Fouling Shot

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Bluffton Bill

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Is this required for a front stuffer? Reason I ask is my first shot is printing 3" low and 2" left of my second shot. Second, third and fourth shot are in a nice 2" group at 50 yards. If a fouling shot is required it poses a little problem when hunting. How long can I leave pyrodex or black powder residue in barrel before corrosion will effect my bore? Maybe I just need to break the rifle in? Brand new Lyman Trade Rifle.

Thanks
 
It is not uncommon to have the first shot quite a bit slower because of oil contamination. If you are going hunting you can overcome this problem with a dry patch or two before loading.
Second question; depends a lot on local humidity. If the air is dry, you can get away without cleaning for a day or more. If worried it does not hurt to run an oily patch down the bore for partial protection and then clean with hot water etc the next day.

cheers mooncoon
 
My rifles all shoot nice groups for the first 4 or 5 shots, then I wipe. Mooncoon is right about running a dry patch before loading, but if that will not fix the problem, I would sight in for the first shot. Then wipe between shots. I would not hunt with a fouled barrel.
 
I would also wipe with a couple of cotton patches before loading the first round. I do not use any oils as such after a proper cleaning but do use a product called "Sheath" which leaves no oily residue but does protect the bore and nipple. Even with this I run a couple of cotton patches through before loading the first shot. On the issue of leaving powder in the barrel for a few days....I have hunted with a traditional Hawken with B/P and left the load in for a week and had no problems. Two things are your enemy... moisture and oxygen. With a tight fitting projectile and by covering the nipple with a chunk of paper towel when the cap is removed I had no problem. I also shot the week long loading at my target and put the ball in the same place as the others shot prior to the hunt. I now use an in-line and pyrodex pellets and could just back the plug out every day but I don't and had similarly good luck...and no corrosion from having left the load in. Good luck
 
If you are certain it shoots to the same POI every time on the first shot, I would learn to hold off to hit, or adjust the sights for first shot. Three inches low is not a big deal in most big game hunting situations and two inches left can almost be forgoten about. You will still be in the kill zone.
The fouling can be left in the barrel for a short time, like a weekend hunt. You can check for rusting by running a clean dry patch down to see if it comes out stained brownish.
 
To help reduce moisture do not bring your gun into a warm place when out in the cold, leave it in a cold room for next day hunts.
 
Bluffton Bill said:
Is this required for a front stuffer? Reason I ask is my first shot is printing 3" low and 2" left of my second shot. Second, third and fourth shot are in a nice 2" group at 50 yards. If a fouling shot is required it poses a little problem when hunting. How long can I leave pyrodex or black powder residue in barrel before corrosion will effect my bore? Maybe I just need to break the rifle in? Brand new Lyman Trade Rifle.

Thanks
Click to expand...


OK i heard that this works.... just hope yo got kind neighbours in the morning before you load to go out snap a cap or two( caution they could be loud, so i've heard)off in the garage on an empty barrel.....if you are not in a metropolis then you could always dump 5 grains of bp in the barrel and step out on the front porch and light that off before continuing with the loading for the hunt that should take care of any oil/ fouling you have....

of course this is just third hand info.....

tg
 
Don't know about front stuffers so much but my Black powder cartridge rifles all fire the same way from a clean bore or fouled bore, it doesn't seem to matter.
Dantforth....was that buck this year? Hope you had a good season...Ben
 
something the guys at my hunting camp do before going out with their first shot they put lighter fluid on a patch and run it down the barrel. it helps get rid of any oil and such from the barrel cleans a bit and dry's clean and fairly fast. it also burns so there is not much worry of it inhibiting the blackpowder if it gets on it a bit in the barrel.
 
That's really a thing that's unique to each muzzleloader. Some definitely shoot better with one and others don't require it. You don't know till you try.
 
I have a Trade rifle that I've had since 1985. I always load it up and run a complete charge through it before I head out into the field. I learned the hard way, that if I do this, the rifle will never hang-fire. If I just snapped some caps and ran dry patches through it I would sometimes find that of I don't get a shot till later in the day, it was prone to hang-firing. After one complete charge, the gun will always fire properly when needed. For your gun it may be an added bonus of better accuracy if you try this procedure too.
 
Well I agree with everyone,I for one load with a sloted loading rod that has a hole just after loading jag,this has a peice of cloth in it that is keeped wet with cleaning wash.So if at the range or on a trail walk,the barrel is cleaned loading and cleaned after you take it out.This way you shoot all day and nearly never have to clean till the end of the day,or going home.Also good for the finer ### that have some trouble loading there rifles after a few shoots on a trail walk or on the range.There are times in extream heat that the barrel will cake up,then you got to look out for friction when loading that you don't set it off loading.Could a good way to lose some fingers.
 
I always clean my barrel ever shot I take when sighting in. The first shot is the one that counts. Doing this I am able to shoot 1 inch groups at 100 yards. And if required the 2nd shot isn't that far off but its not quite the grouping with the clean barrel.
 
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