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This is why it's good to have a handy pal to ask.

We are all looking forward to your range report with great agogment.

PLEASE do NOT copy the guy over on muzzleloading forum with the stuck Minié ball due to lack of lubricant. SEVEN eye-bleeding pages later, he got it out.

So slap that lube on like you got it for nothing.
 
PLEASE do NOT copy the guy over on muzzleloading forum with the stuck Minié ball due to lack of lubricant. SEVEN eye-bleeding pages later, he got it out.
Lube IS important however Lack of lube would not have prevented the Minie' ball from leaving the barrel if it were properly charged.

Did he 'dry ball' it?

Plus some of the things I have read on the ML forum posted by seemingly 'experienced' ML shooters with regard to stuck bullets/balls, and what they did to try to get them out defy comprehension.
 
This is why it's good to have a handy pal to ask.

We are all looking forward to your range report with great agogment.

PLEASE do NOT copy the guy over on muzzleloading forum with the stuck Minié ball due to lack of lubricant. SEVEN eye-bleeding pages later, he got it out.

So slap that lube on like you got it for nothing.
Got a bag of cleaning equipment today and a nice Delring cleaning rod and other stuff. Im going to clean out the bore real good rod. I'd be embarrassed as all hell if I had a hang fire. For sure there'll be no oil in the barrel. Alcohol and 50/50 Ballistol/water? Powder and caps will come Saturday but let's see if the caps fit 🙃
 
Lube IS important however Lack of lube would not have prevented the Minie' ball from leaving the barrel if it were properly charged.

Did he 'dry ball' it?

Plus some of the things I have read on the ML forum posted by seemingly 'experienced' ML shooters with regard to stuck bullets/balls, and what they did to try to get them out defy comprehension.
It was stuck on the way DOWN, not UP.
 
'd be embarrassed as all hell if I had a hang fire. For sure there'll be no oil in the barrel. Alcohol and 50/50 Ballistol/water?
To keep from getting a hang fire....
Before shooting... with your unloaded rifle....simply fire a couple two , three or so caps...this will drive out any oil from the flash channel or barrel.
No need for any special mixes here.....
You only need to bust a few caps before shooting your first round..no need after that.

Edit to add...for the first clean of the bore....
Maybe just some Ballistol wet patches....then after those come clean...a dry patch run down the bore....
Andy
 
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Yep I bought the wrong ones. I bought the ones without the wings on the cal.
Just so you know there are non-winged musket caps as well.

Also depending on your ball/patch combination or the bullets you will be shooting you may find the need to swab your barrel after a few shots. You will have to wait until your shoot it to determine the number of shots and difficulty of loading before the swab.

This is best done with a bore 'mop' such as normally used for shotgun cleaning. I use the 16 ga. size for my Zouave and a mixture of Windex and Murphy's oil soap 50/50 but other things will work as well. You don't want a 'sloppy' dripping mop for the swab - just damp is all is needed. You are not 'cleaning' it just keeping the buildup to a minimum while shooting.

You can make an effective mop as well. Take about a .45 cal rifle bronze bristle brush and cut a length of flannel material the length of the brush and start to 'roll it around the brush until it is big enough to fit the barrel snugly. Cut the rest off and you have a pretty effective 'mop' and once you wet it and use it once the material will stay stuck the the brush well and you can just unscrew it and keep it in you shooting box.
 
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PLEASE do NOT copy the guy over on muzzleloading forum with the stuck Minié ball due to lack of lubricant. SEVEN eye-bleeding pages later, he got it out.
I finally looked at that thread and the first post after the OPs was exactly what I would have said if no one else had.

If it is pure soft lead you should be able to pound it down to the powder charge and shoot it. Hammer time.

However not really knowing the OPs experience he could have used the wrong size bullet, maybe trying to load an overly dirty gun, or as said by some he might have wedged the skirt causing it to get stuck even worse - and I have seen this happen when people try to use a considerably smaller diameter rod to try to pound a bullet down. In this situation one needs a rod slightly smaller than the bore diameter to provide maximum surface area to hopefully get it to move.
 
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We all have to learn.............and inevitably we'll all make mistakes along the way. However, taking on something as arcane and complex - yes, that's what I wrote - complex - as muzzleloading requires the presence of a second person who knows exactly what they are doing to show the noob.

Loading an shooting a cartridge-shooting firearm is something that most able-bodied people can do without much help.

Going through the numbers with a brand-new-to-muzzle-loading noob is essential. There really ARE a dozen things that can go badly wrong VERY fast.
 
To keep from getting a hang fire....
Before shooting... with your unloaded rifle....simply fire a couple two , three or so caps...this will drive out any oil from the flash channel or barrel.
No need for any special mixes here.....
You only need to bust a few caps before shooting your first round..no need after that.

Edit to add...for the first clean of the bore....
Maybe just some Ballistol wet patches....then after those come clean...a dry patch run down the bore....
Andy
Yes I will pop a few caps before I put powder and ball.
Yep I have everything now except the muzzle caps. Let's see if those one's fit. My fingers are crossed.
I'll make a trip to Bass Pro for a bottle of Ballistol & Bore Butter. The SPG is on the way too.
I went to a Mountain Man Shoot Sunday. It was a lot of fun shooting his .54 cal. Because he let me shoot his rifle he didn't qualify for the $. So I pretty much have the routine down.
Man it was hot in the San Bernardino mountains. 96 degrees by 11am so I left. E6DFAD61-1715-44EF-9D8F-AF5AD72B23D3.jpeg 2CDD314B-9628-424C-8AE4-04C23D9360C3.png E6DFAD61-1715-44EF-9D8F-AF5AD72B23D3.jpeg C8612D5F-D3F6-4D99-A372-476CEC3340D1.png
 
Yes it was fun but man those mountains look dry as heck don't they?
The people there belong to a club called Mountain Man Black Powder Club. The dress period and shoot only Jerimia Johnson type rifles. I don't own one so I'm not gonna join.
I took my rifle outside so the oil will soak up on the dry metal. I did a slight wipe down and will try take a picture of it tomorrow. Brasso does work from my experience in the Army and the brass looks very good now😁 Fingers looked a little green though lol
 
@Smallfry
In regards to the club....
Did they say that you can't join 'cause of your rifle...?
Most muzzle loading clubs are happy to get new members...and welcome even so called Civil War guns to their shoots.

I ask because you can read , watch a you tube video , ask for help on here....
But actually shooting with someone who has muzzle loading experience is extremely valuable.
If it was me...I'd think about joining , if my rifle was allowed , even if it ain't a "mountain man" rifle.
Andy
 
Well got her all cleaned up for the shoot and it shot pretty good at 25 yards prone. I have one of those coffees makes that plugs into your cigarette lighter and the water was hit as heck.
Some of the mini's felt tight but went down. The rabbit didn't have a chance lol 😁. But the battleships were tough. That rifle is heavy.
Yes I did detail it good and still looks pretty clean after but now it's time to have a cold soda 😁
I gave my #11 percussion caps to my bud and the 4 prong caps worked as expected.
I try doing my own casting with the Lyman mold I scored on eBay. Now I wait for the 10 pound Lee pot and see what happens.
Second time shooting BP and I like it 👍
Man it was hot today at the Route 66 Shooting Range in the San Bernardino mountains.

60BF8F92-D924-4128-9C51-AE83C82F5EDB.jpeg
 

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