BACO Bore Wipes

[Captain*Kirk]

While watching one of my favorite YouTube channels, (Sagebrush Longshots) I noticed several of the guys using the BACO Bore Wipe system between shots, and others using a BACO blow tube. But never both. Anybody out there do both? Why or why not?

[marlinman93]

While watching one of my favorite YouTube channels, (Sagebrush Longshots) I noticed several of the guys using the BACO Bore Wipe system between shots, and others using a BACO blow tube. But never both. Anybody out there do both? Why or why not?

Only one guy using the BACO bore wipes, and not many blow tubing, as most of us are shooting smokeless loads at our annual shoot there. But the one using the BACO bore pigs is one of the finest BPCR or BPTR shooters in the country, and he's using the bore pigs with great success!
No reason to do both, as they are different methods to keep fouling to a minimum and guys either do one or the other, not both. A lot of BP shooters are going away from blow tubes, as in hot weather and match shooting they tell me it's almost impossible to keep the fouling moist and soft enough during matches by blow tubing. And consistency is another issue when conditions change with temperature and humidity.
I'm a real beginner at BP, so this info is what friends who shoot BP a lot have told me. Hope I'm getting it all fairly correct?

I recently decided to make up my own bore pigs, as I'm a cheapskate, and didn't want to pay the price of BACO's great product. So I bought a large quantity of nylon bore brushes, hard nylon 3/8"-#10 spacers, 00 faucet washers, and the felts like BACO uses, but from Brownell's in large quantity that came out dirt cheap.
I assembled my bore pigs with the 00 washers over the threaded end of the nylon brush. Then the 3/8" nylon spacer behind that, and a 8-32 nut over the threads to hold it all. Then push the felt over the front of the brush to finish it off. I made up about 40 of these to use, and bought 250 felts from Brownell's so if I'm shooting a longer string I can have extra felts to swap out when there's a break.
The felts will get wetted with my mix of cleaner, and the 00 washers will squeegee the bore after the felt wets it, and brush breaks the fouling up. I've tried them at my loading bench at home and they work great on .45 and .44 caliber bores, but haven't taken them to the range yet to try. They cost me just over $1 each to build, so a big savings over store bought.
I also have cotton bore wipes that I use to swab the chamber to ensure no liquid is left in there after each wiping is done. They get a patch over the cotton swabs and pushed just into the chamber to dry it.

[Gunlaker]

You definitely don't need to do both. The BACO bore wiping system will leave the bore pretty clean after a single pass. The goal with blow tubing is different. It's not to clean the bore like the wipes do, but to soften the fouling and leave the bore in a consistent condition between shots.

When I first got into BPCR I used a blow tube, but quickly switched to wiping between shots instead. I generally use damp patches, but do have BACO bore wipes that I sometimes use.

Chris.

[Captain*Kirk]

Thanks for the replies! I like the idea of the bore wipes better than the blow tube anyway. The home-brewed idea sounds good; the BACO system looks excellent but is a bit on the steep side at $60.00. The one guy I was watching claimed he washes and reuses the wads and patches multiple times. So I guess in that vein, it wouldn't be an ongoing expense. I'll have to take a trip to the local hardware store and see what they have.

[marlinman93]

Thanks for the replies! I like the idea of the bore wipes better than the blow tube anyway. The home-brewed idea sounds good; the BACO system looks excellent but is a bit on the steep side at $60.00. The one guy I was watching claimed he washes and reuses the wads and patches multiple times. So I guess in that vein, it wouldn't be an ongoing expense. I'll have to take a trip to the local hardware store and see what they have.

If you buy the parts at a local hardware store you might not save much over BACO's prices. I found the felt pads at Brownells for $19.99 for 250 pcs. Nylon brushes at 30 for $20. the nylon spacers 3/8 OD with #10 hole 40 pcs. for $6.75. And the 00 washers 30 for $6.
So I'm making up 30 of them, and will have an excess of the felt wipers that I'll be able to change out if they eventually wear out.
I'll also buy patches to use with this system to make up the difference between .452" for my .44-77, and .457" for my .45-70 caliber. The idea of washing patches may or may not happen. Depends on what I find the pre-cut patches priced at. If they're not cheap I'll wash them too.
I figure I'll toss the felts, and maybe the patches in my wet tumbler with some dish soap, and turn it on to clean them. Then just rinse them and air dry.

