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.36 Conundrum -- Followup

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Thomas.bill92

40 Cal
Joined
Mar 7, 2021
Messages
325
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Location
Warsaw, VA
Well I think I have figured out a good bit of my problems and I am a bit embarrassed to say that it took me so long to figure it out. It would appear that there is a good bit of pitting in the first couple of inches of the breech that gets really noticeable once a couple shots are fired. I noticed it when using my guns ramrod and ramming the ball until the rod bounced off the ball (like they teach people to know when a load is fully seated) and it clicked that the ramrod was sticking out too far. Grabbed a hammer and started tapping on the rod and got another 1.5-2" our of it before it bottomed out, which is where I suppose it was tearing patches. It explains all the issues I have been having with stuck patches and difficult cleaning. Needless to say, I'm kind of bummed but that is just the risk you take when buying muzzleloaders on the used market. Is there anything I can do to remedy this? I'm afraid I bought a lemon haha. :doh:
 
400 steel wool on a jag and spin it in the corroded area. Then use a tight mop with polishing compound on it and spin it in the same area. This may take out the rough areas. I have the same problem with a heirloom 35 caliber gun. A load was left in the breech area for almost 100 years and pitting occurred where the powder was. In order to shoot this rifle I use a lubed felt wad over the powder charge, and then the lubed patch and ball. Surprisingly, accuracy is good, but when cleaning I must use a smaller (30 caliber) jag with a patch to clean the breech area.
 
Don't be embarrassed.


Sounds like the corrosion or rust is causing a constriction.
Could it be worth a try with a rust eating solution but just down there in the breech.
 
You may not like to hear this tale of observation.

A highly respected member of my gun club had a rifle that had been used in matches for many years. As many as 70 years of competition and perhaps more. It was known to be an excellent shot and had been used to win many matches. There was evidence that the barrel had been shortened at the breech several times as evidenced by the placement of pins in the stock and the movement of the sights along the barrel. Now the rifle was no longer shooting the tight groups it had previously. The owner could feel roughness at the breech. I had the cheap borescope and it was time to take a look. Sure enough there was considerable pitting at the breech. Time for the breech plug to be pulled and the creation of a lead plug to polish the barrel. Several weeks later there were still pits in the barrel and accuracy had not improved. Since we used the borescope to determine where the pitting ended and the breech was cut off and the barrel threaded for the breech plug. New pinholes were drilled to connect the barrel to the stock and the rear sight was moved forward again. Accuracy was restored. The final product was not very pretty, but this rifle never was very pretty, it just won matches.
 
Lets see if these pictures will upload right. In any case, here is a picture of that oh so wonderful patent breech (off center too) along with some of the worst spots in the bore which happen to be in the first couple of inches from the breech. Pretty nasty stuff. I'm gonna try again with Pyrodex and see if that fouling gets as sticky in the pitting as the real black powder does. Ho-hum! I would also recommend oiling your bore until its practically dripping out. I checked another one of my guns that is really easy to clean (so I thought) due to its short and removable barrel and sure enough, that was full of rust and minor pitting too despite what I thought was a good cleaning and oiling regiment.
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I too don't think it is that bad. Perhaps the photos don't show the depth visible with an eye, but to me it looks barely deeper than surface rust.

I have a dislike of removing breech plugs, so I would try an alternative methods first.

First I would probably attempt to get there with a brass brush. Just make sure you use one that is smaller (or worn) for the caliber or you'll not be able to reverse it. If you have brass or copper wool that would be a good thing to start with.

Once you remove rust you can look at the metal and decide what to do next. You can run a patch and see if it is still catching. If it does I would do the steel wool treatment with a cordless drill.
 
Yes, I agree with the crud and surface rust diagnosis. Chore boy, steel wool, brass brush etc. The most important tool you already have is the bore scope. give it a scrubbing and look again
 
If the corrosion that’s you believe is damaging your patches is only near the breech, consider adding a filler like Cream of Wheat on top of the powder to move your patched roundball up the bore a bit and out of the rough part. May not be the long term solution, but could confirm your suspicion of the rough bore near the breech causing your issue.

From your photographs I would expect the bore to clean up with Scotch-Brite. It may not look brand knew when your done, but it should be smooth enough not to catch and damage patches.
 
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