.32 shooters

[vrob1212]

How many shots do you get before your accuracy falls off? I started getting a couple flyers after 6 shots with no swabbing between.

[LAGS]

I always swab between shots on all calibers.
But the question should be about the type of powder you are using and the load

[HamGunner]

I am lucky to get a decent three shot group unless i scrub my .32 bore after each shot. With a decently scrubbed bore after each shot, it shoots very good groups with my home made powder.
I done no better with GOEX.

I tied placing lubed wads on top of the powder as well and found little difference. Seems as though the smaller bores are a bit more finicky.

[freakonaleash]

No problems. Shoot all day and no wiping between shots.

[Sudsy]

Every gun is different
My .32 percussion CVA Squirrel gun shoots better when it's cruddy. I only swab it when it get's too hard to ram the ball down
My .36 flint Pedersoli Kentucky has to be well swabbed after every round or two or the accuracy goes to crap.
Both using Goex 3F

[Sudsy]

I tied placing lubed wads on top of the powder as well and found little difference. Seems as though the smaller bores are a bit more finicky.

I was just thinking about your comment.... Has anyone tried adding a copper/aluminum disk/gas check over the powder to act as a scraper?
So the load would be 1. powder, 2. copper disk, 3. a bit of filler, cornmeal/wasp nest... to set the round ball on and keep everything level (unneeded if a conical), 4. patched round ball.

Again, I'm just thinking out loud here. What would you see as the positives and negatives to this ?
Or is it just a dumb idea ?

[19112TAP]

I just recently picked up a Traditions Crockett .32 and using 15 gr Goex fffg with .310 ball and 50/50 dawn and water dampened .018 cut patches I have been able to shoot twenty plus shots straight and the last went down just as smooth as the first. I'm still in the process of load testing and sight adjustment but groups are pretty nice at 25 yds.

[indian joe]

I just recently picked up a Traditions Crockett .32 and using 15 gr Goex fffg with .310 ball and 50/50 dawn and water dampened .018 cut patches I have been able to shoot twenty plus shots straight and the last went down just as smooth as the first. I'm still in the process of load testing and sight adjustment but groups are pretty nice at 25 yds.

I use 80 : 20 moosemilk in all my range shooting 32,45, 50,54 .....shoot till ya get sick of it and clean the gun at home ....tried other stuff early days (dish soap mix, CVA grease patch lube) get 6 maybe 7 shots before foul out with those. The moose milk is too simple, too easy and too cheap, to be of interest to most of the fellers I shoot with. Strange that but there it is.........................

[waksupi]

I use 80 : 20 moosemilk in all my range shooting 32,45, 50,54 .....shoot till ya get sick of it and clean the gun at home ....tried other stuff early days (dish soap mix, CVA grease patch lube) get 6 maybe 7 shots before foul out with those. The moose milk is too simple, too easy and too cheap, to be of interest to most of the fellers I shoot with. Strange that but there it is.........................

Some years ago, I spent a summer testing various lubes. The worst was whale oil, which kind of surprised me, considering how popular it was in days past. I guess they just wanted something that wouldn't dry out for a day hunting, and was most likely easily had at the time. Plus, they didn't go out and shoot for fun like we do.
Moose milk was the definite winner, with Vaseline Hand Lotion in second place. The old Goop hand cleaner gets honorable mention. Bore Butter and similar lubes were down at the bottom along with the whale oil.

[charlie b]

Wads. You can use a card wad (I use the Veggie ones from BACO) on top of the powder. It does 'scrape' some of the fouling back into the charge area, but, not all of it. Even on my .50cal I still have to swab it every 5 rounds or so. You still get a build up back in the chamber area.

More critical is the lube. Not enough and the powder won't stay soft. I use a generously lubed felt wad on top of the card wad. I still have to swab after the 5 shots. The 'hard' part is to swab without shoving all the fouling back into the breach area.

[JWFilips]

Used a 32 Cal for awhile and it got me aggravated ! Sent the barrel to Bobby Hoyt and he cut it to a 40 cal ! Best thing I have ever done!
Super accurate, Plenty of adjustable powder loads ( Goex 3 f) easy to keep shooting accurately without swabbing using Mutton Tallow/ bees wax!
My favorite squirrel rifle. It is one of my custom flintlock builds from the late 1980's

[AZ Muzzleloaders]

5 or 6 shots. 32's foul way too fast for me.

[badwolf]

Indian Joe what's your 80 : 20 moose milk recipe? I like Murphys oil soap and alcohol 50/50 but would like to try moosemilk

[indian joe]

Indian Joe what's your 80 : 20 moose milk recipe? I like Murphys oil soap and alcohol 50/50 but would like to try moosemilk

I dont get the alcohol? water is a better solvent for blackpowder residue - never seen Murphys oil soap but assumed it was akin to cutting oil ? try it 80:20 (or 75:25) with water? just googled it - definitely NOT cutting oil - bit of citronella oil for disguise and some serious detergent ingredients including caustic soda

just cutting oil from the workshop - I have a couple lathes and a cheap mill - stuff is proly 20 years old "Mobil" brand maybe -any decent commercial cutting oil should do it - I add some green food colouring to fool the guys at the range.
Most reciepes for moose milk say 5% to 10 % - I always used 20% to 25%
I keep my patches damp - even squeeze a little juice out when you ram it down
I dont ever swab between shots - but this is doing the same thing - DONT like deep rifling in a ball gun !!!! adamant about that ---started with CVA (Dikar) barrels they are noticeably shallower cut than say a Green Mountain (and most other ML barrels) CVA/Dikar got it right !!!

The blurb around deep rifling is it gives room for the fouling to go - exactly what happens - but why would you want that ? not me thanks!

Interesting that my little .32 barrel is quite shallow rifling (its a Wesson or copy of and they have a top reputation for accuracy downunder) - I run a very thin (Japara) patch and have absolute zero problems with fouling in it

[Boerrancher]

I have been using a 32 for probably 15 years. It is an el cheapo Crockett from Traditions, and have never had a fouling problem causing tight loading or accuracy issues, and that Crockett has been my plinking and woods walking rifle from day one with it. I follow a few simple rules that were handed down to me by men much more experienced than I could hope to be when shooting the Holy Black.
1. Never use substitutes
2. Never use any petroleum based products for patch lube, so I only use bear grease or lard.
3. After firing a shot blow down the barrel.
4. Your patch and ball combo should not be so tight that you can’t start it with your thumb and rod, and should not be loose enough that when you recover a fired patch it should not show any blow by.
5. After your first shot with a grease patch, it should be spit patches from there on out, until you are done for the day and can clean your rifle.

My biggest issue that creates lack of accuracy is me, I don’t have young eyes anymore, and me, as in inconsistent seating pressure of the ball on the powder. Long story short, had some pretty serious injuries that are now causing neurological problems in my hands and it is difficult to tell how much pressure I am putting on the powder as I seat the ball. At 25 yards with 20gs of 3F Swiss or Goex, I can change the POI by nearly 4 inches depending upon how much pressure I apply. Makes for some pretty crappy groups or a lot of missed squirrels when you can’t feel those tiny differences to know exactly what it should be.