[marlinman93]

I got my VFG felts today, so was able to finish up my version of the bore pigs. Nylon brush with a size 00 faucet washer behind it, and a 3/8" nylon spacer behind the washer. Then an 8-32 nut to hold the nylon spacer on. A VFG .45 felt on the front, that will get the wetting solution soaked on it to dampen it.

https://i.imgur.com/YTjnexhl.jpg

I'll follow this with a plain dry patch to ensure no moisture is in the chamber.

[Captain*Kirk]

Have you had a chance to try these out yet? They look great! Where did you get the faucet washers?

[marlinman93]

Have you had a chance to try these out yet? They look great! Where did you get the faucet washers?

I did just try them Monday at the range. I got the 8-32 nuts secured on the back to hold the plastic spacers on. I mixed up just a soapy water solution as the cleaner I want to use hasn't arrived yet. Pushed them through my bore with a Delrin rod, and followed that with a dry patch over a cotton mop on the opposite end of my wiping rod. They went through with just a little effort, and left the bore looking new after one pass.
I kept an old tupperware style bin below my muzzle and they dropped right in it to catch them.
I bought the faucet washers off a seller on Ebay who had them in packs of 25 for $8.50 and free shipping. I bought two packs so I'd have spares if needed. Couldn't find 50 pc. packs, so this was the cheapest way to go. The flat washers seemed more flexible than the convex style.


I tried these screwed onto my wiping rod at home, and if I pulled them back through the bore it pulled the washer and felts right off the brush. But with just forwards once they stayed together nicely, and dropped without a problem.

[Captain*Kirk]

I did just try them Monday at the range. I got the 8-32 nuts secured on the back to hold the plastic spacers on. I mixed up just a soapy water solution as the cleaner I want to use hasn't arrived yet. Pushed them through my bore with a Delrin rod, and followed that with a dry patch over a cotton mop on the opposite end of my wiping rod. They went through with just a little effort, and left the bore looking new after one pass.
I kept an old tupperware style bin below my muzzle and they dropped right in it to catch them.
I bought the faucet washers off a seller on Ebay who had them in packs of 25 for $8.50 and free shipping. I bought two packs so I'd have spares if needed. Couldn't find 50 pc. packs, so this was the cheapest way to go. The flat washers seemed more flexible than the convex style.


I tried these screwed onto my wiping rod at home, and if I pulled them back through the bore it pulled the washer and felts right off the brush. But with just forwards once they stayed together nicely, and dropped without a problem.

Thanks! I saw one of the Sagebrush gang doing pretty much what you described, except once he shoved the pig in the bore, he stuck a dry patch between the threaded end and the nylon rod he was using...sort of a one step operation. The patch wiped the bore dry after the squeegee effect (of your faucet washers; O-rings on the pigs, I assume) and pig and patch dropped nicely into a Tupperware container. Here's is the video if you haven't seen it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysyE0BI1dz4

[marlinman93]

Thanks! I saw one of the Sagebrush gang doing pretty much what you described, except once he shoved the pig in the bore, he stuck a dry patch between the threaded end and the nylon rod he was using...sort of a one step operation. The patch wiped the bore dry after the squeegee effect (of your faucet washers; O-rings on the pigs, I assume) and pig and patch dropped nicely into a Tupperware container. Here's is the video if you haven't seen it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysyE0BI1dz4

I was actually spotting for Steve when he was being filmed for that video. It's my voice in the video telling him where he was hitting.
Steve is one of the finest BPCR or BPTR shooters in the country, and has been very helpful in my new adventure into BP loading and shooting. He's sure saved me from making any missteps and let me start off faster than I would have alone doing this!
I have 1000 2" patches coming today, just so I can also use them as a follow up patch to keep it simpler. His bore wipers are BACO's, so they use an O-ring body, and are very nice. I'm just too cheap to pay what BACO wants at $60 per 15 pcs. What I build is much cheaper, and I've got 250 felts so I can take extra felts to a match if I need to change any of them if I used up the 30 I have made up.

