Where to get shooting patches locally?

[Darth-Vang]

What stores can I get shooting patches from? I’m thinking about shooting my .32 cal pretty soon. I already have commercial .010” thick patch. What other patch thicknesses should I get? Im going to try to work up a load. I’m thinking about using “moose milk.” Where should I start up with in the mixture of oil? 50/50? What powder load should I try out? 10 grains? I will be shooting a CVA .32 squirrel rifle and possibly if time permits me a CVA .32 Varmint. Will be using 3fg powder and standard #11 percussion caps. Will probably be a warm day here in Oklahoma.

 

[Malachi Leviticus Blue]

Plenty of folks buy pillow ticking at fabric stores for patches.
Also some that use old t-shirts, sheets, or jeans.
You need to be wary of the thin worn areas of used garments and sheets

 

[Jeff62]

I’m using patches cut from 20 year old Carhart overalls, yes they can wear out.
I recommend 100% cotton, whatever your source.

 

[dave951]

Pillow ticking from any store that sells cloth. Wash first to remove sizing.

As for lube, I've found that "moose milk" doesn't work well for me. I went over to Neatsfoot oil or mink oil with great results.

 

[dave951]

One other thing, it's really, really easy to make patches. Get a cheap hole saw of the dia you want. Grind the teeth off and sharpen the remaining edge. Chuck into a drill press, put about 5 layers of cloth down on a block of wood and have at it. Cheap, fast and easy.

 

[whughett]

I use old t-shirts. Heavy duty 100% cotton type. No patches. I cut strips twice caliber width and several inches long. Pre lubed with 50/50 beeswax crisco. Ball is short started with cloth strip then cut at muzzle with a pocket knife and rammed home.
Works well with my 45 caliber single shot target pistols and a 45 caliber Cherokee.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

I use .018 canvas duck from Wally World, it's cheap and you can a lot of shots from a square yard. Stay way far away from anything with synthetic fibers, all cotton only. I use Pine sol as patch lube.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I use cleaning patches. They are usually 100% cotton and are plentiful everywhere, and are reasonably priced.I dab a bit of bore butter in the center, usually do about 50 patches at a time in a small plastic container, and heat them in a microwave for about 10 seconds or whatever it takes to melt the bore butter. Keep them in the container until used.

 

[Ranger99]

Plenty of folks buy pillow ticking at fabric stores for patches.
Also some that use old t-shirts, sheets, or jeans.
You need to be wary of the thin worn areas of used garments and sheets

^ ^ ^ this
JMHO- from my experience, old clothes
and such is worn too unevenly to be
useful for shooting patches. Cleaning
patches are a different story. Unless
funds are low, I'd be using new washed
cloth for consistency
Consistency = accuracy

 

[Darth-Vang]

I use old t-shirts. Heavy duty 100% cotton type. No patches. I cut strips twice caliber width and several inches long. Pre lubed with 50/50 beeswax crisco. Ball is short started with cloth strip then cut at muzzle with a pocket knife and rammed home.
Works well with my 45 caliber single shot target pistols and a 45 caliber Cherokee.

I use cleaning patches. They are usually 100% cotton and are plentiful everywhere, and are reasonably priced.I dab a bit of bore butter in the center, usually do about 50 patches at a time in a small plastic container, and heat them in a microwave for about 10 seconds or whatever it takes to melt the bore butter. Keep them in the container until used.

I thought for muzzleloading shooting patches, we’re suppose to use tightly woven fabric and not loose fabric?

 

[troy fairweather]

I use ticking, my Wal-Mart usually has it but always out of blue so red it is. There's the canvas to seems to be .010 and .020 think there. It's important to wash the stuff there's residue on the fibers, I can't remember what it's for or called but needs to go. Washing machine works great, wash hot water. This will tighten up the fibers to and keep a better gas seal. Important, Sew the cut ends to each other, you lose some material but trust me the mess it will make in the washing machine is well worth the sacrifice.

be sure it a natural material, do a Bern test it should turn to ash and not melt.

 

[troy fairweather]

For your 32 is the some .010 stuff, small bores foul quick, using good powder helps. I liked to swab each shot on the 32 even hunting. Keeps the gun more consistent and easier to push a ball down. A small squirt bottle with alcohol work good,

 

[whughett]

Daniel Boone hustled off to his local Wally World to stock up on tightly woven cotton ticking before each bear hunt……..

 

[windini]

Daniel Boone hustled off to his local Wally World to stock up on tightly woven cotton ticking before each bear hunt……..

Actually,I think he shopped at K(entucky)-Mart.

I've used factory cut & prelubed patches when they came with somthing or I added them to hit the "free shipping" threshold with an order. Mostly I use scrap cloth of different thicknesses depending on the particular barrel & projectile combo. Yes, cotton or natural fiber only.

 

[Ranger99]

small bores foul quick

YES
THEY
DO

 

[whughett]

Actually I don’t have but two “rifles” neither of which use patched bullets. A Remington Revolving Carbine and a civil war carbine breech loader.
I do on occasion shoot one of two single shot pistols a TC patriot and a Tingley copy, both 45 caliber. Both work fine with the beeswax/crisco soaked cotton tee shirt material.
Daniel Boone probably used thin leather and bear grease.

 

[J-Bar]

I like strips of pillow ticking about 1 3/4 to 2” wide and about 12” long, pre- lubed with PAM cooking spray (canola oil), carried in a ziplock sandwich bag in my possibles bag. Put the end of strip over the muzzle, push the ball into the bore to just below the end of the barrel, cut off with a pocket knife. If you want to swab out the bore between shots just use the lubed patch material. No need for anything else in the hunting woods. I have never needed to fire my muzzleloader more than twice on any day I have hunted with it.

I suspect one could use this same procedure when firing a lot of shots at paper in a short time, but I cannot confirm that from personal experience.

 

[44 Dave]

A friend of mine who is serious about target shooting even always places the patches with the threads (grain) the same way.

 

[swg1]

Denim of an appropriate thickness, just slightly damp with moose milk or mink oil, cut at the muzzle. This is for plinking. The damp patch wipes as I load. But, it can wet the powder if you leave it loaded for a long period of time as you would hunting.

 

[candymancan]

I just buy mine.. cabelas.. or at my local shooting range.. usually like 8$ for 100 lubed patchs.

Although i went through them very very quick the last 2 weeks ive been shooting alot through my pedersoli howdah 20ga and flintlock pistol and my hawkins.

The howdah i use two .15 ppatchs ler barrel with 570 round balls. So thats alot of patchs.

I might look into maybe making my own soon.. but to make 100 patchs.. eh might be easier to just buy em still

 

[Malachi Leviticus Blue]

I don't worry about the 1 or 2 seconds it takes to cut a patch when loading a muzzleloader.
Firing cartridges would be a better investment to increase the rate of fire then vaccum packed patches in my opinion.