range trip attempt 3 (solved some problems but created another)

[morehops]

I always snap a cap after cleaning or running a patch down. Point the muzzle at the ground and look for a blade of grass to move or dust kicking up a bit. That will tell you the chamber is clear. Not sure? Snap another one. Caps are cheap, aggravation can take years off your life. :v

 

[Sam86]

this is the solution to your problem. First off let me tell you that a lot of people here will disagree with me, however if done like i describe you will never have a fouling problem, always have a clean bore for each and every shot and no your barrel will not rust, in fact my 30 year old barrel is in better shape then some new barrels i have seen.

make a 3 equal part mix of Murphy's oil soap, Isopropyl alcohol and ammonia.

put mix on ball patch ( not dripping wet but not to dry either) when you ram the ball down you are cleaning your bore, and not getting your barrel nut wet which is what is causing the FTF's.

this is much easier and more effective then swabbing in between shots and or after you have loads a ball. you can run your powder horn dry before you will need to do a complete cleaning.

i also clean my barrel after shooting with the mix too, 1 wet cleaning patch down and then brush and then follow with another wet patch. then dry patch (should be done by this point, if not another wet then dry) and ensure you have got the bottom of your breech good and clean to then follow with WD-40.

This is not a hunting lube, just for shooting, it will dry up after 5 to 10 minutes

 

[stronics]

Murphy's oil soap, Isopropyl alcohol and ammonia. I use almost the same thing only instead of ammonia I use hydrogen peroxide. So far it allows me to load at least ten without wiping or loss of accuracy. Last one is just as easy as first one.

What strength of ammonia do you use. I have some that is really strong used to fume oak, you can't be in the same room with it open though.
Thanks,
David

 

[Billnpatti]

Firstly, forget the Hoppies #9. To properly clean any black powder gun, you have to use soapy water. It is the cheapest and absolutely best cleaner. Rinse with clear water, dry and oil with a good gun oil. I have a more involved procedure and will share it with you if you wish. Just let me know.

Next item, you need a cleaner burning powder to reduce fouling. Try going to fffG. It burns much more cleanly than ffG.

I don't know what you are using for a lube but I have found that straight Ballistol will allow me to shoot all day without having a fouling problem. But, I shoot either a .50 or .54 caliber rifles most of the time and the larger calibers foul less than the smaller calibers. The Ballistol keeps the fouling soft and cleans with each loading.

Again, I don't know what you are using for patching material but you might try going to a thinner patch or a smaller ball. In almost all of my guns, a ball that is .010 smaller than the bore with a .017 patch lubed with straight Ballistol works wonderfully. One of my rifles likes a ball that is only .005 smaller than the bore with a .010 patch and Ballistol as a lube.

Whenever you need to wipe your bore while shooting, use a patch that is just damp with water or a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and water. Run a couple dry patches through your bore and then before loading, snap a cap on it to be sure the nipple and flash channel are open. Point your muzzle at the ground at some blades of grass facing downrange and when you snap your cap, watch for the grass to move from the blast of the cap. If you see the grass move, your nipple and flash channel are clear and you are ready to load.

What you need to do ASAP is to give your rifle a good scrubbing with soapy water and then a clear water rinse. If you have been using Hoppies #9 for long, you probably have a build-up of crud in your breach that causes it to plug easily. You have to be sure all crud is out of your bore and flash channel. A good soapy water scrub will do it. If you have a patent breach that allows you to remove your barrel, you are blessed. Remove the barrel, remove the nipple and put the breach of your barrel into a bucket of soapy water. then wet a snug fitting patch and run it into your bore. Now pump the soapy water into and out of your bore. Watch the water coming out of the nipple hole to see when you have all of the crud flushed out. Scrub your nipple with a toothbrush and make sure the hole is clear. Rinse, dry, oil and you are good to go.

The reason I tell you all of this is because I once bought a very nice rifle for an extremely sweet price because it would not fire. I had an idea of what was wrong and knew how to fix it. I was right, it was a build up of hardened crud in the breach that had the flash channel completely closed off so that it would not fire. The previous owner did not know how to properly clean a muzzleloader and had done it like cleaning a modern rifle. That simply will not work. I used a breach scraper to remove the heavy portion of the crud and then scrubbed the bore with hot soapy water, rinsed, dried and oiled it and it was a very sweet shooting rifle after that. Later, I sold it for almost three times what I paid for it.