Doubling Shooting Patches?

[walley]

I've got some pre-cut shooting patches that I ordered sometime ago, they are 0.05 and 0.10 thickness. I didn't get very good results shooting them as a single patch load. I was thinking about doubling the patches as follows, 0.10 + 0.05 = 0.15, 0.10 + 0.10 = 0.20 etc... I'm shooting standard size 440" & 490" roundballs. Do you guys think it would be ok to double the patches? Anyone done this? I'd hate not to be able to use them.

Thanks

 

[Alberta Black]

Are you shooting them in a .45 and a .50 cal rifle? A little more information would help.

AB

 

[walley]

Yes, in a T/C hawken 45cal, and a Lyman Trade Rifle 50cal. I have both the .005 and 0.10 size patches for the 45cal, and only the 0.10 size for the 50cal. I have since bought some 0.15 patches and 0.18 pillow ticking for both rifles, but was hoping to make use of the other patches if I could.

 

[No Deer]

Go ahead and try. As long as you can get them down the barrel they will come back out. Your accuracy will probably be different, but then it depends on whether you are shooting target or game as to how much accuracy change you can live with.

 

[roundball]

I've done the exact same thing to use up left over experimental bags of different thickness patches...I'm not a bullseye shooter so I can't say if it made a group size change or not, but shooting steel targets, soda cans, etc they did fine.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I think if you lube both patches, they will stick together in the barrel around the RB and will not separate until they exit the muzzle when you fire. You should be fine. If you are shooting targets, you should expect them to shoot to a different point of impact with the double patching, but not be off that far.

 

[nchawkeye]

It will work just fine...When I charge my .54 with a heavy load and can't find any hornet's nest, I just load with 2-.010 patches to prevent the patches from burning.

 

[roundball]

And if two patches makes too tight of a fit, one can be seated down on the powder by itself as a firewall, then the regular patched ball seated down on top of that...oftem reminds me of confetti whith multiple patches fluttering down after a shot but it works :grin:

 

[shmrck1]

Ka Boom,
I've done it, and what I did was
iron them together with my wife's iron. Then
lightly lubed both sides and I was set to go.
I only do this when I'm trying to get rid of
patches I don't use.
snake-eyes :hmm: