patent breech

[buffalo]

This has probably been covered before but i,ll ask again,how does one shoot multiply shots  with a patent breech,i have a lyman in 54(flinter)that is fairly accurate but it gums up after a couple shots, in a match where 20 shots are fired i can,t make it under the time limit because of the cleaning.i usually start an finish with a 58 yeager that i built from a kit,but i have 2 others that i like to shoot but  cannot use them in any match, thanks in advance

[northmn]

Questions:  What powder granualtion, what charge, what brand?  Do you shoot a tight patch or a looser one?  What is your loading technique? I used to have a rifle that liked a range of powder charges and seemed to like a reasonable charge to clean things out.

DP

[Dave Faletti]

What do you do for cleaning and oiling the bore?  Heavier oils in the passageway of the breach don't clean out or burn up that well.  That makes a makes a mess that will keep the next powder charge from working its way down.  I have patents breaches on  several rifles and don't have troubles until 25 shots or more.

[buffalo]

seems to like 3f goex only,(goex ,thats all i use)hunting charge 80grs, plinken 50 to 60 grns, patch for cleaning tight,at a shoot i usually clean every other shot ,i spit then i dry, rock bevel down,leather wrap, if the flint gets dull i replace it than knap when i get home,my yeager with a green mt barrel an chamber lock does not give me any trouble(thats after i figured out flinters were not  like caplocks)

[roundball]

I've seen a few posts over the years about the problem on some Lymans which was resolved by drilling out the powder chamber in the P/B to a larger diameter.
By contrast, every T/C muzzleloader I own, plus the new Early Virginia with its patent breech plug, lets me shoot my range sessions without wiping between shots or doing any cleaning of the patent breeches...typically range session is 50 shots

[buffalo]

powder chamber??remove the breech plug,?? how do i enlarge the powder chamber,i have access  to laths

[Daryl]

Not sure what the problem might be.  I have 4 guns with patent breeches - used with powder charges from 82gr. 2F to 165gr. 2F. Non of these guns fouls the breech at all. None of these guns needs wiping for an entire day's shooting - which could be from 20 to 85 shots - with only a minor buildup of fouling in the breech area, which prevents the rod from seating the ball as deeply in the bore after many shots- about up to 3/16"" on the rod difference is all.

Do you wipe often, then shove the fouling down into the breech?

Not wiping at all prevents that form happening. Using a tight combination that does not allow any fouling buildup in the bore, prevents having to wipe during a shooting session.  Having a smoothly chamfered and polished crown allows using a tight combination without cutting the patch at the muzzle.

[Harnic]

I'm pretty much on the same page as Daryl here only I use only GOEX 3f powder for 54 cal & smaller.  Maybe one of Jim Chambers fine "White Lightning" touch hole liners would solve your problem.  It's a relatively cheap, easy first step for sure.  Mine's drilled out with a 1/16" drill & I've never had any "gum" form at all.  Make sure your breech is clean & oil/solvent free before you fire the first shot.

[crispy]

I have a 50 cal lyman GP in flint ,while I have a white lightnin 5/16 vent liner, the rest of the powder channel in the breech plug is stock. I shoot 60 to 70 grns of 3F, and regularly go 30 to 50 shots without cleaning,,, there is a build -up of fouling in the breech plug channel , and I have gotten into a habit of rapping on the barrel to help shake the powder down that long passage. I often pick the vent before loading to be sure there is nottin lodged there .Oh yeah it shoots alright with this light load .

[markwi]

I have two GPR in 54 cal. and a GM barrel in 40 cal. I normally do not wipe between shots. When I do clean it, every time I'm done for the day, I use a 30 cal . brush to get down into the breech  and clean it out. I make sure its clean as Roundball has said many times. It works for me. Mark ( one is flint and the other is percussion.

[Jerry V Lape]

Buffalo, you may be having the same problem I created for myself when I first started muzzleloading.  I was using a pretty soggy  patch to wipe between shots and then drying with another patch.  If you are wiping with a soggy patch you will make gunk and push it to breech area where it will clog everything up.  I struggled greatly with misfires.  Now I barely get moisture on the patch that I wipe with, just a little mist on the outside,  and I also reduced the diameter of my jag a little so the patch isn't pushing much ahead of it on the way in.  This has solved my problem with misfires. I can shoot this way very steady all morning w/o problems. 

I think you may also want to try other lubricants too.  If you are using the grease based lubes, which are best for hunting, you may want to develop a target range lube which is a lot thinner.  Try something like spit or Ballistol cut about 4:1. 

[Daryl]

Another problem is perhaps, not removing the barrel for cleaning - by that I mean dunking the breech into a container of water and flushing the water in and out of the vent or nipple seat, nipple removed. Flushing the water in and out with force disolves the fouling in the breech and blasts it out the hole.  Failure to do this, leaves a cake of fouling in the patent breech which will continue to build until the gun is completely foued. Wiping between shots or often will contribute to this 'problem' as Jerry pointed out.

[Mad Monk]

Another round with Photobucket here.

This is a Lyman breech plug sectioned in half.  A T/C breechplug would be identical.

The nose of the breech plug screws into the rear of the barrel.  So the so-called powder chamber is smaller than the bore.  In a .50 caliber bore (1/2") the powder chamber is about 3/8" in diameter.

This photo shows the stock vent liner in place which was also sectioned in half at the same time the barrel and breech plug was sectioned in half.

I posted this simply to show what one looks like inside.

Nice computer mouse pad!

Bill K.

[Daryl]

TKs, Bill.  I did not know the 'chamber' was that long.  The only positive I see with this design, is that with a dry-ball (no powder) load it would be impossible to push the ball down to where it would close off the powder channel, which prevents 4F from being dribbled it to fire out the D-ball. 

[buffalo]

Thanks guy,s, wow!!!! thats a lotta info to digest, ist thing i,ll make a couple smaller jags an go from there,hopefully the snow will be gone by months end,there  are not many rock shooters in my neck of the woods an a forum like this is a godsend

[Daryl]

Great- ain't it.