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Dry Lube patch change of performance...

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I'm posting this here because this occurred with a flintlock rifle and may be unique to what occurs at ignition and discharge.

I have a very accurate .54 rifle. I use a blue/white pillow tick with 7:1 water/Ballistol "dry lube". The ball is a .530 swaged sphere. Usually, I can find patches and they are in pretty good shape. They may have some fraying at the edges and a brownish circle in the middle but are otherwise intact and could be reused in a pinch.

Yesterday I loaded the same exact way as usual with the same components. I noticed my groups were just a little bigger than usual, maybe 1.5" larger consistently for a few shot series on the same target. I found my patches. They are torn badly, have several holes and show some black burning.

My idea is to mix another batch of 7:1 and re-soak and dry the patch material and try again.

Does anyone see something I am overlooking or have a different idea?

Thanks
 
Did ANYTHING change between shooting sessions? Apparently you are using the identical components.

Did you change your cleaning procedure? In particular did you change the lubricant you use to store your rifle between shooting sessions?

Did you wipe the bore before starting the shooting session?

Do you wipe the bore between shots? Do you feel any roughness as you load?

How long have you had the dry patches stored? They may have deteriorated in storage. Fresh patches may help. I prefer to use the Ballistol and water to dampen the patch prior to cutting at the muzzle. Try the new dry lubed patches before changing anything else.

A change to the crown would be evident as a tear in the patch.
 
I'm posting this here because this occurred with a flintlock rifle and may be unique to what occurs at ignition and discharge.

I have a very accurate .54 rifle. I use a blue/white pillow tick with 7:1 water/Ballistol "dry lube". The ball is a .530 swaged sphere. Usually, I can find patches and they are in pretty good shape. They may have some fraying at the edges and a brownish circle in the middle but are otherwise intact and could be reused in a pinch.

Yesterday I loaded the same exact way as usual with the same components. I noticed my groups were just a little bigger than usual, maybe 1.5" larger consistently for a few shot series on the same target. I found my patches. They are torn badly, have several holes and show some black burning.

My idea is to mix another batch of 7:1 and re-soak and dry the patch material and try again.

Does anyone see something I am overlooking or have a different idea?

Thanks
Your first clue is "black burning".
This is very obvious that your lube is not working for you.
If you want to keep using what you are using when things go right, the make a fresh batch of patching and keep it fresh.
Pre-lubing patches is not normally a good idea for long term usage.
The fraying and tearing is also one of the signs of a bore that is not happily lubed (or has become pitted) and is "sticky" or encountering high friction as far as the patch material is concerned.
 

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