Lyman Trade Rifle

[jamieorr]

Yesterday we shot my new rifle. Cleaned all the preservative gunk out, then loaded up with 50 grains of 2F, a pre-lubed, .015 patch and a .490 ball. Primed with 6 grains (two pumps of the dispenser) of 4F and pulled the trigger. There was no click-fizz-bang, it was more like cl-bang! Virtually instantaneous ignition.

After reading the 'net, I'd been expecting some problems, particularly as the touch hole looked tiny, but it worked like a charm, with no fiddling.

I missed that first shot - it went off a hair earlier than I expected, and I was still coming up on the target (paper plate with a taped cross). However, on the second shot, I was 2" southwest of the X and on the third, 2" southeast. At 20 paces, or maybe 50 feet.

Then my friend Chuck tried his hand, and put one 1" below the cross. Wisely, he didn't shoot the plate anymore, but put up a couple of cans instead.

We fired 7 shots with no trouble, but on the eighth I had a "flash in the pan". I poked the hole and reprimed, wiping the flint and frizzen again, but had several more flashes without firing.

I'd been wiping down between shots with a pre-lubed patch, then a dry cleaning patch. I decided I might have pushed some lube down there without cleaning it out with the dry patch, since the Lyman has the narrower patent chamber. So I pulled the barrel (after waiting a while) and unscrewed the touch hole (apologies if I'm getting the terminology wrong) and picked out some of the powder, replacing it with a bit of 4F priming powder - not more than 6 grains, probably less. After putting back the touch hole, seating the ball again, wiping and repriming, the gun fired okay.

The light was going to go soon so we quit and went to clean up. I boiled a pan of water with a touch of dish soap in it, took out the touch hole again and with the breech in the water, ran a patch up and down the barrel. Man, that barrel came out clean as a whistle in nothing flat. Just for fun I took off the lock and wiped it down, but didn't see any dirt on it. Wiped everything with WD-40 and put it away.

So there it is - I am absolutely happy with the gun and look forward to getting to know it better. I'm interested in hearing what the more experienced shooters think about my wiping down technique - it need some tweaking, although it worked for a while. And any other hints are of course welcome.

I'd bought a steel "range rod", with brass guide, and found this very useful in wiping out the crud - both wet and dry patches came out filthy, and it was sometimes hard to push the wet patch down - I was glad of the steel. Of course, it was also very easy to pick up two patches together, and I fired at least one shot that way. Very hard to ram and the patch was badly cut up after!

Cheers, and good shooting to all,

Jamie

PS A shout-out for the Gun Works Muzzleloading Emporium in Springfield, OR. I was down in Springfield to pick up the rifle at Chuck's and dropped in to get some accessories. They were very helpful (both times) and didn't mind spending time talking and giving advice. Great shop, great owner. (Sorry, his name slips my mind right now.)

 

[AZbpBurner]

I've been using my mix of tallow + beeswax for patch lube for around 4 decades, and wipe the bore about every 3-4 shots. I use a patch moistened with a blend of water, GoJo hand cleaner (without pumice) and a couple of drops of dishsoap. I follow-up with a dry patch.

Recently I made up some 'dry' ball patches: moisten patches with a 5:1 mix of Denatured Alcohol + Castor oil. The patch loads easily, accuracy is same as with my old patch lube, and I don't have to wipe for more than a dozen rounds - over 20 with a .62 cal Fusil.

Dry patches are moistened with the oil/DA mix, and the alcohol is allowed to evaporate, leaving a small amount of castor oil absorbed into the patch fiber, yet nearly-dry to the touch.

I'll add more tallow to my patch lube, and use it for cap & ball applications. From now on, the Castor Oil patches are my Go-To for both rifle and smoothbore.

 

[dodger]

Wiping the barrel after 3shots is what I do to keep my GPR firing , using spit lubed patches. But now I am gonna try castor oil lubed patches .( I will have to break habit and remember not to put them in my mouth - could have unpleasant consequences ! )
English flints are better than the lyman agate ones.
Oil is better in the long run than WD40.
Putting the shaft of a feather or a toothpick in the venthole while loading helps ignition.
A blast of slapshot parts cleaner into the vent hole during a break in shooting washes away any gunk in the patent breech.

 

[good ole boy]

Glad to hear it was a blast.I would stay away from any kind of petroleum based products.

 

[azmntman]

I'd been wiping down between shots with a pre-lubed patch, then a dry cleaning patch

Not sure how moistened they were, could be the problem. You want your "swiping" between shot patch just slightly damp. I found a lens cleaner bottle and just put an X of fluid on it and then one down and back up (no pumping like when you clean). Too wet and you'll push gunk in the breach.

