SO I get this private message from a guy a while back. I am not adding his name to protect the innocent. Anyway he asked me how I get my guns to fire every time. So I sent him a note. I am going to copy and paste this in case anyone want to see how I do my cleaning. He used this method and his guns went to shooting on the first cap. I use this method on my TC Renegades and Hawken. Ron
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What I am thinking about your procedure is you get the bottom of the barrel a little too moist. Then you fire the caps into the moist bottom and things get sticky and nasty. You pour the powder in and maybe the first few tiny grains are into the moist sticky cap powder mixture. That is not a good mix.
Ok let me go on farther. Here is my procedure to load.
I get to the range with a gun that has oil in the barrel.
I use a jag and push a dry patch down and pull it out.
I turn it over and push it down again and leave it there.
I use #11 mag caps. Put one on and fire it into the patch. I do this 2 or 3 times.
I pull the patch out and make sure it is burnt good.
If you pop a cap and it doesn’t look like this pop another one until the oil is gone. By using the patch to catch the fire and the oil as it blows down the barrel it is ready to fire. At the peak of hotness.
Now It is ready to load. I use Pyrodex P. I pour the powder down and lean the rifle over with the lock down. I tap the rifle on the butt of the stock to get the grains of powder to settle into the nipple area. Then I finish loading.
OK between shots I clean the rifle.
I squirt some windex on a patch but not too much. I swab it, and repeat if I have to.
Then I put a dry patch on and push it down and pull it out. Turn it over and push it down again.
NOW!!! I Fire 2 or 3 caps again with the patch on the jag. Check to be sure the patch is burnt. If so load again if not fire a couple more caps.
This patch above was not burning well enough so I popped a couple more caps to get the gunk and windex out.
I have seen sticky black thick stuff stuck on the bottom of the patch that
would have fouled up the load if the patch had not caught it. Here is a couple of pictures that show the gunk that would have blown back down the barrel. This wet sticky gunk is what causes most guys to have hang fires and even not fire at all.
Just putting on a can and aiming it at a leaf to see it move is not enough in my book. If you catch that sticky wet gunk it won't foul your load.
I think firing caps into the patch makes a huge difference. Ron