break the habit now. Don't shoot with kids, so, that's not a problem.

 

[noahmercy]

Funny thing about the idea of "smothering the embers" by blowing is that your exhaled breath would contain a LOT more oxygen than what was left in the barrel immediately after firing, so you'd probably be encouraging a flare-up. :no: I mean, what do you do to get a smoldering piece of tinder to burst into flame? Maybe the thinking was to get the ember to burn up completely by breathing through the barrel. Since most of us don't use tow or other materials which tend to leave flammable debris in the gun, I think that reason for huffing down the tube is moot.

As to adding moisture...if you use a good lube and enough of it, you shouldn't need to blow to keep the fouling soft. I recently shot 60 rounds through a 54 cal sans swabbing or blowing with no loss of accuracy or ease of loading. And I go well past the 100 round mark with my black powder cartridge rifles with the same results. And considering that the average humidity is around 20% here, it surely isn't ambient moisture keeping the fouling from caking up.

And one more reason I think blowing is a bad idea, if you ever suffer from a "brain fart" you could really set up a potentially bad situation. This is why you should never point a gun at anything you don't want to destroy. If you ignore every other safety rule and something unforseen happens leading to a negligent discharge, the only thing hurt is your pride if you only follow that one rule.

:m2c::thumbsup:

 

[Johnny Tremain]

If you put yer hand in an OK sign over the muzzle and blow the smoke out of the vent hole, i dont see no harm in it.

Have done it for years, besides it looks cool to the mundanes

 

[Griz]

Noah, I've gotta agree with you, that is exactly how I have always felt. Blowing down the barrel will only flame up embers, just like trying to encourage a fire to burn. Never done it, never will.

 

[walruskid1]

i just don't like pointing a muzzle at my head. i would try it maybe with a tube. not trying to stir up anybody, just my opinion.

 

[bshultz]

I agree, I don't like to have a gun pointed at my head, and it is just as easy to use a moist patch and safer. :imo: