Reloading directly after firing

[RDavidP]

I have been reading several posts on this forum and notice many talking about reloading directly after firing, particularly during hunting. I was always taught that after firing, you should send a patch down the barrel or brush to make sure any embers are out before reloading. Are you doing that, but not mentioning it, or do you do something different?

 

[Goldhunter]

Generally, no, I don't. I have taken three "rapid" shots with my ML before. No wiping between, no waiting just dump powder/ram ball, cap and shoot. Did not have a problem.

 

[fw707]

I always run a barely damp spit patch down the barrel after every shot, even when hunting.
One of the members on here posted a comment a while back about having powder he was pouring down the barrel from a measure ignite---twice.
I've always swabbed between shots, and in my opinion it's a good idea.

 

[MikeFromON]

I blow down the bore till all the smoke is gone before I reload. I used to send a moist patch down, but I was having a lot of trouble with misfires after that. I tried a dry patch the other day and the thing got stuck down there so I am back to just airing it out.

 

Alot of folks do not swab or wait long between shots, but in reality they are playing Russian roulet with their hands, as embers can remain to ignite the next load poured in. When I first learned to shoot MLers the common wisdom was to swab between shots and also to blow down the barrel to put out embers--for "safety reasons" many folks recommend Not blowing down the tube these days--for the common sense reason that you shouldn't put your mouth to the muzzle, but I wonder. As an artilleryman, we are trained never to reload the piece without worming & wet swabbing and in general we wait at least 3 minutes before reloading. Of course, a cannon hold 1/3 to 1/2 pound charges and that can maim or kill you--and has in some reenactments. The man who trained me in safe cannon shooting has only one finger left on his right hand from improper swabbing--had the full charge go off on reloading while the ramrod was still in the piece. It not only took off most of his hand, but also burned him badly and sent ramrod splinters into his chest. Think about that next time you speed load.

 

[Bountyhunter]

When hunting, and requiring a fast second shot, which is almost never the case, we always blow down the barrel of the rifle until no more smoke comes out the nipple. It is commonly accepted in my group to do so, as it is commonly known that the barrel is empty for other than perhaps some live sparks and the purpose of blowing is to extinguish them.

We are aware that some argue against that, but we are not shooting at a public range in New England, and we are all used to hunting together. Also, that is the way it has always been done, and we find it acceptable, knowing that the barrel is empty. We have never had powder flash on us, and we have not had anyone shot with an empty gun.

We figure that empty guns shoot people about like spoons make Rosie O'Donut fat.
B

 

[paulvallandigham]

I totally agree with Mike Roberts on this issue. Speed loading a muzzle loader is an invitation to several potential disasters. I was part of a cannon crew, and did the swabbing and loading of the barrel. The other men were afraid of the job. I wanted to do it, so it was done RIGHT! I knew how wet my swab was, and how dry I got the barrel before putting the next load down the barrel. We fire mainly blanks, but if that charge goes off under your rammer, what happened to Mike's friend can happen again to you.

Oh, when I am grabbing the rod, I tuck my thumb down next to my index finger, and simply grab the rod with my fingers, like a champanzese uses its hands. If you close the thumb around the rod, and powder sends it out the barrel, you natural reaction is to make a fist, and that will pop your thumb right off your hand. by using only your fingers to grab the rod for the hand-over-hand technique, if the rod is fired out fo the gun, the natural reaction will cause the fingers to open, saving you from all but a nasty skin burn. Don't believe it? Relax your hand so the fingers are curled down, and then get to near a candle flame. The natural reaction is to pull the hand back, and to straighten your fingers out! The opposite will be true when making a fist, requiring the thumb to close on the index finger or knuckles. You tend to tighten the grip, rather than open the hand. Make a fist around a steel rod and then put the end over an open flame to heat the rod. You will tighten and then release. That reaction is too slow to save your thumb from a driven ramrod with a jag on the end to catch the thumb as its shooting by.

