Powder

[gary b]

what type of powder do you use,FFF. some of my friends say they are using jim shockey's powder it is cleaner and they can shoot more rounds with out cleaning. I am just wondering as i do not shoot too much, but i need some in put from the experts , you guys on here

 

[tecum-tha]

No substitutes in flintlocks.
3F works as main charge and as a priming charge.
But caliber should be smaller than 54 for 3F.
I use 2F for main and swiss Null B for prime.

 

[Matt85]

No substitutes in flintlocks.

:thumbsup:

-matt

 

[Roguedog]

Gary,
As has been said, substitute propellants don't work well, if at all, in flintlock rifles. Furthermore, I don't really like using them in percussion weapons either. Do yourself a favor and get ahold of some real black powder. With it's lower ignition temp, you'll be very pleased with how often it goes boom.

Jeff

 

[Loyalist Dave]

No substitutes in flintlocks.

:thumbsup:

I agree as well. :thumbsup:

All of this concern over how many shots can one take before swabbing mystifies me.

Unless one is shooting some sort of speed match, what the shooter should be doing (imo-hbc), is shooting the most accurate load each time.

Now some rifles don't have accuracy impacted by some fouling in the barrel on the second or even the third shot, and some need swabbing after every shot. WHY swabbing at any time is thought by some to be some sort of "problem" that needs to be reduced or eliminated is beyond comprehension.

In short, there really isn't a "fouling problem"...
We shoot, the barrel gets dirty, we swab, we reload,
No problem. :grin:

LD

 

[Rifleman1776]

No substitutes in flintlocks.

:thumbsup:

I agree as well. :thumbsup:

All of this concern over how many shots can one take before swabbing mystifies me.

Unless one is shooting some sort of speed match, what the shooter should be doing (imo-hbc), is shooting the most accurate load each time.

Now some rifles don't have accuracy impacted by some fouling in the barrel on the second or even the third shot, and some need swabbing after every shot. WHY swabbing at any time is thought by some to be some sort of "problem" that needs to be reduced or eliminated is beyond comprehension.

In short, there really isn't a "fouling problem"...
We shoot, the barrel gets dirty, we swab, we reload,
No problem. :grin:

LD

Have you been reading my posts? :rotf:
Actually, they like to go a long time without swabbing because they get gold stars on the board. :haha:
Only reason I can think of.

 

[gary b]

After talking to a coworker today, he said the same thing you guys just did, swab it after every shot and use Black Powder only

 

[hobowonkanobe]

cldnt agree more.

speed vs flintlocks.... If'n ya want speed in shooting, this is the wrong arena.
If'n ya don' clean yer barrel often, shooting speed will be the last of yer concerns.

 

[Zonie]

Although some swab (wipe is a better term because the patch should only be a little wetter than damp) after each shot I have found that I can load and shoot at least 3 shots (often 6 or more) before the fouling from the real black powder begins to make reloading difficult.

IMO, if your trying to win a shooting contest maybe wiping after each shot will help but for general shooting it really isn't necessary.

 

[Hawkeye]

[/quote]
Have you been reading my posts? :rotf:
Actually, they like to go a long time without swabbing because they get gold stars on the board. :haha:
Only reason I can think of.[/quote]

Speaking for myself I would much rather shoot than swab. YMMV

 

[Billnpatti]

How often you need to swab your bore will depend on how quickly your bore gets dirty. If you are shooting a dirty powder in a small bore rifle, you will likely need to swab after every shot. On the other hand, if you are shooting something like a .54 caliber and using a clean burning 3f black powder and a good lube such as straight Ballistol, you ought to be able to shoot 30 to 40 rounds before needing to swab your bore. That's my caliber and my load and it just keeps on loading and loading with no problem nor loss in accuracy. It's what works for me.

 

[nkbj]

Flintlocks are a somewhat passive type of fire stick. They don't use an explosive squirt injected into the propulsive charge. Starting with percussion caps on through the cartridges of today that flash of percussive power rules. I see that as the dividing line. Before percussion caps it was all about lighting off the powder trail the best way that worked.
Flintlocks were made to work with black powder tech. Percussion caps were made to force ignition and happen to work with propulsive compounds later created.

 

[radman]

the reason that these guys wanna eliminate swabbing as much as possible is simple. lazineess. truth be told they dont really wanna shoot muzzleloaders at all if they could hunt the same amount of time with centerfire rifles they would.so they try to make theyre muzzleloaders as close to modern rifles as possible, and take every shortcut they can come up with.To the op listen to your buddy at work who advised you to use real powder and wipe after every shot or two he sounds like your most reliable advisor. or the guys on here of course.

