Metal debris in bore?

taskswap

WKR
Joined
Oct 6, 2021
Messages
539
Have any of y'all seen this? I've been practicing muzzleloader a lot to improve my skill for a planned hunt next year. I shoot a CVA Accura V2 that probably only has 100 shots through it so far. Up until now I've been shooting mostly Powerbelts (hey, I got a good price) in a pretty standard routine. Shoot, shoot, swab, shoot, shoot, swab and switch to second breech plug, repeat once more for a total of 8 shots (usually enough for me - I can shoot on my property so I've been focusing on "practice a little every day" rather than trying to get 20-30 shots in for a round).

So far so good and I've had no trouble with reliability, dry/short fires, excess fouling, etc. I clean immediately after each session with CVA foaming barrel blaster first, let that soak a few minutes, then brass brush on a rod 2-3 strokes (always breech-to-bore, never reverse), then alternating dry patches with patches soaked in Muzzle Magic Cleaner until they come out clean.

Lately I've noticed metal debris on my patches, the kind of suspicious thing that would be alarming if you saw it in an oil pan. They're very small - anywhere from "fleck" to 1mm or so. I took some photos below with a USB microscope I have.

There's no sign of any barrel wear but I don't really have the right equipment to check it for sure. But I've also been shooting a mix of bullets I have lying to try to use up some stock I never hunt with. So I suppose some of it could be material scraped off the bullets themselves? Most are copper, though, like I've been using up a few BOR Lok's and Spitfire Sabot's.

Should I be worried here? It's not exactly an expensive firearm but I'd like it to last. If this is "common with low quality ammo, but not good for the gun" I'd rather ditch this ammo mish-mash, but if it's just normal and won't cause any harm I guess I'll use up the rest of it...

Screenshot 2024-09-20 at 9.16.40 AM.png Screenshot 2024-09-20 at 9.18.54 AM.png
 

DMuzz8

FNG
Joined
Sep 15, 2024
Messages
16
my guess is the ammo. Does it happen with each different kind of bullet? Seems odd to me
 
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taskswap

taskswap

WKR
Joined
Oct 6, 2021
Messages
539
I had recently shot some Powerbelt "Platinum" bullets which do have sort of a chrome-y casing but that was 2 days and 2 cleanings ago. So now I'm self-doubting whether I'm cleaning as well as I think I am. I guess I'll have to pay closer attention to what's on my patches to know for sure...
 

DMuzz8

FNG
Joined
Sep 15, 2024
Messages
16
I believe that bullet could be your issue...and like copper fouling, the "platinum" fouling took a bit to loosen up and come out of the barrel.
 
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