Question about powder

[user 36911]

Did he ever shoot it?

 

[SDSmlf]

Did he ever shoot it?

He shot it a lot and took untold deer with it. It was hard to load because of the bore condition, but went bang when you pulled the trigger. He would hit clay birds at 50 yards and paper plates at 100 with it offhand. Old guy could shoot. Asked me to get the nipple out as hammer was going to half cock when he shot. Showed him the condition of the threads and how loose a new nipple was. He gave me the gun and pulled out another one that appeared brand new. Always good to have a spare he told me. He is still hunting. I had the barrel rebored and made it into a flintlock.

 

[user 36911]

I hope you told him it's ok to take out the nipple. Just use some anti-seize.

I can show cases when the breech channel clogged up from just flushing. Not sure it would change any minds. Do as you will and i'll do the same.

 

[Britsmoothy]

He shot it a lot and took untold deer with it. It was hard to load because of the bore condition, but went bang when you pulled the trigger. He would hit clay birds at 50 yards and paper plates at 100 with it offhand. Old guy could shoot. Asked me to get the nipple out as hammer was going to half cock when he shot. Showed him the condition of the threads and how loose a new nipple was. He gave me the gun and pulled out another one that appeared brand new. Always good to have a spare he told me. He is still hunting. I had the barrel rebored and made it into a flintlock.

This^ is exactly how I now feel. Like the old gent. Why get so tense about it. Life is to short.
Except that I do remove the nipple and pump warm water through.

 

[SDSmlf]

I hope you told him it's ok to take out the nipple. Just use some anti-seize.

Yep, but he has read and heard over and over that it’s a bad idea to remove nipples or removable touch holes by ‘experts’ as he calls them. Doesn’t want to wear out or damage the threads. He is not going change. Says that’s why there are so few critical screws on a M1, M14, M16 or 1911, which the USMC trained him to disassemble, repair, clean and reassemble blindfolded in total darkness.

 

[Trooper]

Your cleaning regimen seems good- I would just add “Go back with bore brush and lubed patches a week or do later and see what you find”.

I got back into both barrels this morning 12 hours after the original cleaning and saw no change. I'm not going to give these rifles a weeks rest. I work at a feed yard and get to shoot my rifles while working. (I protect our cattle from predators) A firearm is just a tool of my job that I happen to really love!

 

[MrMackc]

Everybody removes the nipple. You can't see down the whole channel on all guns. A clean out screw helps to get in it and scrub. Also, letting a cleaner soak in the channel before flushing helps too. Just flushing will get you at some point.

Not everybody removes the nipple, I never did back in the 1970s after shooting when I got home after I ran a brass brush several times I ran a patch a couple of times,
THEN,
I drew out a 5 gallon bucket 1/3 full fo hot water from the home water heater, added some dishwashing soap connected a close fitting length of plastic tubing dropped the tubing and barrel muzzle up in the bucket and started swabing and pumping the hot soappy water up and down thru the nipple for 20 times and then dumped the soapy water out and refilled with hot water and rinsed with the pumping action twenty strokes blew the barrel and nipple with compressed air (only when I was in the hunting field,over night I did pull the nipple)) I sawbbed with a fresh patch a or two, then I always ran a Hopies #9 patch , then the next day ran another hopies #9 patch. before storage I pulled the nipple and oiled it and the channel with gun oil, screwed the nipple in and never had any rust. Just another way,
I reckon there more ways than one to get the job done

 

[user 36911]

You didn't pull the nipple and then went on to say you pulled the nipple.

 

[azmntman]

You didnt see me pull the nipple

 

[Old Hawkeye]

You didnt see me pull the nipple

But I heard ya !!

 

[drstrangelove]

My missus and I went out yesterday afternoon and we must have shot off close to 50 round balls each. we swabbed out our barrels with a squirt of windex on average every 4 or 5 shots with no issues. We came home, stripped the rifles apart then with the nipples removed, we stuck the breach into boiling water and scrubbed our barrels until the water came out clear at the muzzle. We drained the water from the barrels muzzles down, then dry swabbed the barrel bore. While the barrel was still quite hot, we then applied some wonder lube 1000 liberally to the inside and outside of those barrels. We checked the locks and cleaned the crud from the hammers then wiped them and the stocks down with bore butter, re assembled them and placed into storage. Am I missing anything?

