Ball & Patch Fit

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rodwha

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I believe I've just barely been good enough for a .50 cal Lyman's Deerstalker this Xmas!

I'm looking over the RB and patches at Dixie and I'm wondering about patch thickness to bore fit. Lyman's states the bore is .502 x .520" and to figure patch thickness you subtract the ball diameter from the groove depth and divide that in half. That gives .0125" for a .495" RB, and .015" for a .490" RB.

I read how a tight fitting PRB will generally be more accurate, but I don't think I'm wanting to carry a mallet around with me. Just what would a tight fitting patch be that wouldn't require a mallet for either a .490" or .495" RB? Nor do I want a palm that's done after a range trip from hammering in the short starter...

How hard would it be to run home a .490" RB with .016" pillow ticking?

And for wads would I want a punch made at .520" ID or even .521"-.525"?

Would a wad make up for a looser fitting PRB combo?

I don't want pre lubed patches as I've made Gatofeo's #1 lube and would want to try that first.

I'm hoping to use .495" RB, but finding patch material that is .0125" seems difficult, though I've only been looking over at Dixie.
 
I can speak only for a patched .490 rb using lubed, Bore Butter,.015-.016 ticking
over 90gr fffg and it's very accurate in both my .50 and my .45 Hawkens. (.440 rb, 80gr fffg, same patch/lube in the .45 )
It is a pretty tight fit to run the ball but it slides very easy due to the fact that i keep my bore seasoned with BB.
I also seat this patched ball VERY firmly.This can be accomplished by flattening one 'side' of your short starter and then drill a shallow 3/8 hole in it to fit over the end of your ram rod.(T/C used to offer a short starter made this way )
Using this option allows you get that last 'smart' push to seat the ball in a way that allows your rod to bounce off of it and save your palm at the same time.

Hope CHIRSTmas brings you your Deerstalker ;)
 
I like the short starter idea! That's great advice! Thanks!

After looking at The Possibles Shop I think I'll try some .015 and .02" patches and .018" pillow ticking along with both .49 and .495" RB from a caster on another forum (very cheap @ $10/100 RB!). And I would try out my Gatofeo's #1 lube as I have plenty of the ingredients for it.

I'm hoping for the rifle too! She has wanted to upgrade some of my hiking/camping gear instead. I told her that at this point I have most of what I need as far as that goes. It would be nice to have lighter or better gear, but I am lacking a .50 cal rifle! Lacking vs upgrading is a no brainer!

Besides, I haven't found myself to be proficient enough with my Old Army to hunt with it beyond 10 paces! :scrutiny:

But I'll be in Missouri soon at her parent's place, which is on 20 something acres. I'll be able to shoot every day!
 
For hunting and other shooting, I preferred a load combination that slid down the bore with merely finger pressure on the rod. It made for easy loading and accuracy was good enough to hit deer within range. I was happy with 3 MOA.
 
rodwa, I use a .490 ball with .012 pillow ticking using a dry lube (water soluble oil). You might bring up my post a few weeks ago, it's not that difficult to make. Further when I"m ready to ram the ball down the barrel, all it takes is a firm push with the starter, and I ram the ball and patch firmly against the powder charge. I've found this combo very accurate out to 75 yards.:D Note you want to wash the pillow ticking before you begin to use it though.
 
Yep. Tickiing comes from the mill impregnated with 'sizing', which is a kind of thin starch material. It needs to be washed to remove the sizing.
 
The bulk pillow ticking that's pre-packaged by patch material suppliers may not have the sizing applied, and if so there wouldn't be any need to wash it out.
Cabela's and Eastern Maine Shooting Supplies sells it in bulk that way and so did TC.
If their bulk patch material has sizing on it then all of their patches would have sizing on it too. I'm not sure if it does or not, but maybe it comes from the mill without any sizing applied. And even if it does comes with sizing on it, I've never heard of anyone washing the factory pre-cut dry patches to remove it.

http://www.cabelas.com/black-powder-accessories-cabelas-bulk-pillow-ticking-1.shtml

http://emshootingsupplies.com/patches.html
 
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Pillow ticking material sold as patch material by black powder sutlers does not have sizing in it.

Pillow ticking material sold by dry goods dealers as pillow ticking has sizing in it, and as Pancho said, it needs to be washed out.
 
Thanx again fellas. never knew that. Although i have heard Janet use the term before. (she's a seamstress)
I bot my ticking a lonnnnnng time ago, OXY-YOKE i believe was the brand,all folded up nice and neat in about a 6"x 6" package. It is indeed a bit 'stiff' to the touch and cuts real nice and precise with my Forester patch cutter,but never, as i can recall, had a problem absorbing melted Bore Butter.
Have no clue weather or not it is sized and as written in previous posts, both my Hawkens' load real easy and shoot REAL accurate with 'em.
Spose i could have Janet check it for sizing.
 
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Wikipedia has separate articles about sizing and desizing material.
The articles mention that the material can be sized during processing using different formulas some of which are water soluble.
In part the sizing can add strength and abrasion resistance, and decrease the hairiness of the fibers.
Then after weaving is completed, the material is desized using different methods which can help to break down the starch and decompose it.
The finished material will be able to absorb patch lube which makes washing it optional.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sizing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desizing
 
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Interesting articles on the processes, materials and different uses, but I see no reference in the cited articles to desizing pillow ticking material sold at retail for home consumer use. According to my local retailer the material he gets is not desized prior to shipment. I've purchased pillow ticking material at four different retailers in the US midwest and it has always had sizing in it.
 
I use Pillow Ticking, washed and dried twice gets around .22-.24th thick, I use a .497 round ball (Lee 495 mould) and use a short starter with a good whack or if they are tight, use the short starter with a rawhide. My gun shoots awesome, the shooter not so good.
 
Start with the load you figured for ease of loading then go from there. There are no two rifles on this planet that are the same. Every one is an individual, which goes for any rifled bore, and each likes its own load. So start with a load you like and then figure out through shooting what load your rifle likes. Your rifle will tell you when to stop.
 
When I got into the Black Powder game, my first rifle was a built from kit .50 cal. T.C. Hawkin that I still own.
From other shooters I was able to try different patch thickness using a .490 home cast ball.
The rifle shoots best with a .013" cotton patch and I bought a large supply at a local fabric store back then using a Dial Thickness gauge to measure.
My .36 cal Seneca likes the .013" patch also.
It's fun to shoot round balls but for Hunting with the .50 Cal. I prefer the 370 grain Maxi-Ball.
One more thing.
A few years back a friend gave me over a quart of genuine bear grease that I 've been using for a patch lube.
My patches for the .50 are pre-cut, pre-lubed ,1" in diameter, for the .36,
3/4" in diameter.
I also use a short starter and swab the bore with Hoppes every 2nd shot.
This method , to me, means easy loading and the accuracy speaks for itself.
 
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