Cleaning any weapon that was taken into the field, regardless of whether it was shot, or not, is ingrained into my DNA, so to speak. I was taught this as a pre-teen on my first hunt. To not clean is unthinkable. I don't know about anyone else, but EVERY firearm that I have purchased, has been dear to me, in one way, or another. I also appreciate the engineering, talent, and workmanship that goes into the creation/manufacturing of any firearm, from hand cannons up to the most sophisticated modern sniper rifle.
I come from a long line of old school men & women that worked with their hands in a variety of different fields. Tools have always been an important part of my life, and to not take proper care of a tool is just unacceptable.
NOT CLEANING my rifle, shotgun, or pistol after use is simply not going to happen. Unless some sort of emergency/injury/illness occured at the time of returning home
Here is my take on first shot accuracy.
If your muzzleloading rifle is so inaccurate on a cold bore first shot as to need fouling of some sort in order for the rifle to allow you to hit the vital zone of whatever animal species that you are hunting, than that rifle is an unacceptable hunting weapon.
If a cold bore first shot is hitting 4"-5" away from all subsequent shots, than that rifle is not suitable for hunting.
Does anyone REALLY THINK that the men (& women) whose lives depended upon muzzleloading rifles back in the 18th & 19th Centuries shooting flintlocks could afford to put their rifles away fouled so that the first cold bore shot would hit where they expected it to? Or, when percussion cap weapons came along, that they were fouling their bores with percussion caps before loading?
The answer is a BIG FAT NO!!!!!!
Not only was black powder corrosive when fired, or WET, but until recently (mid-to-late 20th Century) all percussion caps had corrosive priming compounds utilized in their manufacture, with fulminate of mercury being the original.
So these practices of not cleaning that everyone in this thread going back several years are advocating seem very, very wrong to me.
Everyone can do as they like, but for myself my hunting rifle must be capable of putting its first, cold bore shot right smack in the X-ring where I want it to go.
Perhaps I have been blessed with an overabundance of good luck, because all three of my flintlock longrifles were capable of just that. First shot from a cold bore straight into the X-ring off of a bench rest, as long as I did my part.
It never occurred to me back in 1971 with my first, .45 caliber flintlock, that fouling the bore was something that was going to be necessary in order for best accuracy. None of the publications of that time that I was reading; Muzzle Blasts magazine, Muzzleloader magazine, nor the Lyman Black Powder Handbook, ever mentioned bore fouling as something that a hunter might need to take into consideration.
I am going to postulate that it is our late-20th Century to early-21st Century obsession with one-hole accuracy in all of our centerfire rifles, that has recently been applied to ALL muzzleloading rifles.
I guess each muzzleloading hunter has to ask themselves the following question.
"Just how accurate does my muzzleloading hunting rifle have to be?"
Since without a telescopic rifle scope mounted on a muzzleloader, I cannot see well enough to shoot past 50-60 yards with open iron sights; one-hole accuracy is not the first criteria that I use to judge a hunting rifle. The following criteria matter more.
Weight (less than 8 pounds, all up)
Ergonomics
Handiness
Comfort (must not hurt cheek, shoulder)
Fit (with winter clothing)
Length of Pull (13", or less)
Overall Length (less than a meter)
Bore Diameter (patched ball)(.58 caliber min.)
Ball Weight (mass for killing)
Bore Smoothness (ease of loading)
Sling Swivels (1.5" wide minimum)
Shooting Sling (Ching, Rhodesian, Riflemann)
I have never been much of a fan of stand hunting, primarily because I need to be on the ground looking for spoor, assessing the wind, smelling the forest, listening for anomalies, etc. Still hunting, or whatever term one applies to it, has always been my preferred method of hunting.
So, as I return to muzzleloading hunting, after a 30 year absence, it will be with the Optima V2 pistol in my hands.
Scoped with a Leapers UTG, 2-7×32mm, illuminated handgun scope, mounted in Warne steel Q-D lever rings attached to Warne, steel, 2-pc bases.
With a LR Customs MZ REX2 muzzle brake on the muzzle to help control recoil. And, Doc White, 2-pc, curly maple, two-handed, Javelina stocks.
Shooting patched balls, lead conicals, and jacketed/monolithic .40 caliber to .45 caliber bullets in sabots. Using mostly black powder instead of BH209. Because, I am budget minded, and if most, if not all, of my practicing/hunting will be at ranges less than 75 meters, then I cannot see the need for the much greater expense of either Swiss black powder, or BH209.
Unless accuracy totally sucks, Goex fffg, or Graf's fffg black powder will be the propellants of choice.
Which means that I will be cleaning the pistol every time I use it. And, not leaving it loaded overnight, or for any extended period of time.
