Swabbing between shots

[Dewey]

I never heard of swabbing between shots back in them days :idunno:

D. Boone did it "back in the day". See Audubon journals for description.
https://books.google.com/books?id=...&q=Audubon description Boone loading&f=false

"... if it is wiped once after each shot, it will do duty for hours."

My observation, too.

 

[Flintlock]

Different weather conditions seem to be a variable, some days a rifle seems to foul faster much faster than others. It only takes a few minutes to run a patch through the barrel, I try to treat my guns like my life depended on them. I'd rather swab once in awhile than get a ball and or rod stuck or break a rod off and stick it in my hand. As in the other posts on this forum.

 

[Snakebite]

Dutch - +2

Results may differ sometimes from what Dutch says or you may do something different, but his knowledge in not :bull:

And yes, I also blow down the barrel. I don't swab down to the breach after every shot, but, at the range, I use a wet patch with Black Solve (my favorite solvent) when I load a new ball. So I do wipe the bore in front of the ball. I have also gone up to 15 or so shots without wiping the bore using Mink Oil as a lube.

There are a lot of different ways to shoot these smokepoles, what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. It's funny how some of these threads are showing up such as "Don't Use Wood Ramrods"; "Don't blow down the barrel" and a couple others. I don't tell other what to do or not to do, but I'll tell what works for me. I'm no expert, but I have over 35 years of experience.
:2

 

[Billnpatti]

....use them wet, i.e., just shy of dripping.

OH LORDY, NO !!!! Sorry to take exception to your advice, Maven, but patches that are wet just shy of dripping are absolutely highly likely to ruin your powder charge by wetting it. Please refer to Dutch Schoultz' postings on this thread. Wipe between shots with a patch that is just damp with your favorite wiping solution. One stroke in and one stroke out.

Sorry, Maven. No offense intended. :hatsoff: :grin:

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Shooting offhand, swabbing may not matter. Shoot light bench or chunk and it makes a big difference. When keeping everything as consistent as possible matters, letting fouling build up at the breech constrict the bore below the line where the ball seats on top the powder. Your charge column "grows" in height.
I can't imagine shooting consistent moa groups at 100 with prb without swabbing.

I use a wet patch followed by two dry patches. And spit for lube. Shot a lot of light bench over the years. Any body who says it does not make a difference hasn't truly tested it at the bench.

 

[Dr5x]

It is not difficult to shoot multiple shots without wiping.
It largely depends on the particular goo you are employing.
The question is, What kind of groups are you gettingIf you can get good groups using your recipe of lubricant. Way to go.
I couldn't achieve that.
My worst experience was using the highly recommended Crisco and got groups you could cover with a bushel basket.
The side effect of that was that I would end the day smelling like a fry cook.

My biggest surprise was when experimenting to see how to eliminate vertical strings of otherwise well centered hits I found that (For Me) the less slick he patch lubricant the tighter my groups became. This discovery was after a few years of looking for the slickest possible lubricant.

I spent a year or two getting 4 to 6 inch groups and figured that was all you you expect with old timer rifles.
Then one day a guy showed up at the range with a flintlock long rifle who was getting 1/5 to 2 inch groups shooting offhand..

The light dawned and that's when I began experimenting.
I fond a method that worked for me and the folks I had begun coaching.
I i know and have witnessed people shooting well using a somewhat different methods. These methods didn't work for me so I plowed on..

Whatever you do that get your projectile accurately to where you intend is the right way to go.

My methods are just one more way that has worked for me
and rather a lot of other folks who were as frustrated as I was back in the early 70's.

Dutch

 

[Snakebite]

THANK YOU DUTCH! :thumbsup:

+1
O.

I hope my response was not misunderstood, my "+2" was also a big thank you to Dutch.

He is the "Meister", I have his system and it works. At least it worked for me.

What I didn't make clear in my previous post I guess, was what I did before I had Dutch's system and sometimes now when I get lazy.

Dutch has been an acknowledged expert for more years than I can remember. I took a little exception to the post by Brokennock, Dutch certainly needs no one to defend him, but his system or knowledge is not :bull: .
I've probably gone on too long now, so I'll shut up.

 

[Dr5x]

Blowing down the Barrel.
The original purpose of that practice was to send enough oxygen down the barrel to cause any remaining sparks to burn out, thus preventing any hance of your next powder charge gowing off while you are loading and ruining your day.
The best way to send a column of air that equals the amount of air already in the barrel is to run a relatively snug plunger down all the way to the breech.

A good source for that relatively snug plunger would be a wiping patch on your jag. It will send most of that air out the touch hole, , or the ignition channel of a percussion rifle, . Then when withdrawn will suck in new fresher air through those same apertures.

While you are doing this, you might as well dd a trifle of dampness to the wiping patch and drag outmost of that soft residue from the preceding shot..

Seems logical to me and you don't go home with a lot of black crud around your mouth..

This is what my thinking was . But you should do whatever gives you tight, or at least, satisfactory groups.

I do not think my method is the best way for all rifles, but it worked for all the people I coached back in them days.

Dutch

 

[Dewey]

:thumbsup:

 

[Maven]

No offense taken bnp! However, I wouldn't recommend or use the wet patches if hunting or when waiting several minutes before taking a shot. Greased patches using Stumpy's MS, for example, are better for that. Moreover, the wet patch idea has long been recommended by Daryl & Taylor Sapergia because of its effectiveness (see http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=37486.0 for ex.) I've never had a FtF because of them.

Lastly, apologies to Dutch, but the oiled-but-dry patch concept doesn't work for me. No issues about the accuracy system, though. :bow:

 

[RAEDWALD]

I cut baby wipes into pieces and use them to swab the barrel.

Not just me then.