loading a muzzle loader.

[wackemandstackem]

the first time I loaded my muzzleloader i made a mark on my ram rod to know how far down it normally goes. once i shoot a few times its VERY hard to get the bullet down that far. it got to the point where i was hammering it down to reach that point. whats wrong and do I need to get it that far down every time?

[frontiergander]

Crud ring. T7,Pyrodex, American Pioneer must be swabbed between shots in order to get the next round seated.

[Hunting Man]

For safety reasons as you all know it's vital that the bullets are seated on the powder charge in-order to prevent a barrel failure.

[Crawdaddy]

Never hammer a bullet down. It can create a dangerous condition.

X2 on crud ring.

What type of a gun do you have? If you have a 209 ignition system I highly reccomend Blackhorn 209 powder.. You won't get that ring. Otherwise swab after every shot to keep it from building up.

[wackemandstackem]

I have a thompson center impact. sorry for my inexperience but what is a curd ring? I was using the Remington sts 209 premier primers

[Hunting Man]

crud is what is left when propellant is burned. Some are cleaner than others. The residue is what is causing the hard bullet seating. Black Horn powder seems to leave less residue behind and has excellent consistent burning.

Does blackhorn make a pellet or just loose powder?

[Hunting Man]

loose only. Right now for in-line rifles it probably ranks at the top.

[turner]

As already mentioned, do NOT pound a bullet down to get it far enough. if you are using pellets and if you break them up, it can cause a very dangerous situation due to a space, then, between the powder and bullet, more commonly known as BAD!

Thanks for all the advice... what do you do if its not seating all the way down? shoot,clean and try to get it as far as it will go?