I swab between shots.
The jag size and shape plus the compressed thickness of the patch dictates how big it actually is.
When shooting, you want to shoot the same barrel condition each time.
A patch and jag really cleans when pulling it out. When you pull it in, you do clean some. But, pulling it out bunches up the jag a bit for a tighter fit. A tight fitting cleaning patch will push the fouling down the bore more than catching it and removing it.
The same bore condition each time means using the same cleaning patch material, the same jag, and the same amount and compound of cleaning fluid.
I use water with a bit of ballistol and a bit of pinesol.
Two other things to keep in mind.
You live in NC. High humidity, you may want a cleaning solution with some alcohol in it to keep the residual bore fouling dry in there. Some folks like this in high humidity areas. Sometime on hot n humid days, you almost make black mud in there. A NC shooter will be using less fluid than someone where its cold and/or drier.
Get some sort of bottle that meter a controlled amount of fluid. Lots of answers to what to use. Automotive Washer fluid, Water, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, cleaning solutions like hoppe's #9. Most commercial solutions are water and soap. Many of those soapy water solutions add some water soluble oil to it too. Ballistol and murphys oil soap are water soluble oils. There are many more.
Also, what kind of patch lubricant you use will tend to dictate what you use. Residual patch lubricant can be as much or more of a problem than powder fouling. Generally, as a person gets more knowledgable in using blackpowder, the less lubricant they use in the bore.
MAny modern blackpowder gun replicas have a patent breech. In a lyman or Thompson center, they have a .36" or so size bore for the last inch or so. The smaller bore is meant to develop more pressure and heat initially. Two down sides to this design... your typical cleaning patch and jag won't get in there. And, your ignition channel for a flintlock is longer.
After about a dozen shots or so, I have to clean my patent breech area, or I get reliability problems. The less lube I use, the more reliable the gun has been over the years. I use a patch over a 36 cal brush in my gun to clean the chamber. I do this every 10 shots or so in the summer. My gun is alot better with less lube and when I drilled open my flah hole to 1/16th of an inch. A well fitting vent hole pick helps too.
Folks who do not have failure to fire problems often do a few things. Some fill the gun each time with a vent pick in the flash hole. Most, if not all of them are cleaning between shots. The ones who do not clean between shots typically are using patch lubricant that has cleaning properties.
I had horrible reliability problems when I use those goopy yellow pre-lubed patches. They just left tons of junk in the bore.
I use dutch shoultz method......
http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/
IF you hunt, get the gun well setup. Then, learn your first shot well. Mine is 2" higher at 100 yards. Which 70 yards or less, means little...... Also, cleaning is very important for the important first shot. Any residual oils many cause ignition problems. I use alcohol patches lightly moistened to remove oil from the bore, then do the same thing with the patent breech too. I also remove the flash hole clean that with alcohol too. I use the CVA thread lubricant that looks like it's in a lipstick container. A very little bit.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1002223865/cva-breech-plus-anti-seize-grease-stick
