Red residue at muzzle after shooting

[Smokey Plainsman]

I’ve not had it happen but live in the desert.

 

[hawkeye2]

If the "blood" indicates the absolute correct load with maximum efficiency and I haven't seen any in years does that explain my steadily declining scores?

 

[RAEDWALD]

It simply means that there is an excess of sulphur that has not been incorporated in the burning process and has remained inert and unburned. Just melting and coalescing as drops when the temperature/pressure drops at the muzzle. It suggests that the maker has failed to fully incorporate the sulphur in making the powder and/or used too much. Just sulphur condensate.

Powder will work with no sulphur at all, if you can get the initial ignition source to be hot enough. It lowers the ignition temperature.

 

[Bob Gular]

It's a condensate that used to be called "liver of sulphur" and usually occurs at high humidity levels. For some reason I notice it more in summer. With this knowledge and a buck-fifty you can get a good cup of coffee.

 

[Tom Compton]

Yep Sulphur residue. AKA “Brimstone “.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

It's a condensate that used to be called "liver of sulphur" and usually occurs at high humidity levels. For some reason I notice it more in summer. With this knowledge and a buck-fifty you can get a good cup of coffee.

Aha...A solution of "liver of surphur" is used to color or add a patina to items made of copper.

 

[FishDFly]

If the "blood" indicates the absolute correct load with maximum efficiency and I haven't seen any in years does that explain my steadily declining scores?

Yep.

 

[Whitworth]

Used to make gunpowder back in the dark ages when I was a kid. "Liver" of sulfur was always a by product since our powder was always crudely ground. Never knew what it was called until now. Noticed some little red balls at the muzzle before, can't remember for sure if it was the T/C or Whitworth. I'll keep an eye open for it now but was probably the T/C. Pressure generated by the powder chambered small bore Whitworth may well add to more complete combustion. We'll see....

 

[Felix the Cat]

I occasionally shoot my Chassepot needle gun which uses a paper cartridge which gets blown out of the gun with each shot. It is a bolt action breech loader (Yes I know... Unclean, Unclean, but I am trying to make a point...) with a rubber sealing washer at the end of the bolt. The bolt face has a post that keeps the charge about a half inch up the chamber and creates a space behind the charge when it fires. The purpose of this is to create a bubble of high pressure behind the main ignition that blows all the residue out the chamber and down the barrel after each shot...!

To get to the point of my story... the post and breech face always comes out the chamber bright orange which is formed by sulphur condensation. It very quickly turns to black as the air gets to it and it oxidises..

 

[Zonie]

In case you didn't know, we don't talk about cartridge guns that use cartridges which have a primer in them on the forum. That includes needle guns.

 

[Felix the Cat]

I was aware, and I did take pains to point out that I was referring to the sulphur deposition rather than the firearm and that although it is a rare phenomenon in a muzzle loader, it is readily observable in a needle gun, and that its nature and cause was well known. My reason for describing the action of the needle gun was to illustrate where these deposits occur, as normally in a muzzle loader (and in most breech loaders) it is never seen. I am simply trying to explain what the OP was observing..!

I think, with the greatest of respect, perhaps you are being a little precious?

 

[Gun Tramp]

perhaps you are being a little precious?

Seems like nearly every day posts appear referring to stuff contrary to Forum Rules pinned in the Forum Announcements & Support section. Often accompanied by "I know we're not supposed to talk about it here, but..."
Please understand Zonie's position.

 

[Felix the Cat]

Well,

To be honest, I am trying to understand Zonie's position..!

I am aware that this is a muzzle loading forum and that the focus of discussion should be about these firearms, however I do question the tone and intention of the policing style I have encountered from the moderators. It seems to me that there is a level of "triggering" (sorry!) going on that is generally unhelpful and irritating in what is normally a friendly and supportive community.

Whilst I fully understand that discussions regarding AR family modification and how many sights you can fit on a Pickatinny rail are not for this board, I really do find the "Miss Picky" comments to anything but 100% muzzleloading with little or no reference to the context or subject of the conversation to be somewhat wearing..

This is now the second time I have been picked up for "straying".. The first time I was discussing Damascus barrels, and put up a photo of one of my guns to illustrate a particular type of twist. The gun happened to be a breechloader, and I apologised for this when I posted it, however it was not the gun I was referring to, but the barrel, which was of a type commonly found on muzzle loading fowlers of the late 18th/ early 19th C.

