Dacron over powder

[Tatume]

Hello Folks,

Of all my muzzleloaders, only one burns patches. It is a very nice 62 caliber flintlock. I've been using felt over-powder wads in this gun, and they work very well. But I wanted to try something different. As I haven't been able to find any hornet's nest, I decided to try some dacron. It worked. But then I cleaned the gun, and it was a chore! People say this stuff doesn't burn, but it was a gooey mess! It took a long time, and many, many patches, before it came clean.

Never again; I'll stick with felt wads. The lesson of the day is don't believe everything you read, in print magazines or on the Internet.

Take care, Tom

[waksupi]

Is it actually burning the patches, or cutting them? If burning, I would try a different material and lube. If cutting, I would consider some lapping.

[405]

Don't know where the info about using dacron over BP came from but most of it on this forum is about using dacron over smokeless as a filler not a wad. Never tried dacron and never saw any need to for any of my BPCRs or MLs using blackpowder. The only talk I've seen lately is on using various materials to fill and reduce loads in the 577/450 BPCR- a discussion I stay away from. For certain applications in muzzleloaders I use a felt wad under a PRB or a hard card wad under a flat base conical. Really no need to use any kind of filler in a muzzleloader. If your patches are being cut by a sharp land edge... I wouldn't worry about it unless it affects accuracy. Sometimes that is just a product of a nice, new bore. Over time, with enough shooting, it will lap itself smooth without doing anything else. If it is burning/blowing out then a wad can help. Then again, I have shot some MLs with some PRB combinations that continually cut or burn holes in patches yet maintain top accuracy.

[Tatume]

Of all my muzzleloaders, only one burns patches. It is a very nice 62 caliber flintlock. I've been using felt over-powder wads in this gun, and they work very well to prevent burn through. Dacron does not work.

[Boerrancher]

My TC Hawken will cut the patches every time. All of my patches that I have recovered have six small slits in them. It doesn't seem to effect the accuracy of the rifle any so I haven't bothered to attempt to change anything. I have used both ticking and muslin for patches and both get cut, so I gave up and just keep shooting it. Is it a target rifle? No, but I would not hesitate to drop the hammer on a deer out to 100 yards with out any problems.

I would see how well it shoots with out the felt wad and see if adding the wad makes enough of a difference to worry about. Sorry you had to learn the hard way about dacron and black powder the hard way.

Best wishes,

Joe

[405]

Tatume,
Also, if you do want to lap or smooth the bore a little, a couple of the least aggressive ways I know of would be to fire lap it a few times with either a thick paper instead of the cloth patch or to lube the cloth patch with JBs. Those two methods run near zero risk of over doing it. For best results shoot maybe 5 times with either method, use light loads and clean between shots.

[Tatume]

I would see how well it shoots without the felt wad and see if adding the wad makes enough of a difference to worry about. Sorry you had to learn about dacron and black powder the hard way.

Best wishes,

Joe

Hi Joe,

I've tried it without the felt wads, which is why I know it burns holes in the patches. Accuracy is terrible. With the wads, no holes in the patches, closely grouped holes in the target!

I'm going to keep looking for a jug hornet's nest this winter.

PM sent.

Take care, Tom

[Boerrancher]

Tom,

I usually find the Hornets nests around the month of August while I am brush hogging with the tractor. :shock: If I find any I will keep you in mind and go collect them after a good hard freeze. I know my Great, Great Grandfather, according to my grandmother, would only use hornets nests in his old 20ga smooth bore trade gun when he was shooting shot out of it. All of the old timers in the neighborhood when I was a kid use to joke about how they thought that old trade gun was a permanent appendage to the old man, as no one ever saw him with out it. He never owned a cartridge gun. I guess he figured if he couldn't do the job with his muzzle loader he didn't have any business shooting at it.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Hanshi]

I'll share a little secret I discovered a few years ago. Use a loose wad of plain toilet paper (any brand). When fired the toilet paper wad turns into a puff of "snow" and does not burn. In my guns it works as good as felt wads, wasp nest (I have a big hornet nest) and other fillers. It's almost dirt cheap and you'll be ready for any, ahem, emergency.:Luvcastboolits:

[Longwood]

I had patches getting burned, blown apart, and slit until I finally found the right thickness of cotton for patches.
No pre cut patches of any brand that I tried would work for one of my rifles.
When you do find the correct size you may be amazed at how much your accuracy improves.
Go back and buy a lot when you finally find it.

[nanuk]

as I can't get the Holy Black up here, I use Pyrodex.

I only shoot conicals, and found a golfball sized (or a bit larger) fluff of dacron really helps

I've never had an issue with cleaning, no melted globs in the bore