Learned some things today

Went shooting today and I learned some things.
1.To much bees wax in the lube makes the follow up shot hard to load.Went to my original blend and things went smooth.
2.Always follow through when loading.I loaded powder then patch and ball.When I fired the rifle it didnt sound right and the ball went about 30 yards and hit the dirt.I realized I had just pushed the ball in with my thumb and never seated it.I pulled the barrell off and checked for bulges then ran a ball down the bore and it was still tight.Reloaded and everything was still on target.I guess it could have been worse.

 

[roundball]

Went shooting today and I learned some things.
1.To much bees wax in the lube makes the follow up shot hard to load.Went to my original blend and things went smooth.
2.Always follow through when loading.I loaded powder then patch and ball.When I fired the rifle it didnt sound right and the ball went about 30 yards and hit the dirt.I realized I had just pushed the ball in with my thumb and never seated it.I pulled the barrell off and checked for bulges then ran a ball down the bore and it was still tight.Reloaded and everything was still on target.I guess it could have been worse.

That's my biggest worry...a dry ball or double ball is just a minor inconvenience, but short starting could be bad.

I've tried to force myself into the habit to double check the bore with the ramrod witness mark if I turn away from the rifle for some reason and then step back to it...Trying to discipline myself never to shoot if I've broken off contact with the rifle and stepped out of the reloading sequence...sure as I assume it's OK it'll be short started and I'll ruin a barrel

 

I think what happened was my son was asking me something about his pellet gun when I was loading and thats when I skipped the last step.It was totally my fault.

 

[Bountyhunter]

There are times to multi-plex and there are times to concentrate on what you are doing. When I am loading and if someone comes up and starts talkin, I keep right on with what I'm doin until I am finished with my habitual ritual. Then I turn and smile and say, "What was that you was wantin?"

 

[roundball]

I think what happened was my son was asking me something about his pellet gun when I was loading and thats when I skipped the last step.It was totally my fault.

That's all it takes...we stand there and reload so much, so often, that it becomes like 'wrote', and we're no longer "consciously thinking" about it...a distraction occurs and a step gets skipped without it even registering

 

[BS]

Glad every thing came out OK. :grin:

 

Would there be much pressure with the ball right at the end of the muzzle?When it happened I figured I didnt put enough powder in. I sure was wrong about that. :shake:

 

[greenneck]

Since you pushed the ball in with your thumb, it can't have been seated deeply and only little pressure was needed to get it out the muzzle. I wouldn't worry about it at all. Your shot sounded probably more like a blank with its deeper "boom!".

Steve