Daisy shaped patches?

[coloradoclyde]

A ball wrapped in paper mache and dipped in lube :hmm:
check back you gave me an idea and i gotta go try it.

 

[Col. Batguano]

That might work, but wouldn't it be tough to control the thickness of the paper mache`? Of course, you couldn't use a water-based lube with it. Would it be durable enough to withstand the pressure of the trip down the barrel, and the return? Would it separate quickly enough not to affect accuracy? Of course, only range tests would bear out the viability of either idea.

 

[Swede50]

Why not lead daisy shaped patches :stir:

 

[coloradoclyde]

How about the idea of pre-patched balls? Take your normal ball/patch / lube combo and fold it around the ball. Give it a couple of stitches with some fine thread so the ball / patch marriage would disintegrate upon firing. The sooner after it leaves the bore the better for accuracy purposes.
That would speed up the reloading process for events where reloading speed actually matters.

Ok here’s what I tried.
I glued the patch to the ball using a glue stick (not hot glue). I used a loading block to form it while the glue set. I had worried that the patch would not come free of the ball but it did.
What I learned is that while it’s worked you still have to center the ball and it was not nearly as fast as a loading block.
I never for a second figured it would prove beneficial but it gave me an excuse to go dirty a gun.
And the paper mache was a joke.

 

[bpd303]

Weren't the Baker rifles issued with musket balls with a sewn leather patch around them.

 

[coloradoclyde]

:idunno:

 

[dikman]

BrownBear, you could be onto something there! The muzzle-cut-patch-for-when-you-can't-be-bothered-muzzlecutting! :thumbsup:

 

[Billnpatti]

For those reading this thread, I want to make it clear that Colorado Clyde and I are not at odds with each other. We just had a shared discussion. All is well and Clyed remains my pard. :thumbsup:

 

[Billnpatti]

I have been following this thread and find the various comments, pro and con, interesting. Today, as I was reading through the latest comments, a thought occurred to me. Suppose you eyeballed the circumference of your ball on your patch and made a series of snipes with scissors from the edge of your patch to the circumference of the ball. Would not that achieve the same thing as having the daisy pattern. It would allow the edges of your patch to fold around the ball without wrinkling. It's just an idea that I throw out for discussion. :hmm: In reality, I am not yet convinced that a daisy patterned patch or one with radial snips such as I suggest really have any added value over a regular precut or cut-at-the-muzzle patches. :idunno: What say ye? :hatsoff:

 

[Col. Batguano]

Me thinks this now calls for the expertise of Pletch, with his high speed camera. Just how soon after muzzle exit do the ball and patch separate? The "billows or folds north of the equator of a PRB are going to catch the wind faster and provide for a cleaner separation than something that hugs the ball closer and longer. Think about a shotgun wad, or a :barf: saboted bullet in one of the unmentionables.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I just don’t see any advantage to all that excess material north of the equator. And the affects of the patch separating cleanly should be noticeable on the target and if they are not then it is a moot point.
How do we evaluate these patches objectively?
1. Are they easier to load? Doubtful.
2. Do they increase accuracy? Questionable.
3. Are they more economical? Not in my book.
I still stand by my assertion that they are a gimmick, creating the illusion of a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.
The benefits of these are speculative at best.

 

[MSW]

Me thinks this now calls for the expertise of Pletch, with his high speed camera. Just how soon after muzzle exit do the ball and patch separate? The "billows or folds north of the equator of a PRB are going to catch the wind faster and provide for a cleaner separation than something that hugs the ball closer and longer. Think about a shotgun wad, or a :barf: saboted bullet in one of the unmentionables.

+1!

I'm beginning to get a headache, here - sorta like my goats when they see a "monster" at the woodline (this is invariably just a deer) and they all yell for the stock dog ...

Pletch! Pletch! saaaaave us!!

 

[coloradoclyde]

For those reading this thread, I want to make it clear that Colorado Clyde and I are not at odds with each other. We just had a shared discussion. All is well and Clyed remains my pard. :thumbsup:

Thanks Bill,
Things don’t always come across the way we want them to when we are typing. We misspell words and autocorrect gets it wrong some time. The English language is extremely diverse. Trying to navigate and manipulate multiple computer platforms and programs can be difficult. The written language is a very basic form of communication. A single facial expression can tell us more than a sentence full of words.
This is why at the end of the day when I close my computer, all my grudges from the day’s debates get deleted and tomorrow starts a new day where everyone is my friend. After all this is a virtual world.
:v

 

[dwr]

Hey...I just wanted to know if anyone had tried 'em :idunno: ...I think I will order some just to play with...they fascinate me for some reason.

I don't think I will use them for Rendezvous shooting matches, however. My name is Dry Baller...I think you can guess how I got that handle...I don't want anyone to see me using them and call me "Daisy the Dry Baller" :haha:

 

[Larry Pletcher]

Me thinks this now calls for the expertise of Pletch, with his high speed camera. Just how soon after muzzle exit do the ball and patch separate? The "billows or folds north of the equator of a PRB are going to catch the wind faster and provide for a cleaner separation than something that hugs the ball closer and longer. Think about a shotgun wad, or a :barf: saboted bullet in one of the unmentionables.

I just don’t see any advantage to all that excess material north of the equator. And the affects of the patch separating cleanly should be noticeable on the target and if they are not then it is a moot point.

This isn't a test I'm excited about - not just yet. If folks see a measurable change in accuracy, it may be worthy of an experiment. Right now my gut says we're looking at a marketing ploy.

The patch may indeed separate at a different distance from the muzzle, but that may have nothing to do with accuracy. To me, accuracy tells us more than patch separation. Let's see what range reports say first, then decide on how test worthy this is. I'm not shying away from testing - just don't want to waste time unless it's warranted.

Regards,
Pletch

 

[coloradoclyde]

Fantastic! of course now your obligated to report to us your findings. :grin:
I would test them myself but I refuse to pay for them.

 

[dikman]

Seems to me that to get the optimum patching around the ball it needs to be cut at the muzzle, that way there is no excess material to worry about. I'd give it a try myself, but the way I'm shooting at the moment it won't make a scrap of difference. :shake:

 

[F.G. Ford]

I saw them in the latest issue of Muzzleloader Magazine in the "Prime Poassibles" section on page 8. The person writing about them said that they improved his score. His statement was "At a local shoot recently I used the new October Country patches (speaking of the new October Country Precision Dasiy Patch), their .018" lubed ticking in my .54, and they helped my shooting enough to put me in second place." But, me....I don't know. :idunno: I've never tried them. It's likely that I never will because what I'm using now seems to work jusrt fine. But, you never know, they may just have something new and wonderful. :hmm:

Second place from the bottom??
Fred

 

[F.G. Ford]

If they made 'em out of silk, then they'd really be special. I heard it gives you another 40 yards.

Forty yards :shocked2: Bet you would get even more with Teflon!
Fred

 

[F.G. Ford]

I wonder if you loaded and lubed with snake oil, if your ball would travel farther, and the best part with shooting daisy patches, they sure would look purty as they fluttered to the ground.
Fred