no swabs between

[Slake]

I went shooting this morning, man was it frosty! I forgot my moose juice so did shootin partner. I shot 70 grains of Goex three times before it was getting very stiff to load 45 Kentucky rifle. With moose juice between shots I can go ten or fifteen times before I even get a hint of that...
I am now firmly in the camp of swabbing between shots
I also walked the range and picked up many bullets, mostly conicals...I found very few round balls

 

[Halftail]

Slake,
I find when I use a good greasy lube there is no need for swabbing between shots.If I use spit it seems to foul more and I swab between shots.
Just a few observations.

 

[roundball]

I went shooting this morning, man was it frosty! I forgot my moose juice so did shootin partner. I shot 70 grains of Goex three times before it was getting very stiff to load 45 Kentucky rifle. With moose juice between shots I can go ten or fifteen times before I even get a hint of that...
I am now firmly in the camp of swabbing between shots
I also walked the range and picked up many bullets, mostly conicals...I found very few round balls

FWIW, if you like to shoot without wiping between shots without compromising accuracy, particularly on dry / low humidity days, you might want to give Hoppes No9 BP Plus a try as a patch lube.

I tried and then used it all this winter when it was cold with low humidity...able to shoot entire 50 shot sessions without wiping and when I get home to clean the bore, the fist patch I pump flush barely pushes a trace of discoloration into the bucket the bore is so clean...and that probably comes from the patent breech...incredible stuff.

 

[roo shooter]

When im target shooting and using a liqued type lube i dont find the need to swab between shots,but will do it every now and then maybe after 10 shots i find it makes the clean up after a fair bit quicker.

 

[Swampman]

With olive oil and a proper patch/ball combo, no swabbing is needed.

 

[Slake]

Interesting, I think I'm shootin too dry..how much olive oil?

 

[marwat06]

If I am just punching holes in paper for fun (which is most of the time) I'll swab every 10 shots. For me it seems that my tight ball/patch combo and using a lubed patch works as a swab when I load. I notice that the last inch or two I feel a "crunch" as all the fouling gets push onto the powder. I assume the the fouling is shot out when the powder ignites. When I zero for hunting I swab/clean the barrel every shot since I am trying to zero for the first shot out of a clean barrel.

 

[Slake]

sounds smart...I've always swabbed between shots and the guns seems to stay clean, the clean up after is much easier too I think

 

[Swampman]

I use olive oil as my patch lube.

 

Slake, when using any kind of lube, I find that soaking the patch with as much as you can get by with out fouling your powder charge. When I use bore butter I dip the patch material in the melted butter and squeeze the excess out between two pencils as a squegee. After they cool I cut them up into squares. I store mine in a tin in my bag and when needed I slip them in my mouth to moisten them a tad before shoving them down the barrel. This system works great in my .58. My .45 uses olive oil and I pre-lube these also but again, I squeeze out the excess so as not to foul the powder charge after loaded. Same with bear grease. Hope this answered your question and is a help,
Don

 

[charcloth]

Hello Slake,

I use spit. I routinely shoot 25-30 prb's on a trail walk and I have never tried swabbing between shots.

For those of you who do swab between shots, PLEASE don't discard them on the ground. I was at a "primitive" rendezvous today and I can't tell you how much a stream of multi colored patches takes away from the scenery.

Charcloth

 

[Slake]

I don't litter...at[url] all..in[/url] fact I pick up the litter of others.....I think I'm gonna try the olive oil idea...what kind of bottle do y'all keep it in...I don't know about the spit idea...it triggers my yuck

 

[Swampman]

I don't carry lube, I prelube the patches. For the range, any bottle will do.

 

Fouling is a fact of life when shooting black powder. How much fouling can be affected by the powder and lube that you use. Personally, I use a mix I call Boar Snot to prelube my patches. I also carry dry patches in my possibles bag and range box. That way all I have to do is screw on a jag, wet a patch from my canteen or water bottle and swab the bore. Follow that up with a dry patch and I'm good to go.

However, when I was knee high to a grass hopper and living in the Appalachians, I was taught to carry a patch in my cheek for follow up shots and swabbing, when in the field.

CP

 

[roundball]

I don't litter...at[url] all..in[/url] fact I pick up the litter of others.....I think I'm gonna try the olive oil idea...what kind of bottle do y'all keep it in...I don't know about the spit idea...it triggers my yuck

Same thing deer hunting...I completely field clean the rifle after killing a deer, and everything gets packed back out in a ziploc bag...it's disgusting to sit down in what appears to be a pristine hunting area and when you get settled you see an empty cigarette pack wadded up thrown on the ground, or a plastic drink bottle, etc.

 

[Cherokee]

Just got back from the range.
I have found in the last two range trips for my experience anyway I swabbed with a damp bore mop when I had some tight spots loading after about 15-18 shots. I had a bottle of T.C. black powder cleaner it looks like milk anyway this stuff fouled big time after I put it in the bore. I didnt put enough on the bore mop to make it soaked just damp.
It was so bad I ran a bore brush in a few times and it was caked with crud. My pan was damp from the smoke I blew through the touch hole when running a patch.
I brough the rifle home cleaned it and cleaned it again. I got every spec out of it. I took it today to the range with no cleaner only my ox yoke lubed patches ans swabbed between shots with a dry patch.
No fouling. No damp pan. I fired thirty shots. I started getting plenty of dry cruddy patches but no tight spots. My accuracy was back to where I was before the fouling trip.
Now I know it was the cleaning product I was using at the range.
I was using a 45 cal flint 3F Goex. I fired thirty shots had one flash in the pan.
Now I know its just my piss poor shooting not the rifles haha :redface:
I also have noted for myself to swab right after making a shot while the barrel is hot. The patch runs in smooth and out smooth. If I let it cool its like dragging sandpaper out of the bore very hard to pull.

 

[roundball]

For me, humidity seems to play a big part in my ability to run a whole range session without wiping...and I also use Goex 3F which doesn't foul very much to begin with.

About 9 months out of the year here in central NC, bore butter shooting patches are all I need...but in the Dec/Jan/Feb colder months with low/dry himidity, I had to either use patches with a lot more NL1000 melted into them, or clean the bore every 10-12 shots.

This winter I switched to Hoppes No9 BP Plus as a patch lube during those months and was able to run whole sessions again without wiping...it's a thick liquid and gets the patches wetter...keeps the bore extremely clean for the whole session.

And get this: The Hoppe's No9 BP Plus label says it contains kerosene...it doesn't affect the powder, and certainly doesn't promote fouling, just the opposite...but kerosene obviously has it roots in petroleum...so I guess it's either the tiny amount that's in there or the degree to which it's refined...dunno...but thought it was interesting to see that it said it contained kerosene.

 

[Landngroove]

Here's from another satisfied customer of Hoppe's # 9 Plus BP Solvent And Patch Lube. I use this to lube my patches as well as to swab the bore. Great stuff. Keeps fouling to a minimum, and makes prbs, when used as a patch lube, slide down the barrel on subsequent shots, if I don't wipe the bore. :thumbsup:

 

[Forster]

I add extra lube at the range to my patches. It started a long time ago when a bought a bunch of dried out prelubed patches and found that the additional lube seemed to keep the residue soft and would go out with the next patch. I use bore buttons to keep from dampening the charge. [for me] I belive this is what helps me shoot longer without cleaning as often. I use mink tallow and bee's wax or TC's bore butter....Stoney