breech plug

[moooose102]

so i bought one of those conveinient little "grease sticks" to smear all over the threads of my breech plug, so it doesnt seize up on me when i shoot. but i just cant help but think about teflon tape. would that work? i would think it actually might do a better job of sealing the threads (i still get a lot of blowby, but i dont know if it is coming from the threads, or from around the primer) than the black grease. and being teflon, i would think it would keep the plug from seizing. anyone tried this?

 

[Shultzhaus]

Please be careful where you use Teflon. Heated above 700 degrees, it produces a poisonous gas. I worked with the stuff for two years in a quality control lab. Cigarettes and matches, and lighters were forbidden to even be brought into the lab. A few granules accidentally on the end of a cigarette can give you the shakes, and nausea, if you are lucky that's all.

 

[arcticap]

Some folks have used teflon tape and reported that it works, but some tape is thicker making the plug a tight fit.

 

[[email protected]]

I use Dupont "Teflon" for my patch lube. Wonder what the temp. gets inside
the barrel when it goes off? I don't stick my nose in the barrel to smell it though.

 

[mykeal]

Black powder combustion temperatures reach as high as 1250 deg C (2300 deg F) for three part (carbon, sulphur, potassium) powders like Goex. In every case it exceeds 800 deg C (1500 deg F) regardless of mixture properties. That temperature is short-lived, however,usually less than 100 msec.

 

[Shultzhaus]

Guess I was a little hasty with the Teflon warning. I might even try it myself. I have been using vasilene for years, with no problems. Washes off easily with hot water and soap. When I pull the plug, it is black only the first third of the way, and not gummy like a petroleum product would be. The back two 3rds is clean. like it came out of the jar.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Don't worry about the threads "seizing up" when you shoot. Breechplugs are rarely pulled and if you have a stubborn one, put a pipe on the end of your wrench for more leverage. Use that teflon tape for plumbing, not smokepoles.

 

[mykeal]

Breechplugs are rarely pulled

...unless you have an inline rifle, in which case you pull the plug each time it's cleaned.

 

[Chawbaccer]

Next time at the auto parts store pick up a tube of Permatex anti seize or one of those small packets at the counter.
For inlines one of the main conveniences is the removable breech, makes cleaning easier.

 

[DuncanSA]

Having just got my very first BP rifle, why should I ever want to pull the breech plug?

 

[moooose102]

Having just got my very first BP rifle, why should I ever want to pull the breech plug?

to clean the rifle. at least that is how you do in-lines. i have no idea how you do conventional bp rifles.

 

[DuncanSA]

It is a Lyman .50 cal Great Plains Rifle. I have not even fired it yet but will value comment.

 

[mykeal]

DuncanSA - I own 10 bp rifles and 3 shotguns; one of the rifles is an inline, the others are traditional flintlocks and caplocks (including two Lyman GPR's - superb guns - congratulations, you should really enjoy it). I've owned some of them since 1977. I've never removed the breach plug from any of the flintlocks or caplocks; I remove the breach plug from the inline rifle every time I clean it.

The only reason one might want to remove the breach plug on a traditional caplock/flintlock rifle/shotgun is to repair damage due to corrosion in the breach area. If the gun is kept clean and properly stored that should never need to be done.

 

[scrat]

I agree with Chewbaccer. I just use permatex antiseize. i have mentioned it before. it works very good. So i will continue to use it. A little goes a long way.

 

[[email protected]]

i have never used teflon, but on another site that has some VERY experienced shooters on it say no to teflon, use anti sieze compound.

 

[Shultzhaus]

There may be others, but the only flinter I know of with a removable breech plug, is a Traditions PA pellet, of which I have one. You must remember to remove the touch hole liner first, and a 6mm socket key does the plug. I have a Traditions Frontier percussion, which the manual states - If you even try to remove the breech plug, you will void your warranty. If all else fails, read your owner's manual. Some manufactures have their manuals available on-line to down load to a pdf format.