IIRC - the "seasoning" 'shift' was solely presented by advertising 'outfits' to get people to buy that scented lib balm as a patch lube - The "suggestion" of seasoning like a cast iron frying pan was that once they bought that stuff and "seasoned" their bores, they didn't have to do that awful chore of cleaning their barrels - or the barrels would clean easier. The suggestive advertising was that "seasoning" would protect them from rust and corrosion.
Today many people getting into the sport and not wanting to spend good money on a new rifle in case they don't like it, purchase a 'used' production ML that went through the 'seasoned hype period' - cleaned or not and usually if cleaned, not cleaned well (never dismantled) by once a year (spl. season) shooters - these guns invariably have rough bores, some are downright rotten from lack of cleaning or from buying the hype of Pyrodex - YIKES! These new shooters cannot seem to load snug combinations and have to wipe the bores often can only be loaded with uselessly loose combinations balls such as .010" and .005" undersize balls with .010" & .012" patches that barely 'touch' the tops of the lands - then wonder why their guns shoot & foul so badly - then they lose interest & it's mostly due to poor intel received from listening to salesperson hype - these very people who know nothing about the sport, except what they've read of packaging from companies who have a 'super product' to sell to the unsuspecting.
Get a new barrel and install it - be done with this seasoning BS - do some research on crowning the muzzle so you can load an effective, accurate combination such as .005" under bore size and a heavily compressed denim patch measuring .022". This load is a good start and actually shoots well in every rifle I have tried it in - in some, it is the BEST load possible other than going to an over-bore-size ball and the same patch.
One merely has to find the powder charge your gun likes with (.005 under + .022" patch) this combination. Not kidding - every gun I have tried this combination in, shoots VERY well. From there, experiment with thicker patches and more powder, usually, for even better accuracy.
If you think squib loads (light) give the best accuracy, check the loads the Bench-Rest, Chunk, Cross-stick and Plank Shooters are using. You will not find loads anywhere near bore size and some of these contests are at 50 to 60yards only.
If you only shoot at 25 yards - and lots of people do, about any decent load will make a single small hole for 5 shots, barley double ball size. It's when you step out to 50 yards and further, that dedicated load development must be performed on your rifle - if you want to be in the winner's circle, that is.
