I was informed on this forum sometime back that a fitted breech would leak like a sieve.
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=5706.30These are just as they came from the barrels about an hour ago. Not shot a lot, probably 20 rounds or so each with 75 grains or FFF Swiss & 495 RB.
These were assembled with aluminum type anti-seize they were made and fitted in 1993 but I pulled and reinstalled the breeches maybe 2 years ago.
Note that there is no powder fouling anywhere. They were cleaned by pouring soapy water in the bores and they sloshing it back and forth wiped with a wet patch and repeat then dry.
They don't leak fouling or gases. The fact that they are patent style breeches means they are sealed at the rear as well, but plain breeches seal the same way if installed right.
I replaced the barrel on the 16 bore and it had been shot probably 100 rounds with 140-170 grains or powder. When I pulled the breech, no leakage.
Unlike the plug I pictured on this thread.
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=6690.0The thing that most miss about all this is the fouling and oil trap that breeches such as the one linked to above create.
People whine because there ML don't fire right, they complain that its hard to clean etc etc, when the reason may well be a ring of unreachable crud in the breech due to slopply breeching. I have disassembled some factory guns that had 3/4" plugs that had a gap between the plug and the end of the bore.
The produces things like this from the fouling that can't be removed.
I have pulled old plugs, circa 1850 double barrel in this case, and had the fit be so loose when attempting to reinstall that the plug would turn in well past its proper index point. So sometimes things DON'T work out well when pulling plugs.
I guess what confounds me here is the "doing it right is too much trouble" attitude that infects many of the posters here.
Just because someone did sloppy/poor quality work "back in the day" is not reason to recreate it.
Dan
