• Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.

    We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.

    Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103

No wiping or swabbing he said!

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Maybe I’m doing something wrong (entirely possible) but a couple of my guns are bears to load after 2 or 3 shots without swabbing.
What could be causing the issue?
I use a liquid lube and load my patches wet. I can fire 30 rounds in a .36 rifle and the last ball goes down just as easy as the first.
 
I did not catch it, but what did he put on top of the charge before seating a ball? Grits?
 
I've forgotten also but think it is cream of wheat or semolina.
I viewed it again and it’s 24 grains by volume of corn meal. While some use this in cap and ball shooting, what is gained in rifle shooting? Better gas seal so a thinner patch can be used? Does it assist in scaping fouling?
 
I viewed it again and it’s 24 grains by volume of corn meal. While some use this in cap and ball shooting, what is gained in rifle shooting? Better gas seal so a thinner patch can be used? Does it assist in scaping fouling?
I always understood it to be a firewall. Stops flame cutting of the patch.
 
I'm a swabber. I believe that if you do not swab between shots you are using a different configuration barrel each time. Of course, the rifling depth, style, etc. may minimize any point of impact variations. I use spit. Do yer own thang. Only the target can tell you which is best.
 
I swab between shots at the range because my gun groups best with dry lubed patching, ala the Dutch Schoultz method. But it groups pretty well too with Mr Flintlocks lube on the patching, and that stuff requires no swabbing. I've shot 15-20 times without loading getting difficult. But the dry lube patches do group better, swabbing between shots isn't a big deal on the range, and doing so makes post range cleanup quicker and easier, so I do it.
 
The swabbing between shots deal, comes from the die hard target shooters.
A lot of the swabbing between shots came from the TC arms era with the shallow groove rifling using BP it was a common need, or you could carry a hammer and brass rod for those balls half way down the pipe. I have a TC that Bobby Hoyt rerifled with round bottom slow twist and I can shoot that rifle all day using BP, so design plays a part in this equation.
 
I have used crisco for revolvers single shot pistols muskets rifles and shotguns. kept shooting until I got tired of loading. first shot same as the last and cleanup was so easy. swabbing between shots is anal and a waste of time and some one brought up that the swabbing might make others not want to get into ML which is not good
 
I gave up swabbing yesterday and ain't looking back. I'm using an ample amount of lamb tallow for patch lube and a 1/8" thick card over the powder. Seems to be working really well and cleanup is not as difficult. No more black goo in the breech from swabbing.
 
I viewed it again and it’s 24 grains by volume of corn meal. While some use this in cap and ball shooting, what is gained in rifle shooting? Better gas seal so a thinner patch can be used? Does it assist in scaping fouling?

I believe he said that there was a rough spot in the barrel. He used the corn meal to increase the height of the load column in the barrel so that the PRB sat above the rough spot in the barrel. I could be wrong. It's been known to occur...just ask my better half.
 
I have an original "manual" and a supplemental "directions" for my Purdey Sporting Rifle. In one, it says to use "stated amount of powder of your choice". The other says, "use X drams of black powder". Neither specified what kind or granulation of powder. In the "Sequence of Firing" section, after firing one says to "repeat the loading and firing sequence" and the other says to "Inspect the plug, confirm clear passage of detonation, inspect muzzle and re-load in the same manner of the former". Neither says anything about "swabbing" or other cleaning between shots. One booklet says "upon completion of firing session" ..."clean according to instructions for preparation". The other says, "at conclusion of firing, or when loading becomes difficult, prepare the rifle for freshness following the directions in the Cleaning section". Again, no mention of "swabbing". There are some similarities to the rifle in the video.

Purdey-rifle.jpg
 
Ever seen a tombstone with, "He Swabbed Between Shots or He Didn't Swab Between Shots?" At the end of the day, no one remembers who did or did not swab, nor do they give out awards for or not.

Most discussed after the stuck ball.
 
Back
Top