[Captain*Kirk]

I'm honored to make your acquaintance! Sagebrush Longshots is one of my favorite YouTube channels and I know I've watched every video at least once, some many more times than that! Are you featured shooting in any of the videos? I still can't wrap my head around a 990 yard shot using only a Soule type sight...
I know Wind and some of the others used to post here, though I haven't seen any posts from him in a while. Is the U-Pick ranch still doing the HappenZ thing every year? I'd like to learn more about the U-Pick but can find very little info on the web.

Sorry...got a little off-topic there...yes, I agree the price for the BACO pigs is a little high. I do like your idea and will give it a try before laying out that kind of cash for the BACO product. I'm just a hack shooter anyway. My last session had me shooting both 535 Postells and 405 FN boolits, and there was no swabbing at the range. I noticed rather quickly that the shot grouping began spreading after the first ten shots and I resolved to start swabbing after every shot at that point (I shot 35 rounds that day and the barrel was packed full when I cleaned it that night)
Are the spacers available on eBay as well?
Thanks for all your help.

[marlinman93]

I'm honored to make your acquaintance! Sagebrush Longshots is one of my favorite YouTube channels and I know I've watched every video at least once, some many more times than that! Are you featured shooting in any of the videos? I still can't wrap my head around a 990 yard shot using only a Soule type sight...
I know Wind and some of the others used to post here, though I haven't seen any posts from him in a while. Is the U-Pick ranch still doing the HappenZ thing every year? I'd like to learn more about the U-Pick but can find very little info on the web.


Unfortunately we lost our great friend and mentor Wind over 3 yrs. ago. His sister owns the U-Pick Sagebrush Ranch currently, and until this year she graciously continued the tradition of allowing us to meet and shoot each year. The whole pandemic BS has restricted the number of attendees, so the last couple times have been limited to Wind's closest friends, and about 1/3rd of the usual group of shooters.
Yes, I'm in some of the videos shown shooting. I'm also in Whit's video of the Ballard rifle display, and shown explaining the various features of some of my Ballard rifle collection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUp0r_loomM&t=601s&ab_channel=SagebrushLongshots

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEj1reWTM5o&ab_channel=SagebrushLongshots

I'm a mediocre shooter compared to many of my friends who shoot at the U-Pick. And had never shot past 300 yds. prior to Wind inviting me to join the group. He was the great enabler, and loved getting shooters to come there and get them hooked on long range shooting. I never saw anyone show up to shoot that he didn't get them on the 450 yd. dinger quickly, and then move forward quickly to the 500, 650, and eventually the 1000 yd. plates. I know after one trip there, I never missed another trip, and was hooked on shooting further out with my old single shots.
Because of Wind I have friends I really like a lot, and would never have known without his generous act of opening up his property to invite everyone to join him each year!

[Captain*Kirk]

That's really sad news about Wind. I think I would have got on with him well. Sounds like HappenZ may not be happening in the future? Or might have to find a new place to stage it. :sad:
I'll definitely be watching those vids tonight on the big screen. And probably raise a toast to Wind while I'm at it.

[marlinman93]

No, we are planning to have the Happenz again next year, if the whole pandemic BS is not going to affect it.

[Captain*Kirk]

Well, that's a bit of good news, then! whereabouts is U-Pick located, BTW?

[marlinman93]

Well, that's a bit of good news, then! whereabouts is U-Pick located, BTW?

N. Central Washington State. Not far from the Canadian border.

[Captain*Kirk]

Crap. That's a haul for me.:sad:

You own all those Ballards?

[marlinman93]

Crap. That's a haul for me.:sad:

You own all those Ballards?

That's less than half of the Ballard rifles in my collection.

[Captain*Kirk]

Holy Toledo! And the ones shown all appear to be beauties, too!

[marlinman93]

Holy Toledo! And the ones shown all appear to be beauties, too!

