Hal;
I probably didn't make myself clear. A lot of muzzleloader rifle shooters use Spit Patches when loading for immediate use. They claim better accuracy but is doubtful that it is a good practice on a hunting gun which may be loaded in the morning & perhaps not shot all day.
The part I would not do is to lean my head over a loaded shotgun & spit down the bore, even if it is not capped. I'm not an accurate enough ""Spitter" to keep my head a safe distance away & hit the bores with spit.
The patch lubricant of choice for over twenty years has been "Teflon" coated pillow ticking. It is bought by shooters already coated on one side with the greenish "Teflon" substance. However, the material is stiff, from not having the sizing ever washed out of it after it was woven. This inherent stiffness leads to problems with wrinkles as the ball/patch is seated into the muzzle. I found that dampening the other side of the patch on my tongue softens the sizing in the cloth and allows the patch to stretch better, giving much less chance of having a bad wrinkle on the ball/patch. A bad wrinkle can cause a shot to go out of the group.
All this is for those seeking the ultimate accuracy out of a roundball barrel, not necessarily for hunting purposes. Spitting down bore is for movies, not useful in any way. Blowing down the bore immediately after the shot has been taken is a useful way to verify that the nipple or touch hole is open, by observing the puff of smoke that comes out of it when you blow. I prefer not to do so, however, with the idea that if that habit became too ingrained I might one day forget and do so with a double, which may have the other barrel still loaded.
SRH
