Breach plug dressing

Modern Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Modern Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

MJFlores

Well-Known Member
*
Joined
Jul 1, 2015
Messages
97
Reaction score
0
OK, I have a Knight ULight with bare primer breach plug, and will be using Blackhorn powder only. From what I've read here breach plug sticking isn;t usually an issue with Black horn. Some people use grease on their threads, while others use "plumber tape". My question is, which is better? When you use the tape, do you still use grease too or does the tape do away with the grease. If you do use grease, how much do you use? I used to use "gorilla grease" on my old gun when using Pyrodex and barely used any on the threads and can say I never had a tough time unscrewing the plug. This new gun is a whole different animal so I want to get off on the right foot. Which should I do?
 
All I use is some Break Free CLP spread on the threads. I have used the plumbers tape (white) as well as Knight thread lube/grease and all worked well. But I went to the CLP a couple years ago and have never had a BP freeze up.
 
With BH209, I just go with a bare plug in my Knights. With T7, I used the metalic anti-siece for a while. It worked well, but is messy. I've since changed to the pink hi-pressure tabe. One wrap works well with T7 or Swiss.
 
I like grease. Makes the BH209 fouling wipe right off and keeps the plug from corrosion whether from fingerprints, fouling left on too long (seen two from this), etc.

I could never shoot mine dry, I would think those threads see a lot of force acted on them and believe the grease has a cushioning effect.

I coat mine from the tip all the way up the threads.

The McRem in my Avatar gets grease and tape.
 
I still have some 'gorilla grease' around, may use 'choke tube' lube at times too. I'm not really concerned with the one 'best' lube, I would use something.

I just wouldn't over tighten the plug, just snug it up. Then I wouldn't leave it in place forever, especially after shooting.
 
I do the same as Buckdoehunter. I like the grease. Gorilla grease is what I use. Seems like I always have trouble getting the tape on right. When I used tape on the Optima bp I couldn't get the bp to screw in tight enough and the gun wouldn't cock. I always coat about the bottom half of the threads. Figuring the grease will spread out as I thread it in.
 
You don't need grease with Blackhorn. When I oil my bore for storage, I include the bore threads of the breechplug area. Weeks / months later, when I remove the ML from the safe, I put a little gun oil on the actual breechplug threads - install the plug - then use 91% alcohol to remove the oil from the bore. So the plug-itself and the threads inside the bore still has good remnants of the gun oil I used.

It will still remove rather easily afterwards, even after my usual 15-20 shot rituals at the range. Grease makes a mess of the bore, especially since so many of us will first dry-swab our bore, starting at the breechplug-end, with the muzzle facing ground. If you have grease in there, then that grease goes into the bore when dry-swabbing that first patch.

I haven't used breechplug grease since my 777 years. Even with hotter real blackpowder FFF, the plug still removes itself rather easily, with no wrap on the breechplug, other than gun oil.
 
With newer Knight plugs and Blackhorn209 you can get by with just a good synthetic gun oil. I still use Teflon tape since sometimes i have lengthy range sessions and its a habit i cant break.
 
GM54-120 said:
With newer Knight plugs and Blackhorn209 you can get by with just a good synthetic gun oil. I still use Teflon tape since sometimes i have lengthy range sessions and its a habit i cant break.

Someone keeps stealing my teflon tape-wrap on my plug. Every time I get the gun back home from the range, 75% of the teflon tape is missing. :wink: :think:
 
When I started using tape on my first t7 rifle, I had a heck of a mess. Like a lot of people, I have a tendency to think more is better and would wrap the plug up like a mummy. Now with Knight rifles, I use just one wrap at the front of the tape to seal the threads and wrap counter clockwise, opposite the thread direction. Never had any luck using both grease and tape. With BH 209, I typically remove the plug during range sessions to clean flash channel and do not use grease or tape. For long term storage, Rem oil works fine.
 
