Loading Hard

[Blivetmaker]

Think of a patch as a sort of grease fitting. Once the lube is really worked into the fiber, it's almost as if you're using porkbelly as a patch. Even in dead dry climates where fouling turns into sandpaper, a moosemilked or similarly prepared patch will transform the fouling to a pasty gunk that ends up between the powdercharge and the patch. You end up blowing the majority of the fouling out of the bore with each shot. It is an equilibrium of sorts. Until the breech/chamber becomes clogged, you can get fifty shots without a full cleaning with water. The area ahead of the powder charge is kept relatively clean which allows loading. The crud in the burning chamber tends to leave a clear channel to the touch hole because a vent is a two way street. You might notice that the witness mark on your ramrod(if you made one) doesn't go exactly as far down at shot forty, but the ball is seated. Crud has volume but if the ball is seated there shouldn't be a problem. As stated above; nothing beats a polished bore. If your gun is relatively new this might be the problem. Bore light it. Do a search about lapping but go easy. Metal is hard to put back. :shocked2: The neat thing about muzzleloaders is that once you get a decent barrel broken in, and commit to taking care of it, it will last forever provided someone doesn't frinkel it up. :grin:

 

[roundball]

I have found that pre-lubed patches are a bit dry. Even when I used to buy them I would place them in a tin and melt additional lubed onto them.

All I used for years was prelubed Oyoke & TC patches...would shoot full range sessions without having to wipe betwen shots...but that was just during the hot humid months here in NC.

Once I got into Flintlocks I began shooting year round and also found there wasn't enough lube on those prelubed patches during the colder, dry, low humidity months of winter...had to melt more NL1000 into them in the microwave...a little PITA to do that but it worked.

Then.........I tried some Hoppes No9 Plus BP Solvent & Patch Lube and thought I'd died and gone to heaven!! Now when I open a bag of prelubed Oxyoke patches in January-April, I just squeeze a couple squirts of that semi-liquid Hoppes onto them and let it soak in...doesn't matter how low the humidity is...50 shots, every one the same as the last...get home to clean the bore and it's basically already clean...unbelieveable stuff.

The only thing better would be to find a going out of business sale on the Internet and buy out the entire 40 bottle inventory of Hoppes No9 Plus for one third normal price...which is exactly what happened...:grin:

 

[AZ-Robert]

Thanks AZ. Please let me know how the .595 ball works out. What size patch do you plan to use?

Mainer, I'm going to go with a 0.015" patch paired up with that 0.595" ball. That should give a total diameter of 0.595" + 0.015" + 0.015" = 0.625", which will still get a tight fit in my 0.615" bore.

Also, I guess I might not understand how you guys are using the Moose Milk. Do you use it as a patch lube or are you using it to swab the barrel? If as a patch lube how wet is it when you use it?

I use pre-lubed patches, then add the Moose Milk to them as additional lube just before I load them. I squeeze the excess out of the patch, but it's pretty juicy when it goes down the bore. I imagine it is doing some bore cleaning on its way down, especially since the ball is giving it a tight fit. That gives a fairly clean bore and leaves only the breech end with gunk building up in it between shots.

As for lubing patches when hunting, you certainly could use less if you are worried about damp powder. In that situation you won't have a bunch of shots one behind the other to build up fouling.

 

[Rusty Old Gunns]

I have the same problem with my .62 smoothbore if i just use a patched rd ball. I can shoot all day without swabbing the bore if i use an overpowder wad then a Lubed fiber cushion wad under the patched ball. Or a bare ball over the two wads and then a thin overshot card to hold the ball in .

Well said, Rebel. Since about 1990 I have been using 75% Crisco, 25% Bees wax. Used to make premeasured loads in those little red plastic quick load tubes and pop a mini ball, nose down into it, then dip the mini ball end in that stuff (in liquid state) It sealed them up and was a great lube.

Now I use it on fiber wads. Melt it down, drop the wads into it and take them out with a pair of needle nose pliers, set them down to dry. It soaks in completely, and they're not too greasy to handle.

I have shot 60 rounds of powder, card, one of those wads, ball and another cardboard wad at the rance a few times and saw no change in loading ability or accuracy (though the shooter has been known to "Aim Small" now and then).

 

[pathfinderifh]

Did ya one better. A gun shop in a seedy part of Detriot[yes,some are seedyer than others :shocked2:] was going under and had five 1 half gallon cans of it,I offered $10.00,he said take em, I did! Haven't seen that size before or after that. 15yrs later and I still have a lot of it left.