Green Residue on Hawken 50 Cal Patches ?????

[oldracer]

Took the Hawken muzzle loader out today to finish the sight in of the tang rear and globe front sight set I put on it. I was also experimenting with different methods of working with the ball, I. E. path w/o extra lube or patch w/ extra lube, etc.

I wiped the bore out prior to the 1st set of shots and after 4 patches they were clean. After several fire rounds I wiped once again and there was a pretty good build up of residue and in looking closely at it, I saw a green tint to it? After a few more set of 5 rounds the cleaned well again with Ballistol and patches and they came out with a green tint again each time and then get clear??!!

I am using Goex FFg, the same as I use in my 45-70 and never saw any grren tint in those guns? I am shooting commercial round balls which have turned a lighter grey color over the several years I have had them so I figure oxidation? There has never been any copper in the bore? Anyone have any ideas?

[Czech_too]

I use Goex with a spit patch and don't notice any kind of green coloration on a cleaning patch. I would suspect that it's whatever kind of lube you're using on the patch that's leaving it. I can't see the oxidation on the RB causing it.

[451 Pete]

I would tend to agree with Czech that the lube is probably causing it. You didn't say what you were using for a lube but if you are getting a lot of fouling after only a few shots that lube is not working the way it should and I would try something else.

Pete

[frontier gander]

lube was my first thought as well. Over lubing can cause excess build up and poor accuracy.

[405]

My first thought- Are you getting decent accuracy with what you are doing? or Is the green tint bothering you?

That green tint could be coming from the lube oxidizing something that is copper or brass.... lube container, lid, spout, rod jag, etc.. Also, over time I've had lubes take on some color. One time I figured it was a slow reaction between the detergent (or dye in the detergent) and some other chem in the lube. I know when I played a little with T/C "multi-thousand" lube/wonder lube/bore butter when it first came out, I noticed a red tint to the fouling. The red color didn't bother me. The extremely hard fouling did. I dropped it quickly like a bad habit.

[Bullet Caster]

I usually use Bore Butter in my .50 flintlock and I have to wet patch and then dry patch after each shot. When I got my flintlock I tried to fire a second round without cleaning and ended up breaking my ramrod when I tried to stuff in the next patched RB. My flinter has really deep grooves and I thought that I could load and fire at least 5 rounds before wet patching and drying the bore. That wasn't to happen. I've noticed a green tint to the fouling and I also use Goex FFg in my flinter. Does not worry me though as I thought this to be a common "greenish" thing with BP.

I do use Spit Ball in my cap 'n ball .44 1860 SSA. Don't ever clean it in between firing multiple cylinders of shots. I also use Goex FFFg in the pistol and have on occasion, after cleaning, seen the greenish fouling on the cleaning patches. I believe this to be an inherent property of the Goex powder. I've also used Elephant powder with the same greenish hue to the cleaning patch. Now I'm almost convinced that this is inherent to ALL black powder. BC

[oldracer]

Well I am very glad to see I am not crazy or my eye sight is going away! I was using Bore Butter (yellow colored) also and the shots seemed all over the place but at the time I was happy to get them on paper as I had just put on the tang sight and globe in front. The last couple of shots were with the patches that had some lube in them and no additional Bore Butter and they had less resistance to pushing the ball down the barrel and target elevation was even but due to some wind gusts were spread out left to right.

I also forgot to mention that this was at 100 yds and the sideways spread in the gusts was about 4 inches or so. So what do you use on the patches if NOT Bore Butter????

[fishhawk]

I use Crisco for patch lube. steve k

[Old_School]

If you're at the range & need to clean the bore a bit (or between shots), try spraying your patch with a little Windex (w/ammonia). It will clean that fouling right out!

Matter of fact, I had a Hawken bbl that I cleaned up with 2 or 3 of those patches (followed up with dry patches) and forgot about for 18 months. Came back expecting the bore to be ruined. Not a speck of corrosion anywhere!

Sent from my PC36100

[405]

Well the amount of cleaning between BP shot strings has a lot to do with how much powder is being burned and the humidity. Some cleaning during a shooting session is normal.

Some don't clean or swab at the range. For those who do all manner of concoctions are used for range swabbing/cleaning from water to exotic. The list is long. For range swabbing/cleaning I just use Ballistol+water at about 1:10 ratio. The ratio is not critical but usually more water than Ballistol :)

For patch lube/wetting some use plain water or spit to wet the patch, some use vaseline, some use crisco, some use bore butter, wonder lube, XYZ special lube, etc. The list is long. I use the Ballistol+water mix. Have a little bottle with a spout and wet the end of the patch strip where the ball will sit, lay the patch strip on the muzzle, put the ball on top of the wet spot, push down to just below muzzle face, cut, ram PRB to top of powder.

[mooman76]

I usually don't swab the bore too much but if I don't do it at least every few shots when using bore butter, my group widens up until I swab again.

[gandydancer]

Ballistol will emulsifiy in water"it looks like milk" if you spray it on metel and wash it down with a hose most if not all of it will wash off. now I like ballistol and use a lot of it but not on my muzzle loaders. ballistol dampness blackpowder maybe a little green. GD

[nicholst55]

I just use a spit patch between shots in always-humid Maryland. All I shoot now are patched round balls, and I was never impressed by bore butter even when I was shooting conicals. Bore butter's main ingredient, unless I am seriously mistaken, is beeswax. Great as an ingredient for cast boolit lube, but not necessarily for patch lube. I typically use a homemade patch lube consisting of Murphy's Oil Soap, Denatured Alcohol, and a few drops of Ballistol - works great, and you can also clean the bore with it. And did I mention that it's cheap?

[gandydancer]

Murphy's Oil Soap, Denatured Alcohol, and peroxide in same amounts is what I use to clean my muzzies. and then a lite coat of fine oil until the next time. GD

[gandydancer]

I use Crisco for patch lube. steve k
That is all I have ever used in my muzzies sense 1962 good old crisco. works great. cheap.I drop my charge in my muzzie useing a long brass tube with a funnel on the tube then a wad on top of the powder can be hornets nest a bullet patch and on top of that a wad of crisco lube and a patched ball or a slug on top of the lube. and shoot for hours with out cleaning. just for plinking it works just fine.

[Boerrancher]

I have noticed a green tint to some of my patches when cleaning with Balistol and brass jigs. Don't know why it does but I have never paid any attention to it. I first noticed it when I started using Balistol in my BPCR guns. If it is not causing you problems other than an unsightly color then don't worry about it.

Best wishes,

Joe