 

[Ron_T.]

what type of powder do you use,FFF. some of my friends say they are using jim shockey's powder it is cleaner and they can shoot more rounds with out cleaning. I am just wondering as i do not shoot too much, but i need some in put from the experts , you guys on here

****************************************

I have three .50 caliber traditional muzzle loaders, a flintlock Long Rifle and 2 Hawken cap-locks... one with a 24-inch barrel for hunting deer and one with a 28-inch barrel for shooting targets at my Club's monthly "shoot".

I use CCI #11 standard percussion caps in the Hawken rifles in combination with either Swiss FFFg or Goex FFFg.

I haven't found a great difference between the two popular powders, but the Goex is almost HALF the cost ($14 a pound) of the Swiss ($23 a pound)... and so I'm currently switching over to Goex.

I've never had a mis-fire with the standard CCI percussion caps in the 5 years I've been shooting black powder... but there's always a "first". :hmm:


Make GOOD smoke... :thumbsup:


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

 

[Black Hand]

But caliber should be smaller than 54 for 3F.

Nonsense....
I (and many others) use FFFg in larger calibers.

 

[Billnpatti]

I have never shot Shocky's powder but I have been told that it is a bit cleaner burning than some of the other substitute powders. However, it is a substitute for black powder and can be used only in caplock rifles and pistols. If you own a caplock and want to give it a try, it will work and you will have to be the judge of whether or not it is worth the extra expense over the cost of Pyrodex. However, if you own a flintlock, being a substitute powder, it will not work in a flintlock. Don't even try it because you will be wasting your money on something that will not work. A flintlock requires black powder. The ignition temperature on all of the substitutes is too high for a flintlock to ignite reliably, if at all.

Real black powder is always your best choice for any muzzleloader but if you have a caplock and cannot get real black powder, I recommend Pyrodex as the substitute of choice. It is not as fast burning as Triple 7 and may not be as clean burning as Shockey's but it is a good powder and, in most cases, is cheaper and usually more readily available than any of the other substitutes.

 

[Many Klatch]

radman, I don't swab between shots because I don't have to. I only shoot offhand. My accuracy level doesn't drop off for up to 15 to 20 shots. Swabbing between shots slows down progress on a woodswalk. My load is tailored to allow me to shoot without swabbing unless there is some unusual humidity level.

I don't mow my lawn or trim my hedges every day and I don't swab between shots because IMHO it is a big waste of time.

Many Klatch

 

[Billnpatti]

The dictum about 2f being the required powder for calibers larger than .50 is more of a rule of thumb than an actual requirement. True, if you are used to using maximum heavy charges in your .54 or larger, it might be a good idea to limit your powder to 2f because an equal charge of 3f could possibly over pressure your breach. But if you are not using maximum charges in your larger calibers, you can work up a 3f load that will work in your rifle. I use a less than maximum charge in my .54 and I prefer 3f over 2f simply because my rifle sems to like 3f and I get less fouling with 3f.

 

[SmokeEater2]

I've never used anything but BP so I don't have any idea about the Shockey stuff or any of the other faux propellents.

I use 3F Goex in my .36,.50 and .54 and 2F in the .62 although it does reasonably well with 3F too.

By conventional wisdom the .54 should be loaded with 2F but it doubles the group size so I'm happy with 3F in it. Different rifles like different things so trying both may be surprising.

I swab between each shot with a spit dampened patch one time to the bottom of the barrel and out mainly because the ball and patch combination that shoots the best (so far) is a tight fit and I don't want to have to deform the ball by beating it down the barrel with a hammer.

 

[Leatherbark]

radman, I don't swab between shots because I don't have to. I only shoot offhand. My accuracy level doesn't drop off for up to 15 to 20 shots. Swabbing between shots slows down progress on a woodswalk. My load is tailored to allow me to shoot without swabbing unless there is some unusual humidity level.

I don't mow my lawn or trim my hedges every day and I don't swab between shots because IMHO it is a big waste of time.

Many Klatch

+1
No swabbing or wiping here either. I use a tight ball/patch combination that is lubed with a wet lube. It wipes when I seat the ball on the powder.
Now those that use a greasy patch I can see wiping after a few shots. But for maximum accuracy nothing beats a wet lubed patch such as spit or a soluble oil/water mix.

But then again there are the NMLRA boys that use a teflon patch with a bore size ball and mallets to seat them that are always in the winners circle. Those guys do swab every shot as the teflon doesnt soften fouling worth a darn.

Bob