# fire lapping bore



## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

has anyone ever tried fire lapping kits for muzzleloaders? is it something you need to do as maintenance from time to time or just when youre having significant accuracy issues? had never heard of it until recently and im kind of curious. my muzzleloader is somewhat old but still gets the job done, thinking id try it as a general upkeep kind of thing.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Link, we need a link to it. 

I've never heard of doing it on a muzzle loader


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

hope this works. im at my weekend job, and the computer blocks gun sites. apparently you can buy kits with bullets of different grits you fire in sequence.

www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/48http://www.bing.com/search?q=firela...src=IE-TopResult&FORM=IETR02&conversationid=#


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

After scanning that article it appears that the person that wrote it was having problems with the consistency of the barrels bores and I can see where lapping the bore would improve the accuracy of the rifles. So in my opinion if your barrel was neglected and not cared for and you are having problems getting anything to group then it might work out for you. But you would think with the modern muzzle loader barrel that you should have no problems like he described. But if it is a cheap barrel then perhaps.

Here is the link to the article.


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

its a t/c . I clean it after 5 shots or so and always clean it before going in the safe after the season. it groups fine. just wondering if anybody has done it or if it will enhance accuracy. I have never really taken shots past 100 yds though, except on last year's buck which was probably on a hair past 100.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I think that any barrel would benefit from being smoothed out from the factory boring. Some rifles are smoother than others and some will wear in faster than others and with a muzzle loader shooting pure lead bullets it just might take a while. 

But in the section where he talks about pushing a sinker down the bore and noticing a slight obstruction where the sight dovetail is cut into the barrel is interesting and if there would be a slight obstruction right there I can see where there could be a problem with accuracy. But on the half dozen front stuffers that I have owned through the years I have never noticed even a slight problem in that area when seating a bullet. And with a inline it would be more pronounced if you were shooting a bullet such as a Thor where it is sized to the bore and comes in 4 different diameters so you would think that a person would notice a problem when he was checking for size.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Do NOT firelap a muzzleloader. You can lap it by hand carefully if the bore is rough. I did a pass on my boys muzzleloader just the other day. You can get valve lapping compound from NAPA, apply a small amount on a patch and run it through your bore. Be careful and even with your strokes... If you can remove your breech plug run the patch from breech out the bore, remove patch from rod, remove rod, then reapply patch and start 2nd pass. The more even the better.

You can pick up a cheap "endoscope" USB Camera that works with most android cell phones that allows bore inspection of a muzzleloader barrel. I *Highly* recommend that as a first step to see if lapping is even needed. Remember, once you sand off material from the bore you cant put it back.

http://www.banggood.com/Waterproof-...spection-Borescope-Tube-Camera-p-1068394.html

-DallanC


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

I think ill leave it then. it has been reliable but its good to know if I have issues I can work with it in the future. after 5 shots or so when it starts getting hard to load, I pull the breach plug, clean it and clean out the bore anyway. i don't spend a lot of time or invest a lot of money into my muzzleloader and don't experiment much with loads and bullets, but im starting to realize that i spend a lot on my rifles and focus on them but only do muzzle loader hunts anymore. so i was thinking id focus on my muzzleloader some to optimize it, rather than shooting it a few dozen times a year and putting it back in the safe.


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## sagebrush (Sep 8, 2007)

the biggest problem with shooting sabots is not getting one that fits your barrel. most people will not slug their barrel, or measure it to see what size the bore is. after that its just finding the right powder charge that goes along with the bullet weight. almost like trying to find a load for your rifle when you are working up a load.


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