Discharge while loading

[starman]

For those of you who swab between shots, exactly how do you do it? Do you use one swab with water, do you follow the wet swab with a dry patch, do you use something other than water, or do you do sometimes else? Just how do you do it?

 

[azmntman]

When just shooting I use a slightly damp (absolutely NOT wet) patch once in and out in a single motion. See the Dutch System (worth the $20.00, get it). I will not usually swipe at all when hunting as I never much need a second shot and as I am in the wait a few minutes to approach or track game club I will just load down a dirty barrel (most of us can get one reload w/o swiping anyway).

You can also use 90% alcohol which works well and dries real fast. Some use a wet patch/dry patch combo. IF YOUR PATCH IS TOO WET YOU MAY MISFIRE!

 

[fjb]

Good feedback.
I’ve only really had one opportunity at a quick follow-up shot in the field. It was the very first deer I ever took with flint.... and, at the time of the reload I can remember telling my buddies, “That was the fastest I’ve EVER reloaded!” The adrenaline was still flowing and I was in babble-mode.
-Everything was where it needed to be... and without a single hiccup I was ready to shoot again in half of a heartbeat.
I never even considered how close I may have been to a cook off... but I will, now.

Thanks for the eye-opener...

 

[ord sgt]

I have experienced a "cook off" myself and I have seen another one during a regional compettition.
I was a my home range practicing for a regional match. Loading and firing my three band Enfield during rapid fire simulation, I was pouring a premeasured powder charge from a plastic tube.When the flakes of FFFg hit the breech, an ember ignited the powder. The musket was leaning against the bench at an angle away from me. My fingers were holding the tube when the flame emerged from the barrel. First degree burns to my hand was the result.. Never found the plastic tube.

 

[Dibbuk]

For those of you who swab between shots, exactly how do you do it? Do you use one swab with water, do you follow the wet swab with a dry patch, do you use something other than water, or do you do sometimes else? Just how do you do it?

I use a patch of old T-shirt, damp with a 1:2 mix of Ballistol and water. One stroke with each side of the patch. Wipes the bore and softens the fouling. Since the patch is just damp, and not sopping wet, I don't need to follow with a dry patch. I use the same mix as patch lube. on pillow ticking patches.

 

[GoodRabbitPilgrim]

I've seen videos of guys blowing down the barrel, in my mind that would only fan the flame rather than put it out?

 

[tenngun]

I blow down the barrel, and I swab with damp patch. I do not have a patent breech on any of my guns.
Many years ago I played with paper cartridge in my TFC. But it’s been at least fifteen years since I shot a cartridge.
Then in January I bought some lead from Roto metals. And flip through their pages I saw they had .570 ball. I don’t have that sized mold and I went and bought some. Next weekend I made twenty cartridges, and the week after took them to the range.
I primed from my horn and not from the cartridge. And shot about twice a minute. I felt like I had an AR15 in my hand I was shooting so fast. Got to the tenth shot and thought this is where them cook offs happen.
I slowed way down
Since I shot my first ml breechloaders lost their appeal and I only shoot them now in self defense practice. I’ve not hunted with a breechloaders since I discovered ml either. In forty six years I’ve never had or seen a cook off.

 

[dave951]

In years of competition and reenacting and thousands and thousands of rounds both live and blanks, I have had 1, precisely one, cookoff. I chalk that one up to poor cleaning of the gun. I trusted somebody else to do it and it didn't get done right. The powder flashed off right after I poured it in. This was during a smoothbore event. After checking my underwear, I found the breech of the gun was fouled fairly heavy and after a session with the breech scraping tool and a good cleaning, it hasn't happened again.

 

[toot]

Quite real. I have seen it happen. It is just one of the reasons you ALWAYS keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

remember CAPT. HOOK, who lost his arm at an event in VERMONT, 40 yrs. ago at a public event, his name is JIM DESOTTI, a great friend of mine. he is still a reinactor.

 

[M38]

I'm so slow that any spark residing in my rifle bore would have to have a half life of around 30 minutes.

Me too.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Discharge while loading!

I thought you were ill for a moment!

