RWK

I and my son are trying smoke poles for the first time this fall, do you have to lube the bore before shooting on every shot and how often do you clean is it between shots. Any help would be great. Thanks Rich

MountainDevil54

You dont have to lube the bore after each shot. I will swab my bore clean either every shot or after 2 shots, depending on the primer im using.

cayugad

You actually want the barrel real clean before you shoot. I swab the bore of my rifle with alcohol before I shoot. This takes the oil of of the bore. Then I load. After I shoot, I will take a patch, apply a solution, and swab the fouling out of the bore. Then a dry patch or two, and load again.

Swabbing solutions included a lot of things. A very common fluid to swab with is your own spit. Then there is Windex. There is solutions like Butch's Bore Shine, Rusty Duck, Simple Green, just about anything.

Some powders you do not have to swab. Others you have to swab with a certain cleaner. All of this you will learn. Is there any kind of rifle you are interested in?

Semisane

That's great RWK. You're in for some real enjoyment, especially breaking into muzzle loaders with someone else who is also a newbee. How old is your son. Do you guys have the guns already, or are you trying to decide on what to get?

MLKeith

As already sort of mentioned, you should give us a little more information so we can help. Do you have a rifle already, if not what are you looking at, where are you going to hunt and what game, what powders are available where you live, how important is it that you stay traditional or are you more interested in just hunting with less hassle, how old are the sons, how much do you want to spend?? There are a lot of options open to you so answering some of these questions will help. Many states have specific rules about muzzleloading rifles and loads.

lemoyne

First question:
do you have to lube the bore before shooting on every shot?
For patched round ball the lube is in on the patch.
For conicals the lube is put on the bullet.
For sabot lube is not use except after you clean the gun the oil is used to prevent rust as most powders are corrosive.
Second question:
how often do you clean is it between shots?
This depends on the powder and sometimes the gun itself.
The norm for me is to clean every shot [a necessity if you use 777] with 777 between the accuracy loss and crudring most have very little choice.
Black powder and Pyrodex I clean every third shot.
Blackhorn 209 I never clean until I am done shooting, it is the easy to use and for me by far the most accurate and it is also the most expensive.
There are several others made from an ascorbic acid base [sugar]
they are relatively clean should be able to get around 8 or 10 shots before starting to affect accuracy. They have 2 problems they are noticeably weaker than the other subs and good black powder and they readily absorb moisture, and become erratic.
YOU WILL ALSO FIND THE TYPE OF GUN YOU HAVE OR BUY WILL AFFECT WHAT WILL SHOOT GOOD.
If you chose a Hawken or Traditional rifle the most likely choice is PRB [patch round ball] the other choices depend on the twist of the rifling.
If you chose a modern inline such as a Omega, Triumph or Knight
then you have conicals available that will shoot very good if you need to use them because of your state laws, most of use can and do use sabot-ed bullets.
First thing is check the laws of the state you will be hunting in. then come back here and tell us what you have and what you need to shoot and we will help you. Lee

RWK

Thanks guys! i'm 66 and my sons 40ish, i guess with muzzle loaders were a dumb as a stump. Were off to ohio wed. for a few days archery hunting then back again in nov. then around the x mas holidays for smoke pole season

MLKeith

Again: What are you using for rifles?? Where do you intend to hunt and what? If you do not have rifles yet wait for more information. You will get a lot of opinions and they will not all be the same. You can sort the crap out of the good stuff.

RWK

Deer, New York and Ohio

Semisane

Tell us about the guns, DANGIT!