Rusty Bore!

[StumpJumper]

Well being the procrastinator I am I finally cleaned my ML last night. I bought it used and knew it was dirty. Well some of that dirt was rust. :(
Almost to the end of the barrel theres a couple nice chunky spots of rust that I scrubbed and scrubbed on, but I couldn't get it off. I'm pretty sure it's pitted into the bore. There's also a little chunk anout 2/3 of the way in. I suppose this is going to throw off my accuracy! I bought Rem. 275gr Sabots and plan on using a 100gr charge. I'm not sure if that's enough of a charge for those heavy slugs or not.
I'm going shooting here in a bit, I'll report back on my fortune/misfortune!

[stoney]

I would think you would have a problem.
I bought my first muzzel loader used. t/c newenglander.
I bought from a friend who let it sit for 2 years without cleaning it.
It was quit a mess, I had to buy a 45cal brush just to get it to fit down a 50cal bore. I cleaned it the best I could, there was alot of pitting in the rifleing. As It turned out it was still very accurate.
One problem with it though, You never know if it will fire or not.
I would say that it has about a 25% chance of it going off when hunting. If you take it to the range and get it to fire once, it always shoot after that.
Well after shooting at deer a couple of different times and just the cap going off I went and bought a Knight.
Stoney

[wolverinelk93]

SJ what kind of muzzloader is it you can buy after market barrels through Cabelas or Bass pro shop Knight also carries them actually they make them. They have a 1/28 twist and fit a variety of guns.

[StumpJumper]

It's a Remingtom 700 and there's no worries! I shot the rust right out of it! I shot a 2" group at 100yds! I was very impressed with the accuracy. The only problem I seem to have is when I run a patch down it in between shots It gets stuck when I shove it all the way in. I think maybe the patches are too big. Anyone else ever have that?

[wolverinelk93]

Mine gets stuck in my knight also just don't swab all the way down the barrel

[Banditto]

I was wondering when somebody was going to suggest shooting the gun...

[BEAGLEMAN]

StumpJumper,
Are you using a jag with your patch while cleaning or a brush?
My TC Black Diamond does that once in awhile,I think it is hanging up on my breechplug. It's a pain because I have to remove the striker bolt,nipple and breechplug to free it.:mad:

[Bow_Hunter]

Why is it that Ml seems to need more TLC then my other guns? It seems that every year, no matter what I do with my ML the last time I use it, it needs a lot more work on it then my other guns?

[StumpJumper]

I'm using a jag. I don't know whether there's some exposed threads down there or what. I have to take it all apart too. That's not very user friendly when you're out shooting is it?

[BvrTamer]

Unfortunately, the heaviest fouling seems to occur right at the point of ignition near the breech plug. I would suggest investing in a "T-handle" for your ramrod, or buy a whole seperate rod called a "range rod" for cleaning/swabbing. The T-handle or the range rod will give you a heck of alot more leverage and grip and allow you to get down near the breech plug without getting the jag/rod stuck in the barrel.

Hope this helps. Regards.

[BEAGLEMAN]

BvrTamer,
on mine it's not the fouling. I have the T-handle,
I think it's like StumpJumper says it's hanging up on something.

[BvrTamer]

My other guess would be that there is an irregularity in the machining of the bore. Maybe it is a couple thousandths of an inch tighter near your breech plug which causes the cleaning jag to get stuck. I'm not sure how you would check for this, I would consider have a gunsmith look at it.

Regards.

[StumpJumper]

What it is is theres a space between where the breech plug ends and where the rifling starts. The patch gets caught in there. I don't know if that's considered a powder chamber or what.

LOL as far as a T handle goes, I had to use a 3' pry bar with a nail puller in one end, stand on it and stick the lip of the ram-rod in there and used every bit of my strength to get it out. I almost didn't! If that happens to anyone I suggest pulling out the breech plug!

