Patch size Question

[Mac Attack]

Took my rifle out yesterday for some trigger time. I noticed that my patch/ball combo was loading much easier yesterday then it had before. I am using a .010 patch with a .490 ball. Overall the ball/patch combo is tight but I was wondering if I show go to a 0.015 patch. Here is a picture of a fired patch.

 

[hamourkiller]

Mac, I have found that wonder wads over the powder help my accuracy, also I have had to go to the thicker patches once the barrel slicked up. Same as you I had to go from .010 to .018 pillow ticking. The Hoppes plus BP solvent is just great. The only thing I dont like about it is I leave my patches lubed for several months the solvent begins to attack the cloth, but it is a minor problem.

Using the Hoppes on the patch cleans the barrel on the way down, the overpowder wad lubed with borebutter keeps the patch from burning through on heavy hunting loads and just generaly helps with accuracy.

BP roundball shooting has brought a lot of fun back to my shooting, and the BIG bore bug is bitting hard!

That danged .72 cal double barreled rifle made by Pedersoli is calling! Along with that Howdah 20 ga double pistol they just came out with.

Have fun.

 

[Zeke/PA]

That patch looks great to me.
A .010" patch to a .015" patch???
It's .005" more on patch thickness BUT it's .010" added to the diameter of the ball.
If it's easy to load and your accuracy is good .010" patches are fine.
However , it's fun to expirement also.
Once I find a good patch thickness, I head for the fabric store with a set of micrometers and purchase a couple of yards of the same.
A dial type thickness gauge works great for this task.
Zeke

 

[Mac Attack]

Whoops sorry about the patch sizes. I corrected it in my original post. Thanks Zeke.

 

[sundance44s]

A .010 patch is pretty thin ..you might find you`ll get better groups and a cleaner burn with a .015 or even a .018 patch ...I cut my own patches from pillow ticking bought from WalMart ..I lube with Murphys oil soap ..WalMarts pillow ticking runs around .018 to .020 thousands .
I do own a small bore squirel rifle 40 cal that likes the thinner patches .010 ..my larger bores like the .018 thick patch material .

 

[Omnivore]

My Lyman .50 works very well with .495 ball and a .010 patch. Lots of Bore Butter is worked into the patches ahead of time and they're stored ready to use. Starting the ball is tight, but the first one goes down a clean bore easily. After that, they all start about the same, but they're stiffer going down the bore. They're very consistent, whether the second shot or the 30th, with no cleaning between shots and no solvent.

For a while I used a .490 ball and pillow ticking (I think around .015 to .018) patch lubed with a little Bore Butterr. That also worked just fine.

 

[dwave]

Hey Sundance44s, how does the Murphy's work? I have never thought of using it for patch lube, but it does sound interesting. Do you use it for the cleanup too?

 

[arcticap]

I would try a .015 patch, and then assess the benefits of each. Sometimes mixing them up as the barrel gets fouled works to the shooter's advantage. Also, if using a heavier load, a thicker patch may be a benefit.
It would probably be just a little bit tougher loading a .495 ball and a .010 patch when compared to loading a .490 ball and a .015 patch.
But sometimes ease of loading is simply what's most important for having fun when shooting out in the field.
How much powder were you shooting along with the patch that's pictured?