Incredible fouling accumulation

[kurts]

Is that barrel gooed up with hard bore butter or something like it?

 

[Rifleman1776]

There are those here who believe they will get a special spot in heaven for not swabbing between every shot. I'm going to hell. I believe in swabbing between every shot. Suggest you do the same. Hell can wait. :wink:

There is a major difference between needing and choosing to swab. With a good combination, the need to swab after every shot is eliminated. I can get 15-20 (or more) shots before my barrel gets "sticky", and then only under hot/dry conditions.

I need to swab to assure I will not get a patch/jag/rod stuck in the barrel or not be able to seat my next ball due to gunking. So, I choose to be cautious in that regard. I do use a fairly tight ball/patch combo for most shooting. BTW, I don't know if I have ever used a commercial patch lube. Make my own concoctions. Some good, some have been awful. Chicken fat the worst ever, by far. :barf: BTW2: I find gunking increases with warm humid weather.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Maybe I should market it

Ewwwwwwww

LD

 

[hanshi]

Three lubes that I've used that allow a long shooting session without swabbing are Hoppes #9 BP lube, DGW Black Solve and spit. I understand windshield washing fluid works about the same but never tried it; even plain water will work.

I used spit for many years and rarely had a need to swab the bore. But meds I have to take have left me with a chronically dry mouth, hence my reliance on liquid lubes. I always go into the bush with the prb lubed with mink oil. The lubes mentioned above may dry out if left loaded over night; mink oil will not.

 

[rdstrain49]

han;
Forget the dry mouth, get some Oregon Mint Chew in pouches, use just like tobacco chew in pouches. No more dry mouth, plenty of spit for patch, and minty fresh breath. I have such bad med induced dry mouth, I even use the mint pouches all night on occasion.

After conducting extensive, scientific, controlled experiments I can also guarantee better accuracy.

 

[tenngun]

Folks on this forum have argued that loading blocks were not hc for pre 1840. Should you decide to use one the best you can do is shave a few seconds off a reload. In the real world a ml is a one time shot. most contest give you plenty of time to get your string in. When hunting most game wont hang around for you to reload. Should you hit a deer, its a good idea to take your time to let the game lie down and die. One has plenty of time to reload.
In our hurry up do it again world we need to get our mind around a day before the put second hands on clocks. There are very few situations where spending two or three min on a reload is out of the question.
Its a 'do your own thang' sport , but a swab between just gives you a little longer to play with your gun.

 

[azmntman]

If you dont wanna swab between shots use Hoppes # 9 Blk Pwdr Solvent & patch lube. BEST I ever used till I switched to the dutch method. I used it liberally and when loading the next shot the fouling is pushed down under the ball and barrel stays pretty clean shot to shot. Many swear by it.

 

[coloradoclyde]

They make cartridge guns for people who don't like to swab..... :haha:

 

[Ames]

Its a 'do your own thang' sport , but a swab between just gives you a little longer to play with your gun.

And admire the accuracy of that last shot you took.

 

[azmntman]

I dont mind swabbing at all . I do think I need to get a second jag and turn it down. the cleaning jag just seems too tight & I bet I am pushing stuff down rather than just pulling it out. Do you swabbies have two jags?

 

[Rifleman1776]

I dont mind swabbing at all . I do think I need to get a second jag and turn it down. the cleaning jag just seems too tight & I bet I am pushing stuff down rather than just pulling it out. Do you swabbies have two jags?

The jag does not do the cleaning. The loose patch above the jag bunches up on withdrawal and that is what cleans/swabs the bore. Undersized jags can work just fine.

 

[Danny Ross]

The other option is use a thinner swabbing material. Mine is t-shirt material that is dampen then I swab followed by a dry swab. I had an issue a couple of years ago using a material to thick and I was pushing crud down the barrel and had poor ignition. One of the guys here figured it out for me asking how tight the swabbing patch was. The swabbing patch I had use the session I had the problem was tighter than I normally used. Next time out normal swabbing patch material, NO problems. DANNY

 

[Don Steele]

Yes...
I have a "turned down" jag on the rod I use to swab and load with when shooting. I also use that one to pre-clean the barrel before leaving the range. When finishing up cleaning, I have a rod with a "full size" jag that will still bring out black gunk on a patch after the turned down jag/patch is coming out clean.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

swabbing between shots is something nearly all match shooters do. How many shots you can get without swabbing is dependent on a lot of things, including the rifling, lube, powder, and how tight the patch ball configuration is. If the powder is burning under insufficient pressure, fouling increases substantially. A huge touch hole can be a factor, a patch ball combo that it too loose is more often the cause. A possibility that both are contributing to the problem. sometimes 3fg fouls less than 2fg.

your patch and ball should be tight enough to seal the bore, but should normally also not require a mallet or bruised hand to start the ball down the muzzle.

there are a few rare barrels that because of deep narrow grooves are next to impossible to shoot with normal loading techniques. The patch and ball need to be swaged into the rifling or there will be blow by and lots of fouling. Had such a barrel in 54 caliber. grooves were almost 20 thou deep it was impossible to shoot properly. Had to use a mallet to load it along with an oversized ball and it still was not very accurate due to smashing the ball to fill the rifling.

 

[Rifleman1776]

swabbing between shots is something nearly all match shooters do

Absolutely true. Early on I was mentored by some of the top match shooters. The stressed that without swabbing between shots you really are shooting a different barrel each time. I know some will argue their accuracy does not suffer. Won't argue but only what goes to the scoring shack knows for sure. After a few incidents of not being able to seat a ball when swabbing was skipped I decided to swab every time. [for the sake of truthfulness and disclosure, I may deviate from that practice during certain events. e.g. woods walks, etc. At those times I use a smaller ball and, maybe, thinner patch for ease of loading.]

 

[AZbpBurner]

They make cartridge guns for people who don't like to swab..... :haha:

Oh, foolish child. I have a couple of those cartridge Trapdoor thingies - gotta swab them during time at the range, too :rotf:

 

[ZUG]

I dont mind swabbing at all . I do think I need to get a second jag and turn it down. the cleaning jag just seems too tight & I bet I am pushing stuff down rather than just pulling it out. Do you swabbies have two jags?

YES -- I do - one for the range and one for cleaning. My club REQUIRES us to swab between shots and I see no harm in it. You can also use one jag with two different thickness of patches - one for the range and one for cleaning. Many different ways to "skin a cat" :thumbsup: :surrender:.

 

[waksupi]

If using Bore Butter or other yellow stuff, throw it away. Mix up some Moose Milk, and you can shoot all day with the bore condition remaining the same from shot to shot, right up to the last round of the day.

 

[jdw276]

Huh? Requires It? I don't understand the logic of that one. Safety? Sorry I am slow on this one. Please be patient with me.

 

[mooman76]

If you have any slow smoldering embers in the barrel, swabbing would put them out. Can't say I totally agree either but that is the logic behind it.