burnt patches?

[waksupi]

Does anyone use cream of wheat on top of powder ?

I've used it in revolvers over the powder, rather than greasing the chambers. I was able to shoot more cylinders before the gun would tie up with fouling. I see no use for it in a long gun.

[arcticap]

Does anyone use cream of wheat on top of powder ?

for a trad muzzleloader? like, why?? for what reason???

I don't use it.
But I recall seeing some competition single shot pistol shooters use semolina as a filler which is similar to cream of wheat.
It's like using a wool wad as a gas check.
Also for other possible reasons depending on the needs of the gun and the shooter.

[GregLaROCHE]

for a trad muzzleloader? like, why?? for what reason???

I’m living in France now. Here everyone uses it. Maybe semolina is a more correct term. Equal volume as powder poured on top of powder. I suppose it is to make a seal in place of a wad. If using a patch or not. No lube is used except saliva on a patch.

I’m talking about smooth bore. I can’t say about rifled barrels. These guys are real competitors. National Champions.

I’m just starting out and get most of my info from this forum. It seems so strange that two different methods are used in two different parts of the world.

[rfd]

packing on top of a pistol ball, sure - but a lubed wad or grease, nothing dry.

greglaroche - i dunno of anyone mixing grits with bp for a long gun here in the states, it's all patches and/or wads. or since it's a smoothie, does it have something to do with a shot load? maybe you euros can learn us about that.

[GregLaROCHE]

What are you meaning “shot load”? Amount of powder? I know they use a lot less than what the gun originally used.

[GregLaROCHE]

Maybe you were referring to bird or buck shot. Everyone is using round balls. The other thing is they don’t seem to pack them that tight. The ball and patch can easily be pushed down. Not like a lot of what I see being done on YouTube.

[rfd]

Maybe you were referring to bird or buck shot. Everyone is using round balls. The other thing is they don’t seem to pack them that tight. The ball and patch can easily be pushed down. Not like a lot of what I see being done on YouTube.

so ... charging with black powder, then with something non-powder like cream-of-wheat or semolina meal, then easily pushing down a ball to seat ... and this becomes a match winning load for at least a fair number of shooters?

is any lube used??

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ll double check on the lube, but I think only some saliva. I remember when I asked about lube, they said it just gunked up the barrel. I always thought the semolina was to make a seal. Maybe it cleans the bore from the previous shot too.

[rfd]

how do they keep the fouling soft - swab between firings?

better yet, what exactly are their load and firing processes from shot to shot?

[Dirty Kurty]

it sounds as if everything from spit to lard to machine coolant has been tried. Im gonna try Snuggles Fabric softener, 9-1 ratio while shirt ticking.. Maybe then Wifey won't be discouraged by the smell....9 parts distilled water to softener....

[GregLaROCHE]

how do they keep the fouling soft - swab between firings?

better yet, what exactly are their load and firing processes from shot to shot?

I’m going to my club tomorrow night and I’ll ask some direct questions and report back.

[triggerhappy243]

perhaps it is overkill, but I have used t/c #13 dampening a cleaning patch and swab between every shot. also use hoppes black powder solvent to dampen a patch.

[GregLaROCHE]

Ok. I confirmed that for the top competitions, in France, everyone loads BP by volume and the same volume of semolina, then a patch moistened mostly by putting it in their mouth, then the ball and everything is rammed home three or four times. No powder is put in the touch hole and very little priming powder. Everyone uses Swiss powder.

They don’t swab between shots, but a moistened patch around a ball must do close the same thing as Swabbing. I’ve heard some use water and dish detergent to moisten patches too.

I mentioned before that the balls weren't forced in. I didn’t mean they just dropped in, but could be pushed down without tapping.

I’ve heard that the new thing is loading balls the same diameter as the bore and not using patches. Not that most are doing it, but some top shooters are saying they get good results.

Might be interesting to try some of these semolina rounds without lube and see how they group.

I hope this confirms what I was saying before and maybe gives someone some new ideas.

[rfd]

Ok. I confirmed that for the top competitions, in France, everyone loads BP by volume and the same volume of semolina, then a patch moistened mostly by putting it in their mouth, then the ball and everything is rammed home three or four times. No powder is put in the touch hole and very little priming powder. Everyone uses Swiss powder.

They don’t swab between shots, but a moistened patch around a ball must do close the same thing as Swabbing. I’ve heard some use water and dish detergent to moisten patches too.

I mentioned before that the balls weren't forced in. I didn’t mean they just dropped in, but could be pushed down without tapping.

I’ve heard that the new thing is loading balls the same diameter as the bore and not using patches. Not that most are doing it, but some top shooters are saying they get good results.

