seasoning my 50 cal

72chevelle

I'm new to the muzzleloading game. What is the best way to break in the barrel? I plan on using clean shot powder and saboted bullets first. What about conical bullets with clean shot,is a patch necessary? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Der Gebirgsjager

Seasoning the barrel comes down to filling the microscopic pores of the metal with a lubricant which penetrates and bakes into the metal from repeated firing. All muzzloader guys have something they swear by, but there are many suitable including Ox Yoke Wonder Lube and T/C Bore Butter. I would not start by shooting sabotted bullets because the pores are going to fill up with plastic fouling and then you'll have a tough time getting that out and the lube in. Instead I'd start with the lubed, patched round balls and lubed conical bullets. No, it's not necessary to use a patch with a conical if it's the proper size for the bore.A good conical will have liberal grease grooves. Also, don't believe that you don't need to clean your rifle after firing because you used clean shot powder. It's just not as critical that you give it immediate attention; but left alone it will rust.

G&G Firearms

I just bought a new Austin & Halleck inline muzzleloader.In the manual book it says shoot 3 times then clean the barrel & repeat until you find the right load for your gun,every gun likes it's own loads.So i decided too try pyrodex pellets & Noslers 260 grain HG sabots.For the cleaning it stated you should use a water-soluble cleaner.This is all new too me also so anybody with some advise on muzzleloaders please reply.

badboybob

I just took mine out of the box and shot it. Used lubed patches and ball over Pyrodex. It works just fine, and can shoot better than I can with these old eyes.

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So many guns to buy. So little money.

gunnut

I own three 1 Knight 2 Cva'sThis is what Ive done shot each one with,loaded w/pyrodex powder than a coated conical, than I swabed the barrel with a light coat of bore butter repeated the above X 5 then take them apart and clean w/hot soapy water dry, apply more bore butterall shoot fine and all clean up easy, buy the way you might want to try the cva powerbelts as I really like em...

ndbilly

Black powder is a slow, messy, smelly way to spend your shooting hours. That said, I'd rather shoot any of my six repros (flinchlock and cap&ball) than almost anything else I own. What a hoot when those suckers go "Boom!" and you're surrounded by a fragrant cloud of sulfer smoke To add to the excellent advice above - Bore Butter is, IMHO, one of the first and best purchases you can make. Unlike the pungent fumes of blackpowder this stuff smells good enough to put on ice cream! BTW, it also seasons, cleans and lubricates like nothing else I've ever used. Ran 15 straight shots through the .50 cal T/C without having to stop and clean every two or three shots.

buddyb

Never use any petrolem base lube on a black powder firearm.After it is cleaned well,wrap a towel around the barrel and pour boiling water down the bore.It will dry very quickly and be hot.While it is hot run a few patches lubed with Bore-Butter or other natural lube and coat all metal surfaces with the same.You can use the same product on wood stocks and keep it looking and functioning well for many years.

218Beekeep

Gunsmith told me a while back,that a friend of his,also a gunsmith,unscrewed the barrel from the action,covered the out side of both,and the inside of the barrel with bore butter,after degreesing.Baked them in the oven,for a few hours,thus seasoning them like ya`d do a fryin` pan.I don`d know a dam#%$ thing about the subject,just lookin` for feedback..218

roundball

I own and shoot a houseful of T/C Arms Hawkens year round...in my opinion, the T/C Arms line of NATURAL non-petroleum products are the way to go...Naturalube 1000, Borebutter, Prelubed Borebuttons, etc.Shoot either round balls with patches that are pre-lubricated with Naturalube-1000, or shoot conicals that are prelubed with Naturalube-1000, then clean with hot soapy water, dry and swap bore with Naturalube patches;I also use a pre-lubed Borebuttom on top of the powder charge regardless of what type projectile I shoot...they add lubrication and seasoning to the bore with each shot and you can shoot all day without cleaning the rifle till you're done for the day;NEVER USE PETROLEUM PRODUCTS INSIDE THE BARREL!

72chevelle

Thanks for the information. I've planned now to shoot about a hundred rounds of conicals before I try any sabots. The oven method sounds pretty good but I'll have to try that when I'm home alone or the smoke will fly. Thanks to all.