Destroyed patches

[mcguyver]

.54 kibler woodsrunner .80 gr scutzen. .530 ball. Using dutch shultz dry patch recipe. ( my patching material is 3 years old if that matters) .013 pillow ticking. My patches are nothing but an ember after shooting. My groups are 3-4 inches at 50 yds. I tried .018 dennim cant even get ball in barrel. Started using it as over powder buffer. I have never had patches burn like this before. It dousnt appear to be cutting patches at bore. The .013 loads great with a good amount of of resistance. Any thicker would be pounding the patched ball down the barrel. Patches are cut at barrel. Tia for any feedback.

 

[Flintandsteel]

Patching age does matter, dry patching sucks,
The only reason they feel tight is because they are dry.
.013” patches are too thin. I used .535” ball, .020” patches, loads easy with liquid lube.p and the rod under the barrel.

 

[COTNTOP]

I was blowing patches and all I did was slicked them up with a little bore butter.

 

[mcguyver]

Patching age does matter, dry patching sucks,
The only reason they feel tight is because they are dry.
.013” patches are too thin. I used .535” ball, .020” patches, loads easy with liquid lube.p and the rod under the barrel.

I tried .018 balistol denim & couldnt get the ball started. Ruined the ball. I will try some .015 patching. Thanks for the reply

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

Agree with the others. Try some shortening from the ol kitchen for an expedient lube and see what that does. A thicker patch may also be in order but ditch that dry dung first so you're only changing one thing at a time.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

If you're target shooting use a pre-cut patch soaked in spit. Some will say that pre-cuts don't win matches but that hasn't been my experience. Unless there's a long time between loading and shooting the patch won't burn and you'll get a lot of shots off before you need to wipe the barrel. Never heard of loading with a dry patch. I have seen guys try to run a dry patch down a fouled barrel and all they did was get it stuck. Had to run some water down the barrel to get things loosened up.

 

[wiscoaster]

I spit-lube my patches and never had one burn up.

 

[Erwan]

I don't trust the quality of the dry patches. With 60 grains of 3Fg (Swiss2 or French PNF1), I'm using cotton .013 thick with beef foot oil (pure), I've never had any problems with burning or destroying my patches....

 

[mcguyver]

If you're target shooting use a pre-cut patch soaked in spit. Some will say that pre-cuts don't win matches but that hasn't been my experience. Unless there's a long time between loading and shooting the patch won't burn and you'll get a lot of shots off before you need to wipe the barrel. Never heard of loading with a dry patch. I have seen guys try to run a dry patch down a fouled barrel and all they did was get it stuck. Had to run some water down the barrel to get things loosened up.

The dry patch is 1 part balistol ( water soluable oil) & 5 parts water.. soak strips of washed patch material in it for an hour or so. Lightly run the strips through your fingers to get the excess off

If you're target shooting use a pre-cut patch soaked in spit. Some will say that pre-cuts don't win matches but that hasn't been my experience. Unless there's a long time between loading and shooting the patch won't burn and you'll get a lot of shots off before you need to wipe the barrel. Never heard of loading with a dry patch. I have seen guys try to run a dry patch down a fouled barrel and all they did was get it stuck. Had to run some water down the barrel to get things loosened up.

the dry patch is 1 part balistol ( water soluble oil) & 5 parts water. Soak strips of washed patching material for an hour then run the strips lightly through your fingers to get rid of excess. Kay flat on non porous surface & let air dry. The water evaporates leaving only the oiled cloth. It gives each patch consistent lubrication. It helped tighten my groups. I run a damp moose milk patch once in once out between shots to try to keep the barrel fouled the same. I think my patcing was too old . I will try new maybe 1: 3 ratio . If that fails i will go to crisco.

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

I don't trust the quality of the dry patches. With 60 grains of 3Fg (Swiss2 or French PNF1), I'm using cotton .013 thick with beef foot oil (pure), I've never had any problems with burning or destroying my patches....

Okay. It's the interwebs and all I gotta do is a quick search but still. Beef foot oil?

Ohh. It's Ox foot oil/oleum for leather goods. Never heard it called beef foot oil before.

 

[Erwan]

Okay. It's the interwebs and all I gotta do is a quick search but still. Beef foot oil?

Ohh. It's Ox foot oil/oleum for leather goods. Never heard it called beef foot oil before.

