Just wondering how many consecutive shots you've made with out picking touch hole or wiping pan or frizzen , just load and shoot. On a fairly dry day I've got 15 shots before my first flash in the pan with my Traditions Kentucky. On a more humid day is was like 6 shots.
How many shots in a row without picking or wiping pan ?
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You have answered your own question, depends on the humidity.
Banjoman
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‘Bout the same
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At the range , to make consistency the game , I clean and pick every time. In the field , with game down and reload speed paramount , just reload , no pick , no wipe. Rain changes everything , though..
Larry Akers
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I don't ever wipe my pan or frizzen and I don't have a pick. A typical shoot at my club is 7-8 5-shot relays. I wipe the bore between relays. If my rifle doesn't go BANG it's because I forgot the powder.
It also depends on the powder. Some years back, when Elephant Brand powder was just about the only available powder, two shots was enough to foul the barrel to the point that everything was fouled. Since it doesn't take a lot of time and isn't much of an extra step, I pick the touch hole every shot. Shooting the reenactor grade powder in the King's Musket reminds me of Elephant powder, but that monstrous touch hole gets blown pretty clear on every shot and I can get up to about 10 to 15 shots on a dry day. Shooting blanks in the King's Musket builds up fouling very quickly.
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I live in Illinois and it can be quite humid at times. I have tried the "how many shots" test a number of times. My results are pretty much like everyone else's results. 18 was my best ever under ideal conditions.
I’m usually in 10-15 range depending on humidity. I could stretch it further but a stuck ball defeats the purpose…..
Pans can definitely get muddy sometimes. If I can see powder in the touchhole I don’t pick. I’d love to adapt a pan so where it abuts the barrel there’s a slope instead of a right angle. Not easy to clean that junction when it’s sloppy. But there would be some issues with that design and I’m a purist so, fuggetaboutit.
Sometimes I use a patch on the end of the pick to squeegee the mud there at the pan/barrel junction. A pointy Q tip works too.
Muddy pans are why I like higher touch holes, within reason
Sometimes I use a patch on the end of the pick to squeegee the mud there at the pan/barrel junction. A pointy Q tip works too.
Muddy pans are why I like higher touch holes, within reason
WOW that's tough, as my .40 I have to stick a toothpick in the touch hole every time I load, while my .54 I am in the habit of wiping every third shot or so, when I swab the bore. Could I go more shots without?..., probably
LD
LD
Cruzatte
50 Cal.
Depends on the humidity. That's the short answer.
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Had the same problem, finally switched to using a toothbrush which took care of the problem.
Doc,
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Testing a lock without powder in the barrel (without a blast out the vent) my record without any cleaning is 69 before a misfire.
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45 shots with my just finished Kibler Colonial yesterday in a drizzle. half with Swiss fffg, and half with homebrew ff. Eveready bunny it seems.
no fails, still seated with minimal force, and no accuracy fall off.
no fails, still seated with minimal force, and no accuracy fall off.
It is my practice to wipe/swab bore after every shot with a damp (not wet) cotton flannel patch then I wipe the pan and frizzen with same patch. Whether I have to or not is debatable, probably not. As far as picking the touchole, IMHO that is a matter of keeping pressures up and getting a clean burn. I find it not necessary hardly ever.
I wipe the pan and edge of flint after every shot. Takes 10 seconds maybe. Just my habit now.
Bill Bryan
40 Cal.
I seldom wipe the pan but I pick the touch hole almost every time. Bill
Same here, before every prime wipe pan, frizzen and flint. Learned that from my grandfather and I can't recall him ever having a failure to fire, although it was a lot of years ago and my memory isn't that good.
Get a pick.
