FOULING CONTROL ...
With the first round fired, and you wish to fire another round, let's address fouling control. Black powder ignition creates lots of residue in the barrel, as well as in a flintlock's touch hole, flint, pan and hammer steel (frizzen), and in a caplock's nipple. A cleaning patch that's moist with moose milk (water solvent oil: water, perhaps a 1:6 mix) or straight water soluble oil is run down and out the barrel will remove most of this residue while keeping any existing residue soft, to make loading the next patched ball easier. Most production traditional muzzleloaders (offshore manufactured) have patent breech plugs. This means there's a narrow diameter flue (ante-chamber or tunnel) that extends past the face of the breech plug and then doglegs towards the touch hole or nipple bolster. Since the cleaning jag is bore sized and larger than the flue, replace the jag with a .22 to .36 caliber bronze (not nylon) brush draped with a moist patch to reach down into the flue and clean it out. Wipe down the flintlock's pan, flint and frizzen with a dry cleaning patch, and run a pick and/or pipe cleaner into its touch hole. Remove a caplock's spent cap, and with a dry cleaning patch, clean the outside of the nipple and hammer cup, then run a pick and/or pipe cleaner down the nipple hole. Reload.
[ Invalid Attachment ]
CLEANING ...
After a day's shooting, it's important to clean the firearm as soon as possible because black powder residue is corrosive and will harden in the barrel, which makes cleaning a hard chore. Before packing up and leaving the range, run at least a few moose milk (water solvent oil: water, perhaps a 1:6 mix) or straight oil sloppy wet patches down the barrel. Leave the jaged wet patch down the bore. At home, the barrel can be removed (hooked breech) or remain on the stock (pinned barrel). First, pull off the lock. Plug the touch hole or nipple with a snug fitting round wooden toothpick. A small funnel comes in handy, or make one from paper, or don't use one at all, but stand the long gun on its butt stock and pour tepid tap water down the barrel about halfway or so. The water should NOT be hot. Allow that to sit there for 5 minutes. While the water is doing its thing inside the barrel, remove the flint from a flint lock's jaws and wash the entire lock in a pail of tepid tap water. A toothbrush can be used to scrub the lock inside and out. Shake off the excess water, pat dry with paper or cloth toweling, wipe down with an oily cloth, pat off any excess, put a tiny drop of gun oil on all moving parts. Lean the barrel or gun over so the touch hole or nipple faces the ground or a bucket and pull out the toothpick, allowing the water to squirt out.
Run wet patches down the barrel, allowing any excess to shoot out the touch hole or nipple. Do this until the patches come out relatively clean, then run down a few dry patches, followed by a patch wet with gun oil (Breakfree, Rem Oil, Hoppes, etc). Also, if the breech plug is a patent style and has a rear flue, replace the jag with a .22 to .36 caliber bronze brush draped with a patch to clean it out as well. Replace the lock you had previously cleaned. Wipe down any metal parts of the gun with an oily cloth as well. Wipe down the stock with either a clean damp, then dry, cloth or one moistened with a bit of Ballistol. The barrel may be left oiled as is, or an oil wet patch on the ramrod's jag can be sent and left down the barrel. Done.
I prefer using Ballistol for all instances of straight oil or for making "moose milk" (a 1:6 mix of ballistol:water) because ballistol is good for wood so no concerns over getting caustic cleaning chemicals on gunstocks - and you.