I use to "dry ball"
EVERY... that's "
E-V-E-R-Y" time I went to the rifle range to shoot my muzzle loaders. It got absolutely EMBARRASSING after a while !~!~! THEN... I figured out a way to keep from doing it... and here's what I did!
I cut the patch at the muzzle which leaves a nice, round .50 caliber hole in the 2-inch wide stripe of patching-cloth I use (.016-inch washed, cotton denim). Since I use either Swiss or Goex black powder in their metal cans, I bought a nice "screw-on" cap made outta what looks like a .223 center-fire cartridge case soldered to a screw-on metal cap with a hole "punched" in it to hold the .223 cartridge's body.
Of course, when I'm shooting black powder, the can of powder sits on the shooting bench next to me along with all the "other stuff" we need when using black powder and muzzle loaders.
And so, I decided that hanging the "hole" in the strip of cloth I use as my "patching" material over the spout created by the mouth of the .223 cartridge would keep me from trying to put a "patch" under the ball sitting on the mouth of my rifle's barrel because I'd have to take the patching material OFF of the spout of the black powder I was using. I.E., in order to use the patch-material, I HAD to literally TOUCH the can of powder which SHOULD (and "does") cause me to realize I hadn't put ANY powder in the rifle. Right?
RIGHT !!!AND... believe it or not, it
WORKED !~!~! I
haven't "dry-balled" since I began hanging the strip of patching material OVER the "spout" on my black powder can 5 years ago !~!~! Shucky-
DARN... it's the
TRUTH !!!
So give this thought a "try" if yer havin' "dry-ball" trouble... 'cause it WORKS (for me, at least)!~!~!
Strength & Honor...
Ron T.