Yes.
Once fired, the patched round ball starts moving out the barrel, the patch drags a little bit of black powder with it. (the water absorbed chunk)
Within a few inches of barrel travel, most of the powder is consumed and the patch is blackened by the burning powder.
The "sparks" of burning black powder seen leaving the barrel is more than likely the water absorbed B/P that was next to the patch.
Look for recovered patches about 5-15 feet in front of the muzzle, they will let you know if the powder got too wet.
If the patch is speckled, chances are it carried unburnt powder with it. If the patch is burnt through, then the patch was too dry.
The patch will show a blackened circle with streaks of soot lining out from the circle if the patched worked right. (the lines are where the patch filled the grooves of the riflings)
Too much lube will ruin the top layer of the charge and lower it's flash point, resulting in less velocity and maybe even a miss fire.
Patches should be lubed, but not soaked. Squeeze a patch before loading it, if it drips lube, then it could be too much.
Trial and error and checking recovered patches will be the difference between a hit or missed deer, during the hunt is not the place to experiment.
Hope this helps.
