Just finished a Lyman GPR, my first black powder arm, and took it to the range. Very tight group at 25yds with 60gr Swiss 2f, but on 8th round, rifle would not fire. I found patent breech to be totally clogged with fouling. What did I do wrong?? Was using 495 ball with dried moose juice .015 patch and swabbed bore with juice between shots. Any help/thoughts would be appreciated.
Let's get back to the Original Post. The problem was that after 8 shots fouling wiped down the barrel with a wet/damp patch between shots resulted in a failure to fire. What
@Sheppsan wiped with is somewhat immaterial since almost any liquid will soften and loosen fouling. It is important to note that he has a Lyman GPR with a chambered breech. Its also important to acknowledge that there are many procedures that will mitigate the problem of getting fouling in the chambered breech and flash channel. We have covered most of them.
The fouling was likely caused by your wet swabbing patches.
Sheppsan admitted that his wiping patches were wet. The wet patch wrapped around a standard jag will be large enough to push the softened fouling down the barrel. Makes little difference what cleaning lubricant is used to wipe between shots. Any liquid with the probable exception of 91% denatured ethanol alcohol will foul the powder load and prevent firing. The solution is to reduce the diameter of the jag so the patch slides over the fouling and pulls the fouling out as the jag is withdrawn from the barrel. If the patch is very wet then as
@Carbon 6 stated, it is a best practice to then run a dry patch down the barrel to wipe up most of the liquid left in the barrel. There is still the possibility of liquid in the chambered breech, but that should be minimal.
@Zonie's suggestion to run the damp patch to the breech, count to 5 or 10 to allow the dampness to soften the fouling is quite helpful especially if the patch slides over the fouling and bunches up to pull out the fouling.
Wet isn't an issue if you use MAP or alcohol, perhaps the issue is his "moose milk" which I suspect might contain some oil.
oil + powder = gunk
I don't think its the oil in the "Moose Milk", but it is the water or liquid used for wiping. MAP still has plenty of water and oil in the Murphy's Oil Soap and water in the 97% of the hydrogen peroxide solution used. The alcohol helps with dealing with the oil, but liquids still are not good when trying to fire a black powder firearm. I like to fire, wipe the bore and assess the impact on the target. That extra bit of time allows the chambered breech to dry a bit. Somewhere between the 5th and the 10th round, I assume that fouling is building up in my chambered breech and I will run the damp patch down the barrel, fire a cap to drive fouling from the flash channel into the chamber and patch before I pull the patch with all the fouling out.
Stop swabbing between shots. You’re pushing manure into the patent breech.
A proper load, powder, patch, ball, lube, you should be able to shoot all day without swabbing. You’ll need a wet lube.
The loading with a wet lubed patch and a tight jag is another approach to maintaining a consistent level of fouling in the barrel. Yes, you are wiping the bore between shots. The wet lubed patch is softening and loosening the fouling as the fouling is wiped down the barrel and ends up between the patched ball and the powder. Too wet of a lube in this case can effect the performance of the powder load, but usually at the range, firing is done shortly after loading so any adverse effect is unnoticed.