Maybe I am one of the lucky few?! Have the Optima v1 pistol, 2 optima rifles, (all using Blackhorn plugs)' and a TC FX muzzleloader, and have NEVER had ONE issue with unscrewing a breechplug. All these guns have never shot anything but Blackhorn, have NEVER had a misfire. I am rather fussy about my cleaning regime. The only thing I do before any range time is a drop of CLP on the breech plug threads. I have also experimented with numerous primers, along with spacers to eliminate blowby.
 
If you are only using Blackhorn, you are not one of the lucky few. Blackhorn has several good attributes; one of them is, it doesn't cause breech plugs to get stuck. My breech plugs never stick even when nothing is done to prevent them from sticking. Many many times i have installed the breech plug without doing anything to it. No oil, no tape, no grease, no nothing. However, i would rather than not, put a single wrap of white teflon tape on any plug, before installing it. What i mean by that is once around near the end, with a slight overlap. This keeps soot, from fouling the threads.
 
ronlaughlin said:
If you are only using Blackhorn, you are not one of the lucky few. Blackhorn has several good attributes; one of them is, it doesn't cause breech plugs to get stuck. My breech plugs never stick even when nothing is done to prevent them from sticking. Many many times i have installed the breech plug without doing anything to it. No oil, no tape, no grease, no nothing. However, i would rather than not, put a single wrap of white teflon tape on any plug, before installing it. What i mean by that is once around near the end, with a slight overlap. This keeps soot, from fouling the threads.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX2, Tap is all I use, never had a plug stick after using tape. :yeah:
 
I took my new CVA Wolf out to the range for the first time last weekend and ran about six shots through it . I went to pull the plug and clean the bore and it was stuck good and tight. I'm new and am now learning that a smoke pole range session is nothing like taking my Marlin 1895 GBL to the range. Lesson learned, freed the plug with the help of channel lock pliers. cleaned the clogged threads with a brass brush and then ran a line of grease along the 9 o clock and 3 o clock sides of the plug threads. In and out smooth now. Will head back to the ran ge this weekend and will clean more frequently and will swab out the plug threads before running a patch through. Thanks for the heads up!
 
Last weekend I decided to use plumbers tape, just the white stuff from the hardware store. I took around 25 shots, and ended up with a little bit of blow back. Nothing bad, and nothing on the rings or scope...just a little around the plug under where the plug screws in. It was still better than cleaning the grease out of the threads. I only did one wrap of tape at the very end that goes in first, with maybe 1/8th inch over lap and the same for over hang on the end. Next time I'll try 2 wraps overlapping. As long as I can seat a primer and close the bolt I should be good. It'll be nice to have no blow back or grease to deal with. I do get a little charring on the bolt face from the primer, but I doubt anything will correct that. I plastic pen cap seems to scrape that almost all the way off.
 
I put some red high temp gasket on the front of the breach plug and let it dry . I have removed the plug many times on my TC Impact and the it stayed put and the treads are clean . I could not find fine my plumbers tape so tried this and it works great . gives a good rubber seal on the breach plug . shot my impact 10 times sighting it in and when I remove the breach plug it was still there ;) and spotless .

 
UtahRob said:
I put some red high temp gasket on the front of the breach plug and let it dry . I have removed the plug many times on my TC Impact and the it stya put and the tread are clean . I could find fine my plumbers tape so tried this and it works great . gives a good rubber seal on the breach plug . shot my impact 10 times sighting it in and when I remove the breach plug it was still there ;) and spotless .


Very interesting.

Would u be able to take a photo of the breech plug with the gasket material installed on it?
 
I'm with Ron. I generally get pretty enthusiastic at the range, 20-30 shots are the norm. I may swab after 10 shots, or not. Never lube or tape the BP. And actually, I check to make sure it is snug. Honest to God.
Bh209, W209 primers, and what has become a vast selection of bullets, powder charges, and primers.
NO issues, as of yet.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top