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Best Patch Material
- Thread starter Tilford
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Drill cloth or pillow ticking usually.....But! Every gun likes it's own fodder...
Patching is but one part of the equation.
Ball diameter, patch thickness and weave, lube, and powder charge all play a combined role..
Patching is but one part of the equation.
Ball diameter, patch thickness and weave, lube, and powder charge all play a combined role..
Duck cloth works good in my .54 GPR.
Pillow ticking and mink tallow or spit for me! Experiment, that's one of the neat aspects of black powder, your the hand loader.
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I tend to use patches as thick as I can get away with. But there are certain bore/ball combos that are unusually tight. Rather than buying a smaller ball mold right away, I'll experiment with thinner patches.
No one sezz much about making do with thinner patches cuzz they're prone to shredding and ruining accuracy.
I still prefer thick, but when going thin there's only one thing I'll use: Supreme Muslin. It's very finely woven pure cotton. It resists shredding and tearing better than any other thin fabric I've tried.
No one sezz much about making do with thinner patches cuzz they're prone to shredding and ruining accuracy.
I still prefer thick, but when going thin there's only one thing I'll use: Supreme Muslin. It's very finely woven pure cotton. It resists shredding and tearing better than any other thin fabric I've tried.
Onojutta
45 Cal.
For the first ten years or so of my blackpowder shooting I only ever used the pre-cut, pre-lubed patches like Ox-Yoke. Recently I have switched to pillow ticking. The stuff my local store caries by the yard is 0.018" thick. I washed it and dried it and it seemed to swell up a little bit to 0.020.
Of course each gun is different so the right combination for you will probably be different than what works for me, but a discussion on patches isn't complete without mentioning lube. I cut the ticking at the muzzle and use olive oil and beeswax for lube. I melt the wax and oil in jar then soak strips of the ticking and ring it out as best while it is still hot and liquid. The trick being to saturate the material but not have any excess on the surface. Like oiling a bike chain, you want the lube on the inside. These pillow ticking patches cut at the muzzle seem to load a lot smoother than then pre-cuts even though they're about the same thickness- that must be a function of my lube.
I can't really say if the pillow ticking is more accurate because I am in the process of working up a load and have nothing to compare it to for this particular rifle. Although in my production gun that I shot with pre-cuts, I could shoot groups all day long touching each other at 50 yards, so the pre-cuts couldn't have been that bad.
The idea of cutting patches at the muzzle definitely is more authentic and will draw attention from the centerfire crowd at the local gun club. However, I will say that it was a lot more convenient when I used the pre-cuts, so there is some trade off. Convenience for authenticity, and just maybe, a little better accuracy.
The reason I switched over, was that I have more control over my patch/lube combination, and I like the resourcefulness of making my own patches and lube- that's really the name of the game when it comes to the black powder sport. It's definitely cheaper this way, but it wasn't like I was spending a fortune on pre-cuts either.
Of course each gun is different so the right combination for you will probably be different than what works for me, but a discussion on patches isn't complete without mentioning lube. I cut the ticking at the muzzle and use olive oil and beeswax for lube. I melt the wax and oil in jar then soak strips of the ticking and ring it out as best while it is still hot and liquid. The trick being to saturate the material but not have any excess on the surface. Like oiling a bike chain, you want the lube on the inside. These pillow ticking patches cut at the muzzle seem to load a lot smoother than then pre-cuts even though they're about the same thickness- that must be a function of my lube.
I can't really say if the pillow ticking is more accurate because I am in the process of working up a load and have nothing to compare it to for this particular rifle. Although in my production gun that I shot with pre-cuts, I could shoot groups all day long touching each other at 50 yards, so the pre-cuts couldn't have been that bad.
The idea of cutting patches at the muzzle definitely is more authentic and will draw attention from the centerfire crowd at the local gun club. However, I will say that it was a lot more convenient when I used the pre-cuts, so there is some trade off. Convenience for authenticity, and just maybe, a little better accuracy.
The reason I switched over, was that I have more control over my patch/lube combination, and I like the resourcefulness of making my own patches and lube- that's really the name of the game when it comes to the black powder sport. It's definitely cheaper this way, but it wasn't like I was spending a fortune on pre-cuts either.
Agree: No one sezz much about them.
But I'll sezz sumptin to the shredding bit. :nono:
I once had a rifle with a barrel wat had very shallow rifling. It required thin-thin patching. After experimenting, and mentoring from Ole Don Davis, I ended up using airplane cloth. Tough stuff. Hard to believe pure cotton that thin could be that strong. Good stuff.