Thanks! Yes, I'm especially fond of the Ballard schuetzen rifles. But also any of their deluxe pistol grip models, and their competition models designed for specific Long Range, or Mid Range shooting.
Wind asked me to bring the display and set it up for the guys at that Happenz, but I had to pare down my display by using my old metal display stands, as my oak display is too large and heavy, and hauling it all for a day's drive each way would have been extremely hard!
Funny part was my poor truck gave up on me on the way home that year! And it was in the mountains where I had no cell service too! Just coughed to a halt on a two lane highway, with almost no shoulder, and a bunch of guns in the back! Tried to call AAA but phone wouldn't work. Opened the hood and saw my fuel filter was dry, but I had a full tank! After some cranking, and fiddling, it eventually began to fire, but wouldn't go over 15 mph without running out of gas. So I drove the next 30 miles on the gravel apron until I reached the summit. It ran great downhill with less throttle, and I made it to a small town. Put on a new fuel pump, but turned out it wasn't the problem. Took me 12 hrs. more to go the last 200 miles home, and the next day I pulled the fuel tank sending unit/pickup, and found some idiot had removed the filter sock off the pickup, and it had sucked up some big chunk of plastic that somehow got into the tank?
Put a new pickup and sending unit on it, and it was fixed. Sure scared me to think about having to walk away from the truck and get help; and maybe come back to an empty truck if someone stopped and saw all the gun cases!

[Captain*Kirk]

That could have been really ugly! Glad it all worked out for you. I can't believe you hauled that many (priceless!) Ballards all the way to Happenz. But you have a legacy of outstanding videos out there. I watched all the Ballard ones Friday night and learned a bunch. Thanks for sharing all that info with the world!

[marlinman93]

That could have been really ugly! Glad it all worked out for you. I can't believe you hauled that many (priceless!) Ballards all the way to Happenz. But you have a legacy of outstanding videos out there. I watched all the Ballard ones Friday night and learned a bunch. Thanks for sharing all that info with the world!

Thank you. I actually never thought much about hauling them a day's drive until the breakdown. Then I suddenly realized it wasn't the best choice to take the mountain route with places that had no cell service. I could have gone another route that was longer, but about the same driving time, and not been on all those windy mountain roads.
Glad you enjoyed the videos. They're all done by one guy in our group, and often we're not even aware he's filming us. He does a great job of documenting all of the Happenz we've done from the first year forward to year ten.

[Captain*Kirk]

As for me, I'm sorry I wasn't aware of you guys and your YT channel until this year. I bought my Pedersoli Sharps from a friend about 4 years ago and finally decided it was time to start shooting it. I discovered SBLS while watching Sharps vids and figuring what loads to work up for it. I've developed two so far; the .45-70 535 Postell bullet over 61gr of Grafs 2F, and the 405gr bullet over the same. This is my first venture into BPCR and I'm hooked!

[marlinman93]

As for me, I'm sorry I wasn't aware of you guys and your YT channel until this year. I bought my Pedersoli Sharps from a friend about 4 years ago and finally decided it was time to start shooting it. I discovered SBLS while watching Sharps vids and figuring what loads to work up for it. I've developed two so far; the .45-70 535 Postell bullet over 61gr of Grafs 2F, and the 405gr bullet over the same. This is my first venture into BPCR and I'm hooked!

I've always been a smokeless powder shooter, and only ventured into BP with a Thompson Renegade I owned and shot in our ML matches. I also have a Vincent half stock built by Ron Scott in .38, but rarely shoot it.
So I've shot long range with mild smokeless loads, but now I want to shoot with the BPCR and BPTR guys at our range. I'm working up a .45-70 load for my Ballard #4 Perfection in this caliber. It's a first year gun, with a 34" half octagon barrel, and the first Ballard I ever bought. It was a $250 wreck that had a great forged action, but ruined barrel and stocks. I had a friend rebarrel it in the same contour and length, using a new Green Mountain 1:18" twist barrel, and I built new stocks for it. I rust blued the barrel, and had the guys at Ballard rifle color case the receiver and buttplate.
The buttplate is a issue, and I may switch to my Hepburn for that reason. It's got the early Brown Mfg. buttplate, which is a deep crescent, and those pointed ends beat me up pretty badly, even with my PAST recoil pad on my shoulder. My load is 64.0 grs. of Old Ensford 2fg, with a 526 gr. Paul Jones mold bullet. It's accurate, but I think a more comfortable buttplate would help me shoot better. My Hepburn is a checkered steel shotgun style buttplate. The gun is lighter, but more comfortable to shoot with the buttplate it has. Think I rebuilt this about 40 years ago?

