Need your advice please

[N.Y. Yankee]

I have an Italian made .54 Hawken, I think maybe a Cabela's gun 28", I bought used. So I'm out with it shooting loads of 777 and Goex, both 2F. A wool-felt "bore button" wad over the powder and a .015 pillow ticking greased with "bore butter" type grease. .530 ball. I have found a load of 90gr Goex gives me good hunting accuracy. 3 shots in 3 inches at 50 yds braced. No matter what load I use with 777 (reducing 10% for max), I can't get quite that good on paper, but I can load several shots without thinking about swabbing the bore. I like the accuracy of the Goex load, but no matter what charge I use, I have to wipe with a damp patch after the second shot or there will not be a third. Will a different brand of powder change this fowling situation? A different patch lube? My .54 GPR doesn't seem to foul this much with Goex. Could it be rough rifling?

 

[Pete G]

Try a different lube first; then a thicker patch.

 

[Walkingeagle]

I was given a “Moose Milk” patch lube recipe this past summer and it works great! Loading is a breeze but I only use it for range shooting or trail walks as it is a wet lube. I have not tried wetting the patches then letting them dry to see if they still have the same effect. One day I will. I would recommend trying it.
Recipe is; equaly parts Water soluble cutting oil, Murphy Oil Soap and water. Mix well and put in a spray bottle. Spray your stack of patches in your cap tin, load and shoot away.
Walk

 

[Rat]

Hunting rifle or paper puncher? Two-three shots for hunting is all ya need. Paper-Punching...need more shots!

First off, throw the 777 away, or give it to some fool.

Yes, try different lubes. Some Swiss powder might make the difference. I've found recently, that a wool felt wad, dropped in hot melted, PURE bee's wax, then fished out and put on wax paper to solidify, seems to keep the barrel cleaner. I load it over the powder, and then a normal "wonder wad" over it, then the ball. It (wax wad) also keeps any lube from contaminating the powder, so you can/could go heavier on the lube on both the patch, and the wool wad. Or just try the wax wad by it's self.

Also try fffg instead of ffg.

 

[SDSmlf]

Try a wet patch lube. Mix up one of the many Moose Milk concoctions, or try plain blue windshield washer fluid. With a wet patch (wet, not damp) you should be able to shoot without swabbing between shots.

 

[Phil Coffins]

As every one said change patch lube, for target matches I just us spit and do well up to 30 shots. For hunting patches lubed with Hopes 9 black powder solvent has taken many deer for me.

 

[Carbon 6]

Try a different lube first; .

Yup!

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

Gonna try some Moose Milk on pillow ticking next time out!

 

[pmccoywss]

I had similar problems, and switched to linen patches. Problem solved.

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

I had similar problems, and switched to linen patches. Problem solved.

How did this help? Please explain.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Linen is tougher than cotton. It resists cutting at the muzzle and gas cutting when a patched ball is fired. Use tightly woven 100% flax linen,

 

[45man]

I have every patch material ever made and I am old enough to have lived in a cave. Linen works and so does blue jean material. But lube is still the answer, toss the bore butter. I use ONLY Young Country and shoot all day without wiping.
777 is tricky as it can not stand any compression at all, just touch it with a ball. Now that is very difficult to feel.
Moose Milk should work but I never tried it.
Swiss powder is the best but it will be different then Goex as it is faster so you must work loads again. Swiss is made from willow charcoal if I remember and is cleaner burning.
You might be way too small with a .530" ball and trying to fill with cloth. Try a .535" ball. The world is wide to experimenting.

 

[renegadehunter]

I've found that I like 3f in my .54 quite a bit more than 2f, the fouling is definitely less. I've been using it for quite a while with PRB and just recently shot a few of my conical loads using 2f (haven't taken the time to see what 3f charge might work with them yet). I quickly remembered why I like 3f. Mine likes 80 grains of 3f for PRB using either Goex or Schutzen.
A liquid lube will work to not have to swab, but won't be great for hunting unless you just spend 3 or 4 hours hunting at a time and then pull the load or shoot it out when done.
I too didn't want to have to swab at first, but experimenting has shown me that it just works better all around for me. My groups are much better and it has the added benefit of putting out any possible embers.
If it eases your mind at all, in my 34 years of hunting I've only ever gotten the opportunity for a 2nd shot just once when deer hunting in the timber. Usually it is just one shot and I either got it or I didn't.

 

[Rat]

fffg does seem to work best for me up to .58". ffg for my .62", and I've gone to fg for my .75". I believe a wax wad, under a felt wad, will keep a patch that is liquid lubed from contaminating the powder.

Muzzle loading is a true one-shot deal when hunting, and nothing goes far after getting hit with my .62", but I wouldn't hunt with a rifle that wouldn't shoot three times without wiping. Sometimes Murphey is sneaking around the woods, you just never know. I think Yank does need to achieve three shots without wiping, for that reason.

Having said that, when hunting, I load from a loading block, with three holes, and what one can do is have one ball in the block with the usual patch, and then use a thinner patch for #2 and #3 balls, if the ball and patch combination is really that tight. I believe all and any follow up shots would be taken at close range, so any slight loss of accuracy with the thinner patch would not make a difference. But again, having three shots will cover all possible bases, events, situations.

Since I like to worry about small things, I also carry some loose fitting paper cartridges, musket style, that I can shoot all day without cleaning if I get attacked by that pack of wolves. Which are amazingly accurate, for what they are. I mean, you can drop a rock down your barrel and still hit something at 24 yards or closer.