Keep debris out of your bore

Each fall, all of us sight in our center fires, Muzzle Loaders, Shotguns, what ever kind of firearm we shoot, we normally go and cover the muzzle to keep dirt, mud, you name it, out of the bore.

Having mud, water or snow get into your muzzle is not only sucks, but is extremely dangerous and can cause problems. The biggest problem with a bore being plugged with snow or mud of course would be a ruptured barrel.

Over the past couple of months, some forum members of Frontier Muzzle Loading have been asking the question of : Will using a Bore Cot " Or anything over the muzzle" change accuracy in any way?

This isn't something i ever thought of and why would we? Its just basically a simple balloon that you slip over your barrel to keep debris out of the bore. Why should it affect accuracy?

Well i finally had some nice weather to do the testing and when i first did it, i was shooting off my Caldwell Tack Driver bag rest. I rarely shoot off of it because my FCX Lead Sled has spoiled me and so after shooting and testing, i really was surprised at what i was seeing.

Now i didn't want to jump on the band wagon and tell everyone what happened until i did it at least one more time to make sure. With something important like this, i used my Lead Sled on the next trip to the range for testing to eliminate as much human error as possible.

Using the CVA Apex .50cal Muzzle Loader i got my supplies set up and used 100gr "71 grains weighed charges" of Blackhorn209, a 295gr Hollow Point Powerbelt and the CCI 209 Magnum primers. This is an excellent shooting load in the rifle.

I took my Three shots at 130 yards, allowing a few minutes in between shots to make sure the barrel did not heat up. Perfectly right under the bulls eye where they grouped the last time out with the rifle.

After cooling the gun down for a good 20 minutes, i reloaded and took Three more shots, this time with Bore Cots over the muzzle, just like we do when we are hunting.

Now when i fired that first shot, my head shot up and i looked down the the rifle with a confused look on my face. One shot doesn't prove anything so i reloaded, let the gun cool down a few minutes and took shot two which went right next to the first shot.

This certainly showed the Bore Cot had in fact changed the bullets impact zone a good deal. The added drop was Two inches and while that may not seem like much, when you start shooting 200-250 yards with a muzzle loader, THAT is a big drop that can make a good hunt, perfect shot, a missed shot.

I ended up getting into a rush and reloaded right away rather than allowing the barrel to cool down and as usual, if you don't give the barrel enough time to cool down properly, you'll most likely get a flier. That's what happened to me but it had no affect on the test at all.

When i posted my findings on other forums, i did take some " Yeah, BS!" comments basically. Here's one who did not believe my findings, yet tested it to make sure.

By Sabotloader
"First project was a continuation of the Super Powder testing. and the Second was to confirm FG's findings about shooting with Rain Gear on the muzzle of the gun, which I must tell you I did not really believe his test and I still not sold on my test - I will have to repeat the test." Note: He, just as i did, could not believe in the first testings. Its truly something we never think about!

"The last test of the day was to check FG's thought that Rain Gear on the muzzle might effect POI. I often shoot with 'Rain Gear' on the muzzle - have for several years but have never really thought or worried about POI. This small test is not enough yet for me to draw a positive conclusion, i will have to repeat it again on another outing...

Rain Gear..."

Shots 8 - 9 -10 were without the Bore cot. Shots 11 - 12 -13 were with the Bore Cot on.

Certainly no where near the drop i had during my testings, but again, its affecting it both by adding drop and spread to the group. Another point to bring up and most likely why the drop wasn't as much, my testing was done at 130 yards, The other gentleman's " Sabotloader" his testing was only 75 yards.

I know a lot of others use simple balloons, saran wrap with a rubber band around it, Duct tape over the muzzle, Electrical tape over the muzzle. These are the most common items that hunters use to keep debris out of the barrel. But do they ever test it out at the range to make sure these items don't change Point of Impact? 99% chance, No. Why? Because its crazy to think that something so simple could change where the rifle hits or how it affects group size.

Another forum member by the handle of RonLaughlin did the following test:

By RonLaughlin:

"When hunting i have always used electrical tape on the muzzle of all my rifles. Two pieces crisscrossed, and another wrapped around the barrel to hold them more better. This thread got me to thinkin' some, so this morning i gave the tape a try compared to without tape.

The rifle was the CVA Accura V2, and the load was a 200g Shockwave pushed by 115g BH209, lit by an STS primer. The range was 198 yard. Six shots were made. The unmarked bullet holes were made with a naked barrel. The first shot was with a naked barrel, and the next was taped, and the next was naked, and the next...................."

As you can see, the further you move out, the greater impact a bore cot or tape over the muzzle has on your accuracy.

I do not plan on testing any more with this as its easy enough to see that any time you change the SLIGHTEST accessory on your muzzle loader or firearm for that matter, CHECK IT at the range First before using it in the field!