After sighting in?

[Alaskasmoker]

Okay, so I watched tc's world of muzzle loaders DVD. One of the tips was after sighting in your gun for hunting season, dont clean the barrel or it will change the impact of your next shot. Wich I understand the theory behind that from shooting centerfire.

So if you shoot, you just do a quick barrel swab, then what? wont the barrel corrode if it is not thouroughly cleaned?

Its possible for me to sight in, and hunt within 2 weeks so no Im not talking about leaving it like that for 6 months or anything, but Im afraid of ruining my new 300 dollar barrel. Its stainless if that makes a diff.

 

[sundowner]

yes it's true but I clean between shoots and have it sighted in that way , There is a change in POI over a clean barrel but if you shoot it a couple of times without cleaning between shoots you can see where you should aim your second shoot . After all the first shoot is the one that counts . I always clean the gun after a day at the range .
Charlie

 

[big6x6]

One of the tips was after sighting in your gun for hunting season, dont clean the barrel or it will change the impact of your next shot.

I have not watched the video BUT if that's what they recommend, they have lost their mind. If you don't clean the barrel after shooting Pyrodex/Triple Se7en it will rust, period. The way I've ALWAYS remedied that is to shoot a fouling shot on a clean barrel...that is a shot using 40-60gr of loose powder ONLY, right before hunting. After that and perhaps a spitpatch, load up and you are ready to hunt.

 

[Alaskasmoker]

Maybe I made this sound too bad.

They reccomend, they being Greg Ritz I guess, Is that you fire a shot, swab with wet patch, swab with dry, Load fire ect. and after last shot sighting in, swab with wet,dry just like you did between shots, then leave it.

 

[Semisane]

I sight in so that my first shot with a squeaky clean barrel hits where I want it to. I know a second shot without swabbing the barrel will hit a few inches right and low with my gun. That's OK - I hunt with a clean barrel and want that first shot to go where I aim.

When I'm target shooting, I swab with one damp patch and two dry patches between each shot.

 

[flint head]

TC video

You misunderstood, what Greg was saying is that if you clean between shots every time then all that is required is this same method after being sighted in and your barrel with be pretty much clean.

 

[MLKeith]

The one thing that gets missed here is that if you do not remove the breechplug after shooting and do a real cleaning job; unless you plan to hunt withing a couple of days the breechplug might just be non-removable the next time you try. Personally If I shoot and plan to have the rifle stored for more than a day I clean it properly. It may be a little more than you really have to do but I prefer to keep my rifles in as close to new condition as I can. Cleaning and keeping some rust preventative in the barrel is pretty easy to do and the results are worth any extra effort required. I have never had a muzzleloader rust and I have shot almost all the powders and substitutes available over time. One of my pistols is a Civil War stamped original Remington that belonged to my Grandfather and it has been refurbished to shoot and is not rusted anymore although when I found it it was terrible.

 

[cayuga]

Maybe I made this sound too bad.

They reccomend, they being Greg Ritz I guess, Is that you fire a shot, swab with wet patch, swab with dry, Load fire ect. and after last shot sighting in, swab with wet,dry just like you did between shots, then leave it.

I'm not expert like this Greg Ritz, but if he wants to leave fowling in HIS rifle for an extended period of time, well it is HIS rifle. I have no intention of doing that.

Many of us hunt on a fowled barrel. I for one do. I simply load 60 grains of powder, then put a wad on that or a couple cleaning patches down on it, fire it off. Now I am fowled. After a quick swab I can load and hunt. But at the end of the day I clean the rifle just as if I were going to put it away for the year. I never leave a fowled barrel sit around.

A while back I did powder rust tests with a lawn mower blade, where I degreased it then ignited small amounts of different brands of powders on that blade. With some powders you might be safe leaving it a couple days. With others, such as Pyrodex, you better clean that rifle real soon or it will start to rust.

My rule of thumb is, I shoot it, I clean it...

 

[wihill]

While this may seem a really silly question, doesn't this "fouling" load spook the game in your area? I live in the city, and it's a ways to travel to my hunting ground. I'm not 100% on the idea of arriving near my destination/hunting area, firing a wad, and then hiking into my stand - every hunter knows how loud any sound can be at 0530 in the morning, much less a gun shot.

Ideas?

 

[Anonymous]

When I sight a gun in for hunting,,,I sight in using a clean barrel just for the concerns you state. I swab thoroughly between shots. If I have to leave the rifle loaded for a few days,,I don't have to worry about corrosion as much. The worse I do is snap a cap before loading.

 

[jims]

To Wihill: I have no comment on the fouling shot but as far as a shot spooking game. I have taken a deer out of a herd with a high shoulder shot that drops the deer where it stood and the herd will mill around for awhile and even go up to the droppped deer but not run off. I have observed other shots not spook deer in the immediate area.

 

[MLKeith]

I have had similar experience with game just milling around after a shot. I noticed that the only game that seems to be aware of a shot is older animals that have been shot at or at least they act as though they were. Occasionally one will act like the shot is something to be concerned about. I also plan on the first shot being out of a clean bore. I use Black Mag'3 powder and find that the difference from fouled to clean is not very noticable. It may be that the powder burns so clean that the lack of fouling is the same as a clean bore. Some have used teflon tape on conicals in White rifles to make the first shot print close to following fouled bore shots. I have a friend that claims it works but I have seen other reports that the "trick" did not work. You might try it if shooting conicals.

 

[hakx]

When I sight a gun in for hunting,,,I sight in using a clean barrel just for the concerns you state. I swab thoroughly between shots. If I have to leave the rifle loaded for a few days,,I don't have to worry about corrosion as much. The worse I do is snap a cap before loading.

x 2, 'cept I rarely leave loaded. I would rather make the ML safe, for my own piece of mind.

 

[Anonymous]

If I leave the rifle loaded,,,,all ignition sources are removed, and the rifle cased and left outside in the garage or locked truck. NEVER within sight of "little hands".