I am a lifelong shooter & hunter, but new to black powder. I would appreciate some recommendations, both in general and specifically on loading my rifle. The rifling is one turn in 52"& about .015 deep. It is hard to measure the rifling as there are seven groves. From the top of a land to the bottom of the opposing groove is .462. What size ball & patch and what powder granulation & charge should I start with? Are any of the black powder substitutes suitable for flintlocks, which my rifle is? Thanks in advance for any input.
You will likely find .440-.445 ball and a heavy ticking patch will work. Denim is another patch option.
There are 2 BIG name "replica" powders that are *aggressively corrosive* relative to BP. They contain high levels of potassium perchlorate and the fouling has ruined barrels literally overnight in some cases.
Thus you are better off buying BP even if you have to have it shipped in rather than using the other stuff.
None of the "replicas" really work with a flinter anyway and priming and booster must be BP.
Patch lubes are often a matter of shooting style and climate.
I don't use water based lubes, some really like them, its a choice. I use Bear, Sperm Whale oil or *pure Neatsfoot oil* (no petroleum additives or "compound) as a patch lube. Sometimes a grease. Any of these mixed 1 part beeswax to 2-3 parts oil by weight will give a soft grease that will work well. I have also used SPG bullet lube. SPG requires wiping between shots but it shoots very well in the one rifle I tried it in when used as a match rifle.
Cleaning bp fouling does not require hot water, tepid to cool/cold is fine. I mix Windex with vinegar to water 1 part to 2-3 water as a solvent. It works very well. I like a little soap to help cut any left over oil/grease. Too much soap makes too much suds.
Corrosive substitutes do need fairly hot water and a lot of it.
Flint guns with no hooked breech are best cleaned by removing the lock and plugging the vent with a round toothpick, unless its very large this should seal it if tapped with a knife handle or such.
Pour in enough solvent to fill the bore 6-10". Put a finger/thumb over the muzzle and up end the rifle 2-3 times to slosh the solvent in the bore. Dump and wet patch 2-3 times then repeat the slosh treatment.
This will wash out the active ingredients in the fouling. Wet patch with 4-5 patches. If it seems dirty with wet patches do the slosh thing again then wet patch 3-4 times they should look pretty clean. Dry patch 2-3 times till fairly dry then pull the toothpick to work air through the bore. When fairly dry shoot some WD-40 in the vent, not a lot, use the little tube with the WD40 can, then shoot some in the muzzle and wipe one time with a dry patch.
Now really hose it with WD-40 and let it drain down till the vent shows WD-40. Then stand muzzle down for an hour or 2 then wipe the bore and oil it with a preservative oil.
Wipe fouling from lock and oil lightly at all bearing points. Just a drop here and there is plenty.
With a hooked breech put the breech in a bucket of tepid water than run a wet patch down the bore and up 5-6 times. Repeat with 2-3 more patches then follow the dry process above.
Sounds pretty labor intensive but having recently spent 3 hours mining carbon and copper from a 223 I bought I can assure you its easier than getting a modern gun clean.
DO NOT foul the bore with a blank before loading when hunting, this causes misfires.
To dry a bore before going hunting I wash it with denatured alcohol then wipe dry. Load with an oiled or greased patch. This will protect the bore better than the others.
Do not fall for the "we shot a 1000 shots and never cleaned and had no rust" BS in some advertising.
If the gun is kept in low humidity it will not corrode when used with BP. Below 30% relative humidity BP fouling "goes to sleep". So if testing is done in a lab or air conditioned shooting house the gun used with BP made from pure ingredients is unlikely to rust no matter the lube so long as the testers control the atmosphere.
Dan