Be careful with windex. Some versions can remove bluing. Moose milk is a MUCH better black powder solvent and does not harm finishes.

 

[stephenprops1]

I use pipe cleaners to clean out the channel. I remove the nipple, flush out the barrel with hot, soapy water and then I get out the pipe cleaners. I get more crud out that way. --- It works for me.

 

[Trooper]

So my T.C. Hawken was made circa 1970-71. I’m guessing it must have a 1 in 48 twist? I launched three R.E.A.L 300 gn balls down range from 75 meters using 70 gns of T7. A minor sight adjustment and she is right on. I’ll confirm that in the morning after I get off work. My next question, at what range can I realistically expect to drop a white tail this fall? What are the range limitations for this bullet/powder weight?

 

[Walkingeagle]

Just based on the sights as your only limitation with that setup as long as you know point of aim and bullet drop, and can accurately judge distance, I would still limit myself to 100yds max.
Walk

 

[Grenadier1758]

@Trooper, Based on your 70 grains (volume) of T7 powder, you could realistically expect to drop a white tail with a round ball up to 100 yards. A Lee REAL bullet is more than what is needed. Its more about bullet placement than weight of the bullet.

 

[user 36911]

Black powder and a PRB works fine for deer, bear, and elk.

 

[J. Paul]

My missus and I went out yesterday afternoon and we must have shot off close to 50 round balls each. we swabbed out our barrels with a squirt of windex on average every 4 or 5 shots with no issues. We came home, stripped the rifles apart then with the nipples removed, we stuck the breach into boiling water and scrubbed our barrels until the water came out clear at the muzzle. We drained the water from the barrels muzzles down, then dry swabbed the barrel bore. While the barrel was still quite hot, we then applied some wonder lube 1000 liberally to the inside and outside of those barrels. We checked the locks and cleaned the crud from the hammers then wiped them and the stocks down with bore butter, re assembled them and placed into storage. Am I missing anything?

Almost exactly how I've done it for 45 years now, got introduced to Bore Butter about 25 years ago. Now use my homemade lube of beeswax and olive oil

 

[B P Arn]

...Now use my homemade lube of beeswax and olive oil

I use beeswax and crisco, with a small amount of lanolin.

For general lubrication of parts I use Balistol, with no added water.

 

[Mad L]

Someone mentioned that the small plug on the side of your nipple barrel shouldn't be removed as it was drilled as part of the fabrication process. Is this right?

I read in a manufactur manual (TC or CVA cant recall) that the 'small screw' on the side is to prevent 'vacuum' when cleaning - at least that is what the manual said under "Cleaning".

Here is a before and after of the channel under the nipple on a reactor's rifle after he brought it to me complaining about "miss fires".
Minde you, he Never shot a Live ball, only blank firing for a few years (also means No lubes patches ever ran down the barrel either, And they are "not allowed to swab during the day").
He had never removed the nipple. Just flushed with water then ran a dry patch, says he used "Pipe Cleaners" on the nipple - once off I showed him how the pipe cleaner dont fit through the lower hole on his.

First problem was removing the nipple! Got it off and began cleaning - with a bright light I found the cake on bottom just would not dissolve! Finally I used a toothpick (about 6-7 total) and light scraping with a tiny flathead, I reached the bottom. I think of that channel much the same as the Pan on my Flintlocks, but I guess that's just me.

Then I explained Choke Lube (or equivalent) on the nipple threads...then it was on to his pistol, also with two nipples froze TIGHT.

 

[hanshi]

When I clean a percussion I normally remove the nipple and have not noticed any problems in over 55 years of doing it that way. I have scrapers for every caliber I shoot and use them about half the time. One thing that works for me is to push a wet patch down the bore with a scraper and twist it around in the breech. It gets into the joints and crevasses around the breech plug which the scraper can't quite reach.