Maybe having a problem with loading patch and Ballistol

[ike1518]

I thought I'd give the Ballistol dry patch a try. I made a mix of 1 part Ballistol and 7 parts water, soaked a 1/2 dozen patches then laid them out flat to dry.

The following morning I put the patches in a small Altoid tin then when out shooting after work. I shot twice and all went well. Rather then tempt fate I sprayed a patch lightly with the 1/7 mixture and swabed the barrel then ran a dry patch.

Upon loading the 3rd ball (.490 with .15 patch) it got stuck partway down the barrel. I ended up spraying some of the 1/7 mix directly into the barrel and letting it soak around the patch and then I was able to seat the ball fully then fire it out. Why did it get stuck? I thought I was being fairly careful?

I shot the rest of the session with TOTW mink oil without any further problem.

 

[Flint311]

Sounds like the fowling was dry and getting pushed down the bore. Adding some moisture helped soften it and move the load along, letting you seat the ball and shoot it out. Changing one part of the loading setup will change how it loads, etc. Something to play with and have fun! :v

 

[necchi]

Couple things;
1. Part of the "system" is to swab between shot's with a spit patch to maintain a consistant bore condition. Allowing fouling to build up with more than one shot lefts fouling build, the bore isn't the same after 2-3-4 shot's as it is after just 1.

2. Maybe 1-7 is too dry for your other variables. Try 1-6 or 1-5,,

I've seen this many times, folks try to do just part of the system and it doesn't work well so they give up. Developing a consistant loading regiment, doing everything the same each shot, is what leads to the finner aspects of accuracy.

Good luck, your on the right path.

 

[ike1518]

Flint and Necchi, thank you for your responses.

 

[Tom Compton]

Couple things;
1. Part of the "system" is to swab between shot's with a spit patch to maintain a consistant bore condition. Allowing fouling to build up with more than one shot lefts fouling build, the bore isn't the same after 2-3-4 shot's as it is after just 1.

2. Maybe 1-7 is too dry for your other variables. Try 1-6 or 1-5,,

I've seen this many times, folks try to do just part of the system and it doesn't work well so they give up. Developing a consistant loading regiment, doing everything the same each shot, is what leads to the finner aspects of accuracy.

Good luck, your on the right path.

:hatsoff:

 

[jtmattison]

Developing a consistant loading regiment, doing everything the same each shot, is what leads to the finer aspects of accuracy.

That's exactly right.

You might be surprised how the slightest change in your loading routine can effect your shot groups.

Best of luck!

HD

 

[JJasper]

I also use the "dry patch" method using Ballistol and have developed the following routine that is working much better in terms of easing loading:

1. I use a higher concentration of Ballistol of about 1 to 4. I let the patches dry completely, but the patch still gives up quite a bit of oil when you seat the ball.

2. After seating the ball, I dry the bore with a clean, dry patch that is reasonably tight-fitting and fire away. (In other words, I don't dry the bore immediately after I swab between shots).

3. I swab the bore between shots with a slightly damp, rather tight fitting cleaning patch that has been soaked in the same concentration of Balistol and water and mostly dried, but not as dry as the ball patch. I swab twice, using the same patch by just turning it over on the jag for the second swab. There is no danger of over-cleaning here...I'm just removing the big chunks of crud!

This routine allows me to seat the patch and ball on a somewhat slippery bore. Until I started doing this, I always had to use a mallet to seat my ball.

If you don't get the accuracy you want, you can always dry a bit more vigorously. If you still have to grunt too much to seat the ball, clean just a little bit more between shots or don't dry your Ballistol cleaning patches quite as much.

All of this goes rather quickly. In my experience, if you are shooting some kind of competition that requires quick loading, it would be best to forget the dry patch method.

If you don't like the idea of pouring powder down a barrel that is slippery with oil...get a nice brass drop tube. I've started using one when I shoot off a benchrest, and there is no wind, and I really want to see what my rifle can do.

I shot just yesterday at my brother's 50 yard range and he is dumbfounded that I can shoot roundball groups that make one big hole at 50 yards with a 54 cal. flintlock. He is a gunsmith who uses an inline muzzleloader during "primitive" weapon season. His conical bullet groups are usually around 2 inches, or more...and he is using a scope. When I talk about what I'm going to try next to improve my groups, he suggests that I not worry about it too much.