Well, you have for habits to calling it "Neatsfoot oil", but generally what you call "Neatfoot oil" is not pure.
In fact, this is like what you call Neatsfoot, but in its pure and non-commercial form/brand sold in shops.
Neatsfoot oil of the highest grade is used as a lubricant. It is used in metalworking industries as a for aluminium. For machining, tapping and drilling aluminium, it is superior to kerosene and various water-based cutting fluids. See what I mean

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

Well, you have for habits to calling it "Neatsfoot oil", but generally what you call "Neatfoot oil" is not pure.
In fact, this is like what you call Neatsfoot, but in its pure and non-commercial form/brand sold in shops. See what I mean...

I went down a little bit of a rabbit hole looking that up. I know one thing, if you ever just order Oleum you need to be very specific. The stuff can be a vege oil from wheat germ or fuming sulfuric acid. Who knew

 

[Erwan]

In fact, designations may change from one language to another, leading to misunderstandings: the names are there, but they don't always have the same meaning...
The problem is mostly the same with the oil you call Mink oil.
Mink oil is an oil used in medical and cosmetic products. It is obtained by rendering mink fat removed from pelts bound for the fur industry
What is called "Mink Oil" In spite of the term on products labeled “Mink oil“. Many commercial versions of so-named leather conditioners contain no natural mink oil. No one in their right mind would use real mink oil to lubricate shooting patches unless they were pulling three or four patches a week: the price would be a real deterrent...

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

In fact, designations may change from one language to another, leading to misunderstandings: the names are there, but they don't always have the same meaning...
The problem is mostly the same with the oil you call Mink oil.
Mink oil is an oil used in medical and cosmetic products. It is obtained by rendering mink fat removed from pelts bound for the fur industry
What is called "Mink Oil" In spite of the term on products labeled “Mink oil“. Many commercial versions of so-named leather conditioners contain no natural mink oil. No one in their right mind would use real mink oil to lubricate shooting patches unless they were pulling three or four patches a week: the price would be a real deterrent...

We're derailing this poor guy's thread so this'll be my last. Had a back and forth with someone on here last year about that started by me being lazy and taking a pic of a can of boot polish sitting in front of me rather than going downstairs to get one of the same stuff in a different tin. Doesn't matter whose brand of mink oil you look up, or what it's sold for, once you find the ingredient list, they're all some mix of the same ingredients. Most are two plant-based derivatives and have just enough actual mink oil in em to skirt any legalities.

Note, in my last sentence I said most. I'm sure someone on here has an actual supply of the real deal.

 

[Siringo]

.54 kibler woodsrunner .80 gr scutzen. .530 ball. Using dutch shultz dry patch recipe. ( my patching material is 3 years old if that matters) .013 pillow ticking. My patches are nothing but an ember after shooting. My groups are 3-4 inches at 50 yds. I tried .018 dennim cant even get ball in barrel. Started using it as over powder buffer. I have never had patches burn like this before. It dousnt appear to be cutting patches at bore. The .013 loads great with a good amount of of resistance. Any thicker would be pounding the patched ball down the barrel. Patches are cut at barrel. Tia for any feedback.

I tried that method and tested various ratios. I too had burning patches unless the oil ratio got high enough. I wiped the bore after each shot. If I didn’t I couldn’t get it loaded after the second shot.

 

[bldtrailer]

try a tallow based lube it will prevent burn , but if your barrel is cut rifling , cut patches might need to smooth out the burs

same green mtn barrel before and after smoothing the burs as Mr Dixon suggested to me

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I misunderstood what is meant by the term "dry patch". It is actually a lightly oiled patch I guess.

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

I misunderstood what is meant by the term "dry patch". It is actually a lightly oiled patch I guess.

A mix of water-soluble oil and other ingredients that's soaked into and let fully dry on the patches. If one were to follow the full target shooting regimen they might be okay. For "normal" everyday shooting they're awful.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I tried .018 balistol denim & couldnt get the ball started. Ruined the ball. I will try some .015 patching. Thanks for the reply

My 54 cal barrels (different brands) shoot .535 balls with .017/.018 wet water soluable oil patch. Barrels are all crowned. I have a T shaped starter with a concave brass end. ( not having a concave end is possibly why your ball distorted) You need to be the boss when you start the ball. They go down just fine after a snug start. Never tried dry patch and don't plan on it.
Just my two cents.
Larry
PS Dunno if your barrel is crowned, but it needs to be if not.

 

[snakebit]

I've used this "dry patch " recipe, but I believe I went heavier on the Ballistol. I was cutting at the muzzle then. When I got a fabric cutter, I just made pre-cut and started lubing with TOTW Mink oil. No issues with burnt/shredded patches with either method. Wish I could help more. If you want to stick to the dry patch method, maybe more Ballistol? I think I did one 35mm film canister, to 2 35mm film canisters of distilled water. Kept the strips in a Ziploc bag.