Most of the larger on line stores have large bags of bulk cleaning patches. The 2x2 get the job in all of my rifles 50 , 54 , and 58's. I have thought about saveing them and washing them but I have not done so yet. They are pretty cheap in the bigger bags. Geo. T.
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Wiping between shots
- Thread starter Baxter
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I generaly swab the bore about every five shots during our club's monthly shoots. I have swabbed after every shot but am not really a good enough shot to be able to tell the difference.
M.D. said:
I attended twice a year for years and never won. But my wife did. Now, I consider THAT to be VERY serious. :shocked2:
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Rifleman1776 said:
A good wife is to be treated as a precious gift....more so than gold or silver...unless she out shoots ye! :wink:
satwel
40 Cal.
Find the nearest Joanne's Fabrics and buy a couple of yards of diaper flannel. Cut it into 2" x 2" squares. Your patching material will be too thick to use for bore cleaning.
Yep I have been recycling old T and flannel shirts for decades. Works for me.Shooey said:
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I cut inch and a half squares of paper towel and run them dry through the bore after each shot. I also use them to clean the bore after the session, using a spray bottle filled with a solution of Lestoil and water. Usually 15 or 20 patches and I'm done. Can't beat the price.
StewartLeach
40 Cal.
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Baxter:
Now being the owner of more than one smokepole, I have learned each has its own needs and desires vis a vis wiping of the bore between shots. The 40 cal flinter shoots best without wiping. The 50 cal cap lock does far better if wiped between shots. Suggest you test your rifle- fire ten shots without cleaning, fire ten shots with cleaning. The targets will tell you what you want to know.
Sounds like you have a new rifle. You would be wise to get a couple dozen, perhaps as many as 50 shots through it before making major changes to the sights or testing for the most accurate load. ML barrels break in, just like other gun barrels.
I get good results from the 50 cal cap gun with the following drill. Before loading and firing the first shot, the preservative oil is removed from the bore with a patch quite damp- but not drippy- with 90% rubbing alcohol. Dry with another patch, pop a couple caps, load that first round and fire into the bank to foul the barrel. From then on I wipe with both sides of a patch damp with "Moose Milk". My formula for this is 1 ounce of water soluble oil (Ballistol), 1 ounce of Murphy's Oil Soap, and enough water to make a quart or liter- not critical. Works great as a patch lube, but I just use it to clean. Both sides of a second patch are used to dry; this patch is used as the next wet wiping patch. Patches, by the way, are cut from Osnaburg, a coarse cotton fabric that has some scrubbing action.
Regrads,
White Fox
Now being the owner of more than one smokepole, I have learned each has its own needs and desires vis a vis wiping of the bore between shots. The 40 cal flinter shoots best without wiping. The 50 cal cap lock does far better if wiped between shots. Suggest you test your rifle- fire ten shots without cleaning, fire ten shots with cleaning. The targets will tell you what you want to know.
Sounds like you have a new rifle. You would be wise to get a couple dozen, perhaps as many as 50 shots through it before making major changes to the sights or testing for the most accurate load. ML barrels break in, just like other gun barrels.
I get good results from the 50 cal cap gun with the following drill. Before loading and firing the first shot, the preservative oil is removed from the bore with a patch quite damp- but not drippy- with 90% rubbing alcohol. Dry with another patch, pop a couple caps, load that first round and fire into the bank to foul the barrel. From then on I wipe with both sides of a patch damp with "Moose Milk". My formula for this is 1 ounce of water soluble oil (Ballistol), 1 ounce of Murphy's Oil Soap, and enough water to make a quart or liter- not critical. Works great as a patch lube, but I just use it to clean. Both sides of a second patch are used to dry; this patch is used as the next wet wiping patch. Patches, by the way, are cut from Osnaburg, a coarse cotton fabric that has some scrubbing action.
Regrads,
White Fox
hanshi
Cannon
Although I don't wipe between shots, extended shooting without wiping is simple and not in the least "a secret". A liquid lube that dissolves or washes away fouling will keep the bore quite clean. Each reload pushes the previous shots fouling down on the powder (I use an op wad) and the next shot wipes the bore, assuming the prb is snug.
:cursing: 4" of new snow last night, 7 - 14" more predicted for this weekend. Lake has 32" of solid ice on it. No place to set up a bench for shooting, no place to get to to set up a bench, ranges are still snowed in. baxter
satwel said:
And while you're at Joannes, get some of the number 40 Cotton Drill to use for patch material. I think it is better than pillow ticking and more consistent than fabric grande linen.
ApprenticeBuilder
58 Cal.
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hanshi said:
This is how I do it now except without the over powder wad.
baxter said:
Tell me again why I moved south. :shocked2: :rotf:
I am going to continue to use the gun-cleaning patches for between-shot swabbing (not as ball-patches nor for "cleaning", one damp (maybe with Dutch's version of 'Moose Milk' then one dry for each shot - if I ever get a chance to shoot. The "dry patch" that I mentioned is Dutch's Ballistol/water soaked (.018") patching, pre-cut, from TOW, the patches soaked in ballistol/water, 1:7 and left to air-dry the water out so the "dry patch" retains the Ballistol for shooting. Found Joann's on line and will take a look. Orientation/geography thing for some background - St. Cloud MN is 115 miles to the city limits, Fargo, ND 125 miles to city limits, Minneapolis is about 180 miles away, Duluth is 160 miles away. Nearest small city is Park Rapids, pop. 3700, has a Ben Franklin and is 20 miles distant. And then, there is Brrmidji (Bemidji), 50 miles distant, pop. ~15000. TOW itself is about 150 miles away. "While at Joann's...", yes, while I am at Joann's... :wink: baxter
kingsax26
45 Cal.
White Fox said:
nchawkeye
58 Cal.
Smaller balls, thinner patches or better lube...
With my .54 I can easily go 3-4 shots with a .530 ball and .018 patching...After that I go to .015 patching and can keep going...Still keeping good hunting accuracy....
With my .54 I can easily go 3-4 shots with a .530 ball and .018 patching...After that I go to .015 patching and can keep going...Still keeping good hunting accuracy....
Danny Ross
40 Cal.
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One of the things I use when I swab between shots is a mist bottle where you can adjust from a mist to a stream. I put my swabbing solution in the bottle set the sprayer on a fine mist, that way I don't get the patch to wet. Swab with the the damp path and then with a dry patch. I recycle my cleaning patches when I clean my gun. Let them dry put them in a zip lock bag and use them as swabbing patches at the range. Yeah I'm cheap/frugal. DANNY
