Blizzard of '93
Cannon
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2006
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ditto grenadier it's good to wash the patching a couple times and let dry in the sun it will be more consistent IMO. I use square patches, oversized and cut at the muzzle.
Praridog said:I asked before but can't remember if i found an answer.Can you use silk like the feller in Last of the Mohicans movie?He said ya get 4 more yards of shooting distance?
Zonie said:I would say based on this that Hawkeye would be doing good to hit the broad side of a barn if he used silk. The lost gas pressure caused by blowing past the blown out silk patch would cause the velocity to drop and it would increase the fouling in the bore because lower pressures reduce the completeness of black powders burning.
Zonie said:Silk patches????
To try to learn about these things I snuck into my wifes area of the bookcase and dug out some of her sewing books.
Abrasion may be a weak point.
One book talks about it in a chapter called "Fabrics that Require Special Handling" and the first thing it mentions is to go "light and gentle" when working with silk.
It says "hand baste seams and darts...Avoid temporary machine stitching..."
When sewing on a machine it speaks of using very light pressures with the presser foot.
All in all it seems to be fairly fragile but some of that may be due to the damage that would be visable if heavy handed sewing methods were used.
Come to think of it, cramming a tight patch that is wrapped around a lead ball down the bore of a muzzleloader might be kinda heavy handed. :grin:
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