My discussion on this thread was about sulphur deposition. I gave an example where this is a common occurrence, although normally only seen in a particular class of breech loader. It was in direct reply to a query from a muzzleloader and had nothing to do with breech loading per say..

Frankly, I think the moderators need to have a word with themselves.. I think their interventions, certainly in my case, have been overzealous and generally unhelpful. They seem to be just skimming the content looking for certain words, and do not seem to be bothering to examine the context.

Thank you for the various discussions I have had with board members, however this is the last you will hear from me..

 

[FishDFly]

"Seems like nearly every day posts appear referring to stuff contrary to Forum Rules pinned in the Forum Announcements & Support section. Often accompanied by "I know we're not supposed to talk about it here, but..."
Please understand Zonie's position."

Everyday, postings are made that do not need to be made and things are referenced that the rules are specific about. It seems the Moderators are a lot more tolerate now, Claude had less tolerance when the posted rules were not followed.

Wonder why folks chose not to follow the rules?

 

[Kansas Jake]

I've not moderated a forum and appreciate all the work it takes to do it, but I can see Felix's point. It was very clear to me in his first post on this thread he was adding information about sulfur residue and was not in regard to an unacceptable firearm except to point out this is where he saw it. Many often post an observation made with another type of firearm that is applicable to the muzzleloading discussion in a thread.

 

[Zonie]

Well,

To be honest, I am trying to understand Zonie's position..!

I am aware that this is a muzzle loading forum and that the focus of discussion should be about these firearms, however I do question the tone and intention of the policing style I have encountered from the moderators. It seems to me that there is a level of "triggering" (sorry!) going on that is generally unhelpful and irritating in what is normally a friendly and supportive community.

Whilst I fully understand that discussions regarding AR family modification and how many sights you can fit on a Pickatinny rail are not for this board, I really do find the "Miss Picky" comments to anything but 100% muzzleloading with little or no reference to the context or subject of the conversation to be somewhat wearing..

This is now the second time I have been picked up for "straying".. The first time I was discussing Damascus barrels, and put up a photo of one of my guns to illustrate a particular type of twist. The gun happened to be a breechloader, and I apologised for this when I posted it, however it was not the gun I was referring to, but the barrel, which was of a type commonly found on muzzle loading fowlers of the late 18th/ early 19th C.

My discussion on this thread was about sulphur deposition. I gave an example where this is a common occurrence, although normally only seen in a particular class of breech loader. It was in direct reply to a query from a muzzleloader and had nothing to do with breech loading per say..

Frankly, I think the moderators need to have a word with themselves.. I think their interventions, certainly in my case, have been overzealous and generally unhelpful. They seem to be just skimming the content looking for certain words, and do not seem to be bothering to examine the context.

Thank you for the various discussions I have had with board members, however this is the last you will hear from me..

Have you noticed, your post about the pin gun is still there so it should be obvious I do read the entire post and leave the things that apply to the subject at hand.
If you think I'm being, "Miss Picky" I think you should be grateful that I'm not. I do point out rule violations in threads if I see one. If I didn't, the person who made the mistake would most likely do it again in some other post. I might add, I point out these rule violations in the threads so that others can be reminded or learn what is not allowed. I know it's hard to believe but we have members who have never read the forum rules.

Another reason I tell people their post is violating the rules is, if I am going to keep it or some of it, I do not want other people to start talking about the thing that violated the rules. In the case of your pin fired gun, the sulfur deposit was the subject but you used the pin fire gun as an example. By pointing out that talking about the pin fire gun is violating the forum rules, others will read that and they won't start talking about pin fired guns.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Thanks Zonie.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

UPDATE!!!

Today I went shooting with my Enfield Musketoon and to my utter shock I EXPERIENCED THIS PHENOMENON FIRST HAND!!! Very small pale reddish opaque beads in the bore. The large .577 bore made it easy to peer in and see them. Was using 45 grains O.E. 2Fg under the minies.

I feel as if I’d just seen a grey alien or a squatch!!!

 

[Tom A Hawk]

And, it not just a muzzle phenomenon. I had it today in the pan.

 

[blackpowder shooter]

I was told years ago it was a marker required by the BATF. Helps identify when and where the powder was manufactured.