Ever see this type of powder residue?

[joehenz]

I recently bought some Goex 3F. I've always used 2F (and always Goex), but decided to try 3F because I've heard it "burns cleaner".

So I take it to the range, and on my cleaning patches I find these hard, reddish flakes. It's not as hard as rust, feels more like plastic hardness-wise.

I've never had this happen with any of the 2F I've shot. Has anyone ever seen this before?

 

[GreyWhiskers]

I've seen the red flakes before and have read here that it's a normal occurance when humidity is low. GW

 

[hawkeye2]

My wife and I shoot GOEX 2f exclusivly in our skirmish guns and it is common to see the little red dots in the bore of the muskets after an event.

 

[sepiatone]

I also see this when using FF and FFF.

 

[roundball]

They're a byproduct of combustion, not granulation dependent...the difference is that during medium to high humidity they're not visible, but during dry/lower/low humidity conditions its not uncommon to see them on patches, and around the muzzle, vent and pan.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I've gotten it before, but only when it's really dry!

As far as the dirt & combustion goes: Did you recover any used shot patches to check to see if the 3Fg was burning any holes through them? Reason I ask is that it (unburned powder residue) can happen with a loose ball & patch combo. This is one of the reasons why some of us say whether or not our rifle likes 3fg vs. 2fg. Usually a tight ball & patch combo produces more heat & pressure, which at the same time causes the load to burn more completely, resulting in less fouling...

Dave

 

[paulvallandigham]

The red flecks are unburned sulfur, which occurs when the relative humidity is low on the day the gun is fired. It doesn't matter what size granules of Black Powder you burn that day.

The only way I have ever heard to reduce or remove those "fleck" is a man who, when target shooting, and could get a shot off fairly quickly after loading his gun, used to spit down his barrel's muzzle to ADD Moisture to the barrel in front of the PRB. He said this eliminates the red flecks.

I have not tried that, since the red flecks don't materially affect accuracy of POI of the rounds down range. I DO wipe the bore between shots to pull out just this kind of thing before loading the next powder charge. Not everyone finds it necessary to wipe between shots, however. Here in East Central Illinois, we are between the (Great) Lakes Effect( air currents) and the Gulf( of Mexico) Effect, so that our humidity can change, with wind directions, hourly during Spring, Summer and Fall months. It makes an extended range session a bit more "interesting :shocked2: :haha: ". :hmm: :thumbsup:

Oh, if you want to eliminate those red specks, and much of the other debris pictured on your patch, try using a vegetable fiber wad Over the Powder, and behind the PRB. That tends to increase the pressure and chamber temperature, which burns the powder more completely. You will get a higher MV, too, and you may see the POI of the ball out to 50 yards rise on the target, using the OP wad. However, this may allow you to reduce the powder charge by up to 5 grains( or more in some calibers) to bring the POI back down to your POA, and save you a bit of money on powder, too.

The OP wads may Not work in very cold- subzero-- temperatures, where relative humidity is near ZERO %, but above freezing( 32Degrees F.) I found that the OP wad helps in more efficiently burning the powder in the barrel, and leaving less residue of all kinds. :hmm: :wink:

 

[Bill Hall]

I've seen the red flakes before and have read here that it's a normal occurance when humidity is low. GW

Stands to reason. I shoot out in the desert, where humidity is in the negative numbers, and the red berries, or flakes, are so prevalent, I barely take notice of them anymore. Bill

 

[Ian]

I've seen it many times with many guns and loads but as has been said an over powder wad seals better and raises pressure causing a better burn I use a grease soaked felt wad in my smoothebore's and also my Whitworth, I also get noticably better accuracy and a cleaner gun.The use of moose milk soaked patches also works well in hot dry prairie weather. cheers Ian.

 

[joehenz]

Hmmm, sulfur...I never would have guessed! It was on a sunny, low-humidity January day, typical of our winter days here in North Carolina.

Thanks for the enlightenment. I'll have to try the overpowder wad, as I am shooting a smoothbore.

 

[roundball]

Hmmm, sulfur...I never would have guessed! It was on a sunny, low-humidity January day, typical of our winter days here in North Carolina.

Thanks for the enlightenment. I'll have to try the overpowder wad, as I am shooting a smoothbore.

Be careful with the size / type OP wad with PRBs in smoothbores...by that I mean do exhaustive test shooting looking for the occasional flyer.

I've routinely used Oxyoke 1/8" prelubed wads for all PRB hunting loads for years, still do.
But, I about drove myself crazy trying to figure out what was causing an occasional several inch wide flyer at 50yds, out of every several shots...turned out to be using a wad!

I assume it was because without any rifling for the flexible Oxyoke wads to be somewhat controlled by, they may have been bent up around the bottom half of the ball and right at muzzle exit, one spot around the wad may have lost tight contact with the smoothbore and had a blow-out, tilting the ball off course.
A larger full size shotgun type wad might not cause that...dunno.

But the bottom line is...while you might see red flecks during dry conditions here in NC (as I have for about 20 years) they are harmless and have never caused me any problems, accuracy or otherwise...personally, I wouldn't worry about it.