https://i.imgur.com/M0b19bcl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ervP3OXl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9rwlfapl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/oJDZA4Vl.jpg

[Captain*Kirk]

Wow! That is sweet! Gotta love the old originals!
I also load smokeless as well. Lots of it. I have a Browning Hi Wall in .45/70 that I only shoot smokeless rounds out of; 405gr jacketed SP bullets over various powders. I notice a lot of you SBLS guys like Unique; I use it in many loadings but never tried it in a rifle cartridge other than .44-40 which I load for my Winchester '66...and frankly, it's more of a pistol cart for a rifle, like my .45 Colt loads. When I bought the Sharps I made my mind up to shoot BPCR out of it and don't regret it. It's a hoot!

[marlinman93]

Yes, a number of the guys enjoy Unique, as i do also. But I don't use it much on larger rifle cases, even though it does shoot well for those who do. I use a fair amount of 2400, and even more 4198 for big cases.

[Captain*Kirk]

I've used IMR 4320 and 4895 with 405gr jacketed bullets. I suppose you are using cast boolits and gas checks on your smokeless loads? 4895 seems like the load I will stick with for smokeless rounds out of the Hi Wall, but for the Sharps I'll stick with cast boolits and black powder for the time being. I really enjoyed seeing a portion of your collection on the videos and the photos in this thread. Thanks for sharing them! I can only imagine what else you've got tucked away!
Just curious; did you find most of your Ballards local, or did you have to deal with the sharks on the auction sites?

[marlinman93]

I've used IMR 4320 and 4895 with 405gr jacketed bullets. I suppose you are using cast boolits and gas checks on your smokeless loads? 4895 seems like the load I will stick with for smokeless rounds out of the Hi Wall, but for the Sharps I'll stick with cast boolits and black powder for the time being. I really enjoyed seeing a portion of your collection on the videos and the photos in this thread. Thanks for sharing them! I can only imagine what else you've got tucked away!
Just curious; did you find most of your Ballards local, or did you have to deal with the sharks on the auction sites?

I don't shoot any jacketed bullets, and very little gas check bullets either. Plain base cast is my preference, and that's 99%+ of what goes down my barrels.
I've only bought one Ballard online, and that was off the old Auction Arms before it changed names. And it was a "buy it now" that was priced so cheap it was well worth the risk of buying without an examination. A Zettler Bros. Ballard #6 Schuetzen, with Stevens scope, and mounted in a pair of very rare HM Pope scope rings! It's a .22 Short barrel, and threaded off center on the shank to allow the CF firing pin to strike the .22 rim.
My other Ballard rifles have mostly come from out of town gun shows. But about 1/3rd of them I've bought locally at gun shops, or gun shows. I'd guess another 1/3rd came from the Denver gun show, as it's always had huge numbers of great single shot rifles for sale.
I've been very lucky at times, and been in the right place at the right time, to stumble into some very desirable Ballard rifles. My friends tell me I've got crazy luck finding them, and I have to agree in some instances, as even I wonder why I've had good fortune to find some? Of course being constantly on the lookout, and having friends who often tell me about a gun they saw has also helped a great amount too!

[tnlonghunter]

Stupid question: what do y’all do to thread the felts onto the brush?

I got a bag if felts - ended up with ones from Tipton instead of VGI. The center hole is sized for their little jag and not easily enlarged. They kinda just come apart before I get them threaded on.

[marlinman93]

Stupid question: what do y’all do to thread the felts onto the brush?

I got a bag if felts - ended up with ones from Tipton instead of VGI. The center hole is sized for their little jag and not easily enlarged. They kinda just come apart before I get them threaded on.

I'd toss the Tipton if they fall apart that easily. The VFG I'm getting from Brownells are only $20 for 250 pcs., and are very high quality. I simply push them on the end of my nylon brushes, and stop before they push through. Probably about 75% through the felt, and they stay right there in use.
I figured eventually they'd wear out, or get where they might not work as well, so the extras I got will replace them. But I haven't used them enough yet to figure out how long it will take to wear them out?