Uggg Crud Ring Attack

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I have several containers of 3 f Trip 7 to use with my T/C Hawken .45. So i load 40 gr n a wad of cotton ball, lube up some flannel patch material. Put my RB in the bore cut excess off n run it on down til it seats. Put a small pistol primer in my Accua-spark. Settled on my bag n shot. Sweet , run alcohol patch down bore n a dry one. Bump the load up to 50 gr. I shoot nice, do my clean on bore. Bump load up to 55 gr, feel little recoil, clean bore. Bump to 60 gr has some thump run patch down bore uggg. I can't believe i have crud ring started. Shoot once more n ring is worse even though i run wet patch down it. I stopped my shooting session. Came inside n cleaned it using Dawn dish detergent. So 40-50-55 all is ok. Hit 60 gr n cha ching crud ring. Now is it the 60 gr or the cotton ball wad or the small pistol primer causing it or the total combo. I only have a half lb of 3 f Goex for my 2 Flintlocks. That is why i got the trip 7 as the perc. will ignite it
 
I've experimented a bit with T7 and generally speaking, I don't see the dreaded crud ring till the charges start getting larger. My guess is that the amount of powder relative to caliber relative to type of ignition has an effect on the formation of the ring. In guns using musket caps and a moderate charge, I haven't seen it yet.

And yes, I get it about the bit of cotton. A soaked patch will contaminate the charge and lead to erratic ignition and poor accuracy.
 
I've experimented a bit with T7 and generally speaking, I don't see the dreaded crud ring till the charges start getting larger. My guess is that the amount of powder relative to caliber relative to type of ignition has an effect on the formation of the ring. In guns using musket caps and a moderate charge, I haven't seen it yet.

And yes, I get it about the bit of cotton. A soaked patch will contaminate the charge and lead to erratic ignition and poor accuracy.
I find similar results w/T7. In my .45 if i stay under 60 gr 3f i don't have it. Once i go to 60 gr n above its there to annoy me
 
Your patch (the one around the ball) would have to be very wet to effect the powder charge an d practically dripping to migrate to the bottom of the charge.

Also it's just me but I don't think alcohol patches are a good choice for wiping between shots. A patch just damp with water/liquid dish soap abot 10 or 15 to 1 would be more effective in clearing the crud ring.

Are the cotton balls pure cotton? What do you find out in front of your shooting point after using the cotton balls? Maybe the burned cotton is contributing to the crud?
 
I found my 45 hawkens shoots best at 70g. But never tried t7. Crud ring was never a problem.
As said soap water would be better for swabbing.
 
I've only had a "crud ring" form with one lube I tested. I may have missed it but I don't see what you're using for patch lube, nor do I see the thickness of your patch. A tight combination will help and I've ( personally) never seen "flannel" that is thick enough to work for patching a roundball, especially when powder charges increase. I use flannel for cleaning patches and wouldn't expect it to work for shooting. I have seen patch material that worked just fine with lower powder charges but shredded badly when I increased the charge. Coupla suggestions based upon what we know about your current combination of ball/patch/lube:
A loose combination will prevent complete powder burn and result in more "crud" in your barrel, especially as powder charges increase so make sure you have a a snug fit. Stop using the cotton. There's no need for it. Stop wiping with alcohol, use the dawn/water solution suggested or any of a thousand recipes for "Moose Milk" on a "just damp" patch. Once you have a good patch/ball fit that's nice and snug, start shooting at 60 gns and see if/when the crud ring forms. Retrieve some patches and see how they look. I don't shoot a lot of percussion, but I have used T7 when I did and never had an issue such as you describe.
Sometimes, it's a process to get a good combination for a particular barrel....ENJOY.
 
Mixing of the organic compounds in the powder and primer/caps under heat is causing the ring. Cooler ignition, less crud.
 
I use T7 and have never had a crud ring issue. I shoot 100 gr with a #11 cap in a 54 cal GPR. The inline crowd seems to have issues with it. From what I have read, the hotter the primer, the worse the problem. Some say that #11 caps greatly reduces or eliminates the problem for them. I don't know what charges they are using, but 100gr - 150gr loads seem to be the norm
 
I normally shoot it with a 20 grain charge of 3f under 50 grains of T7 2f granulation. In some of my guns, I get a crud ring, some not so much and the more I shoot the more noticeable it is. Normally I don't shoot all that many shots in a single session though, so crud rings are not a real big issue.
 

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