I'm going to invest in a breech scraper. Other than the new 54 cal barrel I bought off Walkingeagle, I have no idea of the condition of the other two breech plugs. I'll soon find out.
Your barrels have a patented breech, and as such a scraper is not gonna work. Scrapers are designed for flat faced breeches. A patented breech is a channel leading to a cone (like a funnel shape) which opens to bore size. You wont get a scraper to fit into that cone. People who wish to further clean these breeches more than what you’ll get for a clean from pumping water through use pistol brushes on a rifle cleaning rod. Just make sure you don’t get it stuck!!
That is due to shooting blanks and possibly there was some oil left in there. It is the high back pressure that keeps it clear.
Yes, I tried explaining some of the logistics Live Fire vs Blank Loads and how it affects fouling, add to that they shoot heavy loads (80-90gr) to get a bigger bang (some dump as much as 120gr) but it seems to go in one ear and out the other. Tried explaining too that folks in the day, especially military, spent considerable time cleaning and maintaining their weapons....I have given them lists and links to aquire the proper cleaning tools and showed them mine - they just keeping telling me "I stopped by Sportsman's and they dont have...." (*slaps head*) - I just say "That'll be $40, pick it up in a few days"
I find a good forged type worm with wad of Tow worked well to get into any shape breach area - I wrap it on the worm and leave a good size wad on the end (ahead of the worm) then slide it down and give it a good Bump into the breach, working up and down while twisting (Clockwise!) then push down hard. It will form the 'knot' of Tow on the end to the shape of the breach, then just give it several spins (Clockwise!) And a couple more Bumps...clean!
I've been using bore butter for a whole lot of years, with very good results. I coat the bore and wipe the outside of the gun....both the stock and metals with it. Never had a problem !
You must not hunt in cold weather? Bore butter will harden up and blow the patches in cold weather. That's been proven, so no need to take my word for that. Although I did test it and got the same result. Animal tallow is the best for cold weather. I like bear grease.
I don't use bore butter as a patch lube and I wouldn't doubt it could harden up in really cold weather. I use it not to condition the barrel such as a cast iron pan, I use it to coat the metal to protect it from rust, and it has never let me down.
My worm is like the second from left in .50calI agree and i'm going back to using tow. I just ordered a pound of it. I especially like tow because it never gets stuck in the barrel for me like a patch can. It works good for swabbing between shots if you do that. Plus, like you said it cleans out the breech face better than anything else. The last perk is it's very tadeonal and I always like to keep it like it was done in the good old days.
If i'm going to use a replica of an old Hawken I want to load and clean it like was done when the original gun was used. Also, using anything but black powder is out of the question.'
Here's the tow worm I use made by Dan Fruth.
I whittled threads to fit the worm on the small end of my ramrod trying to avoid that problem. So far so good, I've never had one come off in the bore. I use it with wads of tow for cleaning and for pulling wads, no problem.
It depends on who and where and when. Those forged worms are modeled after "18th Century" artifacts. I have seen photos of originals but usually a bit more crude.
Good. I wasn't sure but feel better about using one now. I'm not a fan of the bare wood worm. That end of the rod is only good for using tow. I like it threaded on both ends so I have more options. Not PC but practical. It's PC to being a 2021 mountain man.