Other barrels and shooting I have used duck but found batch after batch not consistent and good stuff hard to find. Then I went to denim and it was great on the range and gave great accuracy.Bought an entire bolt and still have some of it left many years later. But, it required short and long starters and big mallet to load. Gave 'X' accuracy but no fun in the field. Years later and currently I am using ticking and am very happy with the results. Bought an entire bolt and still have some of it left many years later. For loading ease I switch from a small ball (.440") in the field to a large one (.445") at the range. So, there, now someone has sezz sumptin' about thin patching. :wink: :v
Richard Eames said:
Yep. I was there when Webb Terry 'invented' the stuff. Still have some. Dunno about the "military spec" part though. Works great but kinda expensive.
Cruzatte
50 Cal.
I like to do a bit of sewing for myself. So, when I'm inspired to sew a new linen shirt, for example, I'll go to my favorite fabric store (calipers in hand) and look for a likely bolt of linen. I purchase enough for the shirt, plus a little more for shrinkage, and a little more for my rifle. And I don't throw away the bits and ends left over from the shirt. Bingo....shooting patch material.
Muslin tends to be too thin for my recommended use. I prefer cotton drill cloth or JoAnn's cotton utility cloth.
Billnpatti
Cannon
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Go to your local JoAnn's Fabric shop and ask for a 100% cotton product called "pocket drill". Make absolutely sure that it is 100% cotton. Sometimes they know it by that name and sometimes they don't. If you run across someone who doesn't recognize that name, tell them that you want the cotton drill fabric that is used to make pockets. It is a sturdy tight weave. It measures right at .015 after washing. It is one of my favorite patching materials.
When you get it home, sew around the cut edge with a sewing machine to keep it from fraying on the edge when it is in the washing machine. If you don't do that, it will be a tangled wad when it comes out of the washer. If you don't have a sewing machine, then the next best thing to do is to put the new fabric in a mesh bag or the leg of a pair of panty hose. That will prevent the fraying. Do not use any kind of fabric softener because it will make the fabric not absorb lube very well. After washing and drying, I like to run over my fabric with an iron to smooth it out. I then fold it and it is ready for making into patches.
P.S. If you don't already have a copy of Dutch Schoultz' Muzzleloading Accuracy publication, go to this website and order a copy. It will save you a LOT of time and money in finding the most accurate load for you rifle. It is money well spent, an investment actually.
www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com
When you get it home, sew around the cut edge with a sewing machine to keep it from fraying on the edge when it is in the washing machine. If you don't do that, it will be a tangled wad when it comes out of the washer. If you don't have a sewing machine, then the next best thing to do is to put the new fabric in a mesh bag or the leg of a pair of panty hose. That will prevent the fraying. Do not use any kind of fabric softener because it will make the fabric not absorb lube very well. After washing and drying, I like to run over my fabric with an iron to smooth it out. I then fold it and it is ready for making into patches.
P.S. If you don't already have a copy of Dutch Schoultz' Muzzleloading Accuracy publication, go to this website and order a copy. It will save you a LOT of time and money in finding the most accurate load for you rifle. It is money well spent, an investment actually.
www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com
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:thumbsup:
Yep, the best patch is the one that works the best when you do your test firing. :grin:
LD
Pocket Drill might be excellent if it is right for the ball and bore you are working with.
I always looked at the denim selection at the fabric store as there was usually a much wider verity to choose from .
When I took a measurement of each fabric I would write that thickness on the end of the cardboard bolt it was wrapped around.
When I had about a foot of each thickness I thought to be in the ballpark I would run some tests at the range and then could return and look for the bolt with the same thickness as the successful sample.
You only have to do this once or so and then buy 10 yards and you can forget patching for a decade or two.
My vision went before I used all the patch material so I covered an upholstered chair with it.
Dutch
I always looked at the denim selection at the fabric store as there was usually a much wider verity to choose from .
When I took a measurement of each fabric I would write that thickness on the end of the cardboard bolt it was wrapped around.
When I had about a foot of each thickness I thought to be in the ballpark I would run some tests at the range and then could return and look for the bolt with the same thickness as the successful sample.
You only have to do this once or so and then buy 10 yards and you can forget patching for a decade or two.
My vision went before I used all the patch material so I covered an upholstered chair with it.
Dutch
:haha: I think this was first asked around 1500. Everyone is still looking for the answernecchi said:
Just repeating what the lady who makes the patching told me.
When you travel several thousand miles to enter a shoot, a couple of pennies does not matter.
In Phoenix, in the WNS Champion pistol match the winner shot 902-18X and the runner up shot 889-7X followed by 880-11X. Not much spread for 100 shots is it?
When you travel several thousand miles to enter a shoot, a couple of pennies does not matter.
In Phoenix, in the WNS Champion pistol match the winner shot 902-18X and the runner up shot 889-7X followed by 880-11X. Not much spread for 100 shots is it?
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That seems to apply to a lot of muzzleloading questions... :haha:tenngun said:
