Help pickin' patchin' for my smoothbore.

[TN.Frank]

I measured the bore on my J.B. and it's dead on at .620". I'm using a .600" round ball from a Lee mold so should I try and get some .010" patchin' or will it compress a bit making .012" better? :hmm:

 

[rabjr]

Wouldn;t you want .018 or .020 patch?

 

[TN.Frank]

I have some .018" and it's not going for love nore money. The .008" that I had used in a rifle I used to have worked but seemed a bit loose. I did find some .014" that was very, very snug and it was a polly blend, not useable for patchin'. That's why I figure something around .010-.012" would work but before I go to Wally World and buy a yard of it I'd like some input on the matter. :hmm:

P.S.
Remember, .010" patching will take up .020" if slop in the bore because you're adding .010" to each side of the ball.

 

[Rebel]

Are you Certain the bore is .620? It sounds like you are having the same problem i have with mine. Did you check out the target pic in the Hey Swamp Rat thread yet? Maybe you don't need a patch.

 

[rabjr]

My bore is .615 and a .595 ball loads just right with a .018 patch. Had no problem loading this combo and didn't wipe the bore at all while shooting.

 

[TN.Frank]

I used my calipers to measure the bore and it comes out to .620" exactly. I have some pillow tickin' that I got from Wally World a couple years ago that's .018" and there no way in heck it'll work with a .600" ball. The .014" was tighter then I like. That's why I'm thinking that .010" or maybe .012" would be about max for the ball I'm using. :hmm:

 

[TN.Frank]

My bore is .615 and a .595 ball loads just right with a .018 patch. Had no problem loading this combo and didn't wipe the bore at all while shooting.

Not trying to doubt your word but that'd be .016" compression on a .018" patch. Seems like that'd be WAY too tight. Remember, the slop that the patch takes up with be twice the thickness of the patch. .595" + .036" = .631", I just can't see that going into a .615" bore.

 

[Rebel]

My bore is .615 and i can only use a very thin, about .010 patch with a .600 ball from a Lee mould. Maybe the lee balls are oversize? Have you mic'ed them?

 

[TN.Frank]

LOL, I've not even cast em' yet. I was using a ball that came with the gun. It measures .600" though. I'm thinking that maybe .010" may be what I'm after.

 

[Rebel]

Try it with NO PATCH. Wads, man, Wads. :grin:

 

[ffffg]

a high degree of (possible) accuracy requires that no lead is in the bore.. use a patch. i use a patch and wad... .ive seen leaded shotgun bores ruin shot patterns.. lead in a rifled bore will cause horrible accuracy.. bare balls will cause leading... my opinion only.. if you have lead on one side of the bore more than the other it will probably start the ball to spin.. if you have a narrowing in the bore from lead this could cause blow by to start as the pressure mounts there.. a nice clean lead free bore is what to strive for.. my opinion only.. sorry dont mean to cause a stir, just my findings... dave...

 

[TN.Frank]

Don't want to scrap off lead in the barrel from the bare ball. Makes it hard to clean out all of the lead and under the lead will be powder fouling that'll make pits in the barrel. That's one of the main reasons that old, black powder ctg. shotguns have pits in their barrels. A patch will stop the lead ball from touching the barrel so that all I'll have to worry about is the powder fouling.
Call me paranoid but I just can't bring myself to shoot a bare ball. I'm also working on paper shot cups to keep the shot from touching the barrel. LOL. :hmm:

 

[Rebel]

My accuracy isn't too bad. See the pic of the target i shot today with bare balls under the
Hey Swamp Rat smoothbore Target thread.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I agree with you. Try the .010 patchings. The math is right, and they should work well for you. If you do get burned patches, use an over powder wad to protect the patch when you load the gun, and you should be fine. If you went to a .595 ball, that would give you .025 in extra size to divide between the two sides of your ball. That would give you .0125" for a patch thickness- pretty close to that .012 patching you say you have. But that would also be a fairly snug patch, and I know you like to shoot without cleaning a gun between shots, so that might not be the combination for you. If you use the .595 balls, stick with the .010 patches, for an easy load. The balls will bump up to size of the bore that much, on firing, and I don't think you will lose any accuracy. Again, use a overpowder wad when loading these smaller balls, or if you find any evidence of burned patches on the ground. In a smoothbore, the patching just holds the ball snuggly in the barrel, so it doesn't move forward and become a bore obstruction when you fire the gun. It doesn't impart spin, as with a rifle. It really can't " Grab" the ball, either, until the ball is expanded, trapping the fabric between the soft lead ball and the wall of the barrel. So, don't ask it to seal gases behind the ball. Use that ovepowder wad to do that job, and leave that thin patch to just keep the ball in the barrel. It will protect the barrel from leading, which you indicate you have no interest in having to remove. I don't blame you. Even with modern solvents, it takes elbow grease to get lead out of a smoothbore.

 

[rabjr]

I'm using the same .018 pillow ticking patch in both my .58 and .20 ga.

Loads tight but managable in my .20 ga. Found the patch to tight using .570 ball in my .58 but when I went to a .562 ball it loaded tight but managable.

 

[TN.Frank]

I hope I can use that .018" pillow tickin' in my 54cal, I'll be using Lee's .527" mold to make balls for it.

 

[Deadeye]

My Fucil measures .620 and with .600 balls I'm now using .013 blue ticking from Walmart. Loads easy, shoots good. I use to use .015 which also shot good but was harder to load. I've tried wads
under the patched ball but not found them to provide any improvement.

 

[rabjr]

I'm trying to understand why I'm able to use this patch and those here cannot. I would think of the two guns, my .58 would have a problem with it. I do everything sitting down so I have to make sure everything is just right inorder for me to load and shoot without help. Not being able to is not acceptable, I may need to reload in the field while hunting. Not only am I able to load these two guns but I'm able to do it with just the ramrod, eliminating the starter. Which is good, one less thing to carry and worry about. My shortned Colerain Jaeger barrel, it's 27 1/2 ", is coned using Joe Woods tool. Maybe why I can load this without much effort??

 

[TN.Frank]

If you're loading a rifle it's a totally different ball game then loading a smoothbore. In a rifle you've got the groves that'll take more of the patch then in a smoothbore. I'm going to look for some .010" and give it a try, then if it still feels too lose I'll bump it up to .012". :hmm:

 

[TN.Frank]

Well, I got some heavy Cotton Muslin that mics out at .010" and it's tight but I think with lube it'll be workable. It won't work in my 54cal rifle though, even with a .527" ball. May just have to use the .008" that I've got and let it be a tad loose unles I can find some .009" stuff but then that seems like nit pickin' to me, LOL.