Might be interesting to try some of these semolina rounds without lube and see how they group.

I hope this confirms what I was saying before and maybe gives someone some new ideas.

to confirm, this is solely for smoothbores and not rifled barrels?

it sounds like the semolina "wad" is doing a bore scrub.

an interesting perspective that's at least worth trialing.

[indian joe]

Ok. I confirmed that for the top competitions, in France, everyone loads BP by volume and the same volume of semolina, then a patch moistened mostly by putting it in their mouth, then the ball and everything is rammed home three or four times. No powder is put in the touch hole and very little priming powder. Everyone uses Swiss powder.

They don’t swab between shots, but a moistened patch around a ball must do close the same thing as Swabbing. I’ve heard some use water and dish detergent to moisten patches too.

I mentioned before that the balls weren't forced in. I didn’t mean they just dropped in, but could be pushed down without tapping.

I’ve heard that the new thing is loading balls the same diameter as the bore and not using patches. Not that most are doing it, but some top shooters are saying they get good results.

Might be interesting to try some of these semolina rounds without lube and see how they group.

I hope this confirms what I was saying before and maybe gives someone some new ideas.

Dunno what creme of wheat is or looks like but semolina as we see it is lil grits maybe a mm size maybe a tad bigger - its made from high protein durham wheat so the likely both work similar in a barrel ?
We shot semolina filler in pistols for a good while - worked good but I never liked the idea - plus fiddling around with two flasks.
This just might be a real good trick for heavy hunting loads????

[GregLaROCHE]

Semolina is the stuff they are using, not cream of wheat.0

[GregLaROCHE]

I know this is for smooth bore. I can’t say that they don’t use it in rifled bores. I didn’t ask. It could work too. I get more info on that next time.

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

cream of wheat acts likes a felt wad, protects the patch, helps seal up excessive gasses, protects the base of conical bullets, etc. Its cheaper than wads but much slower to reload with imo. Doesnt matter if its smoothbore or rifled, you may benefit from either the cream of wheat or wad as far as accuracy goes. When I start shooting hotter loads and get those little tiny burn holes in the patch, down goes a wad, then the patched round ball. Keeps that patch nicely protected.

[TheOutlawKid]

Triggerhappy....everytime i clean my guns only distilled water is used due to our tap water being so full of nasty stuff...lots of solids and a stinky sulfur smell some times. No one drinks the water down here. Any time i have experimented with different mixes that included water...distilled water was used. I havw many spray bottles filled with different experiments i tried as cleaners. It doesnt take a lot of water or cleaner to clean a gun. Ive tried balistol and water mixes, dawn dishsoap with water etc....LA Awesome was the best that has ever worked and even cleaned some white plastic/vinyl pipe cleaners that had been made permanently blackened from black powder fouling mixed with oils and fats. Dawn wouldnt clean them all that well..tried other cleaners...then tried brake cleaner and it helped clean them brushes up a bit but they werent pristine clean...then i tried a cleaner called "LA Awesome" found at Dollar stores, it cleaned the brushes back to perfectly white again. Now i have a small spray bottle that is 50/50 LA Awesome and water. It cuts through fouling and grime extremely well but is gentle on steel, bluing, and skin. And for my lube and rust preventer and preserver i have switched to a product called Fluid Film made from lanolin and contains no solvents and is all natural and worka great witj black powder guns. I tried cleaning one gun with nothing but Fluid..no water or cleaner...just some patches and bore brush with fluid film and i had no rust whatsoever and thats cuz i was using homemade percussion caps that are corrosive. Not a speck of rust anywhere. I always thought water was needed to clean the salts away...but.fluid film worked cleaning it all away. I let that gun sit for weeks testing it and nothing...kept using it and with homemade corrosive caps and only cleaning with fluid film and i have yet to see rust. But that was just a test to see how good it works. But as for my regular routine i clean with 50/50 LA Awesome with distilled water then lube/preserve with Fluid Film. Check those two items out guys...i highly recommend.

[TheOutlawKid]

Oh...also for a good patch lube i use raw shea butter. Its a fatty buttery oil that comes from a nut. Its used in cosmetics and lotions for dry skin etc...its amazing as a lube. Only use the raw form...i still have a brick of the stuff..mixes well with waxes and other oils etc if you want to make a bullet lube. Its actually my secret ingredient for my lubes i use on my guns. Ive only read of a few people using it for guns and they had major success..one guy on reddit used it in his 9mm with great success too but his would have worked better had he added beeswax. But it works great by itself on patches and any black powder lube recipe