Blue jean material for shooting patches...........

[UndeadPoet]

I know it's a very thin material but how about the stuff that makes the inside of the front pockets of old blue jeans. Too thin?

Seems to me that that would be almost a muslin kind of material. Probably would work with a slightly larger ball.

 

[tallPercshooter]

I've used pocket material from old thrift-store jeans for patch material (lubed) using a .395 ball in a .40 Sharon barrel for decades. Great accuracy.

 

[deerstalkert]

Is there an easy way to tell if an old pair of jeans is a blend of cotton and polyester?

take a small piece and light it afire. cotton will burn and synthetic will melt.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Anyone ever try using blue jean material for shooting patches. I'm think we have a couple boxes of old jeans packed away so I'm wondering how that would work. The only thing I can see that might be a factor is, depending on each specific pair and how worn they are might result in different thickness.

What say you?

When I tried it, it was too EDITED thick!

LD

 

[tenngun]

Great for smaller ball in larger gun. I have some .575 for my 62 and a ton of .490 I can shoot in my 28 bore.
In the Carry the Wind stories ol Scratch gets a fusil. And tells himself he will shoot fine with double patch.
When I hunt I want my best, but paper and steel I like to play

 

[Barry Strickland]

I had one barrel that loved thick jean material. It was a .45 cal that I had Bill Large cut for me in the mid 1970's. I specified deep rifling, 1:48 twist and to try to drag some choke into the bore.
When he gave it to me the bore looked like interior spline gears. Long story about that but in the end it loved 65 grains 3fg Goex, a .445 ball and thick jeans material. I had a national record at Friendship with that one.
In the end it just depends on the barrel you are using.
Barry

 

[BadDaditood]

I cut the back pockets out of an old pair of Levis. Why? Beats me. It’s an orphaned pocket now.
I keep a flint wallet, straight razor, thick leather, turnscrews and knapping tools in it. The rest of the pants are .030”, too thick for patches so I use it for carding when browning.
I bought some white denim at JoAnns, some .020” some .022”.
One .45 loves the .022” with .440” ball.
Another likes .018” with .445” ball.
Got ticking from JoAnns too, .015”, .017” and .018”.

 

[ETipp]

Unless you wish to use a lot smaller ball, be ready to "pound" those balls down the barrel using blue jean materials...
That doesn't sound like fun to me.

Not my idea of fun.

BTW, you going to the KY rifle show this weekend?

 

[ETipp]

You can buy a ton of pillow ticking at JoAnn fabrics or Wally World for a couple of dollars. Why use anything else? It's like trying to make a knife out of a questionable piece of steel, why? You can get state of the art steel for just a few dollars per blade.

Because we have lots of it that are too far gone to salvage and will most likely be thrown away.

 

[Pierre009]

Blue jean material works ok for shooting smaller diameter balls. I use it for shooting 375 balls in my 40 cal rifle. Best accuracy is normally found with thinner patch material, like using .012 ticking with 395 balls.

Concur I found mattress ticking soaked in Crisco & bees wax gave me the best accuracy. Mattress ticking is really cheap & unlike worn blue jeans pretty much of consistent thickness. My wife got me the mattress ticking at some cloth store years ago.

 

[Tannehill]

I use it in my sxs -12 with .690 round balls

 

[Eutycus]

Old blue jeans are usually all alike.But I would almost bet we all have at least 1 old pair that worn down and are softer to the touch than the others.They seem to be made out of a "special" cloth.If that special cloth was cotton,I'd use it. (If it were thinner).

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

Not my idea of fun.

BTW, you going to the KY rifle show this weekend?

Are you referring to the one at Lake Cumberland?
If so, I can't make it.
The last time I was there was in 2020.

 

[Billy Boy]

I know it's a very thin material but how about the stuff that makes the inside of the front pockets of old blue jeans. Too thin?

Used to be called ‘pocket drill’ and was excellent patch material, now it is just regular blended crap.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Using old jeans is a bad choice. Some makes are a synthetic blend. And, worn jeans are not consistent in thickness. However, new denim is used by some for patching. I tried it but found ticking more better.

 

[beardedhorse]

Make char cloth with it. If it is "stretch to fit" and elastic it will have polyester. The 100% cotton fabric will make good char cloth, Any synthetic in it will just be stiff and crack and not catch a spark at all or slow to catch and not burn uniformly. You can read the label on the jeans but that is not always a guarantee it is 100 per cent, pure cotton as claimed. If a blend, it will usually say so. Blue jeans made before 1970 will most likely be 100% cotton.
If you want good patching buy commercially available fabric and bring a compression micrometer (not a vernier caliper). "Mike" it out after washing and shrinking on hottest dryer setting. There will be a slight increase once sizing is gone and thread weave shrunk closer. Most factory ready patches are advertised as .005, .010, .015 and .020 thicknesses. They don't always mic. out that way.
I use old canvas tipi cloth or blue jeans when I need something thicker than .020. Have even cut brain tan buckskin but you will be hard pressed to get uniform thickness from one to the other. Linen works but is costlier than pillow ticking and more difficult to find the right thickness.

 

[Howard Pippin]

Is there an easy way to tell if an old pair of jeans is a blend of cotton and polyester?

All jeans that I have been around have labels inside that state what material is used. It's a label was gone, I wouldn't use them. The ones that I've worked with all say 100% cotton.
Squint

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

Old blue-jeans makes some of the worlds best char cloth. I make it and give it to my bushcrafting friends. It's too thick for roundball patches.

 

[tenngun]

All jeans that I have been around have labels inside that state what material is used. It's a label was gone, I wouldn't use them. The ones that I've worked with all say 100% cotton.
Squint

You can chat a piece if unknown. If it turns in to char cloth it’s pure cotton. If it turns in to a glob it’s adulterated
I paid extra for a linen shirt I got in California while in the navy. Wore it to death. Then cut it up for char cloth and cleaning. Only to discover I had been hoodwinked

 

[Grenadier1758]

I know it's a very thin material but how about the stuff that makes the inside of the front pockets of old blue jeans. Too thin?

As has been noted before, the pocket lining is called "Pocket Drill Cloth". That will be worn quite thin, and the worn pocket material is probably unsuitable for use as patching other than cleaning patches. JoAnn's Fabrics sell their #40 Cotton Drill Cloth that is 100% cotton and consistently between 0.017 and 0.019" thick. I wash mine and cotton drill is my choice for patching round ball.

You would have to look for a materials label inside the jeans that will give the fabric for the jeans. If the label is gone, I would look to see if they are Levis. They do often sell for far more than they should be worth.