Epperson said:
Hey guys! I am having some issues with my muzzleloader. To start, I was gifted a .58 caliber H&R huntsman. It is a nice gun in good shape. Ny first issue may have been cleared up but I'm not sure yet, so let me catch you up. I load 100 grains of pyrodex powder, and use a buffalo ball-et, with a size 10 percussion cap. (I tried 11s but there was a delay in the firing of the weapon) I kept getting misfires where the cap would go off but the load wouldn't fire. I took the rifle in to a local shop and they said my nipple was dirty., so they removed it and cleaned it for me, they said the gun was filthy. I took it home and cleaned it real good.I went out to shoot the next day. I made a load like explained and fired 5 caps off with no go on the load. Took the rifle back in and they said I must have some moisture in my barrel from excessive cleaning and not drying. I got a ball puller, and got the ball-et out, tried to dump powder and nothing came out, after some scraping some muddy looking sludge came out, followed by powder and more sludge. I cleaned it really we'll again but I'm afraid to go try to shoot at this point. Am I using to much cleaning solution and not enough dry patches to collect all the oils? Will having a clean nipple clear up the misfires? And last question...if I am accurate at 50 yards, how much drop should I expect at 100 yards?
Welcome to the forum and the sport.
I am not familiar with the H&R rifle. Does the barrel come off. If it does, take the barrel off for cleaning. Remove the nipple and throw that in a small glass with water and some dish soap. Now take the barrel outside and pour a generous amount of warm dish soap water down the barrel. let the water drain out through the nipple hole. With patches and a cleaning jag on your ramrod, start working saturated patches up and down through the barrel. Use short strokes, cleaning slowly. If you feel it getting too tight, pull the patch out and start over.
Keep running patches (be sure to check your jag to make sure it is not coming unscrewed) until you get nice clean patches. Now pour VERY HOT, NEAR BOILING IF YOU LIKE water down the bore and let it drain out the breech nipple port. This will heat the barrel up. And anyone that ever did dishes knows if you rinse a plate with hot water it about dries itself. Now start running clean dry patches down that barrel until you get a DRY patch out of the barrel. I like to shoot an air compressor down the nipple hole and that too will blow water out of anywhere it it trying to hide.
With the barrel still hot, run a patch with gun oil down the bore and slowly work that in the barrel, oiling all the parts of the barrel. The rifle is now clean and protected.
Before you put the nipple back wipe it out, and then blow through it. If you can feel the air passing through it, wipe it good and replace it in the rifle.
Before you shoot next time.... take a dry patch and apply some alcohol to it. Now swab the bore. That will remove the oil in the barrel. Now with dry patches, swab the bore. Again.. get a dry patch out of it. Now push one of them dry patches all the way down the bore on your cleaning jag. Apply a cap to the nipple of the empty rifle and fire it. Pull the patch and see if it has burn marks. If it does not.. push a dry patch down there and repeat the cap firing until you can see a burn mark on that patch. That means the fire channel is clean and clear and fire will pass through. Now your ready to load and fire the rifle.
Remember when you swab the bore when shooting. Damp is good on the patch, saturated is bad. Just a damp patch and then a dry one.
Also if that is a #11 nipple I am surprised you can even get a #10 cap to fit it. If it is a #11 nipple that should fit a #11 cap which has even more fire then the #10. Use a quality percussion cap. Like a CCI Magnum or Remington. If your shooting #11 CCI standard caps that might be your problem.
Also don't be shooting pellets. Only loose powder. Use something like Pyrodex RS or Black Powder. No Blackhorn 209.