Get the dutch system, works great and save alot of time messing with things been messed with before, a great place to start!

 

[hanshi]

I would stay away from any kind of petroleum based products.

How come? I use petroleum products on my guns on a regular basis and with no problems. Not challenging your statement just am curious about how you came to that conclusion. :idunno:

 

[AZbpBurner]

Many petroleum-based products react with black powder combustion to produce a fouling tar that is more difficult to remove from the bore than just soot and BP residue.

With your years and experience, I'm surprised you weren't aware of this.

 

[azmntman]

Ya...I shot a .36 rifle once w/o cleaning the packing grease out good and NEVER did get a patch to come out clean after that. Could use 50 patches and always had black on it.

 

[Grenadier1758]

The light was going to go soon so we quit and went to clean up. I boiled a pan of water with a touch of dish soap in it, took out the touch hole again and with the breech in the water, ran a patch up and down the barrel. Man, that barrel came out clean as a whistle in nothing flat. Just for fun I took off the lock and wiped it down, but didn't see any dirt on it. Wiped everything with WD-40 and put it away.

Hot water from the tap is hot enough for cleaning needs. WD-40 is good for getting the last bit of water from the bore after the cleaning with water and a drop of soap. You should use a final wipe of a rust preventative lubricant such as Birchwood Casey's Barricade to protect the bore for storage.

 

[kodiakmarine]

It depends on the product. Petroleum is naturally acidic. Most solvents tend to etch the metal and eventually cause the metal to deteriorate. Some highly refined products such as
Accralube and Accraguard don`t etch the metal. It all depends on what you are using. - John

 

[Albertan]

Glad to hear it was a blast.I would stay away from any kind of petroleum based products.

I was told this by an older fellow my first time at the range. He told me to get rid of the petroleum products and use natural instead. I use No. 13 bore cleaner & Bore Butter now (as was suggested). Glad I ran into someone knowledgeable right off the bat.

 

[jamieorr]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I don't know what the patch lube was, but the patches were quite wet - that was probably the issue. I'll be shooting this weekend and will use a drier patch for wiping down to see how that works.

Jamie

 

[Zonie]

Personally, I wouldn't use #13 bore cleaner in my enemy's gun.

I have too much respect for guns. Even crappy ones to let that stuff get anywhere near them.

 

[bpd303]

I'm with Zonie on that... nasty stuff IMHO.

 

[William O.]

I swab the bore in between each shot using a cleaning patch that is barely dampened with 91% rubbing alcohol. Swabbing is just down and up then discard the patch and I've found that it removes a great deal of fouling. I cut a bunch of patches from 100% cotton linen that I keep in a bottle and just pout a little alcohol on top of. Damp is all you need as dripping will cause problems no matter what you use.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

***SNIP***
I cut a bunch of patches from 100% cotton linen that I keep in a bottle...
***SNIP***

Hey Bull35540,

What do you mean by "100% cotton linen". Cotton and linen are two entirely different things. Was this just a slip or do you really use something that you're calling "100% cotton linen"?

Thanks,
Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:

 

[good ole boy]

Glad to hear it was a blast.I would stay away from any kind of petroleum based products.

I was told this by an older fellow my first time at the range. He told me to get rid of the petroleum products and use natural instead. I use No. 13 bore cleaner & Bore Butter now (as was suggested). Glad I ran into someone knowledgeable right off the bat. I have been usin this method for years with great results.At the end of the day though I start usually with a couple alcohol patches then go to Dawn soap in water then finish up with the 13 then BB.

 

[Swede50]

I swab the bore with Windex it will dry and not leave any wet residue to clog up your breach.
I don't have any particular patch lube to recommend just not something to wet.
If I have a flash in the pan trickle some ffff into the touch hole then fire. After it fires I will run a slightly dampened alcohol patch down the barrel and then I will put my finger over the vent hole and pour some 90% alcohol down the barrel and give a shake. After about 30 seconds I pour it out run a dry patch down the barrel and reload.

I clean the flint edge and pan with the alcohol with a dampened patch. It is surprising how soupy the pan and frizzen will get on a high humidity day.

 

[jamieorr]

Hi, it would help this newbie if you could explain why you consider #13 to be crap. As a rookie, I'm prepared to avoid it on your say-so, but would like to know the back story.

Jamie

 

[jamieorr]

Again, thanks for all the advice, glad I found this place. I've got some alcohol here, I'll take it along this weekend and keep my swabs drier.

I already bought some Black Powder Solvent by Three Rivers Unlimited. Doesn't say what it's made from but it's a lubricant, bore and final cleaner, so I'll give that a try too.

Jamie