How much has humidity impacted your shooting ?

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Here in MA it has been exceptionally humid, so much so that vent holes become clogged, at least that's what happened to a shooting buddy of mine. Has humidty this summer seriously impacted your flintlock shooting ? Am wondering what our forefathers did to work around humidity in and around the flash pan.
 
I think the thing that sticks in mind is the humidity of N/ S Carolina, Virginia and the deep south where summer humidity is off the charts. How on Earth did our forefathers manage to 'keep their powder dry' ? I don't know about the rest of you fellers but I drip sweat in humid weather, sometimes wear a bandana just to keep it from blinding my eyes!
 
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Being a Deep South native I know what you're saying, electricfactory. I do okay as long as I keep the pan wiped.
 
Here in South Carolina, I have been wiping the pan every other shot...and using the pick every shot. It sure is damp! :)
 
Shot a match last Sunday and was lucky to even drag my old butt home again as the heat and humidity were beyond bearable !! I have a couple I'd like to get out and play with, but I'm going to have to wait for mother nature to take pity on my and change the weather some...
 
The only thing that partially saves us here on the Texas coast is we usually have a decent breeze blowing. But if it stops watch out .
 
As a sidelock shooter, the only problem I've seen with high humidity is how soft the fouling is. If you swab the barrel it is easier to push that soft fouling down ahead of the patch and jag and wind up blocking the flame channel. Sure makes for easy reloading though.
 
every time I go out an shoot, I have to wipe out the BLACK SNOT that is running out of my pan. plus flint & frizzen.
 
It's pretty dry in the Southern Colorado mountains where we live, so it really isn't a problem.
And the winters are even drier.
 
As a sidelock shooter, the only problem I've seen with high humidity is how soft the fouling is. If you swab the barrel it is easier to push that soft fouling down ahead of the patch and jag and wind up blocking the flame channel. Sure makes for easy reloading though.
If you are swabbing between shots, use a smaller diameter jag for running your cleaning patch. The smaller jag will not push the gunk into the breech channel, and on the pullout stroke, the patch bunches up and pulls the gunk out. I use a 50. cal jag in my .54, a .54 jag in my .58, a 45 jag in my 50, a .36 jag in my 45, a .32 jag in my .36, and a 30 jag in my 32 for swabbing the barrel when shooting at the range.
 
Excessive humidity is only a problem for me once or twice a year., in the form of a soup puddle in the fired pan, Wipe it dry with the raggedy end of the patch strip before priming again.

Lack of humidity can be a problem many times a year at CSMLA events. I'll shoot a target, and after changing to a new target find the fouling in the barrel has hardened up such that the new PRB goes down hard and jerky, and hits the paper somewhere other than my call. Target drill now involves wiping with both sides of a damp- not soppy wet- patch, and both sides of a dry patch before loading for the new target. The dry patch is saved to become the damp patch in the next cycle.
 
If you are swabbing between shots, use a smaller diameter jag for running your cleaning patch. The smaller jag will not push the gunk into the breech channel, and on the pullout stroke, the patch bunches up and pulls the gunk out. I use a 50. cal jag in my .54, a .54 jag in my .58, a 45 jag in my 50, a .36 jag in my 45, a .32 jag in my .36, and a 30 jag in my 32 for swabbing the barrel when shooting at the range.
I turn my jags down for exactly this reason, it did make it much better. It is rare for me to get a F2F now when shooting in the rain.
I really only see really soft fouling when I shoot when it is raining, otherwise we have very low humidity here.
 

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