The only time my hand is at the back of the handle on my range rod, or ramrod, is when I have run a damp patch down the barrel FIRST!, and I am now running a clean dry patch down to make sure the barrel is clean and dry before I load the next charge of powder. I can " Feel " the lands and grooves better when I hold the end of the ramrod doing this. However, the rest of the time, I run the ramrod down the barrel using the hand-over-hand method, never moving my hand more than 8 inches up the rod from the muzzzle. I have never even come close to breaking a ramrod, and don't intend to do so now.

 

[hawkeye1755]

In the last quick shot competition with flintlock rifles, we were shooting seven balls.One in the rifle the other six in a loading block.I made it in 2min.50sec.After each shot ,blowing down the barrel(I know that some argue against that :v ) ,BP in a antler powder-measure from the horn ,ball with patch from the loading block.The ball/patch combination is a.440 ball and 0.10"patch with alot of lube103 for my Bucks .45cal.
The quickest guy that day made it in 2min 23sec.
I never had a powder flash.But you must know, what you are doing.So start slowly and after you know what you are doing, you can go a little faster.
If you have a smoothbore and some paper- cartridges you are faster.
:hatsoff:

 

[ky_man]

I am new to this game, but here is my experience thusfar: After firing the rifle, smoke can and will curl up out of the barrel and flash hole for more than a minute in some instances. This may or may not be from still-burning powder, it may just be residual 'smoke' particles. I prefer not to take chances, and either wait until the smoking stops or otherwise run a dry patch down the barrel. This results in the residual 'smoke' coming out of the touchhole. If anything was burning, it's sure to be out now as all of the O2 was pushed out. Most of the time, I just wait my turn on the firning line before I load again (1-2 minutes) My question is this: if I swabbed every time, wouldn't enough fouling get pushed into the breech/touchhole area to cause a misfire/hangfire? How flammable is this stuff?

 

[J.D.]

The secret to NOT pushing crud into the breech is to reduce the diameter of your jag to the point that the patch rides over the fouling on the way down. The patch should bunch up to pull the fouling out, on the "up stroke".

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you run a slightly dampened patch down the bore( with spit- i just wipe it across my tongue) the dampness, wlll loosen or dissolve the crud, and carry most of it back out the barrel. Then use a dry, clean patch down the barrel to check to see you got all the crud out of the lands and grooves, and to grab any last damp black gooey stuff off the breechplug face. Once it is dry, any remaining residue will burn with the next powder charge, and be distributed down the barrel and out of the gun, to be replaced by more "new " residue. Always make sure the vent, or flash channel to a nipple in your percussion gun is cleared, by either blowing air down it( slightly dangerous, and a bad habit to get into) or by watching that vent or nipple to see if smoke is coming out when you run that first damp patch down the barrel. The damp will surely put out any glowling embers, and I don't remember a time when I didn't see smoke come out either the vent, or the nipple with I ran that patching down the barrel, UNLESS rhe vent or flash channel is clogged! Then you stop, use a vent pick or nipple wire to clear them, check them again by blowing down the barrel and pointing either the vent or nipple at something that will move if air is coming out properly. Or, you can use another patch down the barrel to force air out. By dampening the patch, it helps to seal the patch around the jag so that air does not easily escape up the barrel, but is forced out of the vent, or flashchannel and nipple. My cleaning jag has a flat face on it, and I like to turn the patch in a clockwise( right turn) direction to make the patch rub against the face of the breechplug, and remove as much residue as I can from that back of the barrel. Check the rifling in your bore, and turn the patch in the direction of the spin of the rifling.

 

[wszumera]

Is hunting so good where you are at that after hitting or missing your quarry the rest stick around for a reload?

I like to wipe the bore between shots. Often just a square of clean shop rag that I moistened by sticking it in my mouth to wet it. I pour the charge from a measure scoop and not the flask. If something goes wrong, I want it to be with as little powder as possible.

