i'm not a black powder shooter. but i thought that someone on this section might know the answer to this. starting around 1810 u.s. ships started encasing the powder for their ships inside sheet lead containers. this kept the powder from getting damp or wet. it was loaded into the cannons this way. after firing, how was the remains of the cannister removed from the bore? it was not consumed by firing. i did a lot of research on this, and, can find nothing as to removal of the sheet lead after firing. maybe the answer is simple, thats why there was no reference to my question. on another note; during my search i discovered that lewis and clark had the powder sealed in sheet lead containers to keep it dry and did not keep it all in the same place.