Thinner Patches for Easier Loading?

[DougB]

I have a couple of .50 Caliber muzzle-loading rifles (Hawken and Kentucky style). After a few shots, they get very hard to load due, I'm sure, to fouling. Even when clean, I need to really lean on the short starter to get the ball into the barrel, and it takes quite a bit of pressure on the ramrod (several short pushes) to get them loaded. I'm using .490 balls and generally .015" thick patches. I'm thinking I should try .005" thick patches, or maybe even smaller balls to get more than a few shots between cleanings. Is this a good approach? Any suggestions? As you may have seen from a previous post, I'll be on a 3-day hike with these, so cleaning won't be easy on the trail (but I may have a lot of kids who want to try a shot). I don't care as much about accuracy as ease of loading and minimizing cleaning - at least on this trip.

Thanks

Doug

 

[mykeal]

Take a jar of pre-soaked cleaning patches and swab the barrel every 5 shots or so. You can get a small jar of 100 patches pre-soaked wth Thompson Center No. 13 bore cleaner. Or make your own and keep them in a zip lock bag.

 

[Zeke/PA]

I agree with mykeal about swabbing the bore every couple of shots.
My pet hunting rifle is a built from kit .50 TC Hawkin.
My best accuracy occurs when I swab after every 2nd shot using 375gr. Maxi- Balls.
Zeke

 

[arcticap]

I wouldn't go thinner than a .010 patch unless absolutely necessary. The .005 patches are very thin and don't hold much patch lube.

 

[K.A.T.]

Doug,just for speed when the kids are lined up for a shot you might get by with just running a bore brush down the barrel a couple of times.

Zeke/Pa,I have the same to hunt with.

 

[Iggy]

After you have fired some rounds down range, go out 20 or 30 feet from your firing position.. You should be able to pick up your patches.

If they show a scorched center, some evidence of having passed down the rifling and a frayed edge, you are using the right thickness.

If the patches have holes in them and are torn or distorted, they are not thick enough and are not forming a tight seal and properly engaging the rifling.

Better lube and more frequent swabbing of the barrel should keep you shooting.

 

[gezzer]

Wipe the bore with some tow or wet patch after shooting it a couple of times it is what everyone did in the period. Your next lubed patch will protect it for the day. Mountain men or woodsman CLEANED there gun every night as their life depended on it. Honor the tradition.

 

[roundball]

DougB, assuming a decent powder like Goex 3F, my experience has been that lube and humidity are the keys to fouling staying soft and not causing problems.

I shoot a 50 shot range session every Saturday morning year round and never wipe between shots. During most spring/summer/fall months here in NC, the humidity is above average to high and I just use prelubed Oxyoke and TC pillow ticking patches with the Natural Lube 1000 that's already in them.

The fouling stays so soft that everytime the next patched ball is seated, it wipes fouling off the bore & grooves, pushing it down on top of the powder where its ejected during the next shot...then there is a fresh single shot's worth of fouling in the bore again...and the cycle repeats every time.

But during the months which are dry and have low humidity like winter here in NC, prelubed Oxyoke and TC patches are not wet enough...the air is so dry no moisture can be pulled from it immediately after a shot is taken and the fouling dries quickly getting hard, making it difficult to load subsequent shots.

So I either squirt a few squirts of Hoppes No9 PLUS BP Lube into a bag of TC patches and squish it all around until they're wet...or I just use a bag of dry patches and soak them with the Hoppes. In either case, I shoot entire range sessions, year round, without wiping between shots at all...50th shot loads just as easy as the first shot, and cleanup back at the house is a snap.

 

[dstorm1911]

Same as Roundball here as well cept I'm in Arizona, I use very well lubed patches with my own mix of 1/3 Paraphin, 1/3 bees wax 1/3 lard and I never have to do any wipeing between shots this lube BTW is good even when its 120 degrees out here in the desert, I melt the mix then drop the patches in and let em simmer till they stop bubbling then scoop em out and lay em on a cardboard sheet to cool (they look like pringles patato chips) after they cool I press em together in empty Remington percussion cap tins (usually 40 per tin) just pack em real tight then peel em off as ya need em, the tin will also fit in most patch boxes on many stocks too....

My Wifes Very old CVA has a very pitted bore she doesn't care it still shoots fine for her.... with the patches she'll shoot 50-75 rnds per session with Pyrodex ffg and never a problem the pitting doesn't even fray the patches like it did the prelubed TC patches... neither of us ever uses any kinda ball starter just the rifles ram rod they always slide right down with one stroke

 

[Omnivore]

I largely agree with roundball and dstorm. I use prelubed patches and I add more lube to them (TC Bore Butter in this case) before use. The patch takes the fowling down with it and you're shooting a clean bore each time.

A .495 ball and .010 patch in my .50 bore is quite hard to start, but once in the bore it gets easier as you've fit the ball/patch to the bore. Plus you get accustomed to the amount of pressure it takes to start the ball. My starter has many dents in it from this. The first loading relatively is easy, but the second or the 12th are all about the same-- hard but manageable, with no swabbing in between. I like the tight fit as it seems to get the most consistent velocity (and therefore accuracy) from my rifle. The seal is so good that if a cap is stuck on really tight after firing, I can reload, then take the old cap off and get a pppffffssssit! as captive air escapes the flash channel.