Definition of muzzleloading spit patch

Each gun is a rule unto itself and you must find the proper combination by shooting. Muzzleloading guns, both antique and reproduction, are used for target shooting, hunting, historical reenactment and historical research. I shoot one time, butter a patch and push it all the way down and up, turn the patch over and swab the barrel in strokes top to bottom, run a dry patch down and up, shoot again. I do switch to a greased patch if the load will stay in the barrel for a while, as in hunting. Once dried, the bore is swabbed with a patch that has been lubed with tcs natural lube plus bore butter nonpetroleum base. Muzzleloader, the publication for traditional black powder. I use a strip of pillow ticking to spit patch the ball using a short starter to get it started and a patch knife to cut off the excess patching. Its not a serious tool, but it cut patch just fine, and actually held up pretty well through numerous throwing contests. Once thats done, i use the long end of the short starter to move the ball a bit further down the bore and my ramrod to seat it. Sb, is easy to operate, accurate and, with a starting. Then use a dry patch to dry off the gun cleaner so it doesnt leave an oily residue on the inside of the barrel. A barrel made with a 160 twist rate means that the ball will need to pass through 60. Unfortunately, many lifelong hunters have never even fired a muzzleloader at the range. This article describes how you can load a muzzleloading rifle with a cloth patch and a lead roundball.

Accuracy, knockdown power, and an extended hunting season are all benefits this firearm offers for the budget minded hunter, especially in areas where highpowered rifles are restricted. For the second string, swab with a patch dampened with cleaner. Moisture is an enemy of all blackpowder and blackpowder alternatives. According to the above definition, the relationship between muzzle velocity, twist. Merely shooting and hitting the target at 100 yards is not acceptable when it comes to muzzleloader hunting. The secondary projectiles that ive seen all had a slightly angled base to aid in. A round lead ball that is seated on a lubricated patch of cloth and then rammed down the. I use spit patch prbs and can shoot all day at a rifle frolic and not have to swab the bore until cleaning time, given good smooth rifling to begin with. Oct 09, 2019 fill the pan with powder making sure to tilt the gun slightly so that the powder enters the touch hole located at the side of the barrel within the flash pan. That was yet another question i had that i was a bit hesitant to ask. A complete clean so far has been removing the barrel, boiling a pot of water and pouring it down the muzzle watching it exit the touch hole till it is clear then keep going for onetwo minutes. In our muzzleloader group, we shoot percussion pistols, flintlock pistols, and. Unfortunately, muzzleloaders can destroy themselves even if maintained, but not fastidiously maintained.

Its an exciting option for deer, elk, bear, pronghorn, and nearly any medium or large game animal. Burnt, shredded square patches doing a lot of muzzle loading shooting here with the postal matches in full gear. The spit patch cleans the bore every time you load, although fouling will build up below the ball seat so the ramrod mark will creep upward with progressive shots. The plains rifle was what their customers needed when they ascended the missouri river in search of beaver, a quality gun, light enough to carry all the time and capable of knocking down big targets at long. The traditions buckstalker is an excellent blackpowder rifle for hunting medium to large game.

For hunting you will want to use a greased patch because the spit can dry out. Super great black powdermuzzleloader bullets, muzzleloader parts, muzzleloader supplies and great deals a great fair priced place to stock up on all your muzzleloader bullets, accessories and specialty products from precision rifle, barnes, thompson center, hornady, knight, cva, caldwell, remington 700 ml and ruger 7750. Muzzleloading forces you to spend quality time doing both and what a good excuse to get out and have some fun in the field. Then, with a cleaning patch on the rod, push this down the barrel until you feel the patch hit the column of water. Spitfire mz a streamlined semispitzer ogive, boattail base and tackdriving accuracy make the barnes spitfire mz a great choice for difficult long shots. Examples of this category are the knight disc, the thompsoncenter encore, and. Throw away the wonderlube, bore butter, or whatever youve been talked into using and try just. Look at the loading instructions for a cap and ball revolver, for example. I would try a cushion wad under the pbr to see if you get a better bore seal. Folks prefer to use patches loaded with spit than to load with dry patches. What is muzzleloader hunting, and what are muzzleloaders. For a frontiersman like wetzel or boone, a trick was to speed load skipping the patch and keeping a spare rifle ball or two or three in their mouth.

You then use a cleaning rod to run the patch down the barrel from the muzzle unless you have a break action muzzleloader. Lube also helps to keep the patches from tearing when the ball is started in a tight muzzle and to make ramming. Fullstock rifles meaning the wood stock reaches all the way to the muzzle. Switching to something else to hunt with would also cause impact point variations. When you try different loads it is best to switch the loadings between each shot. The pumping action pulls the hot solution up into the bore and actually heats up the metal of the barrel. Round balls in fast twist rifles white muzzle loading.

