Careful what you swab the bore with

[FrontierGander]

The other week I had been shooting some great 200 yard groups with my open sight 54cal hawken.

While I was cleaning it that night, I had an urge to add a LITTLE pinesol to my swabbing solution which was plain water. BIG MISTAKE! The next day, I fired 6 shots at 200 yards, only 2 showed up. I cleaned the bore, set up a 100 yard target and fired 3 shots which gave me a horrible 6" group. I was in total disbelief and couldn't figure out what was going on. I packed up, went home.

While cleaning the rifle, I decided it had to be the pinesol I added to the swabbing solution. I did notice that the patched ball went down a lot easier and was slick feeling. Maybe?

2 days later, I went back out shooting at 100 yards, THIS TIME using straight up water to swab the bore between shots and this was the result.

80gr 2fg Gearhart Owen, .530" round ball, .020" patches.

Sweeet! Lets up it to 90gr..

After this, I'll no longer add any kind of oil, soap, solvent to my swabbing solution! It just adds an unnatural slickness that really screwed up my accuracy big time.

 

[DartonJager]

I have a very simple very specific and exact loading and clean in between shots procedure for all my inlines including my 10ML-II that if I deviate from even slightly it immediately affects my accuracy. I swab with 91% isopropyl alcohol and have for ever since I bought my T/C Encore the very first year it came out.
I can not tell people strongly enough that BH209 is magical stuff. I shot my best ever groups with my Encore and my .50 cal Knight Elite and .45 cal Knight Elite using BH209. And with my Encore that's saying ALOT as I put over 1600 loads out of it using Pyrodex pellets and 3F 777.
Was at my local public range (last public range trip before I joined a private rile club) shooting 85 grains by weight of BH209, a .458" 325 grain Hormady FTX and Harvester Black crush ribbed sabots and FED/209's and put all three into one ragged hole at 100 yards. and did it again. The guy next to me shocked me and asked me to "name my price" for my Encore, but I declined as I had really grown attached to that ML. It was the most beautiful gun I owned with rich deep bluing but especially because of the black walnut stock and forearm as T/C truly outdid themselves on the wood for that Encore. I also had killed my first bull elk with it on my first DIY ML elk hunt in NM back in the late 1990's.
Even though I had considerable amounts if BH209 on hand I bought a 5# jug several years ago just because I enjoy shooting all three of my non-smokeless inlines that much.

 

[FrontierGander]

BH209 is great, but its really just to expensive anymore for target shooting. Plus the rifle I was shooting, it would require a 209 conversion and I'd just look plain ol silly at rendezvous, shooting bh209 and 209 primers

 

[sourdough44]

Yes, I think one has to start with the propellant their shooting, then decide on cleaning methods/solutions.

Back in the Pyrodex days it was some form of 'soapy water', or a commercial product. I may later use some oil for preservation.

With B209 I just do the Hoppes 9 thing.

 

[Rick Richard]

For me it is just soapy water to clean followed by a swab of ballistol for storage. At the range when shooting, it is spit patch between every shot.

 

[Muddyboots]

I will also add don't try to get sabots "slicker" for more velocity. I added moly to outside of sabots, sticks great I might add and Holy Cow! Don't do that! Velocity all over the place! Accuracy? What accuracy? Scrubbed Encore barrel and accuracy finally came back. It was just a thought to try and dang! Elbow needed icing after scrubbing barrel!

 

[Cemetery21]

I'm just relearning BP with an inline, so I appreciate all the above. I used to shoot patched .45 round balls in a TC many years ago with excellent accuracy. Now I'm struggling to find the consistency with inline. Just scored some Blackhorn, finally, so I hope that's part of the cure.

 

[Rick Richard]

I'm just relearning BP with an inline, so I appreciate all the above. I used to shoot patched .45 round balls in a TC many years ago with excellent accuracy. Now I'm struggling to find the consistency with inline. Just scored some Blackhorn, finally, so I hope that's part of the cure.

Yeah, it takes the same experimenting in my opinion regardless if shooting with a patch or sabot to get that ultimate accuracy. with that said if I go in-line again, it will be with a bullet to bore fit...no sabot.

 

[Muddyboots]

BP rifles will tell you what works. The key is to record how you clean, prep and load so you can duplicate going forward. Then write it down! BH is the Go To for consistency and accuracy.