Clutch

 

[skeet]

Here in Illinois we can have 2 or more deer permits for firearm/muzzleloader seasons. I have shot deer and the other deer run 20 yards and stop and wait for their poor buddy who bought a 58 caliber bullet. In the heat of hunting I will reload almost immedietly and have never had a problem. I do agree the potential is definelty there and should be respected, by keeping your face and any part of your body away from the muzzle of the gun. You would also think that during the Civil War or any war that used muzzleloaders that there would be more documented cases about reloading too fast. I can only guess that they were loading faster than I do hunting.
Does anyone know how they trained Civil War soldiers to shoot? Did they tell them to wait before reloading?

 

Either blow down the barrel or swab between shots. Unless of course you want to lose some fingers or worse. Loading a hot barrel is risky. Your luck will run out someday. Sooner or later.

 

[fw707]

Is hunting so good where you are at that after hitting or missing your quarry the rest stick around for a reload?
Clutch

Yep, it sure is. :grin:
I got into a bunch of squirrels yesterday, killed one and missed one, and they were still running around on the ground and in the trees when it got too dark for me to see my sights.
And the one I killed was on the second shot (after I missed it the first shot) after a quick reload which included swabbing the barrel.
Last week I had 5 turkeys walk up on me totally undisturbed after I had shot a squirrel just 5 minutes before. And last spring I had a gobbler come in gobbling while I was putting my tag on a bird I had killed just 5 or 6 minutes earlier.
The sound of a shot in the woods spooks game a lot less than we think.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Is hunting so good where you are at that after hitting or missing your quarry the rest stick around for a reload?

No, but a pack o' ATV's is right quick on their little round feet.

I reload without wiping, 9 out of 10 times or so if the humidity allows, but I ALWAYS tip the rifle or musket away from my face when pouring in a measure of powder and I never get the palm of my hand or any other body part over the muzzle.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

By the time smoke clears and you can see if you need a 2nd shot any 'embers' will be out, but for safetys sake don't hold muzzle near face when dumping powder.

 

[SAJones]

Agree w/ Stumpkiller. Depending on the barrel, I seldom wipe between shots (some barrels shoot better clean, & some matches require it) & never while hunting. Even if the critter is down, I always reload before I move just in case he jumps up again or needs the "coup de grace". Hence the use of chargers. Don't know how much powder I've burned over the years, probably around 250 pounds (wow, never though of it before) w/ a variety of smokepoles from .36 squirrel rifle to several .69 muskets, repro & original. I never had problems w/ paper cartridges in reenactments either.

Someone asked about the old Army procedures. I've never read in any of the many early manual of arms about waiting to reload or wiping bores between shots. Remember, the tactic was to deliver as much lead as possible, so delay was unacceptable. Standard loading time during the Revolutionary War was three shots a minute, which I've done, thus no time to do anything but load.

Artillery is different. Artillerists use a cartridge to contain the powder, & even aluminum foil could shelter a spark, so swabbing would be essential. Plus the larger amount of powder, and the fanning action of ramming a charge could cause an ember to flare. Could this apply to a rifle barrel? Perhaps, but in all my years of shooting black powder never had it happen to me, and never met anyone who claimed it did. So I believe the smaller bores & powder charges eliminate the threat.

Even so, I still use a charger & keep my fingers away from the muzzle as much as possible, even when speed loading.

 

[Zonie]

... I prefer not to take chances, and either wait until the smoking stops or otherwise run a dry patch down the barrel. ...

I think running a dry patch down the bore is an excellent way to get the patch/jag/ramrod stuck.

If the patch is slightly dampened with water or spit, it will not run this risk.
As others have said, if the patch is slightly dampened, it won't shove the fouling down to the bottom of the barrel, it will just moisten it on the downstroke and remove most of it on the upstroke.

zonie

 

[arquebus]

We were always warned not to blow down our muzzles (either to cool-off or to keep fouling soft) as the theory was that if there are any embers down there blowing on them is only going to bring them back to life. Makes sense to me! However, that said, in my MLAIC competitions when shooting an event for military-style arms you are not allowed to wipe the bore between shots & we fire 13 shots in 30 minutes, plus foulers so the barrel definately has little time to cool. In all other events wiping between shots is allowed. We also only load premeasured charges from vials & no powder containers are allowed on the firing line.n Food for thought?!