Cutting patch

[sproulman]

How are you all doing?Longtime not on here.Got into crossbows bigtime having fun.
anyhow I started cutting my patchs at muzzle.
i use razor blade knife.

it tore up my bluing badly at muzzle a little mad over that while cutting patchs ..
did i do something wrong or should I be using another way to cut patchs ...
thanks

 

[Black Hand]

Make pre-cut patches. No more problems....

 

[yardhunter]

Here's what I do. Its simple and works for me”¦”¦

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNNmCDwp8mM&t=336s

 

[Walks with fire]

Store bought patches don't cost much and I never cared for cutting at the muzzle but for some reason it does seem to provide a little more accuracy for me. I cut out mine using scissors using a plastic bottle cap to draw the line on the fabric and can make 50 pretty quick. I buy a yard of fabric ticking pretty cheap. For store bought I buy Eastern Maine shooter supply brand and my rifles and I both like them.

I don't like pre-lubed patches and get the dry ones and use my own lubes. Pre-lubed degrade the fabric over time. I use Mink oil from Track of the Wolf in winter and Hoppe #9 Bp lube above freezing.

 

[BrownBear]

i use razor blade knife.

it tore up my bluing badly at muzzle a little mad over that while cutting patchs ..

Just raise the razor a little off the muzzle rather than resting it on your muzzle to make your cut. No harm to accuracy if the patch is oversize.

 

[Ames]

I thought the muzzle face was to be left un blued or browned as it is a working surface, and then no bluing to ruin. :hmm:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I wonder if an undarkened muzzle face might reflect sunlight at a deer if the angle was right and cause them to spook, or at least if they were walking toward the shooter but had not provided a good shot, might not change course to avoid the bright reflector?

LD

 

[Ames]

I never worry about that. I've sat still under a large spruce tree for hours and had a deer (pre season) walk up to me FOUR FEET from my face and couldn't decipher the glasses on my face.
I don't think a silver front blade or a barrel face by itself is enough to spook most of them. Didn't spook the one that ran right to me last season. Colors that don't belong in the woods, like Levis blue, will turn them fast though.
Just my observations.

 

[Spikebuck]

i use razor blade knife.

it tore up my bluing badly at muzzle a little mad over that while cutting patchs ..

Just raise the razor a little off the muzzle rather than resting it on your muzzle to make your cut. No harm to accuracy if the patch is oversize.

+1

Plus I don't push the ball all the way flush down before cutting. That makes me be above the muzzle face for cutting. I usually use pre-cuts, but I have one gun I use strips and cut at the muzzle.

Also, if you do decide to precut, they do not have to be round...square works fine. Just take the strips you're using now and cut it into squares.

 

[crockett]

For some unexplained reason I have always thought cutting at the muzzle was the "real deal" and pre-cut patches were a modern convenience. One of the Foxfire books on rifle building had Hershel House cutting patches at the muzzle.
Now I'm not so sure. I think pre-cut patches have been found in old muzzle loading rifles so I'm pretty sure they are pc but is there any pre-1840 writings about cutting patches at the muzzle?

 

[Billnpatti]

" I cut out mine using scissors using a plastic bottle cap to draw the line on the fabric ..."

It is way easier to simply tear the fabric into strips of the width that you want and then to cut the strip into square patches. There is no ballistic difference between a round patch and a square patch. However, if you prefer a round patch, just buy an arch punch of the size that you want at Harbor Freight. Then stack your fabric into stacks of about 5 or 6 layers backed by some cardboard and punch away. It's a lot faster than using scissors to cut round patches.

 

[Larry Akers]

Don't worry about wearing the finish at the muzzle--it's gonna get burned off anyway,

 

[Tom Compton]

I thought the muzzle face was to be left un blued or browned as it is a working surface, and then no bluing to ruin. :hmm:

:metoo:

 

[Black Hand]

As an aside, if you're worried about scuffing your bluing, perhaps shooting/owning a muzzleloader isn't for you. Both bluing & browning are easily touched-up...

 

[Walks with fire]

I cut them round because I don't want extra patch material in front of the ball. I cut them the size that I want and I only want enough patch to extend a little bit beyond the radius of the ball. I want it to separate from the ball as quickly and consistently as possible. I don't want patching covering the front of the ball as it exits the muzzle. To each his own.

When cutting at the muzzle I don't push it in the muzzle very far; just below the radius of the ball. Lube only on the bore side but I am sure at ignition the patch gets saturated. I use as little lube as possible. I prefer spit; but it doesn't work for freezing weather. Actually a dry patch works fine.

 

[Danny Ross]

This is my opinion. A razor blade knife's blade, has a short cutting length, and has a very bulky handle that goes along with the short blade. So it is hard to make a clean slicing motion without banging the barrel/muzzle with the handle. My suggestion is get a knife, whether folding or fixed blade, with a blade of about 3-4 inches in length or longer. Say something along the lines of a full size folding trapper. It gives you a longer cutting surface to work back and forth to cut the patch without banging the knife's handle into the barrel. It is also easier to lay the blade flat along the barrel's muzzle while cutting the patch. DANNY

 

[coloradoclyde]

Razor blade knives are also usually very dull, and dull very quickly........
I've never been able shave with one....

Cutting patches ahead of time is much easier....I made a rotary cutter that goes in a drill press...Easy peasy.... :grin:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I'm with BrownBear. Slice the material a hair over the muzzle.

 

[curator]

A "proper" made patch knife is sharpened on only one side. That way it skims over the barrel's muzzle without scratching but still cuts the patch flush with the muzzle. Mine was made by my reprobate Great-uncle from an Amish castrating knife. The reverse-curved blade makes it reasonably safe without a sheath, and speeds the patch cutting operation, A quick swipe with a round file keeps it sharp enough to not pull threads, compromising the patches. I've used this knife for more than 50 years but never have seen one similar.

 

[curator]

Whoops, I forgot the picture;