muzzleloader ?

[krallstar]

Just a thought. I recently have gotten a inline .50 muzzleloader. After reading here on cleanup and stuff. Have shot a total of 12 rounds. In between have put dry patches. But cleanup, that crud ring. Question i have, how did we win any wars with these things.

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

#11 and musket ignition sidelocks or even flintlocks never had the crud ring problem. Plus, paper wadding in the Revolution never caused a crud ring. When those guns were of the time, they were common use tools for hunters and especially for troops that training with them and knew their weapons.

[BPJONES]

The other side was slower! But, seriously, the answer provided by FrontierMuzzleloadin gives a good explanation.

[725]

I think some of the use issues included natural lubes and black powder. I would speculate that the barrels were "seasoned" to operate with the materials at hand.

[krallstar]

7 shots with a wipe in-between and that ring. got my ramrod stuck on it. Soaking and many scrubbings and it's almost clean. Is there a way to stop that crud ring. I hear bore butter can help.

[NSB]

You didn't say what powder you're using. Triple7 gave rise to the word "crud ring". Other black powder subs leave residue also, but not nearly as much. If you're wiping with a dry patch as stated, you're doing it wrong. You need to use a wet patch followed by at least one dry patch, preferably two dry patches. A dry patch alone won't do much to get the crud ring out.

[krallstar]

Yup, Triple 7 powder. Going to try blackhorn 209 next. Wet patch, i hear 50-50 water and amonia works

[Themoose]

Part of how we won was that we "aimed smaller" had sights on our rifles instead of bayonet lugs, used hunting rifles and picked off their officers when ever we had a chance... powder was also different back then as well as what they used in the field to wipe with... I understand sheep tallow was often used...

[NSB]

Yup, Triple 7 powder. Going to try blackhorn 209 next. Wet patch, i hear 50-50 water and amonia works

Just get some Hoppe's #9 for the Blackhorn 209. It cleans up really easy.

[rodwha]

I've read people are fond of Black MZ as well. A lot cheaper than BH209, but not as energetic either.

[Wayne Smith]

To answer your question factually, they used real black powder back then!

[krallstar]

All good info. Thanks guys

[rodwha]

The cheapest and also about as energetic is Olde Eynsford by Goex.

[Col4570]

Mainly due to each side having equal technology until one has better tactics more troops etc then the balance shifts.

[Shawlerbrook]

Yes, tactics. In the Revoluntionary War the Brits use the old skirmish line, while are patriots used more gorilla and hunting tactics. Also responsible is the fact that men fighting on their home turf, defending what they truly believe in will defeat a paid Army acting as invaders for a far away government. Actually the Vietnam war had that in common with the US Revolution.

[rfd]

back in the F&I and rev wars 18th century they used gunpowder (what we call black powder today) and it mostly came in limited rather course granularity (no 4f or even 3f). how the guns were loaded depended on more than a few things, and for the most part what mattered far more than overall accuracy for warfare or self defense was reliability and speed of loading. no fine powder for the pan and no ball starters. cloth patching was not the norm - cloth and even paper was expensive (though the military used paper "cartridges" for faster loading) - either no patching was used with just a ball or rock or whatever sitting on powder, or some type of plant wadding was used for ball or shot, such as tow or leaves or bark or, wasp nest, yup - whatever. think about it - these guns HAD to work for them, no matter what. it was life or death times. their attitude about guns and loads were, for the very most part, vastly different from most of our thinking here in the 21st century.

[rfd]

Just a thought. I recently have gotten a inline .50 muzzleloader. After reading here on cleanup and stuff. Have shot a total of 12 rounds. In between have put dry patches. But cleanup, that crud ring. Question i have, how did we win any wars with these things.

use real black powder. better yet, try using a real trad sidelock muzzleloader, and learn how best to load it in terms of ball diameter, patch thickness, and powder charge. good luck, have fun.

[krallstar]

I Plan on a traditional some time soon. Love the look of those muzzleloaders

[Pavia]

Part of how we won was that we "aimed smaller" had sights on our rifles instead of bayonet lugs, used hunting rifles and picked off their officers when ever we had a chance... powder was also different back then as well as what they used in the field to wipe with... I understand sheep tallow was often used...

Not that this helps the OP with fouling, but the Revolutionary War was won using the smoothbore musket and mastering standard infantry tactics of the 18th Century, not rifles in the hands of sharpshooters hiding behind trees. We beat the best army in the world at their own game... you can thank Von Steuben for that.

I couldn’t imagine being armed with only a patched ball rifle in a battle like Brooklyn, Brandywine, Monmouth, or Cowpens. I’d be transfixed on a Grenadier’s bayonet in no time. No sir... I’ll take a musket, paper cartridges, and a bayonet over a slow, fragile hunting rifle.

[Col4570]

Their experiences in the American War of independence,proved to Great Britain that fire power although valuable was not the total answer to warfare.Accuracy was not considered important until they came against Rifled weaponry since the traditional Squares and Lines had been in use for a few centuries.Colonial Troops where in the main supplied with Smooth bore Muskets but amongst them skirmishers equipped with Rifled Hunting Weapons took their toll on selected targets.The Baker Rifle was a direct result of the American experience and proved its worth in other more successful theatres.

[krallstar]

I love history.

[KCSO]

We didn't we used real muzzleloaders? Practice and experience willlet you reload a gun in 30 seconds or less while on the run. You can hit a 6" disk at 125 yards. Now get good with a bow!

[AllanD]

We didn't we used real muzzleloaders? Practice and experience willlet you reload a gun in 30 seconds or less while on the run. You can hit a 6" disk at 125 yards. Now get good with a bow!

Yeah!!! I spent the better part of a decade "getting good with a bow" and haven't touched one in the decade since. I suspect
that I will need to start all over again.