Wiping between shots?

[Chazz11B]

Seen the term a few times. What part of the rifle is getting wiped? And what does this help with? I'm shooting my Rifle for the first time and after 6 shots it's "misfiring" aka not firing.

I use black powder not the pyrodex. Should I use a another nipple? I've seen the hot shot nipple thread where I saw the wiping term. I didn't want to ask about wiping in the nipple thread and turn it into a train wreck. I use winchester magnum caps by the way if that helps. But I'll be going with remington after this.

I'm assuming the wiping part is in regards to the flash chamber? How often and what should I use to wipe that if that's the case?

 

[coloradoclyde]

"Wiping between shots" refers to running a slightly damp cleaning patch down the barrel to remove some of the fouling buildup....This makes loading and cleaning easier. If you wait until after you have fired 6 shots you run the risk of pushing fouling down into the breech area causing a misfire. Wipe between every shot.
A hotshot nipple is primarily for BP substitutes but it will help with real BP too....

I would also add that the type and amount of lube you use can contribute greatly to fouling buildup which gets pushed into the breech area upon loading the next round....causing a misfire.

 

[Louisk]

I'm quite new at this but I found I have no misfires if I just stick a pick through the nipple every 4 or 5 shots.

 

[biliff]

They're referring to wiping the bore with a damp patch to remove powder fouling. If done correctly, loading subsequent shots is easier and keeps the bore in consistent condition from shot to shot for improved accuracy.

May or may not be related to your ignition problems. You're going to have to be more specific than just "it's misfiring".

What rifle? Is the cap going off? Are you firing a cap before loading to clear the chamber? Take us thru you're loading sequence. Are you rapping the breech to settle powder into the drum? and anything else you can think of.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Different guns, different calibers, different powers and such, different environments and different techniques...Not everyone is affected by the same problems....

 

[Zonie]

Who made your rifle? Knowing that can help us figure out why it is developing misfires.

If you don't already know this, before you load your gun, make sure there is no remnants of the fired cap on the nipple.
Also, set the hammer to the half cock position.
Then, load the gun.

The reason for this is most percussion guns have a fairly long, small hole that connects the bottom of the nipple with the bore at the breech.

This little hole needs to get some fresh powder into it so new powder is closer to the nipple.

By leaving the nipple open and the hammer sitting above it, the air under the ball or bullet will be blown out thru the little hole I usually call a flame channel.
As the air is blown out, it blows some of the loose powder along with it.
In an ideal world, new, fresh powder will actually end up right at the bottom of the nipple after the ball is rammed.

As for the care of the flame channel, when your storing your gun don't use too much oil in the barrel for protection and many have found that storing the gun, "muzzle down" helps to keep oil from getting into it.
Oil in the flame channel will often cause the powder to clump up, plugging the channel with a nonburnable solid.

 

[Louisk]

Very true. Mine is a Lyman Great Plains rifle and I found that technique to work better on that rifle than my nephew's CVA Bobcat.

 

[bpd303]

To the OP...
If the rifle is your CVA .45 Kentucky, I would say the problem is fouling in the chamber & drum. I would pull the nipple, pour water in the muzzle and run a wet patch down forcing the water out the drum. Replace the nipple and snap a cap with the muzzle pointed at some grass or leaves. If you have cleared the fire channel the leaves/grass will move.

 

[Chazz11B]

I ended up pulling the nipple off and running a wire through it. It still didn't fire. I Then opened the flash chamber and cleaned it with a q-tip that I'd pulled most of the cotton off. And it fired fine. Before it fired I was having second thoughts on this whole BP experience.

I did this before waiting on a reply. I didn't figure it would hurt cleaning it out. I'll be wiping the barrel out next time to avoid the build up.

My first 3 shots with RB's held a 3 inch group at 60 yards. 2-3" Low and 3" to the right of the bulls eye. Not positive that's trigger jerk, going from firing a M-4 to firing a BP rifle, or that's about right for a BP rifle? All of the above?

I tried shooting a handful of sabots. We wont talk about those... Nothing broken or anyone injured just not the rifle for those I imagine. So much for going "lead free" for my 3 year old. I'll give maxi balls a try sometime maybe next year. RB's will do the trick for now.

Cleaning didn't take as long as I thought it would. Now that I know to wipe the barrel it should go even smoother. I found some pipe cleaners that I was able bend and go into the barrel via the flash chamber. I did that after cleaning the barrel it self. Took 4 patches to get one to come out "clean" but then again I wasn't wiping between shots.

Lessons learned I suppose. "wisdom comes from experience" "experience comes from making mistakes" Right? BP season started today and I've been scouting some nice deer. They're eating pin oak acorns like mad right now. I feel confident I can take one at 50 yards easily enough.

 

[Chazz11B]

It's the CVA Kentucky I've been asking advice on.

 

[Idaho Ron]

Seen the term a few times. What part of the rifle is getting wiped? And what does this help with? I'm shooting my Rifle for the first time and after 6 shots it's "misfiring" aka not firing.

I use black powder not the pyrodex. Should I use a another nipple? I've seen the hot shot nipple thread where I saw the wiping term. I didn't want to ask about wiping in the nipple thread and turn it into a train wreck. I use winchester magnum caps by the way if that helps. But I'll be going with remington after this.

I'm assuming the wiping part is in regards to the flash chamber? How often and what should I use to wipe that if that's the case?

Here is a video I made. I think it will cover some of your questions.

https://youtu.be/ibU-5uCuy_I

 

[Chazz11B]

Thank you. That's a very helpful video.

 

[crockett]

Chazz- one more thing. There is a small chance that fouling will get pushed down the bore and plug up the passage from the drum/nipple into the bore. If that starts happening, after you wipe the bore and the gun is unloaded, snap a cap to blow out any residue that might be clogging the passage.
If you have misfire, a lot of times you can remove the nipple and drop a few grains of powder into the drum and then cap and fire and that will be enough to blow any clogged fouling out of the passage and fire the rifle.

 

[hanshi]

I'll just add that before firing the bore MUST be free of any oil and dried thoroughly. Same goes for the little hole and the ignition tube that goes from the drum to the breech; that is if it's a rifle with a patent breech which most factory rifles have.

 

[mooman76]

Good advice here. I might add that when you swab the bore the patch on the cleaning jag should not be tight and in fact a little loose. That way when you run the jag/patch down the bore, it doesn't push the fouling down the bore but rather goes over it, then the patch will bunch up when pulling out and pull out the fouling.