[Randy Kidd]

There should NOT be a space between the breechplug and the rifeling. The diamater of the bore should be pretty close to perfect all the way down to the plug, Shooting this gun may cause the breech to blow off or the barrel to split at the breech end, What this space is doing is acting like an expansion chamber. The pressure has more room to build up before it starts pushing the bullet down the barrel, This is a very dangerous situation. Blackpowder rifles are not built to take this kind of pressure. My guess is that since you bought this gun used is that someone replaced the stock breechplug with a nonstandard one and it does not fit correctly. It is probably too short which is leaving exposed threads and this opening you are talking about A proper fitting plug should go in all the way to the shoulder so it will not leave any gaps inside the breech or out. A patch should go all the way down to the plug just as easy as it goes down the bore. Any hangups means something is wrong somewhere And I would not shoot this rifle until it is checked by a competent gunsmith who is familiar with blackpowder firearms.

[steelslam]

i just read all these posts about black powder guns. man i got shivers on my back that some of these guns are taken hunting or even shot without being looked at by a good gun smith. guns that go off once for every four attemps. 50 cal. brush cant go down a barrel too rusy to put only a .45 wire brush down the bore. other rust an gapes in the barrels. wooow. ive been shooting black powder since 1978 an my guns are as shinny as a glass mirror in the bores. i have two 50 cal rifles an 2 pistols .45 an .44. an good black powder shop is in auburn. called ya old black powder shop.

[StumpJumper]

NOOOOOOoooooooo............. I didn't want to hear that! But I really appreciate it. It's been shot enough and didn't blow up,but now I'm worried! I think there's a space in there but I'm not sure. I can't think of anything else that would make it hang up besides getting caught where the rifling starts.:eek:

[ice fishin' nut]

Stumpjumper,,,,

Dont feel too bad, after reading the posts(your post before Randy Kidds) I took out my 50 cal Kentucky Long Rifle that has'nt been shot for about 6 years cause I thought that the barrel was too rusty and wouldnt work, or worse yet, that it would blow up.

I went up to Alpena on Saturday morning for the muzzleloader season, and my buddy and I went to the dump for some target practice. It was only 8 in the morning, and we didnt plan on hunting till the afternoon. For my first shot, I only loaded 70 grains of powder, with a real greasy maxi ball....... The gun went off with the first cap, and it didnt blow up!!!!!!

I was tickled!!!! I love that gun, and it shoots wonderfully!!! 4 out of 5 shots, offhand,,,, I can bust clay pigeons at 100 yards with iron sights!!!!! My treasured baby was ok, and working.....

Being all confident and such, I poured the normal 110 grains of powder, and seated the patch and ball...... The gun went off again, and again didnt blow up!!!!! Ive got it made for sure!!!! The only problem is that its hitting about 7 inches high.......

Long story short, I had to go down to 90 grains of powder to bring my rifle back in tune..... I figured no big deal at the time....

I dont know if you are familiar with the CVA K. L. Rifle kit, but when you sight the gun in, for fine tuning, you have to file the front sight down, and windage is adjusted by tapping the sight right or left, then peening it in place..... It isnt, or should I say was'nt like the newer rifles where you can turn screws for your adjustments......

That gun "ALWAYS" took 110 grains with a patch and ball, and I do mean "ALWAYS" I bet that I have shot that gun over 1000 times, and 110 was the ticket!!!!

We went back to my buddys parents house, and cleaned the guns throughly,, and went back to the dump for some more target practice,,,,,, I was thinking that maybe the gun needed to be cleaned and "Bore Buttered" then it would start shooting like its old self again.......

WRONG!!!!!!!! 1 shot with 110 grains and it was still hitting 7 inches high!!!!! I took 1 more shot with 90 grains, and it hit right on......

I knew the barrel was runied, or something was wrong,,,, I have shot Black Powder for quite awhile, and 20 grains does make a difference,,,,

I will be bringing the gun to a gunsmith tommorow to hopefully(NOT) confirm that the barrel is bad, but I think that I already know the out come......

But I still had fun shooting my newly built Flintlock Kentucky Pistol!!!!

Please have that gun checked,,, it could have blown up in your face, as could have my "Betsy"


IFN:(

[StumpJumper]

:eek: :eek: Mine only had a couple LITTLE rust spots in it!!:eek: :eek:

But I was still worried that it might affect performance. It didn't.