Muzzleloading is the shooting sport of firing muzzleloading guns. Traditons evolution bolt action inline muzzleloader. The barnes spitfire tm 50 cal 245 grain muzzleloader bullet is intended for black powder muzzle loading rifle use. Only the intrinsic low energy properties of black powder propellants and the oneshot limitation inherent to the design restrain muzzleloaders from being as effective as modern rifles.

Using 100 gr powder white hots and 245 gr bullet barnes spit fire mz. Try these tips and tricks to make cleaning your guns a task. Traditions nw buckstalker r721540wa northwest legal traditions tracker r544003470mz. Here at north american muzzleloader hunting, we have two of the very authentically styled pedersoli percussion hawken rifles the. It is generally agreed that saliva evaporates, thus rendering the spit patch less effective as a gas sealant. Muzzleloaders, muzzleloading kits, muzzleloading shoting. Its always handy, its cheap and it doesnt cover you and the gun with grease. Chronograph three five shot strings with the same load. Ive heard of some small bore shooters using sub caliber ball with a much thicker patch or even two patches and experiencing good results. Smoothbore guns can expand muzzle loading hunting opportunities for traditional hunters. Tips for new muzzleloading enthusiasts black powder.

A hybrid rifle built to reflect the definition of a muzzleloading rifle according to many states game laws. The sport originated in the united states in the 1930s, just as the last original users and makers of muzzleloading arms were dying out. Has anyone used leather patches in their muzzle loader. This hunt is featured in the new hunting video by creekside productions. This just makes the gun harder to load for each successive shot, so from a military point of view, a really undersized ball with a thick patch was a positive thing, as it made reloading in battle faster and easier. Secure the butt of the gun firmly against your shoulder. I killed my first dear with a traditional sidelock 50 cal. Founded in 1999, started as a collection of links to michigan related sites, and a series of manually edited blogs.

For example, a charge of 3050 grains black powder or pyrodex equivalent in. Mar 16, 2012 if you are already a deer hunter but have never taken advantage of your states muzzleloader season, this spring might be a good time to get comfortable with a modern day muzzleloader from traditions firearms. Six razorsharp copper petals create massive shock, deep penetration, and doublediameter expansion. In the western states in particular, there are special muzzleloader seasons that traditionally coincide with the peak of the elk rut. A few years ago i started using bore butter exclusively, absolutely nothing else ever, no solvent, no water, no soap, no spit. Patches for muzzleloaders florida muzzleloaders association. Lube helps to keep the fouling soft which helps to push the fouling back down the bore after each shot.

Since saliva is free and my go to patch lube is running low, i decided to try it, with very good results. Mule deer country is mule deer hunting at its finest, from idaho to old mexico. Muzzleloader definition of muzzleloader by merriamwebster. After every shot, i spit patch the barrel 3 times and then a dry patch till its clean. Just lightly dampen a patch with something like spit, water, windex, or other cleaner not solvent if your shooting sub powdersi personally use a cleaner called simple green. Round lead balls used with a cloth patch are the traditional projectile used in muzzleloaders. American hunter field editor jeff johnston takes a look at the new cva paramount long. So if you use a light fitting patch while loading the improved cylinder, you have a. At this point, unstop the nipple or vent and with a forceful motion skeet the. Hornady continues to raise the bar for muzzleloading performance. Patch box an inlaid lidded box that is found on some of the muzzleloading rifles, originally intended for carrying greased patches. Muzzleloader definition is a firearm that loads at the muzzle.

In those locations where deer hunters are required to use buck shot, a smoothbore is a very good choice. Black powder guns are a whole different ball game compared to shooting standard firearms, but are still used for sport, reenactment, and enthusiast shooting. Polycarbonate tip reduces drag for a straighter flight path. Have also found that if i lube my sabots with bore butter they really slide nicely down the barrel. Definition of a muzzleloader a muzzleloading firearm, either rifled or smoothbored, can be compared to a combustion engine. Muzzleloading firearms generally use round balls, cylindrical conical projectiles, and shot charges. Developing an accurate load for a black powder muzzleloading. When learning how to hunt with a muzzleloader, the first thing you should realize is that all muzzleloaders have a relatively short effective range. Some have used black powder guns in the past by borrowing them from friends. Its a 6 flat grind blade of some kind of stainless steel, with a false edge ground on top for throwing. Realistically, your maximum effective range when hunting should be in the neighborhood of 100 yards.

