Finally shot my 1861 3 band snider!! Now I have questions.

[Tinman204]

Hi all,

So after months of cleaning, fixing and general work I finally decided that it was time to make my old 3 band snider go BOOM!

I loaded 70 grains of FFG GOEX into a plastic 24g shot hull. My projectile was a .570 round ball patched to around .590. The accuracy with this load was very good at 100 yards and it put a big smile on my ugly mug!!

Now I have a simple question for those of you who shoot sniders. How many rounds do you shoot in a day before you give the barrel a cleaning? I ask because this is my first black powder rifle and I just want to make sure that I'm doing things properly. I cleaned it afterwards and it was pretty dirty, I fired around 20 rounds through it. I also will add that the last 6-8" of barrel is rough but leading seemed to be a non issue.

Here's a pic of the old girl!! I must say that all of the time I've spent on thus gun was worth every second!!

 

[trebor2880]

That's one beautifull gun!
I've found that after shooting even 10 rds, without cleaning, accuracy fades on the BP muzzle loaders, I've used.

 

[capitalj14]

Do you want to sell it?
Lol

 

[Tinman204]

Funny, 10 rounds was about the number where I noticed that accuracy was starting to fade. So I guess a quick swab of the barrel while I'm playing with it would be a good thing. Thanks for the input, figured I'd ask as I know just enough about black powder to be dangerous!!

I can't sell this one, it literally was broken in 2 when I got it, I epoxied it back together and pinned it with 2 screws and then cut the heads off. I have probably 100 hours in this resto but like I said, worth every second!!

 

[biggles]

I shoot 2x relays of 13 shots each with 1/2 hour or so between. If there are new members attending then maybe 30-35 rounds total & no wiping until afterwards.
I do however dip the nose of each round in "Udderly Smooth" before I fire it. This is supposed to keep the fouling in the barrel soft so it scrapes out with each shot & does not build up.
I frequently find I shoot a better score in the 2nd relay so It seems to work.

Peter (in Ontario)

 

[Tinman204]

I shoot 2x relays of 13 shots each with 1/2 hour or so between. If there are new members attending then maybe 30-35 rounds total & no wiping until afterwards.
I do however dip the nose of each round in "Udderly Smooth" before I fire it. This is supposed to keep the fouling in the barrel soft so it scrapes out with each shot & does not build up.
I frequently find I shoot a better score in the 2nd relay so It seems to work.

Peter (in Ontario)

Thanks for the info Peter. I'm very pleased with my initial testing, accuracy is way better then I expected. So I guess I'll have to experiment with lube on my next range session.

They have bore butter at my local gun shop, I'll pick some up on my next visit and try it out. I'm not one to only shoot a gun a couple of times so if I can keep her going for 20-30 shots between cleaning life's good!!

 

[NorthCoastBigBore]

Yes it depends entirely on the lube you're using; also local temperature and humidity. The other day I ran 50 shots through my .54 without swabbing, no measurable effect on accuracy; that's using simple homemade patches lubed with olive oil & water. Other days, the number can go up or down (sometimes drastically), all other things being equal.

Similarly, I can run up to 60 or so straight in my Uberti .45 Colt with FFFg without swabbing anything, before I have any hiccups. That is usually just shooting steel not groups, but the steel rings every time. That's an olive oil & pure beeswax (50/50) pan lube.

My .45-70 and .45-90, seem to like more frequent cleanings with FFg. Same lube. I do notice the groups open on these.


...so really it comes down to playing around with your rifle. Shooting groups & watching function will help you learn 'er, with respect to cleaning. A BLOW TUBE should assist in keeping the fouling soft; accuracy up; and swabbing down.

 

[Tinman204]

Once again, thanks for the info!

I shoot lots of cast boolits in my newer military rifles so I guess it's going to be the same as those. Some I can shoot 100's of rounds down the pipe with zero signs of leading or accuracy loss. Others like a light cleaning in between sessions.

I must say that I really enjoy black powder shooting and I know now why guys like sniders. I've owned my snider for 4-5 months and I've yet to fire one until yesterday. Definitely a huge achievement making a wallhanger a shooter again.

Steve

 

[BCRider]

Tinman, because black powder leaves a corrosive salt as part of the fouling you don't want to rely on a "light cleaning". Clean things well then oil with a black powder friendly oil such as Ballistol at the end of the day.

On my flintlock muzzle loader I get instant feedback on the bore's condition with each load. If it gets crusty and hard to seat the ball and patch I know I'm not using enough lube/water mix on the patch. Not sure how to tell the same thing with a cartridge gun other than perhaps using a ram rod to shove a ball and patch down the bore and check for binding up. If it doesn't feel at least consistent the whole way then you have room for improving the lube you're using.

 

[antiqueguy]

Tinman, because black powder leaves a corrosive salt as part of the fouling you don't want to rely on a "light cleaning". Clean things well then oil with a black powder friendly oil such as Ballistol at the end of the day.

On my flintlock muzzle loader I get instant feedback on the bore's condition with each load. If it gets crusty and hard to seat the ball and patch I know I'm not using enough lube/water mix on the patch. Not sure how to tell the same thing with a cartridge gun other than perhaps using a ram rod to shove a ball and patch down the bore and check for binding up. If it doesn't feel at least consistent the whole way then you have room for improving the lube you're using.

i don't think they cared much when it was a military gun as long as they were getting lead down range my guess would be to check the bore every few shots with the snider that means looking down the muzzle or getting a inspectors mirror that go's in the chamber. just think of places like rorke's drift where the martinis fired countless rounds with not much cleaning

 

[Tinman204]

Tinman, because black powder leaves a corrosive salt as part of the fouling you don't want to rely on a "light cleaning". Clean things well then oil with a black powder friendly oil such as Ballistol at the end of the day.

On my flintlock muzzle loader I get instant feedback on the bore's condition with each load. If it gets crusty and hard to seat the ball and patch I know I'm not using enough lube/water mix on the patch. Not sure how to tell the same thing with a cartridge gun other than perhaps using a ram rod to shove a ball and patch down the bore and check for binding up. If it doesn't feel at least consistent the whole way then you have room for improving the lube you're using.

I should have been maybe a little more clear when I said "light cleaning". I just meant to maintain accuracy while firing, vs actually making it clean.

After shooting I've been pooring hot water down the barrel which washes out lots of the fouling. Then I use bore butter black powder cleaner and I follow with a light coating of bore butter.

I'll never put this one away dirty as someone did that 80-100 years ago. Then I got it and had to clean 100 year old black powder out of the bore and then remove the rust!! No fun at all!!