 

[Notchy Bob]

Not necessarily a pleasant subject but...
I understand that cannoneers of old and maybe new have a chance of a discharge while loading powder into the bore due to a remaining spark from wadding or whatever hence the mop but what are the chances of our firearms accidentally discharging a powder load?
I'm sure it can be something always on our minds which is a good reason not to be over the bore with any body parts.
Discussion?

wm

The only case i'm familiar with happened to a guy who insisted on capping prior to loading.

This was how Walter Cline died. Yes, that Walter Cline, father of modern muzzleloading, namesake of the range in Friendship, and author of the famous book, The Muzzle-Loading Rifle, Then and Now. I had wanted this book for many decades, and finally found a beautiful, leather-bound copy in like-new condition, for about what you would expect to pay for a paperback these days. I was reading in it a couple of nights ago, and to my great surprise, discovered the first edition of the book (1942) had been published posthumously. Mr. Cline had died the previous year from a wound sustained while "tamping the load" in a .44 caliber muzzleloading rifle. His obituary indicated there was a cap on the nipple. It was unclear if this was a "cook off," or if the hammer had been cocked, and then dropped on the cap during loading.

Either way, I guess there's a lesson or two in that for the rest of us.

Notchy Bob

 

[Ponderosaman]

When I was a kid my cousin and I were setting off firecrackers in a beer bottle because we liked the way it sounded. The smoke in the bottle caused the fuse of one of the firecrackers to smolder rather than burn. My cousin then looked into the the bottle to see what was going on with the firecracker and right then it went off burning his eye though not permanently injuring him. If blowing into the barrel works to keep the gun from going off, I suspect it would be due to providing oxygen so smoldering things burn up faster rather than putting the smoldering out.

 

[Auldjin]

For Napoleonic Wars artillery, the ventsman had a leather thumbstall to protect his thumb which he placed over the vent to prevent the rush of air from the charge being rammed home rekindling any spark. This was known as serving the vent. If the ventsman failed to do this, the spongeman would hit him on the head with the rammer.

 

[FishDFly]

I've seen videos of guys blowing down the barrel, in my mind that would only fan the flame rather than put it out?

Videos contain a lot of stupid and dangerous stuff.

 

[Grenadier1758]

In many cases, blowing down the barrel isn't that dangerous except for the vary rare instance it becomes very dangerous. I'd rather avoid blowing down the barrel. I can accept that my reloading procedure doesn't have that cool factor. The benefit isn't as good as a wipe of the bore with a moist patch.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I don't blow down the barrel any more, although I was taught to do so by my dad many years ago. We shot only percussion guns in those days, as Dad didn't want to shoot the only functional flintlocks in his collection. It was my understanding that you would blow through the barrel primarily to ensure the flash channel and nipple were clear after taking a shot. There was no immediate safety issue, because the gun had just been fired and was obviously unloaded. I think I was advised that this would "blow out" any latent spark, although that was apparently considered an issue of little concern at the time. I don't specifically recall anything being said about moisture in the breath keeping the fouling soft, although I must have heard that somewhere.

I'm not advocating a return to that way of doing things. I'm merely reporting this to describe "conventional wisdom" as it was as recently as 50-60 years years ago. It's different now.

Notchy Bob

 

[OldRust]

Discharge while loading!

I thought you were ill for a moment!

That's wrong ! But just plain funny

 

[Woody Morgan]

In many cases, blowing down the barrel isn't that dangerous except for the vary rare instance it becomes very dangerous. I'd rather avoid blowing down the barrel. I can accept that my reloading procedure doesn't have that cool factor. The benefit isn't as good as a wipe of the bore with a moist patch.

I tend to use my co2 stuck ball remover. I figure a quick squirt of co2 will go well in putting out any latent embers.

wm

 

[ugly old guy]

First command during loading a ML cannon: "WORM!!"
Second command: "MOP!!!"

Does not matter if using powder charges in aluminum foil, or cloth. You ALWAYS worm and mop between every shot to make sure there is nothing hot inside the bore, before you put in a fresh charge.

The 16 inch battle ship guns also had a mop go through the barrel from the breech to muzzle after each shot to ensure nothing was in there that could set off the powder of the next.
(also any other Naval gun that didn't use self contained shells)

Yes, there is a danger of something hot enough to set off the powder charge when loading.
That is why worm and mop (with a dripping wet, not simply damp, mop) are the first two steps in loading.