In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
patches for muzzleloaders
andersk
Member Posts: 3,627 ✭✭
A while back I posted a question about patches for muzzleloaders. I forget what the title was and can't find it. I do have a good memory, it just doesn't last very long.
Anyway, for whatever it's worth, here's where I am now. I cannot see that prewashing does anything good or bad.
And the idea of putting bore lube on patches on a role instead of cutting squares first and then doing the lube thing ... well, I tried it, and I cannot see that it did anything either ... other than making it messy for shooting and handling firearms.
Practice seems to help a lot! Especially with my KY flintlock Pistol!
Any thoughts?
Anyway, for whatever it's worth, here's where I am now. I cannot see that prewashing does anything good or bad.
And the idea of putting bore lube on patches on a role instead of cutting squares first and then doing the lube thing ... well, I tried it, and I cannot see that it did anything either ... other than making it messy for shooting and handling firearms.
Practice seems to help a lot! Especially with my KY flintlock Pistol!
Any thoughts?
Comments
the best patches are made from pre-washed mattress ticking, cut into squares of an appropriate size, and then soaked in lube that has been melted into a liquid with low heat on a stove.
The reason for the lubricant is two fold: first, it softens the combustion by-products of the powder; and two, it makes the residual lead in the rifling grooves easier to remove.
If you don't believe this, load you fire your fire pole with blackpowder (do not use a BP substitute) and a patch with no lubricant. Fire 4 to 6 rounds this way. You will find the barrel clogged to a point where it will be hard to load, and hard to clean.
This fouling, in turn will have an adverse effect upon the accuracy of the gun.
With the exception of a percussion revolver, fireing a properly lubed muzzle stuffer isn't that messy. Yes, it is messier than firing a modern gun-but that's the nature of the beast.
For what it's worth, why do you think almost all period conical and miniball bullet molds were designed to put lubricant grooves in the base of the projectile? The old-tme gun designers and gunsmiths did know a thing or two!
http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=560052
These are the greatest thing to come along since sliced bread.
The only thing you need to know about patches is TCs pre lubed patches. They are prelude with Bore Butter. Since I started using them my bores are brighter, stay clean longer and I haven't had a mis fire since I started using them. Maybe I am paying more attention but these patches seem to help my accuracy too.
These are the greatest thing to come along since sliced bread.
+1
I bought 2 bags of them @ Cabela's in 2005 and still using them.