Clean VS Dirty

[bassNspear]

I was talking with my uncle on the phone tonight about shooting our muzzy, and he brought up a good point. We shoot TC and CVA

He was talking to the guy down in his area that we bought our guns from, and he said that everytime that you shoot the guns, the more dirty the gun gets, the worse it shoots straight. So what he was saying is that after everytime that you shoot it, you have to clean the barrel.

Example, there was a guy in the same area that shot a deer 100 yards away. Then didnt clean his gun, and made the same shot at another deer later, and missed. Went and cleaned it, and then took it to the range, did the same stuff, and it was way off.

What you all think.

[HunterLee]

I can't imagine that a muzzleloader gets that dirty after one shot. Mine is a $130 cva, and i shoot it as many times as i can get the bullet down before i clean it. I prefer to have shot mine once before the real deal. Gets the oil and [PoorWordUsage] that might have been left in the gun after cleaning. I usually shoot 6-10 times without cleaning to get the feel of my aiming before season. I get baseball sized groups at worst.

He more than likely had a sight get bumped or something. Maybe with the open sights he changed his line of sight. People need to shoot there guns more once a year to get the hang of open sights. 100yds with open sights isn't the easiest shot there is. He probly just jerked it or was over confindent. These new inlines can shoot good dirty or clean, without much of a difference in the point of impact. I shot my buck at 170yds with a "dirty" gun this year.

[charliepete2]

Before I load up to hunt or shoot I always pop a few primers to dirty the barrel and make sure I burned off any oil I didn't get fully wiped off from the last cleaning. I have noticed slight differences in point of impact between dirty and completely clean barrels.

[GRH]

I think it can depend on the gun, type of bullets and powder used. I shoot a TC Omega and clean after every shot. After about the 3rd or 4th shot It's almost imposible for me to get a bullet down the barrel without cleaning. Ive noticed to that the accuracy starts to go down after each shot.

[paceman]

I shot a knight last year and that thing was filthy after 2-3 shots...

[bassNspear]

I really want to go out to the range and see if this is really true. Shoot a few rounds with the guns and see the difference. It is hard to reload the gun after a few shots, but the bullet will go down with some will power.

[lawdog]

This is more of a powder issue than a gun issue I think. Different powders burn much cleaner or dirtier depending on their quality. I quit Pyrodex because its so dirty. Triple 7 is all I use now. Shockey's Gold is supposed to be amazingly clean too.

Regardless, in my Omega I have shot as many as 4 without cleaning but usually I try to go no more than two. You will notice some loss of accuracy which will really add up only on the longest of shots. If you think you can shoot 100 yards with open sights, than you better have a clean barrel...

[icehousebob]

I guess I'm the old fashioned guy here. I shoot patched round balls and FFg black powder. I used to do a lot of buckskinner shooting contests and it was automatic to run a patch after every shot. And before the match, we would fire a fouling shot into the weeds, not just a couple of caps. When you want match accuracy, it becomes a habit.

[riverrat56]

icehouse, I'm not really up on muzzleloading, but looking to get into it, what you just said sounds contradicting? You fire a fouling shot, but run a patch through after every shot during the contest? Just asking for a clarification, I'm interested.

[icehousebob]

Riverrat, When you finish shooting for the day, you scrub your bore and breach as clean as possible and then use a bore coating to keep the rust away until its used again. When you want to use it again, you fire a fouling shot to burn away the preservative and then wipe the bore with a wet patch. The point of impact can be several inches off from the point of aim when fired with the bore coating. For competion, there are lots of "magic" patch lubes and cleaning solutions, but my cleaning patch solution has been windshield washer fluid. Never use a petroleum based cleaner or patch lube because it combines with the black powder fouling into a nasty goop.

As for fouling shots, I never take my centerfire rifles out hunting without firing a shot after they have been cleaned and lubed either.

[paceman]

I never fired fouling shots before hunting last year and I was surprised at the easy shots I missed last year. I did do fouling shots while practicing. My groups were pretty good to. I will do fouling shots this year after cleaning and before I load for hunting.

[bassNspear]

soo all in all, everyone thinks that it shouldnt matter how many times you shoot it before you clean it?

[lawdog]

I wouldn't say that at all Bass, I think most are saying wipe down every shot if you can but every 2-3 for sure. I don't know how you get shoot as many as you want out of that???

[bassNspear]

im just wondering, becuase the gun smith said that it will change the way the bullet moves out of the gun.

[bassNspear]

anyone else have any imput?

[92python]

I like the idea of clean powder that doesn't need too much swabbing and is not corrosive. Just picked up some FFF Goex Pinnacle. It is supposed to be similar to APP powder. Hopefully it will be more moisture tolerant than the APP-Cleanshot.

I dont like the APP sticks as though they don't have as much fouling they are inconsistent in sizing and seem to shoot different depending on if you load them hard and crush them or just firmly seat them.

777 has me afraid of the crud ring that supposedly happens in the Omega I shoot.

As soon as Blackhorn 209 is available locally I will be buying that stuff. Lots of hype on that powder on the muzzy forums. Should work well in my gun.

I am trying to get away from the powerbelts and going with .452 pistol bullets with a crushed rib sabot. Don't need to spend a buck a bullet for an inferior slug. Tried the standard thicker black sabots but my barrel is tight and I need a jackhammer to load them.

[WaveWacker]

BNS,

I'd have to go along sith what is stated in the TC DVD that comes with the muzzy (and this is what I practice religiously). In order to make sure your sighting in is on clean with bore solvent and run a couple of dry patches down the barrel after every shot. In a hunting situation however (have never had to prove this however) you don't need to worry about it if you needed to get loaded back up for a second shot quickly. If you could clean/dry then do so.

I think it seems rather reasonable that upon shooting some of the riflings begin to get fouled up with residue. Obviously this will affect how the bullet spins and comes out of the barrel which equals variations in accuracy.

[bassNspear]

thanks for the information.

[mechanictim]

I agree with WaveWacker, learn where your hitting with a clean bore. Black powder and most substitutes will leave a corrosive residue which will leave pitting in the bore and the primer hole. If you hunt during the regular deer season and then hunt the sixteen day muzzleloader season thats a lot of days to leave a corrosive residue in the gun.

When sighting in carry some warm soapy water to the range and clean between shots till you get sighted. Then clean with a damp patch between shots when practicing. I have been shooting the same Knight for over fifteen years and the first couple of shots hit a five inch bull at a hundred yards as long as I do my part.

[ddsbyday]

Just a quick tip on cleaning. I did my first cleaning according to the manual. What a mess. Now I just remove the barrel of my encore and drive to the do it your self carwash. Hit it with soap 3-4 seconds. Rinse 3-4 seconds. I do get a little in the face but minimal with practice. The barrel is dry before I can get back in the truck. Two swipes with bore butter and done. Plus I have plenty of time to wash my truck with the left over time.

[charliepete2]

That's a great tip DDS. I'll have to give that a try. Yet another reason I need my own powerwasher....now if I could only get my wife interested in muzzle loading I'd be set.

[bassNspear]

thats the first thing i didn Huber, get my wife involed in it so she can never say no when it comes to buying the stuff for it. If shes going to be using it, then she cant complain about it.