Licenses are limited, so there are few hunters in the woods. Muzzleloading automatically weans out the impatient and shallow. Modern hunting muzzleloaders have superseded traditional ones almost. If youre cutting patch at the muzzle, youre eventually gonna scratch the finish no matter what blade you use. Patch lube is beneficial and really should be used. Information and translations of muzzleloading in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. There is disagreement among muzzleloading enthusiasts as to. Full stock rifles meaning the wood stock reaches all the way to the muzzle. Click here to proceed to the tma forum this forum is free and open to the public, and registration is as a forum guest. Use spit, or black powder cleaning solution moose milk for lubrication.

The brass tools on the left are a breech scraper, patch worm, and 2 different patch jags. As a forum guest, you can join and become a tma member. Inline muzzleloaders are in many respects modern rifles using primitive technology. Silly and arbitrary because we dont sic the law on people for countless other personal decisions that dont cause harm to others everything from being overweight to exercising excessively to worrying too much to mowing the grass on a 96 degree day. The conical slug, a popular bulletshaped projectile,is also available. Michigan sportsman online michigan hunting and fishing resource. The spit patch will remove the excess fouling while leaving the first shot fouling on the barrel. How to hunt with a muzzleloader big game hunting blog. At that time, the powder was still in the prototype stage dubbed silver strike and the 300grain bullets were from the first pre. The smoothbore loaded as a shotgun allows the hunter to pursue those birds and small game animals which he may not be allowed to hunt with a rifle. The barrel is the cylinder, the ball or shot column is the piston, and the powder is the fuel. Advancements in the care and cleaning of muzzleloading arms.

The vast majority, however, have no actual experience with frontstuffers. Muzzleloading s3 amazonaws com hunting and shooting. Lightly moisten a patch with spit or water or ballistol or what you like, run it down with a jag, then a dry patch after. After going through 3 different message board softwares, we settled on one in late 2000.

Hunting tip between muzzleloader shots big game hunt. And then swab the bore of the rifle in very short strokes, from muzzle to breech. Shoulder and fire, squeezing off the shot, not pulling the trigger. Thus, the thickness of the patch and its relationship to the depth of the rifling and size or the ball, along with powder charge, determine the accuracy of the gun.

In other types of round ball firing rifles, a ramrod and hammer is used to force the round ball down through the rifling. A muzzleloading firearm, either rifled or smoothbored, can be compared to a combustion engine. Eric peters is a libertarian gearhead, columnist and author. I know these are not the best rifles out there by any means. Every state except montana has a special extra season for muzzleloaders, and pennsylvania even has two of them, one reserved just for flintlocks.

Each year more hunters are discovering the thrill of muzzleloader hunting. Imagine what happens when you load your gun with a salivalubricated patch. The oil lubed patch ball combo will probably shoot a little higher than the spit patch, but with enough practice that wont bother you. How to hunt with a muzzleloader loading now that youve chosen your muzzleloader ignition system, powder, and bullet, the next step is actually loading your muzzleloader. Cva wolf pr21s northwest legal traditions buckstalker r72103540. It was a marriage of my passions for the outdoors and the internet. I fire around a dozen shots then do a complete clean. Maintaining your muzzleloader rifle real world survivor. Spit patches are very accurate and keep the bore surprisingly clean. A muzzleloader hunter must spend more time at the bench getting to know his gun, its capabilities and limitations. Muzzleloading has come a long way from spit patch round balls, soap and.

Smith shares his knowledge about muzzleloading basics on the rifle. Several people on the american long rifle forum have been extolling the virtues of using a patch lubricated only with saliva, the wellknown spit patch. One bullet was seated with the nose inside the tail of the forward one. While nothing changes the residue from our initial fouling shots followed by a spit patch, the shottoshot condition of our barrels following a discharge of an mmp ensconced bullet followed by a spit patch retains consistent barrel condition, and consistency is the definition of accuracy. Lightly moisten a patch with spit or water or ballistol or what you like, run it down with a jag, then a dry patch. Repeat to your hearts content, periodically interspersing a spit patch to keep the bore smooth. However certain areas are designated for tma members only and cannot be accessed by visitors. Top cures to the most common muzzleloader shooter blunders that can plague your biggame hunting adventures. Sabot design reduces contact on barrel walls for easier loading.

