The Original Rooster
Mayor of Spring Hill
Many probably already know this but I thought I'd share it anyway for those who might not.
I hunt almost exclusively with a traditional side lock muzzleloader during gun season and I like to shoot the Thompson Center Maxi Ball and sometimes the Maxi Hunter in my old Thompson Center New Englander. One of the issues with these two loads is that it's possible for the bullet to slip a little forward of the powder charge after loading which can lead to all sorts of problems. An easy way to prevent this is a small piece of parchment paper from the baking section of the grocery store. Any paper will work but cooking parchment paper has a higher ignition temperature than regular paper and is less likely to smolder after firing. Just wad up a small ball of parchment paper so that it's tight enough in the bore to hold your bullet in place, just like if you were firing bird shot in a smooth bore fowler.
This hasn't hurt accuracy for me and isn't dangerous so long as you are only using a small ball of paper about the size of a normal patched ball.
I hunt almost exclusively with a traditional side lock muzzleloader during gun season and I like to shoot the Thompson Center Maxi Ball and sometimes the Maxi Hunter in my old Thompson Center New Englander. One of the issues with these two loads is that it's possible for the bullet to slip a little forward of the powder charge after loading which can lead to all sorts of problems. An easy way to prevent this is a small piece of parchment paper from the baking section of the grocery store. Any paper will work but cooking parchment paper has a higher ignition temperature than regular paper and is less likely to smolder after firing. Just wad up a small ball of parchment paper so that it's tight enough in the bore to hold your bullet in place, just like if you were firing bird shot in a smooth bore fowler.
This hasn't hurt accuracy for me and isn't dangerous so long as you are only using a small ball of paper about the size of a normal patched ball.