smokeless after blackpowder

[hillbillydruggist]

when I used to do cowboy action, one of the blackpowder shooters said if you shot a jacketed smokeless round after blackpowder loads it would help clean out the barrel before you started the cleaning process. Any truth to this?

thanks

 

[SSL]

Or possibly "iron" residue more securely into the grooves? I don't have any experience with this scenario, but I think I would just clean and save the bullet.

 

[AJC]

Depends on what you were shooting before. The lyman casting manual said that gas checked bullets can help clean the bore, so there is some sound logic, but I have not verified this as true.

 

[farmerjohn]

Back in the day when we were first experimenting with green dot in muzzle loading rifles we would cronograph from 60 up to 120 gr. of black powder in 5 gr. increments switching back and forth with green dot to find the appropriate amount of green dot to do the same speed. Never noticed any difference in cleaning the rifles firing straight black powder and the ones that we were switching back and forth with, of course the ones firing straight green dot were a snap to clean. Of course that was long before anyone said you weren't supposed to do that.

 

[Judd]

Ran into a guy at the gun range and we got to talking smoke poles and he asked me what powder I was shooting...I said black powder because it seemed to clean up better than Pyrodex for me.

He told me to look into Blackhorn 209 that it didn't smoke as much and cleaned up just like our normal rifles. I haven't done any research yet but I'm going to look into it.

 

[jds holler]

If you shoot ANY black powder, and most of the black powder substitutes, you will want to clean very well. The bore isn't the only thing to worry about, as black powder will impregnate every surface, nook and cranny with residue. Nothing to be scared of, just dirty and corrosive, and needs to be cleaned well. My preference is soap and water.

 

[XTR]

If you are shooting cast bullets you never want to run copper bullets in the bore. Any copper fouling greatly increases the lead fouling. (at least that's what the serious BP and lead guys believe) If you are shooting real holy black cleanup is far easier than with smokeless. Water cuts the fouling. Wet patches are great, soap and water are awesome.

Before I switched to a smokeless ML I used to put the muzzle of my stainless Knight Rolling Block in a bucket of warm soapy water and run a bore mop in and out till clean. Soapy water is the best BP fouling solvent made.

With my C Sharps '74 and holy black I wet patch till it's clean then run one with CLP on it before it goes in the safe.