Running a cleaning patch down the barrel after each shot will result in more accuracy than not. In some types of rifles firing round ball, a lubricated patch see. The first rifle i ever shot blackhorn 209 out of was also the first rifle i ever shot with the 300grain scorpion pt gold as well. I am not sure if the trigger is missing a spring or if this is normal. Muzzleloading is one of the most satisfying ways to hunt. In the photo above are several basic tools you will need for your muzzleloader. How to load and fire a muzzleloader with pictures wikihow. The hotterthe better, as this heat enables the barrel to dry quickly before it can rust. Making a mistake, like pointing your muzzle in an unsafe direction, or putting down a ball with no powder, is a warning that you are not paying enough attention. Muzzleloading has come a long way from spit patch round balls, soap and water cleaning techniques, powder horns, and bulky shooting bags. Hunting with a muzzleloader forces you to get closer to the animal so you can make that one shot harvest.

The canned commercial gun sight spray, while better than no black, seems to leave a. This is pushing the remington branded barnes 250 gr spit fire sabot bullet. Retains virtually 100 percent of its original weight. Using your ramrod with a cleaning jag attached, work the patch in everlengthening strokes to the bottom of the barrel. The very nature of black powder and its substitutes predicts that a muzzleloading hunter will never collect more game than a hunter armed with a modern rifle. However, i tried this again over the last 2 days with my normally quite accurate rifles and. The first thing you should do is check to verify that it is unloaded, as a double load in a muzzleloader can be very dangerous. A streamlined semispitzer ogive, boattail base and tackdriving accuracy make the barnes spit fire mz a great choice for difficult long shots. It makes no difference how the fire is lit in the barrel of the muzzleloader, whether by side hammer, percussion or flintlock, inline action, or for that matter, miquillette, dog. Tma forum events about traditional muzzleloaders contact us. But then muzzleloading hunting need not be frustrating and fruitless either. The bass pro shops 1source site has a goal to provide outdoor industry content that is informational, tells whereto and howto, presents views and opinions from outdoor writers as well as fishing and hunting professionals including many recreational and industry experts.

How long can you leave a inline muzzleloader loaded. Since 1974, muzzleloader has been the leading magazine devoted to traditional black powder hunting and shooting. Many black powder shooters have once in their career shot a rifle or musket loaded with a patched roundball. In summary, muzzleloading rifles using black powder simply cannot be loaded to the point where they remotely approach centerfire velocities and trajectories. The only real difference between these two models is that the missouri river hawken sports a slightly shorter 30inch barrel, while the rocky mountain hawken comes with a longer 34 34.

Knight muzzleloading tm muzzleloader bullets with ez load sabots. Muzzleloader cleaning patches for sale at midsouth shooters. Between shots i used to run a spit patch down before loading the. Whats the rule for ball size and patch size for a given. The hawken brothers established a reputation for manufacturing excellent muzzleloading rifles. One advantage of the conical slug is the ease with which it can be seated, even in a rifle with a dirty bore. A large amount of our time is spent exploring new areas and trying out new equipment and gear so we have firsthand knowledge of the products and accessories we. As soon as the ball leaves the barrel the patch separates from it. In some types of rifles firing round ball, a lubricated patch see kentucky rifle of fabric is wrapped around a ball which is slightly smaller than the barrel diameter. You run the rod all the way down and back up and repeat a few times to clean off powder residue. Muzzleloaders tend to destroy themselves if not maintained. Using the same thing on the same patch in the same amount every time once you find the right combo. On the whole, matt black sights will provide sharper definition.

When i first got my modern inline muzzleloader, i got bad advice from many. Midsouth carries everything from the muzzleloader, rifle, or pistol you want, to the black powder, sabots, and bullets that go in it, in stock and for sale, from great brand like lyman, cva, traditions, tc. Generally speaking you would swab wet, then dry it out between shots if going that way. Be safe and keep your powder dry was a common phrase in the early muzzleloading era, and it still holds true today. The trigger just flops around until it is pulled back slightly then it is stiff. These bullets by definition must practically fall down the barrel by themselves. Developing an accurate load for a black powder muzzleloading rifle. High pressure muzzleloader sabots for muzzleloader bullets are designed and manufactured to enhance accuracy with hot powder charges. While this might be good for new gun sales, it rarely is good for your wallet.

Every year thousands of hunters purchase their first muzzleloading guns. Patching cloth, usually cotton or linen, used to form a gas tight seal around the round ball loaded into a muzzleloading rifle. I have hunted with muzzleloaders nearly all my life and i have not missed a season since my 16th birthday. It would seem to me that spit while readily available would tend to dry especially in a warm or hot barrel. I have killed several other deer with that same setup and i have lost a couple too.